Christopher L. Hodapp's Blog, page 24

Masonic Week Feb 8-12, 2023

by Christopher Hodapp

The website for making reservations for the 2023 AMD Masonic Week is up and running. This year's festivities will be held February 8th -12th, once again at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Crystal City area of Arlington, Virginia (a mere cocktail glass' throw from Reagan International Airport, across the Potomac from Washington, D.C.).
Eighteen Masonic appendant bodies, invitational groups, research organizations, and others will be holding their annual meetings, degree confer...

Oregon Lodge Has New Mural

by Christopher Hodapp
The Freemasons of Washington Lodge 46 in Portland, Oregon dedicated a stunning outdoor mural at the Washington Masonic Center on September 14th during their Past Masters Dinner. 

Mural design and artwork was done over the summer by artist Joe Riso. In a recent post by Senior Warden Dave Munson, he said, "It looks nice and doesn’t 'shout' but draws positive attention to who we are."




The city of Portland is planted thick with all sorts of murals painted on community buildings, a...

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I'm certain they meant absinthe.

by Christopher Hodapp

My deepest fraternal apologies for the long silence on this site. We've had road trips, medical issues, family challenges, roofers, and other episodes at Hodapphäus that have kept me preoccupied for some time now. Plus, Alice and I are currently engaged in some actual paid employment from the For Dummies folks at Wiley Publishing, for which we are grateful.
Thanks to Indianapolis Valley of the Scottish Rite


A belated thanks to the kind brethren who invited me to speak at the  S...

Grand Lodges of England and Scotland Issue Statements and Directives Over Queen's Mourning Period

by Christopher Hodapp

Following the death of Her Majesty The Queen, the United Grand Lodge of England has issued a statement to the press (photo above - click it to enlarge).
The UGLE's Metropolitan Grand Lodge in London issued the following directives to their members:

Brethren & Companions,

Following the death of Her Majesty on 8 September, the following measures will apply:

There will be a period of Masonic mourning coinciding with the period of national mourning, and black ties will be worn at a...

Queen Elizabeth II: Requiescat In Pace

by Christopher Hodapp

I was in the midst of composing a message tonight about the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 96. But I just saw this Facebook post by RW Glen Cook, Past Grand Master of Utah, and I think he stated it perfectly:

On the passing of Her Majesty:

From a general sense, she was likely the most well known daughter and wife of a Mason; a family member of grand masters. A Mason crowned her. A Mason will be present at the Accession Council of King Charles. She was ...

Freemasons At Work in the Quarries

In 1898, English Masons conferred the first known Master Mason degree  to be held in 'Solomon's Quarry' (Zedekiah’s Cave) below the Temple Mount in Jerusalem
by Christopher Hodapp
This coming Saturday,  September 9th, 2022, Eden Lodge No. 477 in Greenfield, Indiana will perform its annual Master Mason degree in a stone quarry east of Indianapolis, and there will be a hog roast beforehand. Contact the lodge for more information.
*   *   *
Because of Freemasonry's stonemason-guild beginnings, the symb...

Pennsylvania Grand Master Reacts to Fox Nation's Freemason Program

by Christopher Hodapp

The Most Worshipful Grand Master of Pennsylvania, Jeffrey M. Wonderling, has posted a message on Facebook following the airing of the Fox Nation streaming network's program, Freemasons: A Society of Secrets with Tom Shillue. The show premiered this week, featuring interviews with Grand Master Wonderling, Pennsylvania Mason Salmon Sheikh, and Scottish Rite SJ's Grand Archivist, Arturo De Hoyos.
(NOTE: Many Masons have been commenting online without actually having seen the wh...

Pennsylvania Grand Master Reacts to FoxNation's Freemason Program

by Christopher Hodapp

The Most Worshipful Grand Master of Pennsylvania, Jeffrey M. Wonderling, has posted a message on Facebook following the airing of the Fox Nation streaming network's program, Freemasons: A Society of Secrets with Tom Shillue. The show premiered this week, featuring interviews with Grand Master Wonderling, Pennsylvania Mason Salmon Sheikh, and Scottish Rite SJ's Grand Archivist, Arturo De Hoyos.
(NOTE: Many Masons have been commenting online without actually having seen the wh...

Fox Nation Network Premieres 'Freemasons - A Society of Secrets'

by Christopher Hodapp

The Fox Nation streaming service today premiered a new 30-minute program, Freemasons: A Society of Secrets, featuring Fox personality (and barbershop quartet singer) Tom Shillue.
The show features interviews with Pennsylvania Brother Salmon Sheikh and Grand Master Jeff Wonderling at the Philadelphia Masonic Temple, and Grand Archivist Arturo DeHoyos at the Scottish Rite SJ's House of the Temple. 
(Curiously, either the time period was too short or the editors didn't think it w...

Indiana Grand Lodge Vault Yields Buried Treasure

by Christopher Hodapp

On Thursday, Indiana Past Grand Master Mike Brumback let it slip that he had the combination to the massive Grand Lodge vault in the basement of Indiana Freemasons Hall. Such a revelation could not go unchallenged, and when he opened it, sure enough, it yielded up treasures. 
Treasures, at least, for history nerds.
The room somehow seemed to have escaped any flooding over the years. It's packed with hundreds of printed copies of old Indiana annual proceedings, but it looks lik...