| Los Altos Lodge No. 712: | Last Updated on August 14, 2005 |
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August will once again be a stag Stated Meeting Dinner night but be sure to read the Junior Wardens article where he talks about upcoming events. Also remember that our annual Past Masters Night will be held at the Masonic Home on Friday August 26th starting at 6:00 PM. The thinking here is that having it at the home will allow Worshipful Brother Sterling Bailey to serve in his usual part as well as holding it at 6:00 pm will be early enough to allow other Brother residents of the home to attend and not interfere with their hour of evening retirement. Any Past Masters interested in participating please contact Wor. Ernie Castillo.
On September 17 we will host the Annual Santa Clara Constitution Night event. The cost of the event will be shared by several Santa Clara County Lodges but this year it will be held here at Los Altos Lodge. Be sure to make your reservation early.
August 1st is in many ways a very special day in history. Be sure to read the article "On This Day in History" on page 10. This date is also the birthday of at least two famous American Freemasons.
Brother William Clark was born on August 1st, 1770 in Charlottesville VA, and is famous as second in command of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.
Brother Clark was the ninth child in a family much involved in the Revolutionary War. His second oldest Brother, General George Rogers Clark, gained fame when he commanded the defeat of the British and Indians at Vincennes in 1799. At age 22, Brother Clark was commissioned a Lieutenant of the infantry in the U.S. Army under the command of General Anthony Wayne.
In 1794, he met Brother Lewis during campaigns, such as Fallen Timbers, against allied Indian tribes. They became close friends, and Lewis chose him to participate in the Northwest Expedition. When Lewis joined other Brethren in forming St. Louis Lodge #111, Clark was one of the first men to be raised, and he was proud to be known as a Freemason the rest of his life.
His journals and maps describe the expedition. Thereafter, Brother Clark served as an Indian Agent and a Superintendent of Indian Affairs before being appointed Governor of the Missouri Territory (1813-20). [See William Denslow's, Transactions of Missouri Lodge of Research, vol. 14, p. 218.]
Brother Clark was also appointed a lieutenant of artillery by President Thomas Jefferson with orders to join Captain Meriwether Lewis' expedition starting from St. Louis and crossing the Rocky Mountains to the mouth of the Columbia River.
Later he was appointed by President James Madison, to serve as governor of the Missouri Territory until it became a state. He was a member of St. Louis Lodge No. 111 (under Pennsylvania charter) and was buried in a St. Louis cemetery with Masonic honors in 1838.
In addition to sharing command, he also had record keeping duties. Especially important were the maps he created of the party's route.
In May of 1804 the expedition started up the Missouri River from a camp near St. Louis. By late fall, they reached what is now North Dakota and spent the winter there.
The following spring they continued along the Missouri and in late summer crossed the Rocky Mountains. They obtained horses, supplies, and valuable information from the Indians they met on their journey.
Following the Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia Rivers they made their way to the Pacific coast, which they reached in November of 1805. The party then spent the winter on the coast of what is now Oregon and began the trip home in March of 1806. The explorers returned along nearly the same route by which they had come, reaching St. Louis in September of 1806 after traveling a total of 8,000 miles (12,800 kilometers).
After Lewis's death in 1809, Clark became responsible for the publication of the expedition's journals. After the expedition Clark held several public offices in St. Louis, including superintendent of Indian Affairs.
Another Famous Freemason who was born on August 1st was Brother Francis Scott Key, author of the words to "The Star Spangled Banner". Brother Key was born in 1779, in Western Maryland. His family was very wealthy, and owned an estate called "Terra Rubra." When he was 10 years old, his parents sent him to grammar school in Annapolis. After graduating at the age of 17, he began to study law while working with his uncle's law firm. By 1805, he had a well-established law practice of his own in Georgetown, a suburb of Washington, D.C. By 1814, he had appeared many times before the Supreme Court and had been appointed the United States District Attorney.
Brother Key was a deeply religious man. At one time in his life, he almost gave up his law practice to enter the ministry. Because of his religious beliefs, he was strongly opposed to the War of 1812. However, due to his deep love for his country, he did serve for a brief time in the Georgetown field artillery in 1813.
During the War of 1812, Dr. William Beanes, a close friend of his, was taken prisoner by the British. Since Brother Key was a well-known lawyer, he was asked to assist in efforts to get Dr. Beanes released.
Knowing that the British were in the Chesapeake Bay, he left for Baltimore. There he met with Colonel John Skinner, who was also a Brother Mason, as well as a government agent who arranged for prisoner exchanges. Together, they set out on a small boat to meet the Royal Navy
On board the British flagship, the officers (Many of whom were also Masons) were very kind to Brothers Key and Skinner.
After a short communication, they agreed to release the good doctor. It was however understood that the three men would not be permitted to return to Baltimore until after the bombardment of Fort McHenry.
From a distance of approximately eight miles, Brother Key and his friends watched the British bombard Fort McHenry.
After 25 hours of continuous bombing, the British decided to leave since they were unable to destroy the fort. Brother Key looked toward the fort. To his relief, the flag was still flying! With pen in hand, he quickly wrote down the words to a poem on the back of a paper envelope. These words were soon reprinted and handed out as a handbill under the title "Defense of Fort McHenry." It was later renamed "The Star- Spangled Banner".
