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Elected and Installed as Junior Warden tonight

Keith C

Registered User
That's interesting. Bro. Keith. We have a Junior Deacon who sits as the right hand of the Senior Warden in the south he controls the inner door and we have a Tyler who controls the outer door and the outer door to the preparation room.

We have a Tyler as well, but the Tyler can't OPEN the outer door, he can only knock as the door is locked from within. When he knocks the Pursuivant informs the WM and then attends to the door, and he is in charge of the inner doors between the ante-room and lodge room as well and the doors between the ante-room and the preparing and examining rooms. Our outer examining room and preparing room doors are inside the outerdoor and outside the inner door, so can't be accessed by the Tyler once the outer door is closed. Our JD also sits at the right hand of the SW, but has no business involving the doors.
 

Brother_Steve

Premium Member
We have a Tyler as well, but the Tyler can't OPEN the outer door, he can only knock as the door is locked from within. When he knocks the Pursuivant informs the WM and then attends to the door, and he is in charge of the inner doors between the ante-room and lodge room as well and the doors between the ante-room and the preparing and examining rooms. Our outer examining room and preparing room doors are inside the outerdoor and outside the inner door, so can't be accessed by the Tyler once the outer door is closed. Our JD also sits at the right hand of the SW, but has no business involving the doors.

Former JD here in NJ.

The JD attend to all alarms at the outer door. The door is not locked in our lodge. However, the tiler does not touch the knob. The door is mine and mine alone.

Our lovely state fire inspector has made us make the doors swing out. The Tiler has to "throw" the door to the JD, but the JD must physically touch and close it himself.
 
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Andy Fracica

Site Benefactor
Premium Member
We have a Tyler as well, but the Tyler can't OPEN the outer door, he can only knock as the door is locked from within. When he knocks the Pursuivant informs the WM and then attends to the door, and he is in charge of the inner doors between the ante-room and lodge room as well and the doors between the ante-room and the preparing and examining rooms. Our outer examining room and preparing room doors are inside the outerdoor and outside the inner door, so can't be accessed by the Tyler once the outer door is closed. Our JD also sits at the right hand of the SW, but has no business involving the doors.
This is a diagram of our lodge. The building we meet in was completed in 1926 and is a historical building so there haven't been many changes to it since it was built with the exception of adding an elevator in the 1940s if I remember correctly. There are three other lodges that meet in this building and I'm told that we have the largest lodge room in the state. The York Rite also meets here.

The door to the prep room and the Tyler's room are actually hinged on the opposite side from what is shown here. The Junior Deacon controls the door and the Tyler just knocks just like Brother Steve said.
lodge_layout.png

This is a picture of our Masonic Temple:
Temple_Small.jpg
 

Keith C

Registered User
Interesting, I wish I had a plan layout as you do. Our preperation room is in the South West angle of the lodge and our examining room in the North West with the anteroom in between. Where your tyler is inside the outer door and next to the inner door, our tyler is outside the outer door. Also the places of your Secretary and Treasurer are opposite ours. Our Stewards do not have chairs on the floor. Directly in front of the SW station, where your diagram has "Senior Warden" printed are the three chairs, from North to South, SMC, Pursuivant, JMC. Also our tapirs surround the alter, 2 on the North side and one on the SW angle, forming a right triangle.

back%20of%20lodge%20room_387_290_90.jpg


Looking West from WMs station, doors from left to right, Preparing room, 2 inner doors, Examining room. 3 chairs in front of SW station, L-R, JMC, Pursuivant, SMC, chair next to the door JD. At left of photo is JW station.

front%20of%20lodge%20room_387_515_90.jpg


View from the West looking East, Tapirs arranged in Right Triangle about altar, Secretary desk at left, SD chair, WM Station, Chaplain chair, Treasurer desk.
 

Andy Fracica

Site Benefactor
Premium Member
Interesting, I wish I had a plan layout as you do. Our preperation room is in the South West angle of the lodge and our examining room in the North West with the anteroom in between. Where your tyler is inside the outer door and next to the inner door, our tyler is outside the outer door. Also the places of your Secretary and Treasurer are opposite ours. Our Stewards do not have chairs on the floor. Directly in front of the SW station, where your diagram has "Senior Warden" printed are the three chairs, from North to South, SMC, Pursuivant, JMC. Also our tapirs surround the alter, 2 on the North side and one on the SW angle, forming a right triangle.

Looking West from WMs station, doors from left to right, Preparing room, 2 inner doors, Examining room. 3 chairs in front of SW station, L-R, JMC, Pursuivant, SMC, chair next to the door JD. At left of photo is JW station.

