Christopher L. Hodapp's Blog, page 44

Grand Masters in Washington DC Issue Joint Statement on Recent Protests

by Christopher Hodapp

There have been unprecedented protests and violence in the nation's capitol and throughout the country over the last week in connection with the death of George Floyd at the hands of police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. To address the issue locally, a joint statement has been issued today by the grand masters of the Grand Lodge FAAM of the District of Columbia and the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia (click the image to enlarge):

Joi...

Lazy Sunday

by Christopher Hodapp


Alice and I went downtown today to check the condition of the Indianapolis Masonic Temple after several nights of mayhem and vandalism came too close to it for comfort. We made it a Sunday family outing, since the building was empty and Alice hadn't seen the Museum in a while. Fortunately none of the three big Indianapolis Masonic buildings have been hit with any damage.

But Sophie didn't care for her first encounter with our antique De Moulin Brothers' Odd Fellows novelty l...

Philadelphia's Masonic Statues Vandalized

by Christopher Hodapp

Masonic statues of Benjamin Franklin and George Washington in Philadelphia were vandalized this weekend during protests and violence related to the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. The figures of the two brethren were splattered with red paint and sprayed with slogans.

The display is officially titled, The Bond. The bronze sculptures by artist James West, depicting two of America's most famous Freemasons, stand on Broad Street in front of the Grand Lodge F&AM of Pennsylvan...

Shriners Hospitals Rebranding As 'Shriners Children's'

by Christopher Hodapp

Bill Hosler over on the On The Square blog is reporting today that ' Shriners Hospitals for Children' has just announced that they are uniformly rebranding their network of 22 hospitals as 'Shriners Children's.' The name change is intended to unify and do away with a handful of different facility and corporate entity names of several Shriners children's hospitals and programs throughout North America.
The rebranding does away with different facility
names in the Shriners Hospi...

GL of Japan Suspends Recognition of Prince Hall GL of Oklahoma

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Lodge of Japan F&AM has just suspended recognition with the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge F&AM of Oklahoma for conducting Masonic activities within its sovereign territory without permission. 

Japan's Grand Master Jeremy Entwistle issued the following notice earlier today:

Notice of Suspension of Recognition of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Oklahoma

Dear Brothers,

One of the principle [sic] foundations for the establishment of fraternal relations between G...

Driver Rams Salt Lake City Masonic Temple

by Christopher Hodapp

UPDATE 5/21/20 at 6:25PM:
THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT NEW INFORMATION. DRIVER WAS NOT ARRESTED AND CLAIMED IT WAS ACCIDENTAL.

The Salt Lake City Masonic Temple was damaged Monday night when a man rammed his car into the rear entrance of the building. Police ticketed the driver for 'trespassing', not related to the crash. He told police it was accidental, but preliminary reports indicate he is an expelled Mason, originally from Missouri, who has had "past history" wi...

From the Grand Architect of the Bakery

I visited my regular, recognized grocery today and picked up an All Seeing Eye pastry.

Yes, we control the bakeries, too.

Lodge Donates Computer Pads To Isolated Patients and Seniors

by Christopher Hodapp

Masons around the world are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown by helping their local communities any way they can. Some lodges have hosted blood drives or assisted neighborhood food banks to collect or pass out food. But brethren in Inverclyde, Scotland are making sure isolated people in their area can still communicate with the outside world during the lockdown. 

Robin McIntyre, Provincial Grand Master for Renfrewshire West in Scotland, reported that the...

Fire Destroys Hejaz Shrine in South Carolina

by Christopher Hodapp

A devastating fire on Tuesday morning has destroyed the Hejaz Shrine Temple in Mauldin, South Carolina, near Greenville. According to multiple news reports, the entire facility that included the Shrine and the Legacy Pines Golf Club clubhouse is a total loss. The golf club leased its facility from the Shrine.

Investigators say the fire started just after midnight near the kitchen in the rear of the building. Fortunately, no one was in the building at the time, and no...

'Curse of Oak Island - Drilling Down: Founding Fathers'

by Christopher Hodapp

I was featured on 'Curse of Oak Island - Drilling Down: Founding Fathers'  (Season 7/Ep 6)  last night on History™. You'd think the producers might have told me when it would air, but no. 

Brothers Akram Elias, Mark Koltko-Rivera, Tobias Churton, Robert W. Sullivan IV and a surprisingly large list of other interviewees made it on the air.  We actually shot my segment last fall when I was briefly in the Los Angeles area. They did use more...