A Little Lodge Of Long Ago

A Little Lodge Of Long Ago

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The Lodge above Simpkins Store in Fairplay, CO

The Little Lodge of long ago-
It wasn’t very much for show;
Men met above the village store,
And cotton more than satin wore,
And sometimes stumbled on a word,
But no one cared, or no one heard.
Then tin reflectors threw the light
Of kerosene across the night
And down the highway served to call
The faithful to Masonic Hall.
It wasn’t very much, I know,
The little lodge of long ago.

But, men who meet in finer halls,
Forgive me if the mind recalls
With love, not laughter, doors of pine,
And smoky lamps that dimly shine,
Regalia tarnished, garments frayed,
Or cheaply bought or simply made,
And floors uncarpeted, and men
Whose grammar falters now and then-
For Craft or Creed, or God Himself,
Is not a book upon a shelf:
They have a splendor that will touch
A Lodge that isn’t very much.

It isn’t very much- and yet
And, if a handful or a host,
This made it great: there Masons met-
That always matters, matters most.
The beauty of the meeting hour
Is not a thing of robe or flow’r,
However beautiful they seem:
The greatest beauty is the gleam
Of sympathy in honest eyes.
A Lodge is not a thing of size,
It is a thing of Brotherhood,
And that alone can make it good.

By Bro. Douglas Malloch

Introducing the Officers of Fraternal Lodge No. 37 for 2022

Introducing the Officers of Fraternal Lodge No. 37 for 2022

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Officers for Fraternal Lodge No. 37 have been elected and installed to their respective positions, with the help of Worshipful Brother and Grand Secretary, V.S. “Mac” McGee. We are grateful for everyone’s support as we prepare for another year!

L to R: PM Tom Carder (2021), WM Mark Wright, PM David L. Lee (2020).

WM Mark Wright & WB Mac McGee
WB Mac McGee, Grand Secretary for the Grand Lodge of Georgia.
Wor. Bro. Ken Owens presents SW Bro. Dacus Grant
Wor. Bro. Ken Owens presents JW Bro. Troy Thomas
Wor. Bro. Ken Owens presents Secretary Bro. Ed Shulak
Wor. Bro. Ken Owens presents Chaplain WB Paul Cates
Wor. Bro. Ken Owens presents JD Bro. Gary Smith and SD Bro. Jim Robinson
WM Mark Wright sits in the East with WB Mac McGee
Top L to R: WB Paul Cates (Chaplain), WM Mark Wright, WB Tommy Croy (Dir. of Work)
Bottom L to R: Bros. Gary Smith (Junior Deacon), Jim Robinson (Senior Deacon), Dacus Grant (Senior Warden), Troy Thomas (Junior Warden), Ed Shulak (Secretary).
Wor. Bro. Ken Owens and WM Mark Wright
WM Mark Wright with his children Carissa Wright and Bro. Justin Wright
WM Mark Wright and WB David L. Lee

The Lambskin Apron

The Lambskin Apron

Posted on by Fraternal Lodge

A Poem by Edgar A. Guest

Lambskin Apron
Credit: Midnight Freemasons

It is not ornamental, the cost is not great,
There are other things far more useful, yet truly I state,
Tho of all my possessions, there’s none can compare,
With that white leather apron, which all Masons wear.

As a young lad, I wondered just what it all meant,
When Dad hustled around, and so much time was spent
On shaving and dressing and looking just right,
Until Mother would say: “It’s the Masons tonight.”

And some winter nights she said: “What makes you go,
Way up there tonight thru the sleet and the snow,
You see the same things every month of the year.”
Then Dad would reply: “Yes, I know it, my dear.”

Forty years I have seen the same things, it is true.
And though they are old, they always seem new,
For the hands that I clasp, and the friends that I greet,
Seem a little bit closer each time that we meet.”

Years later I stood at that very same door,
With good men and true who had entered before,
I knelt at the altar, and there I was taught
That virtue and honor can never be bought.

That the spotless white lambskin all Masons revere,
If worthily worn grows more precious each year,
That service to others brings blessings untold,
That man may be poor tho surrounded by gold.

I learned that true brotherhood flourishes there,
That enmities fade ‘neath the compass and square,
That wealth and position are all thrust aside,
As they’re on the level men meet and abide.

So, honor the lambskin, may it always remain
Forever unblemished, and free from all stains,
And when we are called to the Great Father’s love,
May we all take our place in that Lodge up above

Are You the One Keeping the Lights On?

Are You the One Keeping the Lights On?

Posted on by Fraternal Lodge

Someone at the Lodge

Image by Mike Goad from Pixabay

I know there is someone at the Lodge,
There’s a meeting there twice a month.
I know someone cuts the grass,
I can tell because it gets done;
I know someone pays the lights and water,
Because I see them on each month.
I know someone repairs the building;
Because I see it happen when needed.
I know someone teaches the work;
Because candidates go through.
I know someone sends in the reports;
Because the Lodge keeps its charter.
I know someone keeps things going;
I’d like to help but don’t have time.
I’ll let them do it,
They seem to always be around.
I’ll just wear my ring;
And pay my dues.
When others ask about the Lodge;
I’ll proudly say I’m a member.
And I’ll just let someone else,
Do all the things that keep it going.
Sometimes, though, I wonder…

Who is that someone?

Robert E. Rowland, PM
Secretary, Goshen Masonic Lodge No. 71

The Bridge Builder

The Bridge Builder

Posted on by Fraternal Lodge


By Will Allen Dromgoole

Dedicated to Past Masters of Fraternal Lodge No. 37

An old man going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening cold and gray,
To a chasm vast and deep and wide.
Through which was flowing a sullen tide
The old man crossed in the twilight dim,
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near,
“You are wasting your strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day,
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide,
Why build this bridge at evening tide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!”

