THE STATUE OF LIBERTY AND MOUNT RUSHMORE – THE MASONIC CONNECTION

Masonic Education Notes 2008 - No.1 - By Herm Cardona, Junior Warden

• Few monuments embody the American spirit and the greatness of our country as much as the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore.

• The Statue of Liberty in New York is one of the best known icons of liberty enlightening the world.

• Few members of the Masonic fraternity know of the part played by Freemasons in the planning and erection of the Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore.

• Brother Frederick A. Bartholdi was inspired by his own experience when he began to design this mammoth figure.

• He was an Alsatian and his own country had been taken over by the French after the Franco-Prussian War, in which he himself participated.

• He was a member of Lodge Alsace-Lorraine, organized in 1872 by prominent intellectuals, writers, and government functionaries.

• In June 19, 1884 he took his first model of the statue to his lodge seeking the critical approval of his brethren.

• Again, on November 13, 1887, he gave a report to the lodge about the methods adopted for the erection of the full scale project.  Sort of an “after-action” report.

• And in 1987 he again appeared before his lodge to tell of the welcome and excitement he had received from his brethren and friends in America.

• But everything wasn’t easy.  There were financial matters involved, and the French people had to raise money in rather small amounts--because the Statue was to be a national gift from the French people to the United States.

• Back in the US there were delays as well because it was up to the US to supply a site, and prepare the pedestal.

• In 1887 Congress approved the site selected by Gen. William T. Sherman.  It was the site of old Fort Wood.  The granite for the base came from Leete’s Island, Conn.

• The cornerstone was laid on August 5, 1884 with full Masonic ceremonies.  Grand Master of New York William A. Brodie presided.

• It was officially turned over to the United States on July 4, 1884 in a ceremony at which Count Ferdinand de Lesseps (who you may remember from your high school history of the Panama Canal) presided..

• The Statue was dedicated on October 28, 1886.  President Grover Cleveland accepted the gift.

•  Liberty’s torch did not shine out to sea 50 miles as planned.

• In 1916 the torch was redesigned by another Mason, Brother Gutzon Borglum.

Mount Rushmore

• Brother Groblum was to become famous for a work of his own—Mount Rushmore.

• He worked on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial from 1927 until his death.

• The memorial consists of colossal heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, cut out of Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Sources:

For The Statue of Liberty:

Did you Know? Vignettes In Masonry From The Royal Arch Mason Magazine, (The Missouri Lodge of Research, 1965), p.180-183

For Mount Rushmore:

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2007. © 1993-2006 Microsoft Corporation.

How Old Is Freemasonry?  Historical, Traditional, and Speculative Approaches

Masonic Education Notes 2008 No. 2 - By H.F. “Herm” Cardona – Junior Warden

A question of definitions:

·        History – The study of written records

·        Approaches (or “Is absence of evidence, evidence of absence?)

o   Rigorous Academic – Knowledge must be supported by verifiable evidence in the form of written records.

o   Speculative Academic – Making intelligent or educated guesses based on circumstantial evidence and probability.

·        Freemasonry – History

1.    Grand Lodge – Historical Era, 1717 CE, and four old London lodges formed the Grand Lodge.  The first Book of constitutions was issued in 1723

·        Transition from Operative to Speculative the only early evidence of a “transition lodge” (one whose members were both stone masons and non-members of the craft) is from the Lodge of Edinburgh in 1630.

·        The earliest Lodge minutes date back to 1599, but are clearly those of a purely operative lodge.

·        The oldest Masonic document is the Regius manuscript, dated to 1390. 

·        Between 1599 and 1630 the trade unions of the masons became gentlemen clubs.  This is known as the “transition theory” of freemasonry.

·        Nobody knows why it happened or why there is so little documentary evidence. 

·        But it is the best evidence we have!

2.    Speculative History – The Templars

·        There is much misinformation, disinformation, and pseudo-history.

·        Too much to cover here.

·        The bottom line:  the Templars the Benedictines were probably two of the largest employers of stonemasons in the Middle Ages. 

·        This was the age of the great cathedrals.

·        The power of builders and architects must have seen supernatural.

·        The Templars built both castles and churches throughout Europe and the Middle East.

·        Should their order become dissolved and persecuted as it did in 1307. . .

·        Would it be reasonable to assume that. . . (1) some knights, (2) founded it favorable to disappear into their organized guilds of stone masons in search of anonymity and protection?

·        The questions are many; and the evidence remains circumstantial.

