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...

On Friday, Feb 7, the GJW, RWBro Mark Kapitan, and I visited King Hiram 566 at the Annette Street Temple in Toronto West District on the occasion of the Official Visit of RWBro John McLaughlin, DDGM, and to witness an Initiation on this evening, led by WBro John Lebedev, who was ably assisted by a wonderfully skilled line of officers, who were joined in the South by WBro Jamie Low, as King Hiram's JW had to attend family matters. Sidebar. John North Willys was a Freemason - in addition to Bros Ford, Chrysler and Olds - and it was his company that eventually created the Jeep... "Traced back to the purchase of the Overland Automotive Division of the Standard Wheel Company in 1908 by John North Willys, this young and initially struggling company was renamed the Willys-Overland Motor Company in 1912," as taken from this site . And the connection as taken from King Hiram's own Lodge History to the Canadian side of his company is found on their website: "In the ye...