View from the West looking East, Tapirs arranged in Right Triangle about altar, Secretary desk at left, SD chair, WM Station, Chaplain chair, Treasurer desk.
Keith, you have a very nice Lodge. Are you AF & AM or F & AM? We are F & AM. I wonder of that accounts for the differences.
 

billyjfootball

Registered User
Keith, beautiful lodge. Was wondering if you bought your tux with tails yet. Man, it sure is a pretty expensive thing to "sell" to the wife so close to the holidays. I'm not complaining, but some of these tuxedos are crazy expensive. If I'm going to be wearing it for several years, I guess it's best to pay a little more for quality.


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hwood

Registered User
Tonight at our stated meeting I was elected and installed as Junior Warden of my lodge. It was a great evening and it was an honor to be installed by the current Junior Warden, who has helped me quite a bit in my Masonic journey so far. It was also nice to see many other brothers from our Masonic District as well as the DDGM be there and offer their congratulations and support to all 3 of us newly installed Officers of The Line. The three of us have been meeting for several weeks and our new WM has a lot of great stuff planned for this year and myself and the SW are supporting him 100%. It should be a great year.

Now just a short wait until we officially take up our offices on St. John's Day!

I’m happy for you my brother. Best of luck to you this masonic year. Not that you need it


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Andy Fracica

Site Benefactor
Premium Member
Keith, beautiful lodge. Was wondering if you bought your tux with tails yet. Man, it sure is a pretty expensive thing to "sell" to the wife so close to the holidays. I'm not complaining, but some of these tuxedos are crazy expensive. If I'm going to be wearing it for several years, I guess it's best to pay a little more for quality.


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I haven't bought any Tuxes but I did buy two suits today. ;) A dark gray and a black, unfortunately in my size I can't buy anything off the rack. I had to take them to a tailor to have the sleeves shortened, the jacket shortened, and the pants shortened. I'll have them in time for the Feast of St. Johns dinner.
 

Keith C

Registered User
Keith, beautiful lodge. Was wondering if you bought your tux with tails yet. Man, it sure is a pretty expensive thing to "sell" to the wife so close to the holidays. I'm not complaining, but some of these tuxedos are crazy expensive. If I'm going to be wearing it for several years, I guess it's best to pay a little more for quality.


Sent from my iPhone using My Freemasonry

Yes I did. I went to Flocco's in Conshohoken, I ended up getting pants, a tail coat, a tuxedo jacket, black & white vests and a shirt for under $500.00. I went with 100% wool, you can get less expensive if you are willing to get a synthetic blend. I got great service there, very "old school" place.
 

Keith C

Registered User
Keith, you have a very nice Lodge. Are you AF & AM or F & AM? We are F & AM. I wonder of that accounts for the differences.

We are F&AM, but that is not the root of why PA is different. When the Ancients and the Moderns united in 1813 every state at the time had both Ancient and Modern Lodges working and as a result the Grand Lodges made their rituals some blend of the Modern and Ancient rituals. All but Pennsylvania, as there were no "Modern" lodges in PA in 1813, so the GL of PA retained the "Ancient" ritual and the Ahiman Rezon of the "Ancients" as our Constitution. So PA is the only GL that operates with no "Modern" elements.
 

Keith C

Registered User
I haven't bought any Tuxes but I did buy two suits today. ;) A dark gray and a black, unfortunately in my size I can't buy anything off the rack. I had to take them to a tailor to have the sleeves shortened, the jacket shortened, and the pants shortened. I'll have them in time for the Feast of St. Johns dinner.

Elected officers in PA MUST wear Tails, appointed officers "should."
 

Andy Fracica

Site Benefactor
Premium Member
We are F&AM, but that is not the root of why PA is different. When the Ancients and the Moderns united in 1813 every state at the time had both Ancient and Modern Lodges working and as a result the Grand Lodges made their rituals some blend of the Modern and Ancient rituals. All but Pennsylvania, as there were no "Modern" lodges in PA in 1813, so the GL of PA retained the "Ancient" ritual and the Ahiman Rezon of the "Ancients" as our Constitution. So PA is the only GL that operates with no "Modern" elements.
Okay wow you learn something new every day. That is really interesting.

When I was 28 or 29, we were living in Mechanicsburg, one of our church member suggested that I join the Masons, but I didn't know anything about it at the time and I was busy with a new job and my wife and I had only been married a few years and we were talking about starting a family so the time wasn't right, if I had responded positively I would have learned about that back then.
 

Andy Fracica

Site Benefactor
Premium Member
Elected officers in PA MUST wear Tails, appointed officers "should."
Here the Scottish Rite officers wear tuxes, but the blue lodge is less formal. In fact sometimes officers come right from work and wear their work clothes. I bought a couple new suits today because I haven't needed a suit in a long time and the one that I have shrank and I couldn't button the jacket. :) Plus as an officer, I felt like I had to dress better. We mostly wear black or dark gray suits.
 

DORIAN RHOTEN

Registered User
After being raised at Mid-Winter here in Texas, why is my Lodge still making us do the O.B. for our birth certificates? Is there another way to get it?
 
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