3.    Into The Realm of Fantasy – The Hyramic Legend

·        Freemasonry dates back to King Solomon’s Temple

·        You know the story.

4.    Archetypes in Freemasonry – So how old is it?

·        An individual journey in search of meaning

·        From darkness to light

·        The initiatory experience

·        The power of ritual

These make the philosophy of freemasonry; as old as man himself.

Sources:

Robert LD Cooper, The Rosslyn Hoax: Viewing Rosslyn Chapel from a New Perspective ,  (Lewis Books: London, 2006)

Cape Coral Lodge No. 367

Junior Warden (Herm) with

Author Robert LD Cooper

S. Brent Morris, PhD, The Complete idiots Guide to Freemasonry, (Alpha Division of Penguin Books: New york, 2006)

Cape Coral Lodge No. 367

Junior Warden (Herm) with

Author Ill, S. Brent Morris, PhD, 33º, Grand Cross

 Paul Naudon, The Secret History of Freemasonry: It's Origins and Connections to the Knights Templar, (Inner Traditions: Rochester, Vermont, 2005)

Henry Wilson Coil, Coils Masonic Encyclopedia, (Macoy Publishing Company: Richmond, VA, 1996)

Masonic Education Notes 2008 – No.3 – The Degree of Fellowcraft

Herm Cardona, Junior Warden

Introduction

·         The second degree, or Fellowcraft, marks an individual’s spiritual ascendance into adulthood in the Craft

·         The second degree is about advancement, assuming new responsibilities, and using the Three Great Lights to further an individual’s connection to the Brotherhood. 

·         The primary symbol of the second degree, a winding staircase, leads to the “Middle Chamber of the Temple”.  The seven steps symbolize the liberal arts and sciences, which are the basis of a well-rounded education. 

·         Hence the message is: through a well-rounded education we rise, and we advance. . .regardless of birth. 

·         Our ancient brethren were talking about a meritocracy in the 1700s! 

·         Today we proudly describe our country as such! 

The Tools of an Entered Apprentice 

·         The meaning of the working tools of an Entered Apprentice is self evident.   

·         The 24 inch gage teaches us the importance of managing our time.   

·         “Time management” and its importance are a basic principle in modern business management education. 

·         The common gable reminds us of the importance of self-improvement. 

·         “Conquering our personal defects” is the modern version. 

·         The working tools of the Fellowcraft are a little more complicated. 

The Working Tools of a Fellowcraft 

·         We are already familiar with the explanation given for the Square, Level, and Plumb in the catechism.  But there is more. 

·         Two sides of a square form a right angle, mimicking stones used to build strong upright structures. 

·         The square is accurate but the angle is such that it forces one to follow the correct path. 

·         The level by its very nature is symbolic of spiritual balance and equality. 

·         It is meant to show that even if men are not all on “equal ground”, they all have the opportunity to achieve greatness. 

·         The plumb represents rectitude or “uprightness of conduct”.  A mason is expected to be a “straight up” kind of guy. 

The Pillars of Solomon 

·         The pillars in the porch of King Solomon’s Temple are explained to us as strength and establishment. 

·         They can also be described as power and control. 

·         As the pillars holding the roof of the temple, their importance is a matter of basic engineering.  But there is a lesson here. 

·         Power without control is dangerous.  

·         And control without power is useless. 

The Seven Liberal Arts 

·         In the year 330 the seven liberal arts were formulated and defined,  

·         In the 12^th Century Christian scholars in France adopted them as the basis of all well rounded education. 

·         It is said that the study of the liberal arts was “a means to the knowledge of God”. 

·         Today education has become specialized into something that would best be referred to as “job training”. 

·         A degree in liberal arts is often seen as a sign of indecision and lack of focus. 

·         No wonder so many professionals are functionally “uneducated”. 

God and Geometry 

·         Geometry has both mathematical and metaphysical origins dating back to the ancient Egyptian and Greek eras.

·         Hence, Geometry and Masonry were indeed originally synonymous terms. 

·         Any reasonable and intelligent person who studies the numbering, proportion, and symmetry that is present throughout the universe, could never be a “stupid atheist”. 

·         And I used this term not to be judgmental, but to quote Dr. Anderson in the Constitutions of Freemasonry of the early 1700s.

 Sources:  John K. Young, Ph.D., and Barb Karg, The Everything Freemasons Book, (Adams Media; Avon Massachusetts, 2006)

 Philosophical interpretations are my own.