Wayfarers Lodge #1001; A bit of History Part 2

An Excerpt from the Wayfarers Lodge #1001 75th Anniversary Program Booklet, Oct 31, 1992

Historical
By Frank H. Welter Sr., P.M.

On February 5th, 1916, twenty five brethren from Evans #524, Park Ridge #873 and Wilmette #931, wet at the Evanston Masonic Hall, located at 810 Davis Street, Evanston, Illinois, with the idea to form a new lodge.

Brother George Tyson, M.D. was selected as the chairman and Brother Carl M. Cooley was selected as Secretary.

During this meeting, it was decided to meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month.  A committee was formed to select a name for the future lodge.  Another committee was formed to select names for officers and yet another to start to draw up the by-laws.

At the next meeting held on February 16, 1916, twenty one brethren mat, at which time, the committees reported.  Three names were suggested for the Lodge, which were, "Hiram", "Northwestern" and "Cosmopolitan".  Dues in the amount of $5.00 were made to help with the expenses.

The third meeting was held on March 1, 1916 and out of nowhere, as far as the minutes show, the name of "Wayfarers" was picked as the new lodge name.  A motion was made to make this a permanent organization and calling it the "Wayfarers Club".  The motion passed.

During the April 19, 1916 meeting, the by-laws were sent to the Grand Lodge for approval and the fee for the degrees was fixed at $75.00  What would that amount to today?  Maybe $750.00?

All during these meetings, there always appeared a bill for cigars.

On July 5th, 1916, the District Deputy Grand Master, Worshipful Brother Robert Holt, presided in the East and a letter from the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Ralph H. Wheeler, was read that instituted Wayfarers Lodge under dispensation.  Seventy members had signed a petition to form this new lodge.  The District Deputy then invested the jewels of their office and installed in their respective stations as places.

Bro. George Tyson, WM
Bro. George Baker, SW
Bro. E. G. Gross, JW
Bro. George Carmin, Treas.
Bro. Carl Cooley, Sec.
Bro. E. J. Brown, SD
Bro. W. D. Dickson, JD
Bro. Charles Karvin, SS
Bro. Fred L. Kerr, JS

After the by-laws were read and approved, they were then sent to the Grand Lodge for approval.  During this meeting, there were twelve petitions for degrees read and referred to the investigation committee.

The remaining minutes of the Lodge under dispensation have been lost over the years.

The Lodge was constituted on November 15, 1916 and I can find nothing on who was there and who represented the Grand Lodge.

Thus our Lodge shall enter the last twenty five years before the century mark.  I hope that this Lodge continues with the spirit of good fellowship which has been very prominent as long as I have been a member.

Good Luck Wayfarers,

Frank H. Welter Sr., P.M.

A Knights Vigil - Part 2

In my last post, I introduced you to the medieval practice of a Knights Vigil or the Vigil of Arms.  Why would I post this on a blog about Masons? 

What many of you don’t know is that one of my hobbies is medieval re-creation.  I belong to a group that is very serious about history and re-enacting history.  Trying to experience things the way they were in ages past.  Still though, why is this relevant to Masonry?  Some of what I described in my blog was a ritual of cleansing your soul, mind and body before taking on the responsibilities of Knighthood. 

On March 19^th, I will receive the Order of the Temple at the Evanston Commandery #58.  This is a great honor in Masonry and at one time was a great undertaking and came with great honor and respect.  I take this honor very seriously and it presents an opportunity where I can mix my hobby and my craft together.  I will undergo the Vigil of Arms, modified a little to suit modern times, but the intent of the rite will remain intact. 

It is my intention to complete the 6 actions, to prepare my mind, my body and my soul for such an honor and to prove myself worthy, if but to only myself and my God.  I will have my hair cut into my usual summer “USMC” cut a little early this year.  I will take my ritual bath, on my own to prepare for the ritual and I will fast from Dusk to Dawn.  I will wear white.  I will meditate on the two ideals of knighthood and how that may apply to my Masonic obligations (perhaps an after action paper on that subject!).  I will keep my vigil through the night, but unfortunately I will not be able to attend mass because of the time I need to be at the Temple.  I will find some alternative means to complete that action, perhaps that the old English Tradition of a breakfast. 

