News for Art
David Kathman
By Lukas I. Alpert
Associated Press
March 18, 2003
NEW YORK -- For centuries, Masons have practiced their rituals and
ceremonies under a veil of secrecy, creating an air of mystery and, at
times, rousing suspicion among the uninitiated.
But now, with members getting older and enrollment dwindling, the New York
Grand Lodge is going on the offensive, hiring a publicist and placing ads to
recruit new members in a full-scale publicity blitz.
"Traditionally we wouldn't recruit people. We would wait for them to come to
us. But we understand times have changed, and we have to take a new approach
and lift this veil of secrecy," said Carl Fitje, grand master of the New
York State Freemasons.
"Besides," he said, "the only secrets we really have anymore are a few
handshakes."
To jump-start the campaign, the Masons are simplifying the procedure by
which a prospective member joins the group, offering a one-day class
compressing the rituals that normally could take up to a year to master.
Fitje, a retired New York police detective from Valley Stream, N.Y., hopes
the class will help the group grow by 5,000 or more members statewide.
The state organization has 65,000 members now, a mere fraction of its
membership in the early 1900s. (The New York Grand Lodge is open to men
only. Its sister group, the Order of the Eastern Star, is open to women and
has 48,000 members.)
Fitje acknowledged that some tradition-minded members have complained about
watering down the rituals.
Some Masons object
"Anytime you change procedure, you're going to have some grumbling," Fitje
said. "I don't look at this as a change of tradition, but a step into the
future."
The rituals of the Free and Accepted Masons, as the group is formally known,
trace back to the traditions of the stonemason guilds in Europe in the late
Middle Ages, said Tom Savini, head librarian at the Robert R. Livingston
Masonic Library and Museum.
"Really, the secret gestures and handshakes were just a way of identifying
yourself as a trained mason if you moved to a new area," Savini said. "And a
lot of those traditions have lasted until this day."
The secretive nature of the rituals became part of the tradition, as well.
As the groups evolved from craft guilds into more fraternal organizations,
biblical references and religious symbolism worked their way into the
traditions.
The Freemasons don't advocate a particular faith, but members must believe
in a supreme being.
That created a backlash from some established churches, whose leaders
complained the Masons were dabbling in spiritual territory that should be
left to organized religion, Savini noted.
Declaration signers
By the 18th Century, Freemasons began establishing lodges in newly formed
communities in the New World. They made quick headway -- 15 of the 56
signers of the Declaration of Independence and 28 of the 40 who signed the
Constitution were Masons.
Along with the rise of other fraternal organizations such as the Rotary and
Kiwanis Clubs, the Masons reached their greatest numbers in the early 20th
Century, with nearly 350,000 in New York state by 1929.
But the group's membership declined steadily in the second half of the
century, mirroring a trend seen in other fraternal organizations.
"The thing that did a lot of these organizations in was the Great Depression
and the creation of a social safety net," said Steven Bullock, a professor
at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an author of several books about
Freemasons and early American history.
Fitje acknowledges that the group's secretive nature, which has defined it
for centuries, is now a hindrance to broadening the group's appeal.
"In earlier times, people knew about the Masons because there were prominent
members in the government and in big business," he said. "Nowadays people
don't know who we are, and that's what we're hoping to change."
At the Masons museum, Camacho was happy to point out how membership makes a
difference. "We had New York's most famous mayor," he said, pointing to a
portrait of Fiorello La Guardia.
Most famous? Didn't Rudolph Giuliani gain worldwide acclaim in the months
after Sept. 11?
"That may be true," Camacho conceded. "But Giuliani is not a Mason."
Copyright © 2003, Chicago Tribune
Art Neuendorffer
> The secret is out: Masons are recruiting
<<"Traditionally we wouldn't recruit people. We would wait for them to come
to
us. But we understand times have changed, and we have to take a new approach
and lift this veil of secrecy," said Carl Fitje, grand master of the New
York State Freemasons.
"Besides," he said, "the only secrets we really have anymore
are a few handshakes.">>
Mr. Robinson: "Shaking hands!
Well that's not saying much for the bard of Avon, is it?"
Traditionally anti-Stratfordian ideas wouldn't be allowed to see the light
of day. But times have changed, and we have to take a new approach to lift
this veil of secrecy.
Art Neuendorffer
David L. Webb
"David Kathman" <dj...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
This is indeed a great opportunity for Art -- now that Freemasons
have lowered the bar so significantly, Art might qualify.
However, the organization that's truly TAILOR-made for Art is the
International Order of Odd Fellows. Art is a natural candidate for
Grand Master.
Art Neuendorffer
"David L. Webb" <david....@dartmouth.edu> wrote
> This is indeed a great opportunity for Art -- now that Freemasons
> have lowered the bar so significantly, Art might qualify.
