INSTALLATION NIGHT AT THE CELESTIAL LODGE
As we are all well aware, and as is pointed out in the North
East Angle Lecture in the Canadian Rite Ritual, it cannot be denied that we
always had many members of rank and affluence. Over the centuries many well
known men have been members of our Noble Craft. For a few moments, please allow
your imaginations to run wild and consider what may take place at the
Installation of The Celestial Lodge, otherwise known as the Grand Lodge Above.
Even though it was late fall, there was a warm breeze blowing and the sun was
setting behind the Lodge Hall. Gathered in the parking lot filled with their
works were Bros Henry Ford, Ransom Olds, Walter Chrysler, John Willys and Andre
Citroen. The only vehicle missing was Bro Hart Massey's tractor.
Greeting members in the entrance hall was Bro Cliff Arquette of Charley Weaver
fame and Bro Ed Wynn. In the boardroom, a group of senior DeMolays were gathered
including Bros Walter Disney, Chet Huntley, Wendell Corey, Van Johnson, Robert
Cummings, John Steinbeck, Fred McMurray and John Cameron Swayze.
King Gillette, razor in hand, passed the lodge caretaker who was having a minor
problem with his vacuum cleaner, which was quickly cleared up with the help of
its inventor, Bro Frank Hoover, while at the other end of the hallway Bros
Emmett Kelly, Clyde Beatty and all seven of the Ringling Bros were discussing
the Shrine Circus.
Taking a quick look into the Banquet Hall, Bros John Molson, Frederick Pabst and
Joseph Schlitz were busy rolling in some kegs of beer for Bros Sam Bronfman,
late President of Seagram's Distillers, who was setting up the bar for the
Festive Board to follow the Ceremony. Bro Colonel Harland Sanders was cooking up
a storm in the kitchen and it was an easy guess as to what the evening meal
would consist of .
The orchestra members for the dance to follow the Banquet were tuning. Members
of this All-Star group included leader Bros Paul Whiteman, W.C .Hardy, Nat King
Cole, Irving Berlin, George M. Cohan, Cyril Stapleton, Duke Ellington, Louis
Armstrong, Count Basie and Al Jolson. Tonight's performance would be M.C.ed by
Bros Arthur Godfrey and Danny Thomas.
Magical Bros Harry Houdini and Harry Blackstone were setting up their props
while Bros W. C. Fields, Oliver Hardy, Bud Abbott, Harpo Marx, and Foster Brooks
were fine tuning their comedy routines for tonight's show which was being
produced by Bros Cecil B. DeMille, Flo Ziegfeld, Louis B. Mayer, Hall Wallis and
D.W. Griffiths.
A number of sports celebrities were gathering together, including Bros Abe
Saperstein, creator of the Harlem Globetrotters, who was explaining his version
of the game to Bro James Naismith, the inventor of the game. They were joined by
baseballers, Bros Charles Ebbetts, Ty Cobb, Branch Rickey and Cy Young, the
first pitcher to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
A little further along the hall was an array of masons dressed in knee breeches,
lace cuffs and powdered wigs, others in tuxedos, including Bros Kit Carson, Davy
Crockett and Buffalo Bill Cody, clad in their familiar buckskins, and Native
American Chiefs Bros Crazy Bull, Tecumseh and Joseph Brant in their native
attire. Most colorful are the military uniforms of Lord Nelson, Lord Cornwallis,
Captain James Cook, the Duke of Wellington and John Paul Jones.
I was gazing in awe at these members of Celestial Lodge, when the Grand Master,
MW Bro Harry Truman, appeared from the preparation room accompanied by Bros John
Jacob Astor, Luther Burbank, J. C. Penney, Adlai Stevenson and Jennings Bryan.
Bro John Diefenbaker had just signed the Tyler's Register with one of Bro John
Schaeffer's pens. He was accompanied by Bros Robert Borden and R. B. Bennett.
fellow Canadian Prime Ministers, and by Bro Joe Smallwood of Newfoundland.
At this time, the Tyler, Bro J. Edgar Hoover, informed the brethren that the
meeting was about to come to order.
On entering the lodge room the brethren were greeted by the Inner Guard, Bro
Paul Revere. Seated already were polar explorers, Robert F. Scott of England and
Bro Richard E. Bird of the United States, together with Matthew G. Perky and
Canada's Henry Larsen. Bro Charles Lindbergh could be seen in deep conversation
with Bros Hap Arnold, Gus Grissom, Eddie Rickenbaker and Charles
Kingsford-Smith.
From the Junior Warden's station came a burst of laughter. Bro Will Rogers had
brought broad smiles to the faces of the Royal personages gathered around him,
including Bros George 1, Frederick the Great, Gustav V of Sweden and George VI.
To the right of the Junior Warden's chair, architect Bro Sir Christopher Wren
was joined by Statue of Liberty sculptor, Bro Frederic Bartholdi.
Bros Norman Vincent Peale and Peter Marshall, who would assume the Chaplain's
duties this evening, were in conversation with the Bros Du Pont, Peter and
Victor, and the Bros Rothschild, James and Nathan.
Gathered around the Secretary's desk, Bro Rudyard Kipling was discussing the
evening's proceedings with Bro Robert Burns, who was to give one of the Charges
assisted by Bro Mark Twain. Also taking part were Bros Arthur Conan Doyle,
Walter Scott, Samuel Johnson, Alexander Pope and Robert Service.
The Grand Organist, Bro Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was discussing last minute
changes with Bros Gilbert and Sullivan.
Bros Clark Gable, Peter Sellers, Wallace Beery, Douglas Fairbanks and Brian
Donleavy were discussing boxing with champions, Bros Jack Dempsey, Jack Johnson
and Sugar Ray Robinson. Another small group, in the persons of Bros John Wayne,
Hoot Gibson and Tom Mix, were listening to Bro William Thaddeus Phillips (also
known as Butch Cassidy.)
The founding members, Bros George Washington, Sir John A. MacDonald, Giuseppe
Garibaldi, Benito Jaurez, John Hancock and Ben Franklin were seated in the East.
They have been joined by Bro Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of Singapore. The
Generals, Bros Omar Bradley, Jimmy Doolittle, George C. Marshall, John Pershing
and Douglas McArthur, take their seats next to Bros Franklin D. Roosevelt and
Winston Churchill. The Lodge Treasurer, Bro Henry Knox was busy collecting dues
from Bros Thomas E Dewey and William McKinley. The Master, MW Bro HRH The Duke
of Connaught, has rapped the gavel to call the Lodge to order, and it is now
time for us to depart.
With one last look at this brilliant assembly,
one wonders what the public's perception
of Freemasonry might be if they were able to visit such a lodge.
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