I will include my closest Brothers and Friends in my vigil.  I will invite them to join me for as long as they can through the night.  But I will make it an enjoyable experience with indulgences from the 21^st century such as food, drink and joviality.  A celebration of sorts to commemorate the honored Masonic principal of Brotherhood. 

With that said, now you see how I have tied the Knight’s Vigil to an honorable Masonic degree. 

What say you?

The Knight's Vigil

In the Middle Ages or Western Civilization, the position of Knight in any of the respected orders was a coveted position and often shrouded with secrecy and filled with deep religious connotations.  The act of being knighted was much more than what we see on the big screen where a Sovereign dubs a person into an order by laying on his sword or sceptre.  It often included a number of preparatory activities such as deep prayer, meditation, fasting, cleansing and ritual. 

During the middle ages a squire would commence his Vigil on the eve of his knighting ceremony.  The evening would begin with a ceremonial cleaning bath during which time he would also observe a fast.  He would confess his sins and often commit to a period of prayer in the chapel of his order.  All this while dressed in white as a symbol of his purity. 

Originally, knighting took place on the battle field where a soldier, valiant and brave, would receive the battlefield honor immediately after the Battle by his Liege.  Around 1200 A.D. the Catholic Church imposed its control over the dubbing of knights and established a system of ritual and ceremony.  Often these rituals would take two days and would include 12 or more hours of standing or kneeling in vigil. 

In some cases, the vigil would only last all night, until the next day.  The Vigil of arms was an act of being “watchful” where the knight ceremoniously kept a vigil through the night by staying awake at watch or in prayer in preparation for the ceremony.   At dawn, he would attend Mass, then be presented to him t his Lord where he was presented with the tools of his trade and he took the obligations of his Order. 

Every act of his vigil established his worthiness to “earn his spurs” which were the symbol of his office.  If he failed to properly complete his vigil, he was deemed unworthy and prevented from receiving the position.  Each action represented purity and integrity, attributes of a man worthy of the title Sir Knight. 

Historically there were six basic actions of the vigil.  The first was for the candidate to cut his hair.  This act, of sacrificing your hair, was seen as a sign of devotion to God.  Depending on your order, dictated how much of your hair was sacrificed.  It could have been as little as a single lock all the way to shearing your hair into the cut of your respective Order’s monks. 

The second act was a cleansing bath which symbolized the cleansing of your sins, which was also may have been later supplemented with a confession of your sins to a priest of your order.  Once absolved of his sins, the next act was for a candidate to be dressed in white, which symbolised his purity. 

The next  acts were meditative in nature and in some cases may have included added clothing of a particular color to establish your acceptance of the concepts for which he meditated on.  The candidate would meditate on the fact that he may have to shed blood in the service of God and his Order.  The next was to mediate on his own mortality and that he should not fear death.

The next act was to fast, an act meant to purify his body after he had purified his soul.  The act of fasting was to remind him of his humanity and his service to the meek and poor to which he would be obligated to protect. 

The final act was to enter the chapel, kneel before his armour and weapons and humble himself before God.  This final act would after be during a Mass where the candidate stood the final hours of the vigil in the House of God.  The actual dubbing was the shortest part of the entire ritual.  Depending on your order, it was usually a quick act which conferred the title, such as laying on hands, a tap on the shoulder with a sword or sceptre or a blow to the back of the head with the flat of the sword, as it was done in early England. 

The Vigil died out years ago, but can still be found used in some rare cases, one of which is the basis for the ceremony candidates for the Vatican’s Swiss Guard go through before taking their office protecting the Pope. 

The ritual varied in some cases, for example, in England after the mass but before the dubbing, the fast was ended with a big breakfast feast with family and friends.  Some secular organizations and orders included a lunch or dinner feast prior to the observance of the rituals, not all of which included a fast.  In all cases, the Vigil was used to prepare a candidate spiritually, emotionally and sometimes physically to accept the title and obligations of the Order. 

When is a man a Mason?

When he can look out over the rivers, the hills and the far horizon with a sense of his own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope and courage... which is the root of every virtue.

When he knows that down in his heart every man is as noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic and as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, to forgive and to love his fellow man.  When he knows how to sympathize with men in their sorrow, yea, even in their sins, knowing that each man fights a hard fight against many odds.  When he has learned how to make friends, and to keep then, and above all, to keep friends with himself.

