Freemasonry is a post-collegiate mostly-all male fraternity dedicated to the social development of the member to form a broader sense of the self and their community.
“Have you ever been experienced? Well…I have.” -Jimi Hendrix
I was listening to the Are You Experienced album by Jimi Hendrix the other day. I listen to the album in its entirety about once a month. I find it incredibly inspirational. Every time that I hear the opening riff to Purple Haze I feel like I’m hearing it for the first time. It is so fresh, so original, and so futuristic…even though the album was released 43 years ago.
At this point, many of you are probably asking, “What does this have to do with Masonry?” Well, I’ll tell you.
One of the greatest characteristics that Jimi Hendrix possessed was that he really challenged the natural order of things. Many of his peers felt threatened by his musical prowess and originality. Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and even John Lennon and Paul McCartney felt that Hendrix may possess the ability to put them out of business. Some respected him for that. Some did not.
Hendrix also represented the counter-culture of the 60’s, but in a different way than many of his contemporaries. He didn’t discuss his political philosophy by an outright partisan protest, but rather by passive suggestions and asking rhetorical questions about the state of world affairs. He used his music and his celebrity as a way to open people’s minds instead of drawing a divisive line in the sand. In a lot of ways, Freemasonry is intended to do this for its initiates.
Freemasonry has always challenged the natural order of the world. For centuries, religious organizations and governments have opposed its “questionable motives.” They oppose it for a good reason: Freemasonry promotes individual enlightenment and the right of every man to find his path to a greater existence. Not surprisingly, in order to accomplish those goals a man must challenge his preconceived opinions on spirituality, politics, and philosophy. This makes it difficult for a man belonging to the Masonic fraternity to be controlled by his church or his government.
Unfortunately, one of the problems with Freemasonry today is that we no longer require our initiates to open their minds and challenge their beliefs. We no longer get “experienced.”
There are many reasons for this. One of the major issues facing Freemasonry today is that our organization is very concerned about discrediting any accusations of sinister activities by our fraternity. We spend a lot of time and money on institutionalized charity and removing any mystery surrounding the order in order to combat any unfavorable opinions about Masonry. When mentoring our candidates, we turn our degrees from deep, philosophical allegories into shallow fables. Most Masons don’t do any sort of Masonic research on their own and they certainly don’t receive any in lodge. Today’s Masonry is a charitable civic organization, where a man improves himself simply by joining. We talk about turning the rough ashlar into the perfect ashlar, but we don’t actually pick up the chisel and attempt to transform ourselves.
Of course, some men do experience a transformation because they are diligent in their Masonic studies. I certainly changed a lot of my views and opinions after becoming a Mason. It challenged many preconceived notions that I held. At first, I resisted the new ideas that were floating around in my head, but I finally allowed reason be the victor. I truly feel like I got “experienced.” Sadly, many of our initiates never have this feeling. They never see Freemasonry as being anything more than a set of rituals, a charitable organization, or a social club. They completely miss its complex intricacies. Of course, this makes the questions from our candidates simpler and much easier to answer and for those initiates that feel the need to ask a difficult question, there is always a politically correct answer in some Grand Lodge publication.
We must bring back the process of getting “experienced” back to Freemasonry.
Our Brethren and our initiates should have their minds challenged at every lodge meeting. Our lodge education should be something out of the ordinary. Discussions should be held about every topic that is presented and the Brethren must understand that Freemasonry is about keeping the mind open to new enlightenment.
There are many stories about how the Boy Scouts came into existence: Unknown Scouts on foggy London streets, clubs organized for wayward boys, or alternative organizations to an increasingly urbanized way of life. What is for sure is the zeitgeist, or spirit of the age, in which the idea of the Scouts emerged.
In short, as the middle class began to take shape in early 20th century and families moved from rural farms to urban city, there was a growing concern among some about the loss of patriotism and individualism instilled in young people. Part of that drive was a sort of early social welfare that included programs to provide physical, mental, and spiritual development for those who wanted them. The YMCA was an early promoter of these reforms and an early proponent (and organizer) for the Scouts which in quick turn, in 1910, incorporated as the Boy Scouts of America with the express purpose of teaching boys “…patriotism, courage, self-reliance, and kindred values.” The Scouts first Director, Edgar Robinson was a former YMCA administrator who brought his skills and expertise and applied them to the newly formed Boy Scouts.
The prospect of a National Boys movement as such even garnered a national Federal Charter by Congress in 1916 as both a Patriotic and National organization.
What the scouts captured was an ideal citizen, a compassionate, reverent, and committed member. The ideal of this is codified in its mission statement which has gone through some evolution from its origins to present day.
