Robert Davis 33°, GC, Secretary of the Guthrie Oklahoma Scottish Rite

Brother Bob Davis 33°

Join us in this episode as we meet and talk with Robert Davis 33°. Together in this episode, Greg and Dean go deep with Br. Davis on his intimate family connections with Freemasonry, the Guthrie Scottish Rite, and the future of Freemasonry in Oklahoma and the rest of the nation.

Br. Robert is the author of Understanding Manhood in America and the writer behind the blog Papers of Robert G. Davis. Who can argue that experience and leadership are two of the most fundamental elements of a successful lodge, but how do you develop those elements? Leading change is one way, but not in a destructive manner, which is at the heart of this interview.

In our discussion we focus on Oklahoma Masonry, the Guthrie College of the Consistory study program, the role of the “mature masculine” in Freemasonry, and his thoughts on the future of Craft.

In this program we talk about the Guthrie Scottish Rite and its College of the Consistory program and touch on a wide range of topics, including:

  • Br. Davis’s history in Freemasonry and the factors in his life that led him to it.
  • The relationship between the quest of manhood and the role Freemasonry plays in it.
  • Leadership and successful lodges at the local level.
  • How to bring change to lodge (when change is desired) and
  • How activity breeds activity in any organization

Without a doubt you will find a point of deep connection to Br. Davis and with what he has to say.  He is probably as traditional as traditional Masonry gets but with an open stance of improving the fraternity and seeing it grow in the future.  At his core is the identity of the masculine male, manhood, and the recovery of that role in America today.

More on the web:

https://robertgdavis.net/about/
https://www.gloklahoma.com/member/robert-g-davis/

This show was originally recorded November 2, 2008, at 6PM PST on the Masonic Central Podcast.

Masonic Central Podcast

Stephen Dafoe

Stephen Dafoe

In this episode of Masonic Central, originally recorded on October 12, 2008, Greg and Dean are joined by the esteemed author and historian Stephen Dafoe. We dig into all things Templar delving into their historic past and their meaningful significance to Freemasonry today.

It was a great discussion and one sure to illuminate the wide topic of the Knights Templar and Freemasonry.

Some of the topics we dig into include:

The road from batman to Freemasonry

  • Why he joined the fraternity
  • His Templar comic Outremer
  • Why Friday the 13th is so memorable
  • Knights Templar vs. Knight Hospitallers
  • The Mystery of Oak Island

Stephen brings the Templars down to earth and helps shake the illusion of bigger than life personalities that pervade current portrayals of the mythic knighthood. As a bonus, this was a fun episode to record and listen to and it comes out in the conversation. Stephen is a great voice to listen to and Dean and Greg cut it up like they always do. Plus, a few guests pop in with questions and we get down to the real meaning history and secrets of Baphomet!

More from Stephen Dafoe:

More on the web about Stephen Dafoe.

Masonic Central Podcast

Nelson King and the Philalethes Society

Freemason Nelson King
Br. Nelson King

In this episode we are joined by Brother Nelson King who is the past President and Editor of The Philalethes Society Journal of Masonic Research and Letters, and the first non-United States Citizen to hold those positions. King was the second Mason to ever hold the position of President and Editor of The Philalethes at the same time. In June 2009 Br. King retired to focus on his work with Masonic Relief for Cuba, where he is the Executive Director.

Br. King is a veteran in the halls of Freemasonry, recorded in numerous affiliations across North American Masonry, and is well known for his public oratory, writing proficiency, and capable research.

During the program we discuss The Philalethes Society which was founded on October 1, 1928, and has published numerous articles by and for its members. For many years it was voted the best Masonic publication in the world as its sole purpose was to act as a clearinghouse for Masonic knowledge through the exchange of ideas, researching the problems confronting Freemasonry, and conveying them back to the Masonic world.

Some of the broad areas we cover include:

  • South American Masonry
  • The idea of Masonry and the Cuban revolution
  • The role of the Philalethes Society in comparison to Quatuor Coronati
  • Masonic Scholarship, then and now

Our conversation with Brother King focused tightly on several areas which are little discussed in wide circles including the present the state of Masonic research, Freemasonry in Cuba, the role of the Philalathes Society, and contemporary Masonic research in general.

It is one of the most illuminating conversations on the craft.

This show was originally recorded September 21st , at 6PM PST on the Masonic Central Podcast.

Br. Nelson King passed on August 17, 2011, at age 66.

From his website (now archived):

Nelson King was Born June 13, 1945 in Montreal, received his primary education in Perth Ontario, and graduated from Banting Institute, University of Toronto, 1967. Married to Ellen, and has two children, Christopher, and Victoria and two granddaughters. Nelson was appointed Assistant Editor in 1992 and Editor in August 1994] of The Philalethes Society Journal of Masonic Research and Letters, the first non-United States Citizen to hold these positions

He is also only the second Mason to ever hold the position of President and Editor of The Philalethes at the same time. Nelson is a well-known Masonic speaker, having spoken in the jurisdictions of Alberta, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Costa Rica, Cuba, The District of Columbia, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Jamacia [EC], Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Texas, Virginia, and Washington.

