The Iowa Corn Song

Des Moines Brother George E. Hamilton wrote Iowa's "unofficial" state song, the "Iowa Corn Song," for Za-Ga-Zig Shriners to sing at a Shriner's convention in Los Angeles in 1912. The song became extremely popular, with other composers chiming in with their own verses. Brother Hamilton didn't copyright it, not realizing he had written a runaway hit.

The Royal Arch House

The 1832 election pitted Brother Andrew Jackson against Anti-Masonic Party candidate William Wirt. Paul Boynton, a fervent Freemason, declared if his state, Vermont, voted for Wirt, he would leave. As it would happen, Vermont was the only state Wirt took and, true to his word, Brother Boynton moved to Canton, NY. There, to demonstrate his loyalty to the craft, he built "The Royal Arch House," where he lived for the remainder of his life. The building was replete with Masonic symbolism including a central room known as "The Third Veil" and a hidden secret chamber where Masonic Lodges in the area met throughout the peak of the anti-Masonic period.

Freedom Fighters

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Arquitechtura Moral Lodge of Mexico City, and Francisco I. Madero, Lealtad Lodge 15 of Mexico City, led Mexican revolutions exactly a century apart. Both, considered heroes and freedom fighters, were jointly honored when Mexico issued a silver ten-peso coin in 1960, bearing their likenesses. Brother Madero became President of Mexico for a short time but was overthrown in a counter-revolution. He was captured and executed in 1913 while "attempting to escape." Brother Hidalgo faced a firing squad in 1811. The government beheaded his body after his execution, impaled his head on a stake and, as a warning to other insurgents, left it on public display for ten years!

Freedom Fighters

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Arquitechtura Moral Lodge of Mexico City, and Francisco I. Madero, Lealtad Lodge 15 of Mexico City, led Mexican revolutions exactly a century apart.  Both, considered heroes and freedom fighters, were jointly honored when Mexico issued a silver 20 peso coin in 1960, bearing their likenesses.  Brother Madero became President of Mexico for a short time but was overthrown in a counter-revolution.  He was captured and executed in 1913 while "attempting to escape."  Brother Hidalgo faced a firing squad in 1811.  The government beheaded his body after his execution, impaled his head on a stake and, as a warning to other insurgents, left it on public display for ten years!

Sharpshooters

Christian Sharps, a member of Meridian Sun Lodge 58 in Philadelphia, was a machinist who invented the famous Sharps breech-loading rifle in 1848. An important part of the Civil War, the iconic rifle was used by Colonel Hiram Berdan's elite regiment. Owing to the weapons they used, these expert riflemen earned the name "Berdan's Sharpshooters," originating the term still in common use to designate a highly skilled marksman: sharpshooter.

Don Benito

Benjamin Davis Wilson, Los Angeles Lodge 42 and Pentalphia Lodge 202, was a California statesman who became the second Mayor of Los Angeles.  Mount Wilson and the famed observatory that sits atop it were named in his honor.  At a time of acts of unspeakable violence toward them, Native Americans called him Don Benito because of his benevolence toward the tribes in his area.  Brother Wilson is also the grandfather of World War II General George S. Patton, Jr., a man not known for benevolence toward anyone.

Black Sam

Samuel Fraunces, Holland Lodge 8 of New York City, owned the Fraunces Tavern in New York and served as George Washington's household steward from 1789-94. Born in the West Indies, Brother Fraunces was called "Black Sam," indicating he was an African American.  Portraiture, however shows a light-skinned individual and confuses speculation about his heritage.  Researchers have suggested he might have been the son of black and white parents but the fact is, his race remains unknown.

The Illumination

John Fitzgerald Kennedy participated in a Masonic Ceremony on October 6, 1962.  While flying over the area, JFK pushed a button which, by remote control, illuminated a statue the Grand Lodge of Illinois was rededicating.  The statue in downtown Chicago honored Brothers George Washington, Robert Morris and Haym Solomon.

It's Not Polite To Stare

Andrew Bell, primary founder of Encyclopedia Britannica, Holyrood House Lodge 44 of Edinburgh Scotland, was a diminutive man who stood only 4 foot 6 inches tall.  Despite his small stature, the proud Bell always rode the tallest horse he could get. He mounted and dismounted his horse using a ladder, many times to the cheers of onlookers. His features included an enormous nose which occasionally drew stares.  Brother Bell fashioned an even larger paper mache nose, which he could affix over his already large beak and when he caught people gawking, he would put the fake nose on and gawk back giving them the graphic message that it's not polite to stare.

Ecuador Hats?

Eloy Alfaro was an Ecuadorian liberator and President of the country from 1906-11.  His Lodge is unknown, but his Masonic status is not in doubt: his anti-Masonic successor as President had him imprisoned and ultimately killed for being a Freemason!  Following his presidential term, Brother Alfaro lived in Panama in exile.  While there, he imported toquilla hats from Ecuador and sold them to finance his revolution.  The hats were immensely popular and since they came from Panama, were assumed to have originated there.  Named to reflect that fact, "Panama hats" were introduced to the world by Brother Eloy Alfaro, and they actually come from Ecuador.

