My Year In The Grand West

Kilwinning Lodge 565 has a fine tradition of wearing their kilts on the occasion of the Official Visit, and this night, Thursday February 21, was the Official Visit of RWBro John McLoughlin, DDGM Toronto West, born in Glasgow, so I and several others in attendance, including the GJW and RWBro Charlie Woods, were in the minority wearing our pants. The lodge was formed in 1920 and will be celebrating their centenary in the fall. WBro Jamie Low, as WM, decided to provide an exemplification of the FC degree before we went downstairs for a great beef dinner and libations, as well as well-rounded conversations. It was relayed afterward that their JW had quickly departed for a career elsewhere, which precipitated a shuffling in the officer lineup, and required the import of WBro Stefano Amelio into the SW chair on this evening - though the lecture and charge to the FC were delivered by RWBro Andrew McClelland, who grew up across the road from Burns Cottage in Scotland. The lodge is proud o...

This was a special night for me. I had just come out of the hospital on the Saturday prior, having had my gallbladder removed, and this evening was an Emergent Meeting for The Beaches Lodge and it was a night where my oldest boy Eric was to provide the candidate with the SW lecture in the 2nd degree. I had to check earlier with RWBro Gord Crutcher as to what attire I was to wear, given officers typically only wear a regular business suit, and seeing as it was an Emergent Meeting of my own mother lodge I could in fact dress down and wear a tux... not a white tie and tails.  One thing you can notice in the photo is that my apron is falling down. Yes, I did lose some weight during my 4-day stay in the hospital, which began on Wednesday November 13, with the surgery being done on Friday night at 10pm. While there, Eric came to visit several times and we had an opportunity to go through his work together to be properly prepared for the degree, which he was. You might also be able to ...

Receiving an invite from RWBro Maher Eid, I attended a Past Master's night at Scarboro Lodge on Monday - the first I had ever attended - which was held at Chisholm Temple, aka the East Toronto Masonic Temple, sadly now sold and many lodges have found new accommodations. It was a meeting very well attended, in addition to our DDGM, RWBro Gil Carreiro, with many Board members present, as well as quite a few Past Grand Senior Wardens, including RWBro Andrew McLelland, RWBro Terry Van Horne, RWBro Dale Graham, MWBro Ron Groshaw and RWBro Maher Eid, who sat in the East as the WM for the 2nd degree team. MWBro. Donald A. Campbell was Master of Scarboro Lodge in 1987, prior to being elected and installed and invested as the Grand Master in 2013. Currently WBro David McDonnell is the Master of the Lodge.

On October 22, I sat in the West and helped the Senior Wardens of Ontario District pass a candidate to the second degree - a first for me as Grand Senior Warden. It was a truly wonderful evening to sit in the Oshawa Temple, amidst so much history, given the building's association and origins with VWBro Colonel Sam McLaughlin. I also had the pleasure of meeting two brothers - RWBro Grant Parnell (the DDGM) and Bro Beau Reine - who each worked with and know my brother while at OPG nearby... see the Picture. McLaughlin, fyi, was born on September 8th, 1871 in the hamlet of Enniskillen, Ontario. At the age of 16 he began working for his father's company, the McLaughlin Carriage Works, which his father started in 1867. At one point in time, the McLaughlin Carriage Works was the largest manufacturer of horse drawn carriages in the British Empire, according to MasonryToday.com; McLaughlin was a member of Cedar Lodge No. 270. In 1907, McLaughlin, with the help of William Durant o...