Well they at least moved the bar:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://members.eisa.net.au/~hutch/uk1999/templebar/templebar.html
<<Temple Bar can be found just south of the Lieutenant Ellis Way
(formerly known as the Flamstead End relief road).
51:41:22 N 0:03:33 W
The Bar was first erected in its present form in 1672 to replace the
wooden bar that was destroyed by the Great Fire of London. It was
designed by Sir Christopher Wren and stood as a gateway to Fleet Street
at its junction with The Strand. The bar was used to display heads of
traitors on iron spikes that protruded from the top of the main arch.
The last heads displayed were those of Townley and Fletcher, who were
taken at the Siege of Carlisle and executed in 1746. The Court of the
Common Council finally decided to move the bar so as to widen Fleet
Street to accommodate increasing traffic. The bar was dismantled and
transported to a vacant lot in Farringdon Street. To have a look at
where it was located click here (its still shown and known as Temple
Bar).
Temple Bar moved from Fleet Street in London and reassembled in
Theobalds Park in 1889. The structure was one of the eight gates that
surrounded the old City of London (the others were Aldersgate, Aldgate,
Bishopsgate, Cripplegate, Ludgate, Moorgate and Newgate) and was the
third Temple Bar, built in 1672. It may have been designed by Sir
Christopher Wren - although this is by no means certain. It stood for
over 200 years at the junction of Fleet Street and The Strand in London,
near the Temple Inns of Court, until dismantled by the Corporation of
London in 1878 and replaced by the present City Dragon structure. Ten
years later the 1,000+ stones were bought by the Meux family and
re-erected at Theobalds at a cost of over £10,000. Although there have
been plans put forward to have Temple Bar returned to the City, and a
Trust was set up for this purpose in 1985, it still stands in Theobalds
Park, in poor condition, until a new home can be decided upon.. The
four statues of Elizabeth I, Charles I, Charles II and James I which
stood two on each side have been removed from their positions above the
arch. Until recently it was not easy to see Temple Bar up close, but a
relatively new public bridleway from Bulls Cross Road now leads past it.
While Temple Bar was in the ownership of Lady Meux she regularly
entertained guests in its upper chamber; King Edward VII, The Prince of
Wales and Winston Churchill are believed to have dined there. The site
of Theobalds Palace lies to the east of the A10 and to the south of
Theobalds Lane. James I died at Theobalds in 1625 and was succeeded by
Charles I who spent much of his childhood there.
Although [Charles I] hardly ever returned in later life, it was from
Theobalds that he rode forth to Nottingham to raise his standard in the
Civil War. During the war the palace was much plundered and defaced.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Jules VERnE
http://www.naturescapesgallery.com/msneffel.html
http://www.educeth.ethz.ch/stromboli/index-e.html
Snæffels(1,833 m.) => 64:48 N 15.15 W
halfway point (shipnavigation) => 51:47½ N 0.01½ W
Golding's Woods (Hertford Heath) => 51:47 N 0.01½ W
Theobalds/ Temple Bar => 51:41 N 0:03 W
Stromboli(924 m.) => 38:47 N 15:12 E
------------------------------------------------------------------
http://members.eisa.net.au/~hutch/uk1999/templebar/templebar.html
<<While Temple Bar was in the ownership of Lady Meux she regularly
entertained guests in its upper chamber; King Edward VII, The Prince
of Wales & Winston CHURCHILL are believed to have dined there.
James I died at Theobalds in 1625 and was succeeded
by Charles I who spent much of his childhood there.>>
October 14, 1633, James II born to Charles I & Henriette Marie. As Duke
of York during his brother Charles II's reign, he was an open Catholic,
marrying Ann of Modena. Their son was the Old Pretender. Through his
mistress Arabella CHURCHILL, he was an ancestor of Princess Diana.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
"David L. Webb" <david....@dartmouth.edu> wrote
> However, the organization that's truly TAILOR-made for Art is the
> International Order of Odd Fellows. Art is a natural candidate for
> Grand Master.
------------------------------------------------------------------
April 26, 1564, Will Shakspere baptized
+255
------------------
April 26, 1819, Mon. Independent Order of Odd Fellows founded
July 12, 1819, Mon. CHARLES [K]INGSLEY born
Nov 22, 1819, Mon. GEORGE [E]LIOT ([E]vans, MARIAN) born.
May 31, 1819, Mon. WALT [W]HITMAN born
Aug 23, 1819, Mon. OLIVER HAZARD Perry died on 34th birthday
May 24, 1819, Mon. Victoria born on grandfather's 81st birthday
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Art Neuendorffer