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Louisiana Scottish Rite Trestleboard OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2010 ORIENT OF LOUISIANA Volume 12 Issue 5 Scottish Rite FULFILL-BUILD-PROVIDE Mountford, and there was a Rev. Mountford living in the area Whence Came You? at that time, who had a school for the training of boys in cer- tain crafts. Yarker claimed that he knew an operative mason by by the name of Eaton, who was a member of St. Ninian's Lodge, John L. Belanger, 33 ° and the Secretary of St. Ninian's Lodge No. 66 (S.C.) has con- Daily this question is asked by Masons without the slight- firmed that there had been Eatons in that lodge for several est thought as to its real meaning. "Whence came you?" Who generations, all of whom had been operative masons, and the can really answer the question? last-named of which had joined that lodge from Ashton under Equally baffling and profound is the question "What came Lyme, near to where Yarker lived.) you here to do?" With Stretton as the leader, they then revived two former Simple as these questions appear, they search every nook Guild Lodges (i.e. Leicester Lodge No. 91 and Mount Bardon and cranny and sound every depth of every philosophy, every Lodge No. 110) and used one to work the old operative cer- mythology, every theology, and every religion that has ever emonies and the other to serve as a sort of Correspondence been propounded anywhere by anybody at any time to explain Circle, with the intention of attracting members. In this they human life. succeeded for, by 1907, Mount Bardon Lodge had eighty-two In my opinion each person may have his own answer to members, many of whom were distinguished in various walks "Whence Came you". However, your ideas may change after of life as well as in freemasonry, and more than a few who you read this paper. We must first start off to understand our lived abroad, e.g. Isaac Henry Vrooman Jnr. and Charles Hope roots "Operative Masonry": Merz who lived in the USA , John Gavin Purser who lived in In the early part of the 20th century two Masonic writers Ireland, and S. Clifton Bingham who lived in Christchurch, caused a minor ripple to disturb the placid waters of English New Zealand. freemasonry, and Masonic research in particular. The men con- The cause of their enthusiasm for operative masonry was cerned were Clement Edwin Stretton, a consultant engineer that they both considered it superior to speculative freemasonry, who lived in Leicester and wrote hundreds of book, academic which they claimed was a pale imitation of the other, and some papers and newspaper articles concerning railways and free- of those differences arose from the fact that, in Guild ma- masonry; and John Yarker, who lived in Manchester and wrote sonry: even more books, academic papers and newspaper articles, but Lodges were presided over by three Grand Master Masons. is now best remembered for one book in particular, The Ar- Members sat in a lodge which was orientated the opposite way cane Schools, published in 1909, which is a giant of a book! from normal, with the three Grand Master Masons sitting in the West. It is impossible in a paper as short as this to do justice to the Its members operated on a 7-degree system, the two poles of background and commitment of these two men, so it is hoped which were indentured apprentices as 1º and the three Grand that it will be sufficient if anyone seeking further information Master Masons as VIIº. is simply directed to the Internet or their nearest Masonic li- Apprentices were indentured at the age of 14 and had to prove brary. Both, however, eventually attained high rank, although their ability by 'test pieces' as they progressed through a 7 year both were subjected to personal criticism and, in my opinion, system of training. died disappointed men. Lodges had existed for hundreds of years and used methods which The cause which united them was their firm belief that were universal. modern speculative freemasonry did not suddenly emerge in Lodges were known as 'Assemblages' throughout England, and some of them had an underground vault, with a plumb-line reach- 1717, which some would like us to believe, but was the linear ing down 'from Heaven' and a letter 'G' in the ceiling, denoting descendant of operative freemasonry (and 'Guild' masonry in Geometry. There was also a central pedestal in the vault, which particular) which had been around for hundreds of years. Their stood on seven steps, denoting the Seven Liberal Arts and Sci- reasons for being so certain were that, as a boy, Stretton had ences. undergone training as a guild operative mason in a quarry in Finally, that it was the operative masons who built St. Paul's Ca- Derbyshire, and Yarker had known operative masons person- thedral under Sir Christopher Wren, who was himself an opera- ally, some