My Year In The Grand West

A trip up the Niagara Escarpment with RWBro Mark Kapitan, GJW, on this Thursday, March 12, to visit Copestone Lodge 373 in Fonthill turned out to be our last - sadly - before all Masonic meetings were cancelled the next day due to the Corona Virus (COVID19) which has effectively shut down most of the world's public activities. On this evening, in fact the OV of RWBro John Newton, DDGM Niagara 'B', I was able to present the short article written by RWBro Wallace McLeod, when he chaired the Education Committee, titled The Banner of Grand Lodge. Joining us, much to my surprise, in lodge was one of my early mentors and inspirations, RWBro Alan Donovan. As an EA about 15 years ago, while he was DDGM, I had the pleasure of golfing one fine day with him - without knowing what titles really were - and he explained so many things of relevance over those 18 holes, and I went on to meet with him again and produce a promotional and informative video for the York Rite called Fervancy...

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...

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...

On November 23, a new lodge was granted dispensation by our Grand Lodge in order for the brethren of Heredom Lodge UD to now provide Observant Masonry in Toronto. The ceremony was carried out in darkness with the exception of candle lights. The visitors entered the lodge room, while listening to Haydn's piece called "Die Schopfung" - translated as The Creation - and each then stood silently awaiting the entrance of the members of our other two Ontario-based Observant Lodges who would first sit in the officers chairs to open, and they were followed shortly thereafter by the soon-to-be seated officers of Heredom Lodge. After the traditional opening and Toronto Humber Valley's DDGM reading the dispensation, and a presentation delivered related to the music and its significant import, while "Im Anfange schuf Gott Himmel und Erde" was played - which translates to In the Beginning God created Heaven and Earth - and RW Bro Gareth Taylor provided insight in to t...

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.

After a lovely drive across highways through sunny weather, my wife and I arrived at the Holiday Inn in Kanata in the late afternoon, and soon thereafter departed along with the GJW and his wife to Bytown Lodge No 721 in Westboro. Along with the Grand Master, we were to participate, sitting in our respective chairs, in a Rededication and Recommitment ceremony, as the lodge was celebrating its 50th anniversary. Bytown Lodge, a proud Cornerstone lodge, is very active in Ottawa District 2, and after the ceremony they'd also planned a very special 6-course dinner. It was sold out. Bytown Lodge was formed in the late 60s primarily by former servicemen retiring from the Armed Forces, led by WBro Joe Johnston and RWBro Jim Heffel, with the help of Acacia Lodge who sponsored their application at Grand Lodge, and was constituted in October 11, 1969. A year later, in 1970, the Ottawa District, having grown to 30 lodges, soon was split into two: Ottawa 1 and Ottawa 2, as it remains today.

After a rather hectic day, filled with surprises, I ended up in the East - coming in before the DDGM, per protocol at an Official Visit, for the first time - at Doric Lodge on Thursday. The Beaches Lodge won the Travelling Gavel, and that was a long time coming. The day had started with a meeting in the morning downtown with a group of researchers who require a business plan for their AI app in the Healthcare industry, and leaving there, 90 minutes later, I went to visit an old colleague to discuss some of his opportunities peeping up over the horizon, and from there I walked up the road on a now-blustery fall day to see my doctor. A few days prior, during Thanksgiving, I was felled by a great pain, an abdominal cramping in the stomach, which rotated to a pain in my lower back, and returning to my front - for several days - and on Holiday Monday, I told family members I would see a doctor to ascertain the cause. So, on Tuesday I duly called the doctor's office only to find out h...

Last night I met up with my sidekick our GJW, RWBro Mark Kapitan, at Hwy 6 and the 401 near Guelph, after taking 2 hours to get there, in order to then drive together into Waterloo (where I attended WLU from 1978 to 1981) to join the Grand Master on his visit to  Waterloo Lodge No 539 . The brethren, led by MWBro David Cameron, were investing VWBro David Churchill who was appointed Assistant Grand Director of Ceremonies in July, and also attending and receiving recognition was Grand Director of Ceremonies, RWBro Dan Graham. What was unique in this visit was noticing upon their walls an encased gavel, and upon closer inspection finding out it was the historic and well-known Kipling Gavel, a gavel given to WBro Snow in 1934, along with a personal and signed note. Also on the wall was an old copy of My Mother Lodge, a poem written by Kipling when he was in India and attended lodge there as a young man. Courtesy of W Bro David Findlay, in 1972 "Waterloo Lodge joined with three ot...

