What follows is the story of a young Mason who is caught in the middle between a Grand Master who is stuck in the past, in pre Civil War Masonry and those of us who have an improved 21st century view of life and practice Masonry accordingly. Far from being some firebrand, screaming reformer, Derek Gordon is a mild mannered, respectful Mason who has no ax to grind. He only wished to present his Lodge as favorable towards the civil rights of all citizens regardless of color. For that he is going to pay the ultimate price for being a human being.

This is his story as he told it to me:

You are secretary and webmaster of your Lodge, Sebastian Lodge #706, Grand Lodge of Arkansas F & AM..  You are a 23 year old student studying law in the neighboring state hundreds of miles from your Lodge.  You have decided to volunteer to help Peruvians caught in northern Chile in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. As you stand in line to board your international flight to Peru your cell phone rings.  It is the Worshipful Master of your Lodge with an important message – the Grand Master wants an immediate meeting with you. You convey to the Worshipful Master that will not be possible for a number of weeks, but that when you return you would be most happy to accommodate the Grand Master. The Worshipful Master is unable to tell you what this request is all about.

You immediately call the Grand Secretary and apprise him of the situation.  He tells you that the Grand Master is in a meeting but that he will pass on to him your information and travel itinerary.

You make your trip to Peru and in your time there you make numerous phone calls back to Arkansas, leaving messages with the Grand Master’s wife at his residence and the Grand Secretary.  None of your phone calls are ever returned.

You learn that while you were away that the Grand Master did not wait for your return but proceeded ahead all guns blazing! With just two days notice the Grand Master came to Sebastian Lodge to pull its charter and announce formal charges against you.

You can’t understand how this could all happen.  What’s the beef?  Friends notify you that the problem was the posting on the Lodge website of the Grand Master’s request that Arkansas Masonic license plates not be purchased by members of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas AF & AM.  Other Lodges in the state made similar postings on their websites and their charters are still intact and their webmasters still honored members.  Perhaps it was the sentence at the end that this was not necessarily the view of the Lodge.  But you complied with the Grand Master’s edict that all members of the Lodge be notified of his ruling.

Other members get in touch with you to tell you that the Grand Master said in his visit to Sebastian Lodge to pull its charter that there were thousands of complaints received by the Grand Lodge about the website of Sebastian Lodge. They tell you that you are being charged with placing Grand Lodge and Masonic information on a public website in violation of a recent Grand Lodge ruling.  You are also charged with posting Grand Lodge Resolutions to the Grand Lodge publicly.

You find this hard to believe.  You have taken whatever Masonic information is posted on Sebastian’s website from three other Arkansas Lodge websites. A 1700’s lecture is really a historical document not an expose of Masonic secrets  & ritual and other Arkansas Lodges have considered it so much a part of their Arkansas Masonic tradition that they have also posted it on their websites.  None of them are having their charters pulled. Huntsville Lodge has ten times the Masonic information publicly displayed on its website.  You had picked just a few interesting posts from this Lodge to include on Sebastian’s website.  Boone Lodge, among others, has posted publicly on its website the Grand Master’s ban on license plates.

Huntsville has posted much more Masonic information publicly for a longer period of time.  While you created Sebastian’s website in May of 2009, Huntsville and other Lodges have had posted Masonic information for up to 10 years.   Your sources from which you copied the material you posted on Sebastian Lodge’s website included Crossett Masonic Lodge #576 F & AM and The Carroll County Mason, both of which were hosted by the now defunct Geocities.  Another source was Key Lodge #7.  None of these other Lodges are under indictment.

If the Grand Lodge is so concerned about electronic transmission of Masonic material why has it posted a link to Huntsville Lodge on the Grand Lodge website for years?

This makes no sense to you.  The recent ruling on not posting any Masonic matter on a public website nor the use of the internet for any Masonic matters, including E-Mails was just passed at last month’s Grand Session.  It was a little known resolution that received no debate and was passed with a vote made with it grouped with other matters. As secretary of the Lodge you have never received official notification of this ruling in the mail as is the usual custom. You also have not received any written notification of any charges preferred against you.

Perhaps the problem also stems from the fact that you tried to form a committee for Prince Hall recognition.  But the Grand Master told you that Prince Hall did not desire to have anything to do with the Grand Lodge of Arkansas AF & AM.  Recognition is ten years away if at all, you remember the Grand Master saying.

