Christopher L. Hodapp's Blog

Australian Masonic Temple Destroyed in Arson Attack

by Christopher Hodapp

Two suspected arsonists were arrested after an historic Australian Masonic temple was severely damaged by fire early Wednesday in New South Wales. The temple was home to Northern Rivers Lodge 77. According to several reports, the 1920's-era brick lodge building itself was severely damaged after the roof caught fire and collapsed. The interior is likely gutted, but the facade is still standing.
The two suspects appeared in court on Thursday. Christopher Andrew Mayne (age 32, f...

Belgian Masonic Lodge Responds To Vandalism By Opening Its Doors To The Public

by Christopher Hodapp

Note: I spotted this story back in April on the 450.fm website (La loge "La Flandre" à Bruges Louvre set ports au public"). Unfortunately, I neglected to post it then. So forgive the tardiness.
Founded in 1881, La Flandre Loge (Flanders Lodge) is the oldest Masonic lodge located in the city of Bruges in the West Flanders region of Belgium. Bruges is a city nicknamed the "Venice of the North" for its canals and medieval heritage, and many of the city's oldest streets are pave...

Local Lodge Hosts Smithsonian Pop-Up Exhibit

Masonic halls contain unique spaces, and we all have countless opportunities to host community activities and be welcoming to our neighbors. In many cases, lodges in smaller towns may have better opportunities to be seen by their surrounding communities than their big city counterparts by virtue of their locations in town squares. And smaller towns are arguably simpler to promote special events in because of local papers and word of mouth.

But no matter where your lodge is located, we can welcome...

Reward Offered in Failed Arson Attempt at Ohio Lodge

Photo: Mason Lodge 678 in Mason, Ohio
by Christopher Hodapp

A Masonic temple in a Cincinnati, Ohio suburb escaped what might have been a serious arson fire last month when an incendiary device that was thrown through a window failed to ignite. But police and federal authorities are taking the unsuccessful attack dead seriously, and now the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.
Photo:ATF
Shortly after lodge members le...

Grand Lodge of Texas 1945 Mural Created...At Last

When the Grand Lodge of Texas built their magnificent art deco/Egyptian-revival grand lodge building in Waco in the 1940s, a mural was designed originally to be installed behind the auditorium's Grand East. It was never completed, for reasons lost in the mists of time. Cheapness, laziness, changes in taste, or never getting around to it. The point is, it was never put in place. 

According to PGM and Grand Secretary Brad Billings, it was included in the building committee meeting talks up until 19...

Britain's Council For Freemasonry Responds To Yesterday's Spectator Editorial

by Christopher L. Hodapp
Great Britain's Council For Freemasonry has responded to yesterday's idiotic editorial in  The Spectator , “There’s something vulgar about Freemasons” by Irish 'journalist' Melanie McDonagh.
It reads, in part:

As Freemasons, we have become accustomed to inaccurate and unfair representations of our organisation and members – but this article, sadly, reaches a new and deliberate low.

Particularly surprising was the distasteful focus on Freemasons’ Hall, a war memorial built in 1...

Scotland Yard Is Hunting Masons Under The Bed... Again

by Christopher L. Hodapp

THIS STORY HAS BEEN REVISED TO SHOW THAT THE METROPOLITAN POLICE, AND NOT THE POLICE FEDERATION, IS RECOMMENDING THE MASONIC MEMBERSHIP DISCLOSURE POLICY. MY APOLOGIES FOR THE MIXUP.
As a kid, I always hated reruns. Turns out that I still don't like them as an adult.

London's Metropolitan Police (MET) have once again resurrected the snaggletoothed notion that all law enforcement officers be forced to officially declare their membership in the Freemasons. The hazy allegation...

Today Only! Sale on 'Freemasons For Dummies' Kindle Just $2.99

by Christopher Hodapp

I just received a last-minute message from my editor at Wiley that Amazon is offering a flash sale RIGHT NOW on the Kindle version of Freemasons For Dummies for an unbelievable $2.99! 
That's a markdown from the usual Kindle price of $17.99 and it's available today only, Thursday, September 25th! 
Strange and myriad are the ways of Amazon. No, I don't know when they'll shut out down, so you need to act fast. He who hesitates pays full retail! And this flash sale applies ONLY t...

Vancouver Masonic Hall Arsonist Paroled Again

Ben Kohlman, self-portrait/Facebook
by Christopher Hodapp

The convicted arsonist who set fire to three Masonic halls in Vancouver, Canada back in 2021 is in trouble with the law again, and he still blaming "The Illuminati" for his troubles.

On March 8, 2021, Benjamin Orion Carlson Kohlman went on an arson spree across northern Vancouver, setting fires that completely destroyed or severely damaged three different Masonic halls. At that time, he claimed to hear voices in his head telling him to burn ...

Indiana Grand Master: 9/11 Message To Masons

by Christopher Hodapp
The following message was circulated to Indiana Freemasons today on the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001, and in the wake of the assassination of TurningPointUSA speaker Charlie Kirk at a university campus in Utah. Upon news of the death, social media erupted with messages praising or excoriating Kirk's political views, his supporters, and the actions of the assassin. Freemasons clearly identified as such online engaged in these heated exchanges, many o...