I was invited to visit Beach Lodge No 639 by my travelling sidekick, our GJW, RWBro Mark Kapitan, and on this evening at the temple in Stoney Creek the brethren were initiating a new member. It was an evening to sit back and enjoy the show. Beach Lodge has a storied history (as - come to think of it - most lodges do) and I presented the lapel pin to the candidate at the conclusion of the degree, and adorning the pin centrally beneath the S&C is a lighthouse, a reminder of their humble beginnings, meeting originally on the strip of beach adjacent to the waterfront. Very active in the district and vibrant, next month the lodge will initiate another Mason, albeit in their new home in Burlington. As was pointed out to me by the GJW, "The Strip was called Burlington Beach back then yet was still in the Hamilton Masonic Districts. We moved from the Beach Blvd in 1971 and went to the Building on Brant Street for 10 years having many PM's still involved from both moves. Then, ...

The long-serving Secretary of Chinguacousy Lodge No 738, Bro Roman Lipovsek, was awarded his William Mercer Wilson Medal for his service to Freemasonry on this evening, not having ever sat as an officer during his Masonic career, only serving for the cause of good, and it was an evening well attended by many of his friends, family members and Masons, and many current Grand Lodge Officers - such is the nature of our Craft. To receive this medal is an honour and to see someone in lodge wearing one is indeed rare. The presentation was attended also by the lodge's two Brampton city councillors, as well as the Acting Mayor, who presented - after lodge was closed - a certificate acknowledging and honouring Bro Liposek's achievement. "Land of Tall Pines", Chinguacousy Lodge, was Instituted on June 22, 1987, and Constituted on November 19, 1988. When the Grand Lodge of Canada West was formed, independent of the Grand Lodge of England, in October 1855, William Mercer Wilson...

On Saturday, September 21, Acacia Lodge No 430 held its last Installation and Investiture of its Officers at East Toronto Masonic Centre, which has now been sold, and the brethren will, as of October 1, begin to meet at the York Masonic Centre in Leaside. Acacia held its banquet (with a sumptuous array of food prepared by their own chef, and music supplied by a DJ, also a member) prior to the meeting, which was attended by many visitors, as well as guests, including members of the Grand Lodge of Philippines. The East Toronto Masonic Centre was built by members of Acacia over a century ago. This was the first meeting where I could not where my White Tie and Tails, as this meeting was held during the day. I don't have a Morning Suit and thus the ol' tuxedo was dusted off. WBro Jun Ogues was installed as Worshipful Master, and WBro Rodel Hernaez is now IPM of the lodge. According to their history, found on the Toronto East District website: "A preliminary meeting was h...

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, ...

It was the 150th anniversary celebration at Zeradatha Lodge No 220 in Uxbridge last night, and I learnt three things while sitting in the East, other than the members have met in various locations and currently meet in a temple that was built in 1962. The lodge was formed in 1869 shortly after both the Civil War and Confederation had taken place. Since forming, they remain a vibrant lodge, its members still tightly woven with the community in general and Uxbridge specifically.  History abounds in the lodge - from the huge painted scrolls (measuring over 7 feet in width and nearly 400 feet in length) to the Vimy Gavel and and Lt Col Sam Sharpe, DSO , who is a true Canadian hero. Sharpe was not only a proud member of the Zeradatha Lodge, but he was also a Member of Parliament, and only one of two who has ever gone to war while sitting in parliament and he was re-eleted to office while serving overseas. He helped to recruit an entire battalion from the Uxbridge area, who eventually...