Later you are notified that the Lodge on 3/24/10 has finally received the letter of charges against you and the date for a Masonic trial. You are now back from Peru. This document should have been sent to you personally and you should have been the first person to read it.  Along with the document of charges in the mail comes the official Grand Lodge notification of the ban on any and all Masonic electronic transmissions. You check with other Secretaries in other Arkansas Lodges.  They have just received the same official notice of the new ruling and this is the first time they have heard of it. So it seems that you will be prosecuted for violating a ruling before it was officially put into place.

You are told the date for your Masonic trial is a date you will be on maneuvers with the Arkansas National Guard. You feel that the Grand Lodge knows that you are a member of the National Guard, knows that it is holding weekend maneuvers which require compulsory attendance and has thus scheduled your Masonic trial on the Saturday of these maneuvers deliberately. But the document is still not in your hands.  Your information is second hand.

Finally the document of charges comes into your possession:

As a parting gesture you post this parting message on Sebastian’s website.

UPDATED: 27 March 2010.

SebastianLodge.Com is down for the foreseeable future.

Thank you for visiting.

We have had well over 20,000 visitors in our one year in operation. We hope that we can return and provide one of the most-visited Masonic website on the net.

Our charter was revoked for being un-Masonic as to our website. I, Derek Gordon, apologize for mentioning the order to not purchase license plates. As the order said, all members must be notified. This seemed to be a great way to get it there as many members visited.

I, being secretary, webmaster, legal domain owner, and creator of this website, never meant to upset Grand Lodge. Rather, I sought to protect our lodge because so many saw the letter as racist. I realize it was not meant to taken that way, but its poor penmanship didn’t get the proper message across. Other Arkansas lodges have the same kind of post, yet they still have their charter. Some Arkansas lodges and members have posted the entire letter from the Grand Secretary online and those two have yet to see punishment.

*REGARDING other information supplied and provided on the Sebastian Lodge website, it was all found on other Arkansas lodge websites. Some of those were created as far back as 2001; this site was created in May of 2009. I never typed a single word regarding the lectures and Masonic history. The page source-code made light of that. I posted the Masonic informatoin because it had been written by and posted on other Arkansas lodge websites for years; I thought it must be acceptable by precedent. As a Mason of 2.5 years, I was foolish to believe that if other lodges are allowed to do something (created by Masons who have been in much longer than I have), it would be acceptable for our lodge to display as well.

To my former brethren of Sebastian Lodge, I apologize to you for this instance. I felt that we were safe after finding the post on so many other sites. There’s much more to the story, but out of respect for Masonry and for the title of Grand Master and the Grand Lodge I will humbly refrain.

I further urge all Masons to support Sebastian Lodge in reobtaining its charter. By this I outline that I was doing what was seen as acceptable by precedent. The lodge itself was not involved in this directly. I am ashamed at the outcome.

Currently, I’m awaiting a Masonic trial for expulsion that I cannot make it to. It is scheduled for the weekend of April 17th, 2010 when the Military has summoned me to work. The Grand Lodge will not return my phone calls and one can only imagine the desired outcome.

Should you wish to contact me, it is possible by emailing webmaster706 @ sebastianlodge.com. I’d suggest removing the spaces around the @.

“Few men have virtue to withstand the highest bidder.” – George Washington

Fraternally,
Derek Gordon
Former Secretary, 706

Thanks.

All this was told to me by Brother Derek Gordon whose Lodge Sebastian Lodge #706 is no more and who awaits expulsion at a very young age from the Craft he loves. This is his story in his words.

But our observations are really questions.  We are perplexed. What was the rush?  Why could this whole affair have not waited until Gordon returned from his trip?  Why would the Grand Master not wait for a personal meeting before proceeding unilaterally?  Why prosecute a Brother for posting material that was already published 300 years ago and as recently as last month on other Arkansas Lodge’s websites?  Why schedule Gordon’s Masonic trial on a weekend when you (GL) were told he was on maneuvers and why have you yet to make arrangements to reschedule?  WHY HAS THE GRAND LODGE OF ARKANSAS’ WEBSITE BEEN SHUT DOWN?