of whom had been operative masons for generations. tive mason. To a large extent, both of these claims have been verified. All of these claims have been scrutinized as a result of which Stretton claimed to have been sent for training to a Tor Quarry it can be confirmed that: in Cromford, and it has been confirmed that, at the period The Operative lodges were presided over by three Grand quoted, there was a Tor Quarry in Cromford. He also claimed Master Masons each of whom carried a rod of either 3,4 or 5 to have been indentured by someone named Montford or continued on page 13 1 Scottish Rite FULFILL-BUILD-PROVIDE Louisiana Scottish Rite Trestleboard Master Craftsman Program Published bimonthly by the LODGE of the NINE MUSES #9, F&AM Louisiana Scottish Rite Foundation BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA P. O. Box 64 Shreveport, LA 71161 ANNUAL TABLE LODGE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2010 Editor Steve Pence CAMELOT CLUB 105 Bay Hills Drive DOWNTOWN BATON ROUGE Benton, LA 71006 TOP OF THE CHASE BANK BUILDING Tel: H: 318-965-9977 The following members have recently SECURE UNDERGROUND PARKING E-mail: [email protected] completed the first course and have re- ceived or should shortly recieve their cer- HOSPITALITY BEGINS AT 6:00 PM Louisiana Scottish Rite Trestleboard is published bi- tificates and lapel pins. DINNER BEGINS AT 7:00 PM monthly by the Louisiana Scottish Rite Foundation. Any article or views expressed in this publication are those Shreveport LIMITED SEATING only of the writer and do not reflect the official position Robert E Bazzell RESERVATIONS REQUIRED of the Louisiana Scottish Rite. The editorial policy of ASSIGNED SEATING (request seating this publication grants free reign to the Editor, within the Lake Charles together if groups) lines of Masonic principles and teachings. Articles and Michael B Ford pictures submitted become the property of this publica- tion. THREE MEAL SELECTIONS New Orleans $75.00 PER PERSON Permission is granted to use contents of this Trestle- John J Babin, III board for Masonic purposes, as long as credit is given to the source. Monroe SPEAKER FOR THE EVENING: Editorial Staff Robert Shawn Owens R W Thomas W. Jackson Editor: Executive Secretary, World Conference Steven A. Pence, 33° of Grand Lodges Valley of Baton Rouge: Order of the Amaranth Past Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge of Shane C. Crump, 32° The Order of the Amaranth is a be- Pennsylvania Valley of New Orleans: nevolent and philanthropic, social and Author, Scholar, Educator, Scientist, Ion Lazar, 32° KCCH fraternal order having for its purpose, Valley of Shreveport: Big Game Hunter, Fire Fighter, Deputy service to humanity. To the members, this John F. Ayer, 32° KCCH Sheriff Valley of Lake Charles: means the opportunity to build upon the Winner of the Freedom Foundation's Darrell L. Guillory, 32° strong foundation of Truth, Faith, Wis- Defender of Freedom Award C. Clifford Heath, 32° KCCH dom and Charity, and to offer among its Valley of Monroe: members Fraternal Love and Service. It Beryl C. Franklin, Ph.D., 33° CONTACT: means the hand of Fraternal Friendship W. Naresh Sharma, WM Allegiance to those in distress and during times of 19414 Creek Round Drive The bodies of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite sorrow and sickness. It means the of Freemasonry, sitting in the Orient of Louisiana, ac- Baton Rouge, LA 70817 strength, courage, and inspiration to knowledge and yield allegiance to the Supreme Council 225/753-1114 of the Thirty-third degree for the Southern Jurisdiction achieve a piece of mind and a degree of of the United States of America (Mother Supreme Coun- happiness that comes in serving a cause CHECKS MADE TO: cil of the World) whose See is at Charleston in the State greater than ourselves. Most of all, it of South Carolina, and House of the Temple, Washing- LODGE OF THE NINE MUSES #9 ton, D.C., of which means opportunity to enjoy those close DRESS: LODGE MEMBERS, TUX & fraternal ties of mutual respect and un- GLOVES; MEN, TUX OR DARK SUIT; Ill. Ronald A. Seale, 33° derstanding to enrich our lives with LADIES, COCKTAIL DRESS Sovereign Grand Commander friendship upon which no value can be and placed. Complimentary Wine for souvenir Fir- Ill. William J. Mollere, 33°, The extent of the charitable work is ing Glass included with meal. Sovereign Grand Inspector General manifold. The Order's main philan- Orient of Louisiana thropic project is the Amaranth Diabetes Ill. Charles L. McCarty, 33° Foundation, administered by a Board of Personal Representative for Valley of New Orleans Directors elected from the membership Calendar of Events Ill. Ballard Smith, 33°, PGM Personal Representative for Valley of Shreveport of the Supreme Council.

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