FreeMasons

Two days ago I found myself riding in the jeep to a cheese factory in the boom docks, the name of which is Union Star. Our GPS was taking us to many different places, all of which were wrong. Finally, we arrived at a little building called Union Star, but we found out that the tour was long over. We did get some good cheese though, and coincidentally I'm eating it now. But anyway, we rode around a lot and rode into a town named Omro, WI. Some event was going on, as we saw all the stands and bustling people. It was the town's October Fest, a monthly event kind of like Roswell's Alive After 5 (if you're not from Roswell you probably don't know what I'm talking about). We thought it might be a fun idea to go around Omro, so we parked the jeep on the river and went across the street. There, we saw a baked goods stand, along with a carpenter and craft stand. We walked further, and went by an oldie rock band and a gas station. I then saw an old tall red brick building with a sign in front that said: Freemason Meeting Lodge.

Freemasons! Those old society of men, derived from the stone masons that worked on architecture! Those old stories of Tubal Cain, Hiram-Abiff, the Nights Templar, and other old folklore! For a year before we stepped our two feet in that building I've been interested and intrigued in all the myths and folklore attached to this strange group. I have researched on the net, asked questions to local masons, and even peeked into a masonic lodge. A few things I've learned includes there are 33 degrees in Masons, and that some of the founding fathers who made the back of the dollar bill were masons (and that you have to be 21 to join the Freemasons). I've been to a masonic museum, I've visited masonic temples in Philadelphia. What's my theory on them? I believe that they are all good people trying to do good things, but the amount of secrecy and hiding is extreme. The all seeing eye, the compass and ruler, all are a little creepy. So, two days ago, on October 8th, I stepped into that masonic lodge, ready to investigate.

I walked in, and saw manikins on my right and left. They were Rosie the Riveter and another guy. This is what a lodge looks like? Looking farther, I saw old Indian items and tables and tables and glass cases full of old farming, Indian, or other things relating to that time period. I also saw many many newspapers and regular pieces of paper about the history of the town.(Omro) Wait, where is all the Freemason things? I would soon find out.

More and more tables, even more glass cases, and even more than that of items. We all walked in to the back, and a man said the tour of the lodge had just begun. I went through an office, and into the stairway. It had faded yellow walls, and a wheelchair on a long metal rod that it goes down and up on. Walking fast with Rebecca and Dad close behind, I turned right and saw a bathroom, a little table, and a big waiting room it looked like In there, their were books on the Freemasons and pictures of all the master masons. Old, young, middle, and proud hung on the walls of that room. I stayed in there a while, but voices from a room next to this showed that the action took place in there. I walked into there, and found myself in a long wide room with what looked like movie theater seats lined up at the walls. I was on the right, and in the middle was a podium with what looked like a bible and the masonic symbol, the compass and the ruler, making a slight square. On the far side of the room, there was a piano on one side and a desk with papers on the other. I later learned the desk was home to the secretary, and that sometimes the piano would be played. In the middle of the far side, sat three chairs, the one closest to the piano had a herringbone fedora on it, and the middle one that was a little taller than the others had a G on the chair back of it. On the right by the secretary desk, there was a sword resting on it's armrests. They were all of wood, and all had a cushioned back. On the opposite side of the room, I saw one soul chair, that had a button by his side, and a gavel with a small gavel pad on it. This was an interesting room, and had some character. A large man with a little red beard was talking to a young man about joining to become a Freemason. He talked about writing a petition, being investigated and interviewed, and the vote that happens before you can become one. If one mason votes no, that means you cannot become a mason. But, if you have no no votes, then you go through a blindfolded ceremony and you are then unblindfolded and shown the room. The kid who asked about second guessed himself, and left, creeped out by the blindfolding thing. I asked the man about freemasonry, and he told me a lot and I asked about all I wanted to know. He said he was surprised how much I knew already, and that for kids they had a program called De Mo Lay, freemasonry from the ages of 12 to 21. Besides the creepy atmosphere, I didn't find anything shocking about the lodge. But, my search is not over, I will keep my ears pricked, and my eyes wide open.

Pat, the man I had been talking to, told me goodbye, and I went back down, and we all were about to leave. Rebecca had been talking to this lady, and when she told her about our trip and that we were from GA, she said that she had been to Lineville, AL! That's where my dad's car dealership is! She worked on a mission with SIFAT, Service In Faith and Technology. What a small world!

We left, had a nice T-Bone cookout, and went to bed after the great food. A great day done.

What's the password to this blog?,

Andrew.