To those who would like to support Brother Derek Gordon we urge you not only to get in touch with him but also to voice your opinion with the Grand Master of Arkansas.

The second day of the Phylaxis National convention saw us get right down to work. This day and the next we were primarily devoted to presentations of papers written by learned members of a certain field.  Out of all the presentations made I will feature three.

The first paper was Masonic Jurisprudence by our National President, John B. Williams, FPS. He told us that because most Grand Lodges have incorporated there has been imposed on them civil rules, regulations and restrictions that were never previously considered.  Prior to incorporation Grand Lodges were restricted only by the rules that they imposed on themselves.  Civil courts generally do not meddle into private concerns.

But once a Grand Lodge incorporates it is no longer a private society and is governed as the state incorporation statues specify and to which the Grand Lodge who incorporates agrees to when it signs the article of incorporation.

So what’s the big deal?

Well let’s take the common practice of Grand Masters to rule and govern by edict when the Grand Lodge is not in Session.  Most Grand Lodge by-laws stipulate that the Grand Master rules in absentia. This is a Masonic tradition and how most Grand Lodges have been governed for centuries. However, in most cases, depending on the state, this is not legally correct. Most state’s corporation rules state that the corporation is governed by a Board of Directors when the Grand Lodge is not in session.  Corporate rules supersede any organization’s by-laws. This means that the Grand Master cannot decide matters at all, he must refer all business over to the Board.

Some states require all corporations be governed by a Board of Directors at all times and the President (Grand Master) acts under the powers granted to it by that Board but whether that Board can delegate its fiduciary responsibilities is open to question. If so interpreted the Grand Master could, then, in some states be nothing more than a ceremonial figure head.

Secondly Williams also informed us that incorporated Grand Lodges are then subjected to corporate tax laws as applies to tax exempt corporations.

• This means that there can be restrictions on fund raising
• That using funds for purposes other than purposes stated could be in violation of tax law
• That polling Board members by E-Mail could be a problem as the absence of a signature in corporate matters can sometimes be illegal.

In summary if a Grand Lodge is incorporated then it is now Government Protected. Final say rests with a Board of Directors and not with the President (GM).  This contradicts traditional Masonic practice where the Grand Master and only the Grand Master is all powerful. Grand Lodge by-laws must conform to the state corporation laws that issued that GL’s corporate status. In essence by incorporating a Lodge or Grand Lodge is no longer a private society but becomes a public one much more readily sued.

It is good to remember that corporate law is state and (corporate) tax law is federal. The bottom line is that if a GL is incorporated it is now civilly regulated.

When we broke for lunch we all went to the Phyllis luncheon in the banquet hall.  A catered lunch was followed by some presentations, recognitions and awards from our OES sisters.

The other presentation for the day which I will report on was “Prince Hall Freemasonry and the National Grand Lodge” by Alton G. Roundtree, FPS.  This is a subject that is mostly of interest to just Prince Hall Freemasons and can be a very contentious sore spot.

Roundtree has done extensive research on the subject spending many weeks at the Iowa Masonic Library which houses much of Prince Hall Masonry’s archives. He wrote the book “Out of the Shadows” in collaboration with Paul Bessel. His latest book The National Grand Lodge and Prince Hall Freemasonry is the same title as his Phylaxis presentation and should be out and available in April.

Roundtree tells us that in 1847 all existing regular Negro Lodges formed a National Grand Lodge or National Compact. The controversy comes in because it is alleged that the National Grand Lodge shut down and disbanded itself, some say in 1877, others say in 1878. Later, according to the accusations Lodges and Grand Lodges who did not dissolve or who suddenly appeared claimed to be the continuation of Compact Negro Freemasonry. Some Prince Hall scholars and officials say that any restart was bogus and illegal and the Compact Lodges of today are clandestine and  are not legally chartered.

Roundtree disputes these claims in a systematic point by point refutation. He asserts that the National Grand Lodge never dissolved or disbanded. At the Phylaxis Society National Convention his presentation was a power point quiz question and answer format projected on a large screen. He pointed out that many of today’s PHA Grand Lodges were formed by the Compact PHO and thus their point of origin is the National Grand Lodge.  PHA, Prince Hall Affiliated,

Grand Lodges are those that broke away from the National Compact and became independent or were formed without Compact assistance after 1878. Today’s PHO, Prince Hall Origin, Grand Lodges of the Compact still exist in many states but are not as numerous as PHA. Today traditional Black Masonry is concentrated in state PHA Grand Lodges just as its Mainstream counterparts.  But the few National Compact Lodges still around practice regular Freemasonry and according to Roundtree have a legitimate claim to be equal and recognized Brothers.

