My Year In The Grand West

On Tuesday, February 25, the GJW and I travelled to Vienna, Ontario, in Wilson District to accompany the Grand Master, MWBro David Cameron, at Oriental Lodge 181 and witness the formal extinguishing of the lights in a solemn ceremony and the surrender of their warrant. The members had proudly served the community and rather than amalgamate decided to "go dark" and also in the process donated the monies remaining in their bank account to a variety of local worthy causes. The ceremony was held in the Vienna Temple, also home of Vienna Lodge, where most of the members of Oriental will affiliate. The temple walls are filled with history, including a very unique and interesting piece of Masonic art - numerous pieces depicting parts of our Masonic ceremonies and rituals, each hand-carved and painted - contained in a wall-mounted case. There is also a very heavy hammer found in the anteroom used by a Mason - or the company he owned, identified by the S&C - in a day long ago t...

On September 17, I visited Temple Lodge No 597 to watch the ceremony of Lowering The Lights, which was solemn, as it was in fact the last meeting for Temple Lodge, which had formed 98 years ago shortly after The Great War had concluded. The Grand Master, MWBro David Cameron, was also joined in the East by Past Grand Master and Grand Secretary, MWBro Garry Dowling, as well as the DDGM for London East District, our Grand Director of Ceremonies, Grand Chaplain, Grand Registrar and Grand Junior Warden. The subject of shutting down a lodge forever, and going dark, is still controversial among the brethren in general, but in this case, as was told to me by a Past Master this evening, they had indeed enjoyed initiating quite a few EAs over the past several years, but these men had accepted employment outside of London and thus simply could no longer attend meetings regularly or, most crtiically, commit to the responsibilities of an officer of the lodge. The members, after much discussion, ...