Christopher L. Hodapp's Blog, page 41

Masonic Symbols On Mothballed Planes Bring Out the Crazies

by Christopher Hodapp

It doesn't take much these days to send the conspiracy lovers into orbit.

A story appeared on the website of Australia's 9News TV station in Sydney on August 19th, reporting on financial losses for Qantas Airlines. Many international flights between the U.S. and Australia have been temporarily halted this year because of the international COVID shutdowns and restrictions. So at the beginning of the report, a half-second long shot showed a mothballed Qantas airliner being tow...

New Books: 'The Craft' by John Dickie; 'History of Esoteric and Anagogic Doctrines' by Cihangir Gener

by Christopher Hodapp

A new book about Freemasonry is getting a lot of positive coverage in the press. The Craft: How the Freemasons Made the Modern World by John Dickie was published several weeks ago in the United Kingdom, and was just officially released in the U.S. this week. My copy just hit the doorstep on Thursday. This is not a book review, because I haven't had a chance to read beyond the second chapter yet. But the press coverage of the book has been both curious and encouraging.

To answ...

Journal of the Masonic Society 50th Issue: Twelve Years and 24,000 Pages Ago

by Christopher Hodapp


It began in a bar, as only the finest, dazzlingly harebrained schemes should, over watery glasses of well-brand scotch. It was predictably frigid in Washington, D.C. that February on the Saturday night of Masonic Week, too cold to sit outside and smoke pipes and cigars while weaving plans within plans with fellow plotters and organizers of secret cabals. 
Masonic Week of 2008 was one of those moments you can look back on and say that right then was when things changed. There ...

All Five Michigan Scottish Rite Valleys Vote To Merge

by Christopher Hodapp

On Thursday this week, it was announced that the five valleys of the Scottish Rite NMJ in Michigan have voted to merge to become one single Scottish Rite Valley for the state. The vote took place during the Michigan Council of Deliberation meeting, and now moves to the Supreme Council for final approval. 
Because of the COVID pandemic restrictions, the Council of Deliberation meeting was held this year as a virtual event.
According to the presentation made during the program, ...

Spain's Biblioteca Pública Arús

by Christopher Hodapp

At the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, Fascist dictator Francisco Franco took power and would rule Spain for another four decades. Like his fascist contemporaries Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, Franco outlawed Freemasonry. Lodges were shuttered, many Masons were persecuted, and more than a few Masonic leaders were imprisoned or killed. And for almost three decades, the top Masonic library in Spain had to remain hidden from view.


In 1895, the Biblioteca Pública Arús ...

Freemasons, Fairs and the Future

by Christopher Hodapp

There's an article this week on the Scottish Rite Museum's blog about an Order of the Eastern Star display at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1896. I love anything that combines fraternalism with my childhood fascination with World's Fairs. At the age of five and a half, my father took me to the New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadow. 


Flying cars, rocket packs, video phones, Moon rockets, robots - they were all there, and more. I glimpsed the future that weekend in ...

Masons and Community: County Court Uses Masonic Hall for Jury Duty

by Christopher Hodapp

I spotted an interesting tidbit in the news today that demonstrates how a Masonic lodge can be of unique service to its surrounding community. The Masonic Center in Clinton, Iowa is being leased by the Clinton County Court as a venue for jury pool selection. According to the article on the Clinton Herald website, state and local COVID regulations about social distancing in government venues forced the court to find another, more spread out location for choosing jury pool mem...

Special Promotion for 'Freemasons For Dummies' Now Through December

by Christopher Hodapp

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been working with the good folks at Wiley Publishing to find a way to offer a substantial discount to lodges and grand lodges who wish to order copies of Freemasons For Dummies for their new petitioners and candidates, without being required to buy large quantities. 

Beginning August 1st, you can order multiple copies of the paperback edition of Freemasons For Dummies directly from the publisher at 30% off the $19.99 list price. This spec...

John Lewis Funeral Brings Georgia's Grand Lodges Together

by Christopher Hodapp

(UPDATE 8:38PM 7/30/20: An earlier version of this story erroneously said Oscar Alleyne, the Senior Grand Warden of New York was in attendance. He was not. I regret the error.)

There is a post-script to Wednesday's Masonic funeral service for U.S. Congressman John Lewis in Atlanta. Before the service began, the brethren filed in, and Prince Hall Grand Master Corey D. Shackleford introduced the honored Masonic visitors. In addition to the large number of Masons from the MW Pri...

Masonic Service for Congressman John R. Lewis Wednesday 7/29

by Christopher Hodapp

NOTE: This story has been updated as of 12:01AM 7/28 to reflect corrected information about John Lewis' Masonic record. Thanks to Derinique Kendrick in Georgia for the correction and Doug Evans III for providing more details.

Illus. Brother John Robert Lewis 33° passed to the Celestial Lodge on July 10, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old. The Hon. John Lewis served as the U.S. Representative for the 5th District of Atlanta more than three decades,...