Beach Lodge held a wonderful reception at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Hamilton for the Grand Junior Warden on this past Tuesday night and it was very well attended - and I was happily sitting in the West when the lodge went down to "refreshment" in order to admit the guests for the evening. There was a speech delivered regarding the three-fold history of the regalia presented, and also to the Masonic career of RWBro Mark Kapitan, highlighting not only his work with the College of Freemasonry, but also his rise in the various bodies he has joined and the respect the has gained across the jurisdiction since being initiated into the Craft. The Grand Master in his closing remarks mentioned the origins of our current Grand Lodge in England, which we traditionally understand was formed upon a meeting occurring at the Goose and Gridiron Pub on June 24th in 1717, based on a prior meeting held at the Apple Tree Tavern - yet this establishment apparently was not registered until ...

While driving down the QEW to Hamilton on the way to the Tuscan Lodge "Silver to Gold" centenary ceremony on Thursday, I passed by a car that had only just flipped over as the emergency vehicles were still arriving on the scene, a solemn reminder of how things can change in an instant. I did, however, arrive on time. After the ceremony had concluded, the Grand Master offered his insight with respect to change - and how a century ago, at the conclusion of WW1, society was changing. The men who joined lodges and especially those who created new ones, such as Tuscan Lodge No 551, certainly enjoyed the lessons of 'social and moral virtue' they were learning and happily passed along them to the next generation. The evening was dignified. Each of the officers proudly received their new gold-braided regalia respectively from their WM, WBro Harry Zulerons, who himself was quite awestruck by the proceedings, ably assisted by the Grand Chaplain, RWBro Dan Graham - while I...

For about fifteen years, members from various districts descend on Elmvale (halfway between Barrie and Wasaga Beach) to visit Coronation Lodge No 466 and enjoy a degree team that comprises past and current Grand Lodge officers. Last night I was sitting in the West and helped to raise a young Fellowcraft, Bro Andrew Robert, who was well-prepared and will enjoy his Masonic career after such a stellar lift-off, that was also witnessed by the Grand Master, MW Bro David J. Cameron, and Past Grand Master, Ronald Groshaw, as well as Georgian North's DDGM, and a fine array of men who volunteered their time to provide a great piece of ritual from start to finish. In the category of Loudest Knocks of the Masonic year 2019-2020, the award would certainly be earned thus far by the tandem of VW Bro Bill Edmonds (IG) and RW Bro Clark Winters (OG). There was a beef BBQ - with proceeds going toward the District Charity - made complete with a plentiful side offering of beans, held before lod...

Every once in a while you find out about a special evening, and this past Friday night on August 16 WBro Steve Spence drove to my place, then together we drove up to meet RWBro Mark Kapitan in King City to then as a trio drive onward to Bracebridge. We arrived after a few hours of engaging conversation while on the road in plenty of time to enjoy a pre-lodge meal before being properly lined up prior to entering, properly presented and offered our respective chairs, which were politely declined. The Grand Junior Warden and I sat in the East. On this special evening indeed, while attending Muskoka Lodge No. 360 on the occasion of their 49th Annual Visitors Night (which began when vacationing members who were in the Muskokas enjoyed a meeting before departing for their homes after a relaxing summer at the cottage) a candidate, Mr McIntyre, was then initiated by his Father, who had assumed the gavel, with his Grandfather sitting as IPM. The DDGM, RWBro R Meadows, also attended, as did ...

I joined Freemasonry in 2005 and on July 17 - a few days ago - it was announced that I had won the election for the office of Grand Senior Warden. Since being invested, and closing Grand Lodge last week, I have now bought a new tuxedo (with tails) and ordered my new regalia. The next year will see me criss-crossing the province, along with other Grand Lodge officers and the Grand Master, Most Worshipful David J. Cameron, visiting many lodges, talking with many brethren, while also attending many social events and official functions. Prior to being elected, I was often asked why I wanted to spend so much time away from my family, and spend so much money on the road if I were to win, and the answer was based on inspiration. Soon after joining my lodge, The Beaches Lodge, I delivered a brief presentation to a group of Masons who chaired the Long Range Planning Committee in each of their respective lodges in Toronto East District. Shortly thereafter I was asked to provide a similar ...