When he can be happy and high minded amid the meaner drudgeries of life.

When no voice of distress reaches his ears in vain, and no hand seeks his aid without response.

When he knows how to pray, how to love, how to hope.

When he has kept faith with himself, with his fellow man, with his God.  In his hand a sword for evil, in his heart a bit of a song ... glad to live, but not afraid to die.  Such a man has found the only real secret of Freemasonry, and the one which it is trying to give all the world.  - Joseph Fort Newton

***  ***  ***

Joseph Fort Newton

July 21, 1880 - January 24, 1950
Baptist minister and masonic author, Joseph Fort Newton is remembered for several masonic books, The Builders in 1914 and The Men’s House in 1923 being two of the most widely reprinted.

February

FEBRUARY

The month of February, the third month of the winter season, is the second month of the year. 

Before the re-arrangement of the Roman Calendar by the Emperor Numa Pompilius, March was the first month of  the ten months of the year, and December was the last.  Our second month February receives its name from a Latin word which means “to Purify”, for in this month, people purified their homes and made sacrifices to the gods who loved order and cleanliness. 

The old tradition assigns the amethyst as the jewel and the primrose as the flower of this month.

Pisces – the fishes

The approach of the resumption of agricultural labors was commemorated by a mystical association with fishes as a sign of life after death.  The sun was then found among the stars of the fishes. 

Of the twelve tribes of Israel, it is probable that the tribe of Simeon and Levi bore the zodiacal sign of  Pisces as their tribal emblem, when they entered the promised land. 

The Number two:

In created things, it is the generative number.

The Duad:

Cain and Abel:

Good and Evil:

Right and Left:

Life and Death:

Day and Night:

Jachin and Boaz:

Man and Woman:

Earth and Heaven:

Surface and Center:

Light and Darkness:

Sunshine and Shadow:

The Symbol of Antagonism:

The Active and the Passive:

The Two Wardens of the Lodge:

The Female Principle in Nature:

Two Words of Two Syllables Each:

*** Excerpt from “The Master’s Lectures as delivered in Evans Lodge #524, Dec. 1923

The Cup of Brotherly Love Presentation

When:  17 March 2001
6:30pm - Dinner
7:30pm - Presentation

Where:  Evanston Masonic Temple - 1453 Maple Ave - Evanston, Ill 60201

On September 7, 1929, Norman B. Hickox, Master of Events Lodge No. 524, Illinois, formally presented a beautiful silver cup to the lodge, after raising his son as a Master Mason. The Cup of Brotherly Love, as it came to be known, was to be sent on a journey around the world, traveling always from West to East by land sea or air, and always in the custody of a Master Mason. The cup visited more than 150 host lodges as it circled the globe. On May 24, 1958, a homecoming celebration was held at Evans Lodge to commemorate the return of the cup to the lodge.

$10.00 donation will cover dinner and proceeds will go to Evans Lodge’s Cup Program. 

Please RSVP by emailing me.  RSVPs are needed so that we know how much food to bring for the dinner.  

Future Presentations:

16 April:  Ashville N. C.  The Lodge in Ashville is putting on a Grand event inviting Lodges from all over the State of North Carolina, including their Grand Lodge.  If you are interested in attending, please contact me and I will but you in touch with their Worshipful Master.  

Wayfarers Lodge #1001; A bit of History

Did you know...........

James F. Stiles Jr., 

Former Chairman of the Board, Vice President, Treasurer and Director of Abbott Laboratories, Chicago.  Brother Stiles was born 27 June 1892.

Brother Stiles started as an order picker in the Abbott Laboratories shipping room, where he started in 1913.  Dr. Wallace C. Abbott can lay claim to one of the most unique methods of personnel recruitment: delivering babies whom he later employed!  Brother Stiles was one of those babies.  

Brother Stiles was also President of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce from 1945 to 1947 and a Republican delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1960.

Brother Stiles was raised on 21 May 1919 at wayfarers Lodge #1001 in Evanston, Illinois.  He was also Past Sovereign of St. John's Conclave #1, the Red Cross of Constantine in Chicago.

I can not find a date of his death anywhere, but he was a Wayfarer of note and a part of our history.