Before adjourning for the day a special award was presented to Dr. Robert L. Uzzel who will be the third paper presentation featured in The Third Day. He received the prestigious Harry A. Williamson Masonic Hall of Fame Award.

The Phylaxis Society’s Hall of Fame is named for Harry A. Williamson, the founder of the Harry A. Williamson Collection on Black Masonry at the Schombug Center for Research on Black Culture, the Harlem branch of the New York Public Library.

Bro. Williamson was born in New York in 1873.  He was raised as a Master Mason in Mount Olive Lodge #2 in New York on March 5, 1904.  He served the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of New York in the following capacities:  Deputy Grand Lecturer, Grand Secretary, Grand Senior Warden, Deputy Grand Master, Chairman of the Diamond Jubilee Celebration, Grand Historian, and Grand Lecturer.

Bro. Williamson was a member of the Manchester Association for Masonic Research in Manchester, England; Dorsett Master’s Lodge #3366 in Poole, England; and the National Masonic Research Society of the U. S. A.

Bro. Williamson was the author of:

• Freemasonry among the American Negroes (1920),
• The Negro in Masonic literature (1922), Men of Mark in Prince Hall Freemasonry (1943),
• and Prince Hall Primer (1956)

Uzzel is an ordained minister, a professor and PHD and a prolific Masonic writer and researcher.  His record includes:

MEMBERSHIPS

• Pride of Ennis Lodge #420, Free and Accepted Masons (Prince Hall Affiliation), Ennis, Texas
• Dale Consistory#31, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, Dallas, Texas
• Zakat Temple #164, Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Dallas, Texas

AWARDS

• Actual Fellow of the Phylaxis Society (1985)
• 1985 Phylaxis Certificate of Literature
• Dr. Charles H. Wesley Medal of History
• Blue Friar #92 (2003)
• Founding Fellow of the Masonic Society (2008)
• Harry A. Williamson Hall of Fame (2010)

After adjourning for the day and freshening up at our hotels we returned for the hospitality of the MWPHGL of Arkansas – libation, epicurean delights and fellowship.  Another great day in the annuals of Masonic fraternalism.

I had been home only three days from the Arkansas Prince Hall Grand Session when it was time to turn around and go back to the place whence I came.  So at 3:00 AM on 3/4/10 I headed out from home back to Arkansas.  Nellybelle knew her way by heart now and we even stopped at the same IHOP in Texarkana.  After revitalizing my protoplasm I hit the road for the Grand Lodge of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas, arriving at 9:00 AM, just in time to walk in on the opening Phylaxis/Phyllis ceremonies.

The 37^th Annual Phylaxis Society Convention and the 27^th Annual Phyllis Chapter Convention opened together with each presenting a Memorial Service for those members who joined the Celestial Lodge above in 2009.

After which we all adjourned to freshen up and reconvene for a field trip the rest of the day. Two charter buses took us all to Little Rock a trip of about 40 miles.  First stop was the Clinton Presidential Library. Pictures of that visit will be presented in a separate post.

Next we went to the Mosaic Templars Association; the website of this organization provides an explanation of this organization which was entirely new to me.

“The Mosaic Templars organization, founded by John E. Bush and Chester Keatts in Little Rock in 1883, had been established primarily to provide burial and life insurance and other services to its members, which were few in the beginning. In addition to the fraternal lodges, the Templars started the Mosaic National Building and Loan Association in 1884. The organization continued expanding its fraternal organization by adding chapters in other states, and through steady growth in the next decade had amassed sufficient capital assets to construct the headquarters building at 9th and Broadway. By the 1920’s the 2nd Floor of the Mosaic Temple Building housed offices for the Mosaic Templars; H. A. Powell, Dentist; F. C. Goodwin, Dentist; Dr. J. Z. Barguh and Dr. J. M. Robinson; North Carolina Mutual Life Ins Co.; W. A. Singfield, Lawyer; and Standard Life Insurance Co.”

