Kit Carson

Traveling with soldiers in 1849, Christopher "Kit" Carson (1809-1868) came upon an abandoned Apache settlement. Here, Carson found the body of Ann White, who had been killed just minutes before his arrival when the Apaches had left the camp. Among her belongings, Carson found a copy of the dime novel, "Kit Carson," by Charles Averill. The book portrayed Carson as a great hero. Carson surmised Mrs. White somehow knew he was close and might rescue her. The incident haunted Carson for the rest of his life. He spoke of it many times and wrote about it in his memoirs. Brother Kit Carson was a member of Missouri chartered Montezuma Lodge #109 (today Montezuma Lodge #1) in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The Mystery of the Rolling Rock "33"

The mysterious number "33" appearing on the back of Rolling Rock beer cans and bottles has led to speculation that, among other theories, it refers to the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite. The company has explained it as a printer's error.  A company executive had written the number at the end of the text referring to the number of words in the blurb. The printer thought it was meant to be there and included it.  Rather than remove the number, the company left it there and has gotten a lot of mileage out of the speculation surrounding it.

War And Peace

It is said more people have falsely claimed to have read his book "War and Peace" than any other.  In that book, Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) mentions Freemasonry no less than 89 times, includes several characters who are Freemasons. and describes a Masonic initiation in such detail that many assume he was a Freemason.  In fact, no record of his membership exists and it is unlikely he ever became a member.  For most of his life Freemasonry was forbidden in Russia and by the time it returned, he was old and in poor health.

First Successful Open-Heart Surgery

In July 1893, a young victim was rushed to Provident Hospital in Chicago with a near fatal stab wound. With the knife still embedded in the man's heart, hospital founder and Surgeon Daniel Hale Williams performed the first known successful open-heart surgery in order to save the victim's life.  Dr. Williams had a long list of medical accomplishments including service on the Illinois State Board of Health and a presidential appointment as Surgeon-in-Chief at Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C.  Named to the list of the 100 Greatest African Americans in 2001, Dr. Williams was a Prince Hall Freemason.

Dr. Williams' patient in that first successful open-heart surgery, lived for 50 years following the procedure.

The Wooden Gun

In 1832, his father sent him on a voyage to learn the seaman's trade.  But Samuel Colt (1814-1862) was more interested in mechanical things, having grown up working in his father's factory.  On the voyage, he observed the mechanics of the ships wheel, discovering "regardless of which way the wheel was spun, each spoke always came in direct line with a clutch that could be set to hold it." The motion gave the eighteen-year-old an idea and the revolving pistol was born.  Having nothing else to work with on the ship, he built the world's first revolving pistol out of wood, and went on to make a fortune as the founder of founder of Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company. Brother Colt was a member of St. John's Lodge 4, Hartford, Connecticut.

Roscoe And Gilmore

Brother Roscoe Turner, 32° (1895–1970), Corinth Lodge 116, Corinth, Mississippi, was a pioneer American flier.  Congress awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1952 but, unbelievably, the military turned down his application to become a pilot in World War I.  After serving as a driver in the war, Turner went on to become the country's top barnstorming ace, operated the world's first high speed airline and held almost every air speed record of his day. The public, however, probably best knew him as the barnstorming pilot who traveled the country with his pet lion.  The lion, Gilmore, was a promotion for the Gilmore Oil Company, which used a lion as its symbol.  Turner was said even to sleep in the same room with Gilmore and pictures, perhaps staged, may support the claim.

Jacques DeMolay's Dying Vow

As he was being bound to the stake in preparation for his execution, Jacques DeMolay, Last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is said to have invoked a curse on his persecutors.  He vowed that King Phillip of France and Pope Clement would join him at the throne of God within a year to account for their sins.  Both Phillip and Clement died within a year after DeMolay's martyrdom.