1936 – “Each generation as it comes to maturity has no more important duty than that of teaching high ideals and proper behavior to the generation which follows.”
2008 – “to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law”
Two notable predecessors of the Boy Scouts in the United States were the Woodcraft Indians started by Ernest Thompson Seton at Cos Cob, Connecticut, in 1902 and the Sons of Daniel Boone founded by Daniel Carter Beard in 1905 at Cincinnati, Ohio. A more pronounced source came in 1907 from the founding of the Scouting movement in England by British General Robert Baden-Powell who used elements of Seton’s works to create Several small local scouting programs for boys.
Beard (right) with Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell (seated) and Ernest Thompson Seton (left)
“In 1909, Chicago publisher W. D. Boyce was visiting London, where he encountered the Unknown Scout and learned of the Scouting movement. Soon after his return to the U.S., Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February 8, 1910. Edgar M. Robinson and Lee F. Hanmer became interested in the nascent BSA movement and convinced Boyce to turn the program over to the YMCA for development in April 1910. Robinson enlisted Seton, Beard, Charles Eastman and other prominent leaders in the early youth movements. In January 1911, Robinson turned the movement over to James E. West who became the first Chief Scout Executive and Scouting began to expand in the U.S.”
It makes for an interesting Masonic aside to find the parallels between Masonry and Scouting, yet only a few concrete connections to American Freemasonry can be found that have carried to present day.
First of those connections being through Daniel Carter Beard and his Sons of Daniel Boone, of which a notable Masonic award exists today for the support of Freemasonry and Boy Scouting aptly called the Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award which is presented to any Master Mason who has made significant contributions to youth through Scouting. This is a selective award, the purpose of which is to recognize the recipient’s outstanding service to youth through the Boy Scouts of America.
A second, and perhaps more prevalent in the daily operation of lodge and troop, is the National Association of Masonic Scouters which works to foster and develop support for Boy Scouts of America by and among Freemasons while upholding the tenants of Freemasonry.
A third connection is a bit more at the root of the early organization. Following Robinson as director of the newly formed BSA, James E. West was appointed director. West also happened to be a Freemason (complete records of his lodge affiliations have been a challenge to find).
Freemasons for Dummies blog recently reported on the Lodge opened at the 100th Jamboree in conjunction with Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4. Said of the event: The meeting was simply amazing as nearly 500 masons attended. The Lodge was opened on the Entered Apprentice degree, so that all Masons could attend. Most of us were dressed in our full scout uniforms. Introductions were made and the wealth of Masonic knowledge in the room was impressive. Numerous Masters and Past Masters, 3-4 past state Grand Masters, heads of Scottish Rite and York Rite bodies, etc.
In his career, West was instrumental in the early Scouts being a strong champion for it on many fronts, building its acceptance and credibility to many groups including the unions who disliked its early anti organizing language and with the Catholic Church (which at first prohibited membership because of its non Catholic start with the then very protestant YMCA).
Looking beyond Beards contribution and West’s obvious affiliations to Masonry, another possible Masonic connection to the Boy Scouts comes through Baden-Powell himself.
Much has been written on this subject, and its easy to find many references that say that Baden-Powell was NOT a Freemason (including a letter from then UGLE Secretary J. MacDonald in 1990) , and that the Scouts were in no way a Masonic club for boys.
Despite the similarities between the two and the obvious awards and rank progression it is possible, however, to find a small connection to Baden-Powell and Masonry through Rudyard Kipling, who, as many readers will know, was a very prolific Mason and who took his Masonry very seriously in both his works of fiction (See the The Man Who Would Be King film and its original book) and in his poetry (see The Mother Lodge). Baden-Powell and Kipling kept very close association from the start of their friendship which began somewhere between 1882 and 1884 in Lahare, India. Its doubtful to say that the friendship led to a Masonry based civic organization for boys, but its possible to see how through conversation and comparison some elements might have been wound together, especially as you read more extensively into their friendship which continued for many years until their passing.
Further, its more likely to see how the spirit of the age contributed to the early Scouting movement, especially as youth orders seemed to lend themselves to more grown up responsibilities expressed, in some measure, through the British Scout Defense corps (or even perhaps in the more nefarious Hitler Youth which existed from 1922 to 1945, the Young
The Young Soviet Pioneers
Soviet Pioneers from 1922 – 1991, or even more alarming the American Boy Scouts which was a parallel of the Boy Scouts of America which existed from 1910-1920 and organized as a more militaristic program to train boys). A bolder aspect of this ideal of civic citizen contribution can perhaps be seen in the Civil Conservation Corps which had a two fold aspect of building the well-being of the country and putting unemployed men to work. In that same period there was a growing sense of losing the youth to the changing society, and the Boy Scouts were an early precognition of just how important it was to keep the youth engaged and conscious to civic involvement. In the years following the BSA incorporation, Eleanor Roosevelt was a champion for youth engagement as she championed in 1930 the American Youth Congress which saw, then as now, the need to engage youth and instill values.
