LITTLE CURRENT—The Masonic Lodge and Freemasonry have been the stuff of conspiracy theories long before the recent social media deluge, but anyone familiar with the members of this historic fraternal organization will be well-acquainted with the calibre of men within its ranks. Much of the conjecture about the Masons is doubtless engendered by the fact that they keep their rituals and meetings private.
But as a recent visit by a past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Canada in the Province of Ontario the Most Worshipful Brother Gary L. Atkinson and his colleagues from Sarnia and Sudbury demonstrates, the organization is far more open than the hype might suggest.
Mr. Atkinson and his companions were feted on Manitoulin recently at a dinner hosted by the Doric Lodge and catered by members of the Order of the Eastern Star, the companion organization to which the wives of the Lodge belong.
Mr. Atkinson was born in Petrolia, has a wife Sandy and they have two grown children, Greg and Drew. He retired from Shell after 33 years and is currently serving as the mayor of the Town of Plymton-Wyoming. He joined the Masons in 1972.
“On behalf of my traveling companions, I want to thank you for the great hospitality for all the kindness that has been extended to us,” said Mr. Atkinson in his address following dinner. “It’s been great from the moment we arrived—quite outstanding and I want to thank our two tour guides for our tour today.”
The former grand master also expressed gratitude on behalf of himself and his companions to the members of the Spanish River Chapter 237 of the Order of Eastern Star, an organization made up of members of the Doric Lodge’s wives. “I want to thank them for our final meal this evening.”
“I’d like to begin by recognizing a certain individual that’s joined with us tonight,” he said. “Mr. Mike Erskine, assistant editor of your local newspaper, The Manitoulin Expositor. He was recently recognized as a first-place winner with the Canadian Community Newspaper Association for his editorial work. With the rapid changes in the media today, it’s nice to have consistency—and most importantly a local connection. Often, we have a diet of strictly reading about events throughout the world or the GTA.”
Mr. Atkinson went on to share a brief story that occurred while travelling home from an all-Canada conference during his tenure as grand master that highlights the depth of Freemasonry prevalent in the nation.
“On our sole journey to Winnipeg we had the pleasure of traveling on one of our Canadian airlines, one that the flight crew at the time had the reputation of being happy, friendly and courteous, I know sometimes those words are hardly mentioned when you talk about the service provided by our flight carriers—nevertheless, the airline we flew with provided just that type of service. It was Sunday morning, one week before Easter on a beautiful day in Manitoba by their weather standards. We boarded our plane and waited for the de-icing to begin. Once we were in the air, Most Worshipable Brother Peterson and I decided to utilize our time and to read some of the large summons.”
The former grand master relayed how he explained that back in those days before the Masons had electronic summonses, the leadership would take advantage of travel or other down time to get caught up with what was going on through all the lodges within their jurisdiction.
“One of the younger flight attendants came along and asked us what we were doing and what we were reading—and in rapid order asked us the following questions. ‘Are you guys Masons? Where have you been? What are you doing? What are you reading?’” he recalled.
Throwing caution to the wind, Mr. Atkinson went on to engage the flight attendant in conversation and answered her queries.
“Her immediate response to us was ‘my father’s a Mason. Both my grandfathers were Masons and my brothers are Masons. They belong in Thunder Bay. I’m pleased to meet both of you. I can’t wait to call home and tell my dad.’ Later during the flight, I got up to take a walk and stretch my legs. Seated at the back of the plane was the young flight attendant with one of her co-workers. She introduced me to her co-worker and her co-worker smiled and said, ‘does that mean you’re the Head Poohba or the Head Water Buffalo?’”
Joking aside, the young flight attendant expressed curiosity about Freemasonry, so Mr. Atkinson sat down and explained the organization to her.
“We talked about the origins of Freemasonry; how it’s a society of men concerned with the moral and spiritual values, how its members are taught precepts by a series of rituals and dramas which follow forms and using stonemason’s customs.”
