Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 (https://vimeo.com/798290686)
Learn more about the Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 in this 30-minute video and dramatization (with admittedly some tongue in cheek) about their origin of their publication. The Constitutions transformed operative stonemasonry into modern, speculative Freemasonry by embedding Enlightenment values, democratic governance, and religious tolerance into its foundational rules. Produced by the United Grand Lodge of England in 2023 to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Constitutions.
Stages of Life Portrayed Above the Entrance to Our Lodge Building
Above the front entrance of our Masonic Temple is a scene depicting the stages of life, which are illustrated in the Temple’s Art Deco style above the north doors. The bas-relief is based on a sketch by local artist Elizabeth Honor Dolan (1884?-1948), who also painted 10 Masonic-themed murals hung inside the building. (Bas-relief is a projection of a design from a plane surface less than half its three-dimensional form.) The scene pictured here depicts the three stages of human life, which are explained in the Third Section of the Master Mason’s Degree, as youth, manhood and age. In youth an Entered Apprentice Mason attains knowledge. He is represented by a young adventurous boy protected by a Guardian Angel. Fellow Craft Masons, like manhood, apply that knowledge. Manhood, which is symbolic of strength, is reflected in the power exhibited by the rearing horses. And, Master Masons, represented as age, reflect on a well-spent life. At the right is an elderly man supported by a cane, accompanied by a winged lion in the Babylonian style. The lion’s paw is a mode of Masonic recognition. And, as stated in Masonic work, “…there is strength in the Land of the Tribe of Judah.” The Tribe of Judah bore a lion in their standard, and hence the Masonic allusion to the lion. The suggestion for the subject of the pediment was provided by Dr. David H. Hilton, who devised the Masonic iconography for the building.
The King Solomon Painting in Our Lodge Building
Overlooking the meetings of Cotner Lodge in the small lodge room at our Masonic Temple is a painting of King Solomon in a scene from the subject of the Master Mason Degree. King Solomon is seated and intently looks at plans for his temple. The plans were presented by the architect, Hiram of Tyre, at left, as he looks on with an eager gleam hoping for the King’s approval. King Hiram of Tyre, in the center of the mural, casts a watching eye on the whole procedure. The painting was completed by Elizabeth Dolan, along with eight other Masonic-themed paintings in the small lodge room and another on the ground floor of the building. Mentions of King Solomon’s Temple can be found in the Holy Bible in I Kings (5-8) and II Chronicles (3-7).
President Harry Truman Makes a Surprising Visit to a Masonic Lodge
While on the campaign trail in 1948, President Harry Truman was visiting Kokomo, Indiana. After speaking to a crowd from the platform of the rail car he was traveling from town to town, many people approached him to shake his hand. He noticed a young man wearing the uniform of a sailor, and he recognized him as a member of the crew of the Presidential Yacht, docked on the Potomac River in Washington, D.C.
The President motioned for him to come over and shake hands. When he spoke to the sailor, the President asked him why he was in Kokomo. The young sailor said that he was home visiting his parents and scheduled to be raised as a Master Mason. President Truman was pleased to hear about this and asked when and where the degree was to take place. The young man said he planned to take the train, which followed the President’s Train, to a small town eight miles outside of Indianapolis, and that his father was going with him. Brother Truman then invited the sailor and his Dad to ride with him in the Presidential Train to Beech Grove, Indiana.
During the ride, the sailor’s father asked if Brother Truman could be present at his son’s raising as a Master Mason. After another campaign stop, the President insisted that he had decided to attend a Masonic ceremony, and his staff made the necessary changes.
That night, October 15, 1948, after a heavy schedule, the President arrived by automobile at Beech Grove Lodge No. 694 Masonic lodge and was present for the degree. The Worshipful Master intended to introduce him as the President of The United States, but Brother Truman told him, “You can introduce me as Brother Truman if you wish, or to be more correct, you can introduce me as Most Worshipful Brother Harry S. Truman, Past Grand Master of Missouri, which is my Masonic title.”
While there, President Truman mentioned during his presentation, “Although I hold the highest civil honor in the world, I have always regarded my rank and title as a Past Grand Master of Masons the greatest honor that has ever come to me.”
Truman served as the Grand Master of Masons in Missouri in 1940.