My Year In The Grand West

In the fall, I joined the Senior Wardens of Ontario District in passing (as a team) a young member of Cedar Lodge to the 2nd degree, and on this Tuesday Jan 28 I had the pleasure of joining the Grand Master, and many other Grand Lodge officers and brethren from across the Jurisdiction, for the Installation of the new WM, WBro Dean Peel, and Investiture of his officers for the ensuing year. The evening began with a meal and toasts - including to the haggis - in the hall below, and the head table were piped in by not one, not two but three pipers, including the Grand Piper. My immediate predeccsor was also in attendance, RWBro Frank Thompson, and other past Grand Senior Wardens as well, including MWBro Ron Groshaw, and RWBro Peter Irwin who received his 25 Year a Past Master pin this evening. According to their site, Cedar Lodge is one of several Lodges operating in the City of Oshawa. Well over 100 years old, Cedar Lodge was established in 1872 and has had many notable members over t

This was a special day, not only on this Saturday Jan 25 were we to be treated to a Robert Burns Dinner, to be attended by the Grand Master, but in the afternoon beforehand we were also to be treated to a Scottish 3rd Degree, courtesy of Battlefield Lodge 61, held in the Scottish Rite Cathedral. The degree did not disappoint anyone that afternoon, whether the many numerous visitors or those from within the trio of Hamilton-based districts, and it was rather brilliant in fact. I highly recommend you to visit next year, and in the years to come, as I'm sure the tradition will continue. Some history... In 1795 the first Lodge to call Hamilton its home was The Barton Lodge which held its first meeting at Smith's Tavern in Hamilton. Then in 1799 the second Lodge in the Hamilton area was established at Forty Mile Creek (Grimsby) and was called Union Lodge. The original District was called The Gore District and stretched from Grimsby to Oakville. Immediately following the the end

On Friday, Jan 24, I travelled down the 403 to St Catharines to participate in the amalgamation of three lodges that were prepared to form Reunion Lodge 103, and they were assisted in doing so by many Grand Lodge officers, who were treated to a sold-out Robert Burns Dinner beforehand. The three lodges in Niagara A amalgamating were Temple Lodge, Maple Lodge and St Andrews Lodge. The ceremony was solemn and short, in fact, and I was happy to see the many brethren cast their votes for the new slate of officers eagerly and begin their work together. According to the District's website: Maple Leaf Lodge No. 103 owes its existence to the efforts of the brethren of St. George's Lodge No. 15, who sponsored its establishment with the purpose of promoting the expansion of Freemasonry in the Niagara area. As a result, Maple Leaf was instituted on July 28th, 1858. Among its Charter Members was a Brother James Seymour, who served as the first Junior Warden, and who was destined to rise

I fortunately arrived in Stoney Creek early for a Dedication Ceremony (certainly not something we Masons see often, and therefore certainly not something many of us get to participate in - and hence when the ceremony began with the opening of Grand Lodge, a lot of GLOs past and present were there) and was able to take a picture of the empty - beautiful - new lodge room before many brethren arrived to fill it up. The hall is located within a now re-purposed church, and last year the brethren of Wentworth 166 had approached administrators for the church, as the entire building was up for sale, to rent this older apparently un-used portion of the church adjacent to the new church - yet all under one roof; definitely a win-win situation. On March 21, 2006 Wentworth Lodge No. 166 amalgamated with T. H. Simpson Lodge No. 692. During the life of Wentworth Lodge, it has had 6 homes previously, with the most recent being at the corner of Dawson Street and Passmore Avenue in Stoney Creek. The

The GJW and I arrived in Vankleek Hill a wee bit early for our visit to Hawkesbury Lodge 450 and thus had time in the morning to visit Beau's Brewery - the home of Lugtread Beer. Situated above the library in this quaint town, finding the address was not a problem, yet finding the entrance to the lodge seemed quite a task, until the librarian showed up for work and let us know it was simply through the front door and up the stairs. When we arrived, the brethren had concluded their GP meeting and welcomed us with open arms, and proceeded to invite us to open lodge and join in the traditional odes to be sung, and upon being given the requisite paperwork were happy to do so. The odes were accompanied by the organist who was also the church organist and has been for 55 years. Located in Eastern District, this is a lodge steeped in history, from its beginnings to their chairs and the WM's pedestal, and the various documents and pictures on the walls. It was a great meeting and we