Impostors

A fraternity that performs so many charitable acts is bound to be the target of fraud.  Those impersonating Masons for financial gain and those appealing to Masonic charities under false pretenses have been around almost as long as the order itself.  Today, with the Internet and mass media, word can spread quickly when a charlatan surfaces.  In times past, such communication was slower and more difficult.  In 1859, Rob Morris, founder of the Eastern Star, published "The Prudence Book." Updated annually, it was an attempt to publish information about impostors, but was discontinued after a short run.  It was found easier to print and distribute "broadsides" as Lodges discovered impostors.  Here is an example of one notice warning Lodges of an impostor from the 19th century.  It reads (sic):

CAUTION! MASONIC LODGE OF RELIEF, MASONIC TEMPLE, Baltimore, July 24, 1877.  A man calling himself "HERBERT SYDNEY," professing to hail from Langthorne Lodge, Stratford, Essex, England is an IMPOSTER.  Information has been received from Langthorne Lodge that no such person is known there. DESCRIPTION. Height about 5 feet 6 or 7 inches: complexion dark: black hair and eyes: bald patch on top of head; hair somewhat thin: black mustache. Professes to be a portrait painter, and ruined by the fire at St. John's, Canada, in June 1876. Reports from Masonic Lodge at St. John's, say that no portrait painter of that name ever lived there, but there had been one named Sydney Herbert Gadsen. The Fraternity is hereby warned against this person, and is furthermore advised to have him arrested, if possible, for obtaining, or attempting to obtain money under false pretenses. He was in Baltimore about a month ago, and succeeded in swindling the Fraternity to a small extent. He then went to Washington, DC. He is believed to be now tramping about, victimizing Masonic Lodges, and the St. Georges Societies. ALBERT LYMAN., M. D., Secretary.

A Soft Baritone Voice

Nat "King" Cole, a member of Thomas Waller Lodge 49 in Los Angeles, was an American jazz pianist, singer and one of the first African Americans to have his own television show.  Since his death in 1965, he has remained enormously popular worldwide, adding five posthumous Grammys to the single one he received during his lifetime.  Cole owed his success to a soft baritone voice.  He was convinced smoking enhanced his rich singing tone and maintained a three-pack-a-day habit during his adult years.  Prior to each recording session, he would smoke several cigarettes in quick succession to enhance the effect. Regrettably, the practice took his life at the young age of 45 when he died of lung cancer in 1965.

Creating An American Icon

Danny Thomas (1912 - 1991), a member of Gothic Lodge 270 in Hamilton Square, New Jersey, was an American night club entertainer, television Star, producer and the founder of the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Born Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz, Brother Thomas was best known for his role in the television show Make Room for Daddy.  A devout Roman Catholic, Brother Thomas was also an avid golfer with a handicap of ten, one of the original owners of the Miami Dolphins, the sponsor of two PGA tour tournaments and the first non-Jewish member of Hillcrest country club in Los Angeles.

In a 1960 episode of his TV show, Thomas was inadvertently responsible for creating an American icon.  In that episode, a country-bumpkin sheriff stopped Thomas' character for speeding.  The plot followed Thomas' trials and tribulations while dealing with the small town sheriff, who was also the town judge and newspaper editor.  That popular episode turned out to be a pilot for one of TV's most enduring shows, featuring the exploits of that country sheriff, played by Andy Griffith.  Griffith was not a Freemason, but held the Fraternity in high regard and actually got his comedic start playing summers at the Dare County Shrine Club.

Brother Thomas was also a member of the Scottish Rite and Al Malaikah Shrine.  He received the Congressional Gold Medal and in 2012, the US Postal Service honored him by issuing a "Forever" stamp recognizing his humanitarian accomplishments.

Astronomical Recognition

Brother John Wallis, Lodge unknown, was an English mathematician who was a co-developer of infinitesimal calculus.  He was one of the founders of England's Royal Society, a renowned group still in existence which supports scientific achievement and advancement.  He served as the chief cryptographer for Parliament (1643-1689) and a member of the Royal Court.  He also introduced the modern symbol for infinity: ∞. Overshadowed by some of his peers in the founding of the Royal Society and the development of calculus (e.g., Isaac Newton), he has remained largely forgotten.  However, in 2000, he was recognized for his accomplishments when astronomers named a newly discovered main-belt asteroid "31982 Johnwallis."

Fluent In Ten Languages

Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) was a member of Lodge Minerva in Leipzig, Germany.  He founded homeopathy, a branch of medicine based on the principle that a disease could be cured by drugs that would produce symptoms of itself in a healthy person.  Brother Hahnemann's research led him to study and translate texts in several languages. Over the course of his lifetime in addition to his native language of German, he became fluent in English, French, Italian, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Syriac, Chaldaic and Hebrew.

Devastating Day

In what was certainly the most devastating day of his life, Theodore Roosevelt's mother and wife both died on the same day, February 14, 1884, Valentine's day.

The double tragedy so crushed the 25-year old future president that he quit politics and left New York, moving to the "Badlands" in the Dakota territories.