Nelson developed the highly successful Internet Masonic Leadership Course. His book Confessions of a Born Again Fundamentalist Freemason has become a Masonic Best Seller. VoicePrint®, The National Broadcast Reading Service Inc. an international broadcasting reading service for the visually impaired has recorded some of his historical articles. Nelson was instrumental if the formation of the Masonic Relief for Cuba Committee. And he serves as the Executive Director of that program. He is also one of the few Canadian Freemasons, listed in latest Edition of the “Who is Who of Freemasonry”.

Masonic Central podcast

Adam Kendall, Curator for the Grand Lodge of California

Listen in as Masonic Central talks with the Curator of Collections, Adam Kendall, with the Henry Wilson Coil Library & Museum of Freemasonry for the Grand Lodge of F. & A.M. of California.

Some of the topics in the discussion will be:

  • Programs of California Grand Lodge
  • The now past Freemasonry and Women Symposium
  • Henry Wilson Coil Library
  • Who was H.W. Coil?
  • Why a library?
  • How California is entering the 21st century.
  • Symbolism in Masonry-its importance (or unimportance)?
  • Ideas on how to help foster Masonic education in lodges?
  • The Masonic Society
  • One-Day Classes and their merits.
  • And some ideas about the future of Masonry.

Adam is a very knowledgeable Freemason and with a definitive “left” coast perspective coming from one of the larger Grand Lodge jurisdictions. It’s going to be a great program and one not to be missed!

Masonic Central Podcast

Paul Bessel and Jerry Samet join Masonic Central

In this episode of Masonic Central, we are joined by Paul Bessel and Jerry Samet who are both prominent Masons in their own right, with Br. Paul having served in 7 Grand lodge offices under the Grand Lodge of Washington DC and Br. Jerry as the Past Grand Master of Washington DC. If those titles were not emphasis enough, Br. Paul is a prolific author and collector of Masonic information, which he publishes on his Masonic website www.bessel.org as well as in print in his 2005 book Masonic Questions and Answers.

Together we talk about some of the deepest topics of Masonry today, including past and present segregation that exists in Freemasonry and their work to better integrate the fraternity and broaden its recognition of Prince Hall Masonry. In the discussion we discover both their successes and failures of the of the concept of modern Grand Master Classes , also known as “One Day Classes”, and we explore some ideas on how to make Masonry interesting and more enjoyable for its members.

In the conversation we delve more deeply into some hot issues of the day including:

  • Racism and Freemasonry
  • The future of the fraternity, and how it will survive.
  • The values and need for the one day class.
  • The role of the web and Freemasonry to broaden and spread Masonic knowledge.
  • And the ever contentious doctrine of Exclusive Territorial Jurisdiction.
  • And the asking of men to become members.

Without a doubt this conversation will open your eyes and raise some eyebrows on the subject matter we covered, no matter what side of the fence you reside. At their heart, these are some very key issues that the fraternity has started to face, but will with increasing frequency, more in years to come.

The original program was recorded August 31, 2008 at 6 PM PST on the Masonic Central podcast.

Jerry Samet passed away in December, 2020.

Masonic Central Podcast

Tom Accuosti

Masonic Central podcast

Join Greg and Dean in this episode, originally recorded on July 6th, 2008, as we interview Tom Accuosti author of the Masonic blog the Masonic Tao. Tom takes us back to a Golden Age when blogging about Freemasonry was new, or at least new-ish.

This was a fun conversation and a nice glimpse of Freemasonry from “back in the day.” Tom was always good for a laugh, a jab at the orthodoxy and his fresh insight of Connecticut Freemasonry.

You can hear our newness in the podcast. It’s refreshing.

An early adopter of the Freemasons online world, today Tom spends most of his online masonic time as the moderator for the r/freemasonry subreddit.

We hit all the Masonic highlights:

  • Anti-Masonry
  • Jack Chick Comics
  • What brought Tom into Freemasonry
  • His expectations about joining
  • When and where the deeper meaning go masonry gets discussed
  • And lots more.

We even get into the shrinking ranks of the fraternity and the loss of history at the local lodge level.

More importantly, in the conversation we dig deep into the early days of Freemasonry on the web, many of the message boards we haunted—many of which have long since gone under. Re-listening to the conversation reminded me just how different Freemasonry was in the pre-social world. It makes me think how online masonry is done today “isn’t how we used to do it.”

Tim Bryce and Fred Milliken join in on the conversation, too. Tom has a great wit—I was surprised how many times I caught myself laughing during the conversation. I’m glad I was able to restore and clean this episode up to republish it.

I hope you enjoy it.

And, pardon the ringing phone.

More from Tom Accuosti: The Secret Lesson of Hiram and the Ruffians