On this day, travelling with the GJW to Burritts Rapids, and to visit in particular the brethren of Merrickville 55, required a stopover in Kemptville on Jan 17, as we were heading the next morning to Vankleek Hill. It was a pleasure to visit Merrickville Lodge and really absorb the history that adorned the walls of their building, and to listen to the brethren talk about how they were in fact enjoying success, due to the influx of people into the growing nearby community of Kemptville - small towns but truly connected. The lodge warmly received us and in open lodge we enjoyed listening to a wonderful presentation on the valuable lessons taught on the floor. According to historian Nelson King, this is a true story of Bro Miles McGuigan, who was a member of the 81st Regiment of Loyal Lincoln Volunteers and a member of Merrickville Lodge. When he died, it was his last wish that his body be dissected, and then placed in the lodge for future work in the Third Degree. His wishes were car

After our evening in Niagara-On-The-Lake, the GJW and I drove down the 401, turning left at Trenton, and ventured on to the town of Frankford for the Installation of RWBro Bill Thompson for the ensuing year and the Investiture of his Officers. At the roast beef buffet banquet held before Quinte Lodge No. 69 was opened, sandwiched between the Deputy Grand Master and the Master-elect, I had the opportunity to catch up with not only RWBro Hogeboom but also Bill, as we had sit on several GL committees, and he was also a Past GSW - of which there were many, including our Past Grand Master, MWBro Ron Groshaw, attending on this ceremonial and festive evening! Located in Prince Edward County, Quinte Lodge was formed a few years ago after the successful amalgamation of Stirling Lodge and Frankford's Franck Lodge during MWBro John Green's term. In addition to the camaraderie on this auspicious evening, the lodge room also features three old and incredible paintings - tracing boards -

On this Wednesday evening, Jan 15, I drove down to Grimsby to meet RWBro Mark Kapitan at his home, and then together we travelled down the road to visit the brethren of Niagara Lodge No. 2 to watch a happy young man enjoy receiving his First Degree and become an Entered Apprentice - joining the other two EAs in the lodge on this evening. Prior to the lodge opening, being gratefully received and watching the ceremony, and as the members gathered, we took the time for a tour of the museum in the building, adorned with a lot of mementos and displaying the historic impact of its members over the 200+ years of activity in the community. The members of the lodge were well-practiced for the ceremony and certainly well-prepared for the evening, and deserved the accolades accorded them by the visiting DDGM and his District Secretary, and the Festive Board afterwards (downstairs in the Art Gallery) featured a wonderful pot of meatballs, accompanying friendly and informative conversation, capp

This was the first meeting in a very busy and yet extremely fun and fruitful week of visits for me, as I travelled out to Guelph on a Monday evening, Jan 13, into the district of Wellington to see my friend Harry Turner Bishop installed in the East as the new WM of Waverley Lodge No. 361 and, of course, to watch VWBro Robert Jewell - who was at my Initiation and is now a proud member of The Beaches Lodge - invest their Organist. Arriving a bit early, luckily, given the traffic, the evening for me actually started off with a visit across the road, however, to an authentically cool UK pub for (these days) a rare pint of Kilkenny and enjoy a plate of fries. The lodge room was full and the ceremony of Installation of the Master and Investiture of his Officers was performed quite quickly and very well done, I might add. Of note, in terms of Masonic education, it seems a "famous" Freemason hails from Waverley Lodge: George Alexander Drew, who was initiated in 1923, on March 26,

This was one of my first daytime lodges, and certainly my first not only held in the morning but in a morning suit (courtesy of RWBro Peter Sialtsis), and at this meeting, which was the annual Installation and Investiture of Officers of Corinthian Lodge 330, I first met RWBro Mark Kapitan in Aldershot and then together we drove to London for a 10am opening, with current Grand Chaplain RWBro Tom Haight sitting at the Secretary's desk; also joining us was RWBro Roy Hardy, the Grand Registrar, in the beautiful Blue Room at the Dufferin Temple. Online it is stated that Corinthian Lodge No. 330 enjoys a lengthy history that is intertwined locally  with Middlesex County that had voted for the incorporation of London East as a Village in May, 1874, with Adelaide Street being the dividing line between London and London East. (Lilleys Corners was the Post Office up to this time, located at the corner of Dundas and Adelaide Streets. This building was erected in 1867, and is still standin