But, from the relationship of Baden-Powell and Kipling, and this spirit of the age, came the essence of what would become the Cub Scouts taking shape from Kipling’s work “The Jungle Book” published n 1893 (the Disney film came out in 194s) . The Wolf Cubs, as Baden-Powell had styled them, felt that the Jungle Book was every bit suitable to the idea of youth scouting. Kipling was in such agreement that he even contributed much of his Jungle Book to it including the exact method of the Wolf Cub howl instructing its call as:
“A-KAY-Lar with an accent on the second syllable which can be prolonged indefinitely. The initial A on the other hand is almost a grunt – ‘Er’- Try this and you will see the beauty of the thing.”
Some other notable elements from The Jungle book that made there way into the Cub Scouts include “Law of the Pack,” “Akela,” “Wolf Cub,” “grand howl,” “den,” and “pack” all (and more) used with Kipling’s blessing.
See the History of Cub Scouting for a time line of its formation up to its 75th anniversary in 2005.
The obvious connections aside, Freemasonry and the Boy Scouts have a few other traces in common. One less obvious but perhaps overt connection is in the Order of the Arrow, created in 1915, which has been described as a Masonic ritual embedded into the Boy Scout organization.
Created by E. Uner Goodman and Carroll Edison, the two collaborated to make a club within the club – to create a camp fraternity to improve the Scout’s summer camp experience.
Goodman and Edson decided that a “camp fraternity” was the way to improve the summer camp experience and to keep the older boys coming back. In developing this program they borrowed from the traditions and practices of several other organizations. Edward Cave’s Boy’s Camp Book was consulted for the concept of a camp society that would perpetuate camp traditions. College fraternities were also influential for their concepts of brotherhood and rituals, and the idea of new members pledging themselves to the new organization. Ernest Thompson Seton’s Woodcraft Indians program was also consulted for its use of American Indian lore to make the organization interesting and appealing to youth. Other influences include the Brotherhood of Andrew and Phillip, a Presbyterian church youth group with which Goodman had been involved as a young man, and Freemasonry. The traditions and rituals of the latter contributed more to the basic structure of the rituals than any other organization. In an interview with Edson during his later years, he recalled that the task of writing the first rituals of the society was assigned to an early member who was “a 32nd degree Mason.” Familiar terms such as “lodge” and “obligation,” were borrowed from Masonic practice, as were some ceremonial practices. Even the early national meeting was called a “Grand Lodge,” thought to be a Masonic reference. Goodman became a Mason only after the OA was established.
Goodman was Raised in Lamberton Lodge No. 487, Philadelphia, Pa. about 1917 according to Denslow’s 10,000 Famous Freemasons.
The aim of the order of the arrow is to allow Scouts to choose from among their numbers the individual who best exemplifies the ideals of Scouting. Those selected are to embody a spirit of unselfish service and brotherhood.
Goodman said of it:
“The Order of the Arrow is a ‘thing of the spirit’ rather than of mechanics. Organization, operational procedure, and paraphernalia are necessary in any large and growing movement, but they are not what count in the end. The things of the spirit count: Brotherhood, in a day when there is too much hatred at home and abroad; Cheerfulness, in a day when the pessimists have the floor; Service, in a day when millions are interested only in getting or grasping rather than giving.”
From the other side of the threshold there are some Masonic Grand Lodges that recognize cross over clubs like the National Association of Masonic Scouters and promotes a greater level of interactivity with troops. The most significant interactions with Freemasonry today, however, are those Masons with sons who have served in some capacity in the leadership of their Troop or Local Council.
Freemasonry does not rank in the top 10 of organizations that support the Scouts (the top 5 being the LDS Church, the Methodist Church, the Roman Catholic Church, PTA Groups, and private citizen groups) which is a terrible missed opportunity for lodges to engage and support an organization in such affinity to its own ideals. The reason for this I can only extrapolate is that Scouting is perceived to encroach on its own membership from participating in DeMolay, the Masonic youth order, founded in 1919.
With this briefest glimpse at the Scouts origins, the next step is to look at its organization to appreciate its flexible and member friendly approach to put the priority on the Scouter and less on the place the Scouts practice.