“The Mosaic Templars National Headquarters Building was constructed between 1911 and 1913 and is still located at the southwest corner of 9th and Broadway Streets. The building embodies the history of the organization and black community in Little Rock. It connects this urban experience to other Arkansas towns as well as 26 states and six foreign countries through the Templars’ myriad programs, political, business and leadership networks.”

“The economic effect and example set by the Mosaic Templars were felt throughout the state, the nation, and beyond. By the 1920s the organization was noticed as one of the largest black-owned business enterprises in the world. The organization and its membership services had not only extended to the urban and rural statewide black population, but had also evolved to reach people around the globe. As it grew, the Templars organization served 100,000 members at various times. The Mosaic Templars also operated a business and loan association, a newspaper (The Mosaic Guide) and printing plant, a hospital and nurses training center, and other successful enterprises like the Mosaic Apartments, located on the second floor of their state Temple headquarters at 906 Broadway.”

“In addition to the organization’s remarkable feats in industry, particularly between the 1890s and the 1930s, one of the most important results of Mosaic Templars’ self-help initiatives was that through the programs and services offered, black people were able to receive marketable skills training that would have otherwise been unavailable. In the History of the Mosaic Templars of America – Its Founders and Officials, authors Bush and Dorman state that by 1924 the Endowment Department, with approximately 20 employees processed the organization’s entire volume of business; i.e. $475,000 annual income, $250,000 annual death loss claims paid in 1924. Hundreds of jobs were afforded throughout the Mosaic system.” (1)

The final stop on our Little Rock tour was a brief glimpse of the infamous Central High School of Little Rock. I was struck by its large size and beautiful architecture.  It looked more like a college campus than a high school. Unfortunately we did a drive by which didn’t afford me the opportunity to take any pictures except through the bus window.

Upon arriving home we all headed back to our hotels.  That night the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas received the Phylaxis Society in a formal Lodge visitation ceremony.

(1) – MOSAIC TEMPLAR BUILDING PRESERVATION SOCIETY 

Day 3 – GRAND SESSION OF PRINCE HALL ARKANSAS – FEBRUARY 27, 2010

Day 3 was a very busy day.  Grand Lodge convened at 9:00 AM with all dignitaries present.  Most of the remaining Committee reports were dispensed with.  Then the Grand Master opened the doors for the OES ladies who were also having their Grand Convocation in their Grand Lodge hall.  Grand Worthy Matron Winnie Ruth Johnson was given a prominent seat in the East along with many Arkansas and out of state visiting OES Grand Officers behind her.

The Grand Master made his Grand Address before all OES and Master Masons assembled together.  It was a packed house with standing room only. Much of what the Grand Master said is private and not for public consumption.  Some of it was tough but Grand Master Wilson is not one to shy away from tough issues.  I can tell you that he asked all within his jurisdiction to step up to the plate, “We can make a difference,” he reminded us.  He lamented on the fact that bogus, fake Masonry in Arkansas is more active in society than Prince Hall and it shouldn’t be that way.  “Education is the key to our success,” he emphatically stated. “You can’t lead where you don’t go and you can’t teach what you don’t know,” he added as he announced the forming of a state wide Masonic Quiz Bowl Competition. And he commented on the fact that he often visits his chartered Lodges. “What the members of a subordinate Lodge need to ask themselves when they hear an alarm at the door is – is that the Grand Master?”

After his address all Heads of Houses and visiting dignitaries were asked to speak a few words, after which the women were dismissed and the Grand Lodge proceeded to wrap up any business it heretofore had not completed.

There followed nominations for the elected offices of Grand Lodge, conducted by Honorable Deary Vaughn, Grand Master of Prince Hall Oklahoma and also Sovereign Grand Commander AASR PHA Southern Jurisdiction.  Following nominations Grand Master Vaughn installed all the officers. The 138^th Grand Session of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas was called off until next year.

The business, elections and installation were over but not the celebration.  Day 3 saw us all gather back at the banquet hall at Grand Lodge at 7:00 PM for the Trustees Banquet.  After  we all sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and the benediction, we all dined on sliced Angus beef and baked chicken breast in champagne sauce with all the fixings.