Fraternal Lodge No. 37 Hosts Boy Scout Troop 62 for Flag Retirement Ceremony

Fraternal Lodge No. 37 Hosts Boy Scout Troop 62 for Flag Retirement Ceremony

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Retiring Old Glory

(McDonough, GA – November 4, 2021) The Officers of Fraternal Lodge No. 37 invited Boy Scout Troop 62 to present a U.S. flag retirement ceremony before the evening’s meeting. After burgers and hotdogs were served, the ceremony took place in the lodge parking lot with several Brethren in attendance. Many brought their retired flags for the event and each flag was properly and respectfully retired by fire.

When the United States flag (Old Glory) becomes worn, torn, faded or badly soiled, it is time to replace it with a new flag, and the old flag should be “retired” with all the dignity and respect befitting our nation’s flag. The traditional method of retirement is to incinerate the flag, but this does not mean that one should simply drop the entire flag (intact) into a fire.

A flag ceases to be a flag when it is cut into pieces. In addition, it is easier to completely incinerate the flag, if it is cut into smaller pieces. A flag should never be torn up like an old bed sheet. It should be cut up with scissors or shears in a methodical manner. The corners of the flag should be stretched out over a table top and someone should cut the flag in half, vertically (be careful not to cut up the blue star field (see the figure). Then, place the two halves together and cut them in half, horizontally. You will end up with four pieces of flag, one being the blue star field.

The reason we do not cut the blue star field is it represents the union of the fifty states and one should never let the union be broken.

U.S. Scouting Service Project

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A $25 Loan Between Two "Brothers"

A $25 Loan Between Two “Brothers”

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A young man passed a pawnbroker’s shop. The moneylender was standing in front of his shop, and the young man noted that he was wearing a large and beautiful Masonic emblem.

After going on a whole block, apparently lost in thought, the young man turned back, stepped up to the pawnbroker, and addressed him: “I see you’re wearing a Masonic emblem. I’m a Freemason too. It happens that I’m desperately in need of $25 just now. I shall be able to repay it within ten days. You don’t know me, but I wonder whether the fact that you are a Freemason and that I am a Freemason is sufficient to induce you to lend me the money on my personal note.”

The pawnbroker mentally appraised the young man, who was clean-cut, neat, and well-dressed. After a moment’s thought, he agreed to make the loan on the strength of the young man being a Freemason.

Within a few days, the young man repaid the loan as agreed and that ended the transaction.

About four months later the young man was in a Lodge receiving the Entered Apprentice Degree; he had not really been a Mason when he borrowed the $25.

After he had been admitted for the second section of the degree, the young man looked across the Lodge room and saw the pawnbroker from whom he had borrowed the $25. His face turned crimson and he became nervous and jittery. He wondered whether he had been recognized by the pawnbroker.

Apparently not, so he planned at the first opportunity to leave the Lodge room and avoid his benefactor. As soon as the Lodge was closed he moved quickly for the door, but the pawnbroker had recognized the young man, headed him off and, to the young man’s astonishment, approached him and greeted him with a smile and outstretched hand. “Well, I see you weren’t a Freemason after all when you borrowed that $25,” the pawnbroker commented.

The blood rushed to the young man’s face as he stammered, “No, I wasn’t, but I wish you’d let me explain. I had always heard that Freemasons were charitable and ready to aid a Brother in distress. When I passed your shop that day I didn’t need that $25. I had plenty of money in my wallet, but when I saw the Masonic emblem you were wearing, I decided to find out whether the things I’d heard about Freemasonry were true.

You let me have the money on the strength of my being a Freemason, so I concluded that what I had heard about Masons was true, that they are charitable, that they do aid Brethren in distress. That made such a deep impression on me that I presented my petition to this Lodge and here I am. I trust that with this explanation you will forgive me for having lied to you.”

The pawnbroker responded, “Don’t let that worry you too much. I wasn’t a Freemason when I let you have the money. I had no business wearing the Masonic emblem you saw. Another man had just borrowed some money on it, and it was so pretty that I put it on my lapel for a few minutes. I took it off the moment you left. I didn’t want anyone else borrowing money on the strength of my being a Freemason.

When you asked for that $25, I remembered what I had heard about Masons, that they were honest, upright, and cared for their obligations promptly. It seemed to me that $25 wouldn’t be too much to lose to learn if what I’d heard was really true, so I lent you the money and you repaid it exactly as you said you would. That convinced me that what I’d heard about Masons was true so I presented my petition to this Lodge. I was the candidate just ahead of you.”

From the January 1977 New Mexico Freemason

Because I am a Mason

Because I am a Mason

Posted on by Fraternal Lodge

A salesman’s car breaks down in a remote country lane. A farmer in the adjacent field comes over and they discover that they are “Brothers.” The salesman is concerned as he has an important appointment in the local town. “Don’t worry”, says the farmer. “You can use my car, I’ll call a friend and get the car repaired while you go to the appointment.”

Off goes the salesman and a couple of hours later he returns but unfortunately the car is awaiting a part which won’t arrive until the next morning. “It’s not a problem,” says the farmer, “use my telephone and re-schedule your first appointment tomorrow, stay with us tonight and I’ll see that the car is done first thing!”

The farmer’s wife prepares a wonderful meal and they share a glass of fine single malt during an excellent evening. The salesman sleeps soundly and when he awakes there is his car, repaired and ready to go.

After a full English breakfast, the salesman thanks them both for the hospitality. As he and the farmer walk to his car he turns and asks “My Brother, thank you so much but I have to ask, did you help me because I am a Mason?” “No” was the reply, “I helped you because I am a Mason”.

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