Category: Freemasonry
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by Midnight Freemasons Contributor WB Darin A. Lahners Worshipful Brother Robert Smalls was born on April 5, 1839 in Beaufort, South Carolina to Lydia Polite, a woman who was enslaved to Henry McKee, who was most likely Robert’s father. He grew up in Beaufort, in the fields. As Robert was favored over other slaves, his…
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by Midnight Freemasons Contributor WB Darin A. Lahners A first degree tracing board not unlike the one used by Dr. Travis Taylor It saddens me when I watch a television program and Freemasonry is painted in a negative light, especially in cases where our gentle craft is linked to false theories or concepts. Recently…
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by Midnight Freemasons Contributor WB Darin A. Lahners Yesterday, August 15, 2020, was Masonic Visibility and Pride Day here in Illinois. The event was sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Illinois and Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois. The Grand Lodges asked that all Brethren help them “celebrate by wearing clothing (e.g. t-shirts, polo shirts,…
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by Midnight Freemasons Contributor WM Darin A. Lahners Freemasons have been and will continue to be a target for conspiracy theorists because we are as they say, a secret society. As a freemason, and an avid follower of conspiracy theories, I guess I fall into the category of a hypocrite. For me, reading about and…
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by Midnight Freemason Contributor WB Darin A. Lahners My first installation at St. Joseph #970, before I became a Grumpy Past Master The very first article I wrote for the Midnight Freemasons blog was entitled “What to Expect When You’re Expecting: Worshipful Master’s Edition which can be found here: http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2017/06/what-to-expect-when-youre-expecting.html. I talked about my fears…
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by Midnight Freemason Contributor WB Darin A. Lahners It may be a surprise to some Freemasons that Hiram Abiff wasn’t always in a prominent role in the Master Mason Degree. In fact, the first reference to the Hiramic legend occurs in 1730 in Samuel Prichard’s Masonry Dissected. In this work, Prichard refers to Hiram as…
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by Midnight Freemason Contributor WB Darin A. Lahners “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)” is a song by the American rock band R.E.M., from Athens, Georgia, which first appeared on their 1987 album Document. The song’s satirical title pretty much sums up my current state of mind,…
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by Midnight Freemason Contributor WB Darin A. Lahners I had a local brother, Jim Licquia, email me this weekend asking me to write a column to address some questions he had. While it’s too early to assess this, I will attempt to answer his questions, because they are questions that all of us have thought…
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by Midnight Freemason Contributor Darin A. Lahners, PM In the Entered Apprentice degree, one of the things that stood out to me was the following question and answer after you as the candidate first knock at the door of the preparation room to note your desire to become a Freemason. It is a question posed…
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by Midnight Freemason Contributor Darin A. Lahners, PM Brethren, as I write this, the world as we know it is falling apart. Supermarkets are stripped bare. People are panicking due to fear of the unknown. My Grand Lodge here in Illinois, along with a lot of other jurisdictions, are suspending stated meetings and other lodge…