The speaker for the banquet was State Representative Stephanie Flowers. Her message was titled “Stick To The Task” and revolved around the scripture of Nehemiah 4:7&8. She told us that her father was a lawyer and that when she graduated from Law School her father presented her with a Holy Bible inscribed by him.  All her fellow graduates were getting big checks or a new car.  Didn’t her father understand what is needed for a brand new lawyer to launch her career?

She didn’t understand her father’s actions then as well as she does now. Today that Bible is her most used and treasured possession, she said.  As a matter of fact it is a little beat up and dog eared.  That white Bible is now more brown than white.

Continuing on to her message she told us, “Hindering good work is what bad men aim at.” And: “Nehemiah put his career under divine protection.” We should do the same she told us.  What is in it for us today, she asked – “Put God first, watch and pray.”

The end of the festivities was the raffle drawing for the 2010 Chevy Cobalt which was in the banquet hall with us.  This is a major money maker by the Trustees of the building for the building fund.

Closing remarks by Grand Worthy Matron, Winnie Ruth Johnson and Grand Master Cleveland K. Wilson, followed by all voices singing God Bless American and the benediction, closed out the festivities of the evening.

Yet there is still more to be said.  During my three days at Grand Session in Arkansas I had the opportunity to watch Grand Master Wilson lead his flock and I took some time to size him up.

The Grand Master of a Grand Lodge has to have a certain presence. GM Cleveland Wilson has presence, the presence of command.  There is no doubt about who is in charge of the MWPHGL of Arkansas.

There is the need for the Captain of the Ship to have not only the presence of command but the ability and knowledge to make intelligent and correct decisions. If you listen to GM Wilson for a brief time you can tell that he has his priorities in the right order and that he knows what is best for his jurisdiction.

It is also important for a Grand Master to have a humble and loving heart. I can’t tell you the number of times that GM Wilson tells the members of his Grand Lodge that he loves them and appreciates them.  And he tells all that he is their servant.

The last trait that you look for in a Grand Master is toughness.  No one would ever describe GM Wilson as a “milktoast” sort of guy. Tough but kind are hard traits to find in the same person, but find it you will in the person, in the heart, in the soul of one Honorable Cleveland K. Wilson.

The Grand Master’s address was both tough and touching.  Much of the particulars were private and not able to be repeated.  But the sentiment, the feeling the Grand Master has for his Grand Lodge was right out there for all to grab onto. Tough and touching sums up Cleveland K. Wilson for me.

Day 2 – GRAND SESSION OF PRINCE HALL ARKANSAS, FEBRUARY 26, 2010

Grand Lodge Session of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas convened at 9:00 AM. I remained in the Grand Masters office and connecting offices with my Texas state delegation including my Grand Master, the Honorable Wilbert M. Curtis, waiting to be formally presented.  With me were delegations from Missouri, Washington D.C., Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Indiana, Nevada, Tennessee and Mississippi. Most delegations were headed by their Grand Master but a few were led by a Deputy Grand Master or a Past Grand Master. It was a unique opportunity to converse with such leaders and share stories and concerns.   Sometimes there is more Masonry in an informal setting than there is in the formality of the tyled Lodge room. It was almost two hours before Texas was introduced so like the two hours of casual time the day before with the Grand Master in his private office this was two hours of solid fraternal sharing.

After lunch The Grand Lodge started to hear committee reports.  It was transacting the business of the Grand Lodge.  I noted that Grand Master Wilson ran his Grand Lodge like a well respected Judge.  He speaks often from the heart and with humor. Often times he would interject into the middle of a report being given some words of wisdom.  His soliloquies could last a number of minutes after which he would declare, “I’m done, continue.”

One committee report consisted of a recommendation for immediate prayer for a beloved Brother dying from cancer.  After a motion was entertained for acceptance of the report and it was duly seconded, and approved  one of the Grand Chaplains immediately headed for the altar and what ensued was one of the most beautiful prayers I have heard in many a moon.  It touched the heart of everyone present.

At times the Grand Master delegated the running of the business of the Grand Lodge to his most capable Deputy Grand Master Edward L. Briggs.   The two were a bit different but were obviously in tune with each other.  I likened them to Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon.

