The first issue of The Texas Prince Hall Freemason is out and it is impressive. Grand Editor Brother Burrell D. Parmer deserves much credit for putting together a great mix of wonderful pictures and great stories.
The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Texas used to have a publication of the printed variety as many other jurisdictions in Prince Hall and Mainstream Masonry still do today. The printed publication is more costly to produce and more difficult to distribute than an electronic publication and because of that fact Prince Hall Texas’s printed publication gradually faded away into oblivion.
But Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis was determined that his Grand Lodge publication be revived in some manner. After much discussion it was determined that the best vehicle to revive this needed communication tool would be an E-Publication attached to the Grand Lodge website. The days of a large number of Brothers not having E-Mail has gone by the boards and any Lodge in the state has the capabilities to print out a Texas Prince Hall Freemason for any Brother in need.
Unlike some Grand Lodge publications I have seen that are a shill for the Grand Lodge and/or mainly a distribution of “what’s happening in your Lodge,” The Texas Prince Hall Freemason has a wide variety of content, from Masonic happenings across the state like cornerstone laying, special days of celebration and charitable endeavors to philosophical, inspirational and educational stories. There is an article on Prince Hall Texas’s first Latino Worshipful Master; a book review, an article on what the Guild is doing and a Historical Corner. There are editorials on how to increase membership and grow a Lodge.
There are articles outside the jurisdiction – one on the new Prince Hall monument erected on the Cambridge, Massachusetts Common and another on the remembrance of Connecticut’s first recognition of Prince Hall written by a Connecticut Brother.
The publication is 43 pages long and it is chock full of pictures, photographs that were professionally taken. The article on Texas Celebrates Prince Hall Americanism Day is a collage of six pictures taken from various jurisdictions in the state and overseas. The next quarterly publication of the Texas Prince Hall Freemason could very well be 75 pages long without adding much to the cost of production.
The secret to success here is in the excellence of production and the low cost and ease of distribution of an E-Publication. There has been no sacrifice in quality by going to an E-Publication that has unlimited possibilities without being subject to budget restraints.
Besides the hard work of Parmer and his staff what makes the excellence of this publication is our Grand Master Wilbert M. Curtis who had a vision of the past concerning the recreation of this publication and who has a vision for our future in his message that leads off this first E-Publication. A Grand Master who has vision is one who will bring dreams into reality. He is also a Grand Master who has most likely seen the film Field of Dreams and through his vision will make the phrase “If you build it they will come,” a reality also.
