Masonic Miscellanea

Masonic Miscellanea

Brethren are invited to send in material for display on this page - the only requirement is that it be of Masonic interest. Click on a picture to obtain a larger version.

This plaque appears on the plinth of the Statue of Liberty, and relates to a time when working tools appear to have been more than symbolic. The wording on the plaque is as follows:

   ON THIS SITE ON AUGUST 5TH, 1884, THE CORNERSTONE OF THE PEDESTAL
   OF THE STATUE OF  "LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD"  WAS LAID WITH
   CEREMONY  BY  WILLIAM A. BRODIE,  GRAND MASTER OF MASONS  IN  THE
   STATE OF NEW YORK.   GRAND LODGE MEMBERS,  REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
   UNITED STATES  AND  FRENCH GOVERNMENTS,  ARMY AND NAVY  OFFICERS,
   MEMBERS OF FOREIGN LEGATIONS,  AND  DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS   WERE
   PRESENT.  THIS PLAQUE IS DEDICATED  BY  THE MASONS OF NEW YORK IN
   COMMEMORATION  OF  THE  100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THAT HISTORIC EVENT.

Beneath are the names of M.W. Calvin G. Bond, Grand Master of Masons, M.W. Arthur Markewice, Masonic Anniversary Chairman, and R.W. Robert C. Singer, Deputy Grand Master. The plaque is dated August 5th, 1984.

While the statue itself was the work of Frederic Bertholdi (a Freemason himself) the internal structure owes its design to one Gustave Eiffel (yet another Freemason), who is probably better known for his Parisian tour de force.

W.Bro. G. Meachen 09/07/09

This picture was taken from a passing
car while in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
Intrigued by the connection between
sportswear and Masonry, it was
investigated further on foot. The Temple
is located above the shop, with access
via a tiny porchway or entrance on the
south side.

Within the porch is this sign, showing that the
Lodge has a charter signed by a rather well-known
figure in those parts - M.W. Paul Revere.

Presumably he rode to meetings . . .

W.Bro. G. Meachen 21/10/00

Apocrypha
Recently I was given a small ritual book entitled "The Irish Workings of Craft Masonry", reputed to have belonged to my grandfather. In it was a folded, yellowing page cut from an autobiography of some one regrettably unknown, with the following paragraphs marked:

'A third story connected with Doneraile: it is famous for an event which I believe is unique in the history of Freemasonry. It was at this old Irish house that the only woman Mason was initiated. The Lord Doneraile of the time, a Mason of high standing, had converted his gunroom into a Masonic Temple. There was only one exit from this room into the main hall of the house, and the only other means of entering or leaving was by way of a small staircase which led up to a chamber in which certain articles were stored. This chamber had no other exit, which meant that anyone in the small room could not get back into the main portion of the house without passing through the gunroom.
Lady Doneraile had gone through the gunroom into the small chamber some time before the Masons began their meeting. She had either dozed, or her mission had taken longer than she expected, but when she began to leave she found her way blocked by the meeting. She also discovered that she could hear every word that was being spoken.
Eventually she gave away her position and it was decided by the perturbed Masons that she must take an oath of secrecy and also conform to the laws of Masonry.'

I would be very interested if anyone can throw any light on this (presumably apocryphal) anecdote. Very little information is contained about the author on the single page, but it appears that his grandfather, one General George Selby, owned a house called 'Velmead' which stood (or may even still stand, though in these days of infill building this appears unlikely) somewhere in the Crookham area.

Addendum - many thanks to C. Castellini for this URL relating to the clipping:
http://www.iol.ie/~nodonnel/doncourt.htm

W.Bro. G. Meachen 23/12/02