My Year In The Grand West

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...