Skyscraper

At 22 stories (302 feet) tall, when it was built in 1897, the Chicago Masonic Temple was the world's tallest structure, with an impressive Lodge room at the very top.  It was so dominant a feature on the Chicago skyline, it brought the word "skyscraper" into popular use. From the top visitors claimed they could see Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Built to last at least a century, wrecking crews demolished it after only 47 years.  Two factors led to its demise.  First, built at a time when architects did not know much about the logistics of tall buildings, several of its rooms at the top served as theaters and places for social gatherings. Unfortunately, the elevators could not handle the large crowds going to those places and the building fell out of favor as a social venue.  Then, in 1939, Chicago began building the State Street subway, which ran underneath the building and would have required an expensive retrofitting of its foundation.  Given that, and the fact that the social set had long since gone elsewhere, the great Chicago Masonic Temple came down.

The Argonaut

Simon Lake, a member of New Jersey's Monmouth Lodge 172, invented the submarine in 1894.  He built the first working unit, the Argonaut, in 1897 and founded the Lake Submarine Company, making a career out of building submarines and consulting to governments wanting to manufacture them.  Even before the turn of the century he had a design so sophisticated he developed a unit with locking chambers so divers could enter and exit the craft.

A New Sport

James Naismith, a member of Roswell Lee Lodge in Massachusetts and Lawrence Lodge 6 in Kansas, held degrees in philosophy, religion and physical education.  He was also an ordained Presbyterian minister and Medical Doctor.  Coaching track at the Springfield, Massachusetts YMCA in 1891, he was confronted with a class of rowdy boys with too much time on their hands in the winter.  In an effort to channel his track team's energy constructively, he invented a new sport the athletes could play inside in the winter. The object was to throw a "soft ball" into a peach basket.  The basket was suspended 10 feet above the floor to prevent "rough protecting of the goal" as Brother Naismith had observed in other sports.  The sport became very popular and proponents suggested naming it "Naismith Ball." Brother Naismith was too modest to accept that and instead named it after those suspended goals, calling it by its common name today: basketball.

Mauritius Cathedral

Francis Edward Rawdon-Hastings, Second Earl of Moira became British Governor General of India in 1813.  He served as 46th Grand Master Mason of Scotland in 1806-07 and Acting Grand Master to H.R.H. George, Prince of Wales 1790-1813.  Upon leaving to become Governor General, the Grand Lodge also appointed him Acting Grand Master of India.  He set sail for his new post and along the way made port on the small island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar.  There, at the request of the citizens of Port Louis, who had learned of his credentials, he laid the cornerstone of the town's new Catholic Cathedral, which is still in use.

No Fighting

A resolution in Massachusetts' Bristol Lodge, founded in 1797, read as follows: "No liquor shall be brought into the Lodge except by order of the Master. Fighting is forbidden during the opening or within 30 minutes of the closing of the Lodge."

Something I've Been Meaning To Do

I haven't lost interest in posting here, but I've turned my attention to something I've been meaning to do for quite a while and have been putting off.  I've been working on uploading my first book to Kindle. 

A few years ago, I wrote a daily blog unrelated to Masonry, and had that on Kindle.  That was a pretty easy process.  Basically, I just pushed the "Hey, Amazon, put this blog on Kindle" button and that was it.  Getting a full book on Kindle is a more complex process. 

On my first attempt to upload the manuscript, I was greeted with "UNKNOWN ERROR."  That was helpful.  Long story short, Kindle doesn't want any formatting and is not fond of pictures.  I'm a picture-kinda-guy and had to strip all pictures out and just submit text, then put the pictures back in one-by-one.  Wah-wah-wah.

I also discovered Kindle (except for the Kindle Fire) won't wrap text around pictures.  I'm putting material from this blog into my next book and had hoped to be able to do that.  Back to the drawing board.  FYI, the Nook format is even a little tougher, because it has file size limitations and, yep, pictures really eat into that.

Anyway, I'll keep posting here, but that's why I haven't been doing so regularly lately.

As far as the book goes, it's out there, but no plugs here.  I'd rather have you join the Missouri Lodge of Research and get a free hardbound copy.

The Goose And Gridiron

The ancient society of the Swan and Lyre, dating back to 1500, described itself as a "Worshipful company of Musicians," and was an effort to organize London minstrels into a guild.  It used as its symbol a swan standing on a crest beneath a lyre and ultimately met at a local tavern.  In the 18th century the tavern owners, in a not-so-veiled attempt to mock the pretentious name of the society, designed a crest with a goose standing in front of a griddle, and named the tavern the Goose and Gridiron.  There, on June 24, 1717, four Lodges met to form what has become modern Freemasonry.

Statue Of Liberty Cornerstone

Officers from the Grand Lodge of New York laid the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty on August 5, 1884.  On August 5, 1984, officers of the Grand Lodge of New York dedicated a plaque on the same spot, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the event.

Catch A Man Before You Hang Him

It's common knowledge the "shot heard 'round the world" started the American Revolution. Lesser known is the fact that Commodore Abraham Whipple fired the first shot of the revolution on the water when he captured the British sloop Rose. Earlier, in 1772, Whipple also led the first uprising against a British ship when he captured and burned the British schooner Gaspee. Whipple and most of his raiding party that overtook the Gaspee were members of St. John's Lodge 1 in Providence, Rhode Island. After the Rose incident, the sloop's captain Sir James Wallace sent Whipple an angry message: "You, Abraham Whipple, on the 10th of June, 1772, burned His Majesty's vessel, the Gaspee, and I will hang you at the yard-arm. –James Wallace." To this, Brother Whipple replied, "To Sir James Wallace, Sir: Always catch a man before you hang him. –Abraham Whipple"

Poor Man / Rich Man

Coming to the California gold rush late, Brother Alvin Hayward entered a partnership with four other miners and purchased a claim in 1853. The group worked the mine for four years after which his discouraged partners declared it worthless and abandoned Hayward. Completely destitute, Brother Hayward had no choice but to continue working the mine alone. He spent a grueling year continuing to work the mine when, in 1858, he struck a huge vein of gold. With that good fortune, Brother Haywood eventually became the richest man in the state and went on to become High Priest of Sutter Creek Chapter 11. He was so rich he presented the Chapter with a golden altar and solid gold jewels of office.

The Funeral Omnibus

George Shillibeer, Globe Lodge 23 of London, had a successful carriage business, specializing in the manufacture of elegant hearses. He invented a way to make carriages longer and larger than ever before and manufactured those, calling his huge vehicle an "omnibus." With that, he established London's omnibus system, a forerunner of the bus system running there today. Given his successes with those two types of vehicles, he also invented a carriage which combined a hearse and a bus. The public's cool reception and short life of Brother Shillibeer's "Funeral Omnibus" confirms that not all ideas are good ones.

Costa Rica

Father Francisco Calvo, a Jesuit Priest, traveled to Peru in 1865. There a group of Catholic priests introduced him to Freemasonry. Father Calvo was so impressed by the Craft, he was initiated, returned home to Costa Rica and founded Freemasonry in that country. Brother Calvo went on to establish Lodge Caridad 26, where he became Master. He was instrumental in founding the Scottish Rite in Costa Rica and became its first Sovereign Grand Commander, serving in that position until his death nearly 25 years later.

The First Lodge

Freemasonry began in the United States on July 30, 1733. On that date, Brother Henry Price and 18 other men met at the Bunch of Grapes Tavern on King Street in Boston and organized the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, under the authority of Lord Montague, Grand Master of England. At the same meeting they instituted "The First Lodge," which today is St. John's Lodge.