He went on to explain how the tools serve as allegory guides.
“We talked about the three degrees in masonry—the first degree, the anode, apprentice degree teaches moral principles, the second degree, the fellow craft degree, stresses the study of every useful art that would make us good and peaceful citizens—productive and useful to our families in the communities. In the third degree we are concerned with the spiritual values that separate man from other creatures and make us worthy of our creator. I mentioned to her that our membership is open to men of any race or religion who can fill these central qualifications for membership in our fraternity. She asked me if Freemasonry was a substitute for religion and going to church and I said, ‘No, we encourage our members to follow their own faith.’ And, you know, she was surprised that neither religion nor politics are discussed in our meetings. We talked about the three great principles that Masons have believed in for years: brotherly love, relief and truth. We talked about our Masonic charity—the Masonic Foundation of Ontario.”
As the plane prepared to land, the flight attendants thanked Mr. Atkinson for taking the time to explain to her what the Masons are all about. “She felt she had a better understanding of Freemasonry, but she concluded our conversation with a comment that basically really made my day. She said, and I quote, ‘when I settle down and get married Freemasonry sounds like the type of organization that I would want my husband to belong to.’ My brethren, as we go about our day-to-day activities be it at our job or within our community, I would remind you that if you live each day as a Mason should, you are the best promotion that we have for our beloved fraternity. The future is what you make of it.”
Following another expression of gratitude to the members of the Doric Lodge for and the Order of the Eastern Star, Mr. Atkinson said he wanted to leave members with one thought: “As we go about our day-to-day activities, let us always be remindful of those less fortunate than we are. I would ask you to remember the men and the women who continue to serve our country in various locations around the world—they serve our country, so you and I can enjoy the freedom, the privileges and the lifestyle that we experience today.”
He encouraged them to continue to develop their Masonic knowledge and “all teachings that our fraternity is based upon. Helping to develop good men in turn will make better Masons.” Mr. Atkinson welcomed initiate Jordan Stephens into the ranks of Freemasonery, noting that “this evening we look forward to you becoming a Freemason. You know, Socrates was once quoted as saying, ‘focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.’” He exhorted the initiate to give no thought to fighting the old but to focus on “building a new Mr. Stephens. You, and men like you, are our future and we welcome you.”
The dinner began with toasts to the King and the Craft (given by Larry Smith) and to the Doric Lodge’s visitors (given by Keith Varey) followed by Grace by Bruce Gordon.
Following dinner, and expressions of gratitude to the Order of the Eastern Star (Spanish River Chapter 237), the head table was introduced by Mr. Gordon and a toast to The Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario delivered by Roy Eaton, Mr. Atkinson delivered his address reported above.
The dinner portion of the evening J14
concluded with the singing of ‘O Canada.’
Asked what his message to the larger community might be, Mr. Atkinson said “a lot of people learn about what a Freemason is by watching and listening to other people. We try in Freemasonry to make good men better. It’s not to take you or change you, you must change from within and to be benevolent and just try to be a good citizen and live the proper way.”
He noted that the Masons are seeing these days, more and more in today’s rapidly changing society, that the next generation, or even two generations away—like grandkids—are going back and saying “my dad or my grandpa was amazing, what he stood for, he was a class man. I want to be one. I want to learn. I want to learn how to be a better person. So that’s what, you know, what, we try to strive with, for people to understand.”
The doors of Freemasonry are open to all men who seek harmony with their fellow man, feel the need for self-improvement and wish to participate in making this world a better place to live. In order to be considered for membership you must: be 21 years of age or older; be of good character and reputation; believe in the existence of a supreme being and have resided in Ontario for the previous 12 months.
It is noted that when Masons enter a Masonic Lodge, they leave their professional lives at the door and meet “on the level” with men from a variety of backgrounds to practice these virtues, and not to network or make business connections.
Following those precepts, the ranks of the Masons are open to all regardless of race, creed or colour.