Grand Lodge adjourned at 4:00 PM.  I returned to my motel room to change clothes and freshen up and then join the Grand Master for dinner.  The Grand Master had invited his visiting dignitaries and his Grand Lodge officers and OES Grand officers and some spouses and me out to dinner on him and we left the Grand Lodge with a convoy of autos to all descend on a restaurant that specialized in fried catfish.  A catfish dinner it was with some more great fellow-shipping.  When we had finished the Grand Master gathered us all together and he asked us to introduce ourselves individually.  He wanted us all to know how much he enjoyed our presence and how binding moments like these were – heart to heart always trusting in God an outpouring of love.  It was a great way to end a great day.

Day 1 – GRAND SESSION OF PRINCE HALL ARKANSAS, FEBRUARY 25, 2010

I started my journey to Arkansas at 2:30 AM on Thursday morning, February 25, 2010 and headed Nellybelle up I30 towards Texarkana. After a refueling at IHOP on that border city at 5:00 AM I pushed on, arriving at the Pine Bluff, Arkansas and the Grand Lodge at 8:30 AM. The parking lot was deserted and except for two cleaners the place was unoccupied. Funny, I thought, to be so dead when Grand Lodge is supposed to convene in 30 minutes at 9:00 AM.  Not thinking clearly I wandered into the Grand Lodge to ask one of the cleaners for the use of a room to shed my travel clothes and change into my Tux. Once changed I headed back to the lobby whereupon I ran smack dab into Grand Master Cleveland Wilson just coming through the door and who was not in Masonic dress.  He said, “Fred you are a bit overdressed this morning.”  “Grand Lodge does not convene this morning,” I asked. “No, not until evening”, Grand replied.

That mistake proved to be a blessing in disguise.  For then the Grand Master proceeded to take me on a grand tour of the building.  Arkansas Grand Lodge is huge and the feature that we old folks appreciate is that it is all on one floor. Its size is deceiving as from curbside it doesn’t seem to be of the magnitude of its actual inside. I took a look at the hall for OES, the hall for Blue Lodge Masons, the banquet hall and the various offices and storage areas of the building. The last stop was the Grand Master’s private office where we both settled in for a two hourtête–à–tête.  We conversed at length on life and our first passion, Freemasonry.

The Grand Master told me a few interesting stories and I told the Grand Master a few interesting stories. It was a rare opportunity and one not to be missed, to explore the depths and breadth of personal feelings with a man of the stature of Grand Master Cleveland Wilson.

When the Grand Master’s telephone started ringing off the hook, we broke, I checking into my motel, grabbing some lunch and then a nap, the Grand Master to what I am sure was a busy day of last minute contingencies.

That evening the Grand Lodge opened its Grand Session in the banquet hall with a joint Memorial Service to all the deceased members of OES and Arkansas Master Masons in 2009. It is worth noting that the Grand Lodge would close its Grand Session in similar fashion with a church service.

The Grand Lodge had lost its most illustrious, most erudite and most beloved Past Grand Master, the Honorable Howard L. Woods in 2009 and the mourning was still evident.  This man was sorely missed.

The service was an outpouring of celebration and thankfulness. There were three choirs who performed, the OES choir who led off the program with “Bye and Bye” and a short time later with “Oh How I love Jesus,” the PB (Prime Beloved)  Men in Black and the Greater Macedonia Choir from the guest preacher’s  church.  The musical performance was also accompanied by the keyboards and piano, saxophone and drums.

The scripture reading was Psalm 121.  When the deceased Master Masons names were read a ship’s bell was rung once for each name, twice for PGM Howard Woods and Bruce Warren, PMEG High Priest –R.A.M. and PEG Commander – K.T.

The sermon was given by guest preacher the Reverend Cleo Nellum of the Greater Macedonia Baptist Church.  His sermon was based on the 23^rd Psalm. He told us that the Psalm was 118 words long of which 116 words were devoted to explaining the first two words, “The Lord.” “Everybody is always talking about the Sweet Bye and Bye – what about the Nasty Now and Now,” asked the Reverend Nellum?  “He was before was ,was – when there was nothing, there was God.”

Quietly and solemnly we departed after the benediction with more than one eye filled with tears. One always needs to remember those who have gone before him before he proceeds to take up the business of the present and the future.