Brother Timothy Hogan, who you may remember spent some time with us on Masonic Central some months back appeared as a guest on the Occult of Personality podcast this week.
This piece comes from The Coal Miner Who Came West by Ernest Moore, in collaboration with Gloria Phelps, Copyright 1982 (pages 72 and 73)
The article is unsigned but very likely written by the author who was a Prince Hall Mason as was his grandfather, John Hale (1846-1921), who is the subject of the book.
(Transcribed by D. DeCoster, August 31, 2010 from a copy borrowed from The Seattle Public Library. Spelling is in the original.)
THIS IS TRUE
It happened in the City of Destiny, Tacoma, Washington, on Saturday afternoon October 2, 1982, at 1:30 p.m., on the sight of the $44 million Sports-Convention Center, known as the TACOMA MINI-DOME. Right before the eyes of those in attendance, under a partly clouded sky, through which the sun sprinkled its rays of sunlight, enabling those of us who did not wear our long-john’s to withstand the antagonizing winds that swept from Mt. Rainier. For over two hours, we stood eight abreast, with a depth of some two blocks, clothed with dark suits, white shirts, shod with shoes of black and proudly wrapped with lamb’s skin aprons. Not one of us dared break rank, for this was truly not only an auspicious, but an historical occasion. An occasion where upon, the most worshipful Grand Master, George Brodewick of the Grand Lodge, Free and accepted Masons of Washington (White Masons) had invited their Black brothers, the most Worshipful Grand Master, Johnny Allen, of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington and jurisdiction to participate with laying the Dome’s cornerstone.
Never before in the history of Prince Hall Masonry in America has there been such recognition and fraternization accorded us. Having received orders from our Grand Marshal, Berry Carter, to proceed toward the speakers platform, and as we approached we were greeted along the way with spontaneous applause that caused many of our elder Brothers to “straighten up and fly right.” You should have been there to have seen our Brothers “strut their stuff”. They really put on the dog, and rightly so, for to them this was the dawning of a new day in Masonry. A day where in all men of our order shall here after not by their race, or color, but by their deeds, predicated upon truth and justice, for all men are but God’s divinity, wrapped in human flesh, and we are our brothers keepers. Having arrived just in front of the speakers platform, we could clearly observe the platform’s dignitaries. The Mayor of Tacoma, Doug Southerland, Master of Ceremonies, who had requested the Grand Loge, Free and Accepted Masons of Washington, to lay the cornerstone. Sharing the platform with him were the most Worshipful Grand Master George Bordewick and his officialdom. The most Worshipful Grant Master Johnny Allen, of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Loge of Washington and Jurisdiction, with his guest, The Most Worshipful Grand Master Thomas Brown of the Oregon Jurisdiction, and the Honorable Russell S. Gideon, Sovern Grand Commander of the United Supreme Council of Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rites of freemasonry P.H.A. Northern Jurisdiction U.S.A. Inc. In introducing his guest Grand Master Johnny Allen was most eloquent, affective, and at his best. Grand M<aster Bordewick said, “this was the largest public gathering of Masons in Washington since the dedication of the Seattle Masonic Temple in 1916, “ and that constitutional problems have long prevented Black and White Masons from joining in a single order. “Someday, maybe we can solve these problems.” Grand Master Allen said, to his knowledge, the Tacoma ceremony was the first time Black and White Masons have gathered together for a joint ceremony anywhere in America. When presented the working tools of a Master Mason, the plumb, the level, and the square, Grand Master Bordewick layed the cornerstone with its cavity bearing the various memorials of our time, current newspapers, names of city council and other civic bodies including documents of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington and Jurisdiction. The crowning words of the day were those spoken by the Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons of Washington (White). Brother Warren Murphy said, “Our membership can boast of great statesmen, societies, explorers, and men distinguished in every walk of life. However, it is not limited to the great or wealthy, but rather to all men, because every man of good reputation and character is eligible to petition for membership. In fact Masonry regards no man on account of this worldly wealth or honor, but because of his personal integrity as a matured man.” Mayor Southerland of Tacoma, and Grand Master Brodewick, stretched their necks to the end of their cable towes. The Prince Hall Masons with the aid and assistance of the Grand Architect of the Universe will vouch safely their voyage through this stormy sea of life. The historical event was brought to close by prayer from Bishop Tolbert, of the Methodist Episcopal Churches Dist. No. 1.”
2010 marked a significant milestone in the lives of young men all across the continent as the Boys Scouts of America celebrated its 100th Anniversary.