On this evening, at The General Mercer Lodge (in Toronto West District) No 548, the brethren were proudly recognising the accomplishments of two Masons: VWBro Milan Cobonov, due to his appointment as Grand Standard Bearer last July  - he and I met years ago while getting our 32 in Hamilton at Scottish Rite - and Bro Ted Dziemenko, who received his 25 year pin. The meeting was held at the historic and acoustically perfect West Toronto Masonic Temple, on Annette Street, where several years ago, during the centenary of WW1, Milan and I produced an amazing choral album - live off the floor - called Sacrifice and Solace , featuring the Toronto Valour Ensemble who sang a collection of songs, several of which were popular during The Great War, and the remainder that were compositions based on letters sent home from the trenches. General Mercer himself, a true Canadian hero, was a Mason and also a member of the Queen's Own Rifles, and according to his biography remains to this day the

Quite a few years ago, I watched the initiation and progression of a new Mason in The Beaches Lodge, Bro Doug Lauder, and then a few months ago - after he had moved to Courtice - I asked if he'd like to attend a meeting of the Heritage Lodge which was being held on a Saturday afternoon in Orono. He agreed and together we went. While there, I introduced him to WBro Steve Spence and the next thing you know Doug had joined Orono Lodge and on this evening - at the annual Installation - was invested as their JW. Per their website, Orono Lodge was founded in 1874, in the town of Orono, a small, vibrant town located about 60 minutes drive north east of Toronto. A group of eight Durham Lodge brethren, led by the Lockhart brothers, met December 17, 1874 to see if there was enough interest in Freemasonry. They proceeded to petition  for a warrant from the Grand Lodge, as four more brethren joined the eight! The warrant was granted, and the meetings were held in the ‘Sons of Temperence Hal

On this night the brethren of Imperial East Gate welcomed RWBro Gil Carreiro on the occasion of his Official Visit to Imperial East Gate Lodge in Toronto East District, and after being warmly welcomed I enjoyed the evening in the East. After the meeting, I had an lengthy chat with the SW, Bro Eleno Sabatin, who is certainly excited about his forthcoming election and thus possibly becoming the new WM in a few months.

On this Friday night, RWBro Mark Kapitan and I ventured a few miles down the highway to Canada's southernmost district to visit Windsor Lodge for the Installation of the new WM and Investiture of his Officers for 2020 - and it was very well done. I was surprised - though Mark had seen this before - to see the WM slide gently into the role of IM and conduct most of the ceremony, with the exception of a few pieces. The temple , built in 1921, is truly impressive. It was designed by James Carlisle Pennington in a Neo-Classical Revival style and was given heritage designation by the City of Windsor in 1994. In addition to many pieces of memorabilia upon numerous shelving units, and various pictures and portraits, and Honour Rolls, adorning the historic walls, it features a ballroom on the ground floor and two great lodge rooms (one extremely large, which we enjoyed throughout the ceremony from the East, and the other, called The Red Room, was only slightly smaller - but definitely

On the first Thursday of the new year, 2020, this was Past Master's Night at The Beaches Lodge, and I was asked to sit in the West during the Initiation of our candidate, taking the chair of Bro Eric Boyce - who will be installed in May. It was very much a fun night - as I was sandwiched between WBro Andrew Douris and WBro Derek McNulty - and I'm sure everyone had a great time before, during and after the ceremony. At the banquet, I sat with a four of our lodge's very bright and curious members and the conversation floated from the Masonic Foundation off Ontario and its good works, to ancient megaliths in Japan, and some of the esoteric aspects of Freemasonry, and among the many topics we discussed were the Emerald Tablets and Thoth  as well as the fabled two pillars  ("… according to legend, Thoth preserved his canon of writings inside two great pillars “just before the Great Flood inundated the world.” Thousands of years later, the pillars were rediscovered. Accor