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...

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 bo...

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...

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 Temperenc...

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 ...