Started in 1906 the Boy Scouts, in the course of a few short years and group mergers, took its present shape in 1910 to become the premier young mans organization that it is today. Premier because few organizations produce the quality young men that the Eagle Scout embodies. For its adult leadership, the Wood Badge is the mature persons Eagle Scout equivalent which embodies the spirit of the Scouts into the adult leader who assumes the leadership role to guide the young men up that progressive climb.
Said by some to be a quagmire of paperwork, the BSA is a mostly volunteer organization composed of parents and interested community members to guide its course. At the local level, troops (like lodges) are individually chartered and provide a space in which the member boys meet.
Like Freemasonry, the Scouts are a private membership organization that through and through is values-based. At its core is the teaching of being a responsible citizen, character development, educational programs, and self-reliance through participation in a wide range of outdoor activities.
The Scout Oath sums very squarely what it represents as it states:
On my honor I will do my best To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.
Which is in turn supported by the Scout Law which says:
A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.
Both statements are meritorious to any individual that applies them to their life, but the Boy Scouts weave these ideas into the very fiber of the organization such that it becomes as much a part of the members being, as the characteristic brown and green uniform.
It is very much a way of life, with an optimistic way to look at a past ideal of social virtue and civic engagement, something little seen today and even less instilled in young men. This social virtue is so much a component of the Boy Scouts that the highest rank, the Eagle Scout, is predicated on the completion of a service project for one of the communities in which the scout circulates. By its very conduct it is very easy to see that the ideal of a Boy Scout sums into the ideal of Leadership, Achievement, Character, Service, and Environmental Appreciation (did I mention the Scouts camp a lot?).
From a Masonic point of view, we can see the similarity to the aims of the organization in its workings. Both have a progressive line of promotion that elevates the junior member to a higher standing within the body – Tenderfoot to Eagle/Apprentice to Master – predicated on a set of civic principals and virtues of self improvement.
In the Masonic Lodge, the degree of Master as the most common level of lodge practice, the Scouts conduct meetings with all grades in attendance and impressively with greater participation, as they see all the participants as contributors to the units prosperity.
This mixed rank participation allows more experienced members to interact with younger scouts to teach, train, and impart their experience to those who will one day hold those elder leadership positions.
Unlike Masonry, the Boy Scouts has an age cap in which the youth in attendance need progress to his ability before he comes of age at 18. There is some latitude for those working on their Eagle Rank, but essentially, the Scouting door closes at the 18th birthday. That does not, however, eradicate the youths ability to continue on with the experiences of Scouting as there is a secondary body called the Venturing which has an older age ceiling with further rank advancement and meritorious awards. But, once a scout always a scout and opportunities abound for mature scouts to volunteer with his troop, mentor up and coming scouts, and evolve into a Scout Master in the future.
Also, for the college bound scout, there is a college fraternity – Alpha Phi Omega or APO which is roughly 17,000 students strong and more than 350,000 alumni. The purpose of APO is a service fraternity with principals derived from the Scout Oath and Law to promote leadership and service to humanity. This collegiate fraternity is a natural next-step for any Scout looking to continue his scouting path at university.
One important aspect of the Boy Scouts is faith, something that is inherent in scouting, but not in a fundamental way.
The official word on faith in Scouting is:
Scouting encourages each young person to begin a spiritual journey through the practice of his or her faith tradition. One of the key tenets of Scouting is “duty to God.” While Scouting does not define religious belief for its members, it has been adopted by and works with youth programs of all major faiths.
This is very similar to the Masonic ideal of faith in a supreme being with out an expressed definition of what that faith is. Unlike the Scouts, Masonry uses the Bible as the principal sacred book where as the scouts have developed a Religious Emblems Program to broaden the individual scouts faith and honor the various faiths of its membership. The groups range from the African Methodist Episcopal Church to Zoroastrianism.
Now that we have an idea of who and what the Scouts are today the next logical step is to look at where the Boy Scouts of America came from, which presents some interesting insight to the zeitgeist of the beginning 20th century and some possible unseen Masonic connections at its origin.
I was listening to the Are You Experienced
album by Jimi Hendrix the other day. I listen to the album in its entirety about once a month. I find it incredibly inspirational. Every time that I hear the opening riff to Purple Haze I feel like I’m hearing it for the first time. It is so fresh, so original, and so futuristic…even though the album was released 43 years ago.
film and its original 
” published n 1893 (the Disney film came out in 194s) . The Wolf Cubs, as Baden-Powell had styled them, felt that the Jungle Book was every bit suitable to the idea of youth scouting. Kipling was in such agreement that he even contributed much of his Jungle Book to it including the exact method of the Wolf Cub howl instructing its call as:
by Ernest Moore, in collaboration with Gloria Phelps, Copyright 1982 (pages 72 and 73)