Brother Key was a member of Concordia Lodge #13, Maryland. Concordia, and it is interesting to note that, while he wrote the words, it was another Freemason named John Stafford Smith (1750-1836), a member of Royakl Somerset House & Inverness Lodge No. 4, in London, who wrote the music which eventually became our national anthem.
The music's original use is not known, but at a very early date it was used by an Irish Masonic orphans' Home, as its own song. At the time Brother Key used this music for the Star Spangled Banner, it was already being used as a popular drinking song named "To Anacreon in heaven."
On January 11, 1843, while visiting his daughter in Baltimore, Key died of pleurisy.
Although Brother Key wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner" in 1814, it was not until 1931 that it officially became our National Anthem.
Fraternally,
Luis Oroczo
Master
[No input to the TB.]
Fraternally,
Hal Bain
Senior Warden
The first order of business for August is to remind all about the Lodge picnic. It is scheduled for August 6th in the afternoon, after 3 PM at Shoup Park in Los Altos. Please come and bring a side dish. It would be nice if you could give me a call or drop me an email letting me know if you are coming and how many. There will be chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers and more. Looking forward to seeing many of you there.
Thanks to Dan Brown, masonry is currently more a topic of conversation than it used to be. I am currently reading "Beyond Angels & Demons" (Mas alla de Angeles & Demonios) in Spanish by Rene Chandelle. Not being a professional translator I have chosen "Beyond" it could also be "Past, Further than" or "Above and beyond". The title page proposes that the book contains the secrets of the "Illuminati" as used in the Dan Brown book " Angels and Demons" and their worldwide conspiracy. (I have not read Angels & Demons yet.)
One of the claims this author makes is that the 16th century Masons were infiltrated by the Illuminati and thus were involved in this worldwide conspiracy at that time. The conspiracy is that of world dominance. (I suspect he meant Western World dominance). I don't know if Rene is a man or woman, but for the rest of this article I will assume the masculine gender for Rene.
I still have more to read in this book, but the first section deals with the tracing of secret societies. This subject has been broached in many ways and with many variations. If it is not secret societies, it is the influence of select religious groups, or the Nights Templar or certain elite families of the world, etc. (Today's literature has an abundance of these types of claims.)
I am not particularly impressed with the author Rene Chandelle. He did not research well some of his facts. In more than one place he speaks of the American Masonic presidents such as Franklin and Jefferson. Most Masons will recognize that one was not a president and the other is not recorded as having been a Mason.
One aspect of the book I found interesting is that like a college textbook, important topics are isolated and encapsulated for the reader to focus on. One such topic, which I chose for this article, was the Eight Universal Masonic Lodge Rules he purported. The author claims to have researched the liturgy and nomenclature of different Masonic lodges, he concludes that there are eight basic parameters governing all lodges:
. Belief in God or The Grand Architect of the Universe.
. Taking an oath over the sacred book.
. The lodge labors in the presence of the three great lights: Sacred book, square and compass
. Prohibits the discussion of politics and religion in the lodge.
. Only men are admitted.
. Sovereignty
. Traditionalism
. Regularity of origin (I suspect this means Charter -ed)
I know we have brethren from many different jurisdictions. I wonder how these eight fundamental requirements fit in with their knowledge. My question is; are there more? Are these the prime eight? Is this for all jurisdictions? I am curious, so if any reader can add/subtract or change these rules, please let me know.
Obviously this book has been written to take advantage of the author Dan Brown and his current popularity. I am quite pleased to say that, so far, I found no derogatory remarks about any of the institutions mentioned, and found many aspect of the book interesting. (A little voice keeps reminding me that this author is not too diligent in his research so I must take his claims with a few grains of salt) I will finish reading the Spanish version and see if I can find a translation. (So far exploring the Internet I find that Rene Chandelle writes in Spanish and there does not appear to be an English translation to this book yet.) Next month's article may bring more interesting information from this book.
I was reflecting on the fact that most references to Masonry claim we are a secret fraternity. There is nothing secret about Masonry. The public library has books divulging all our secrets. What I have found is that only men with a select type of character and morality, become Masons. This I think is what sets us apart.
It has been scheduled and hopefully we will be putting on a Past Masters third degree at the Masonic Home on August 26. That is a Friday and we hope to start at 6:30 pm. Please contact me if you can and wish to participate. I need as many Past Masters as we can garner. Our candidate is Jeff Altera and he is working to complete his proficiency by the August meeting.
Fraternally,
Ernie Castillo,
Junior Warden
On This Day In History - August 1st
1790 - 1st US census (population of 3,939,214) 1873 - SF's 1st cable car begins service 1907 - Bank of Italy opens 1st branch at 3433 Mission Street, SF 1914 - Germany declares war on Russia in WW I 1936 - Adolph Hitler opens Berlin Olympic Games 1953 - Calif. introduces sales tax (proposed for education only) 1958 - 1st class postage up to $0.04 (had been $0.03 for 26 years)
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