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Photo: Chris Hodapp by Christopher Hodapp It was with great sadness I read this week that the historic Cotton Exchange in downtown Savannah, Georgia is up for sale. Since 1976, it’s been the historic home of the equally historic Solomon’s Lodge No. 1, the oldest operating lodge in the state...

by Christopher Hodapp The United Grand Lodge of England, Order of Women Freemasons, and Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons have collectively decided to launch legal action against the Metropolitan Police to address what they consider to be an unlawful, discriminatory, and unfair move...

by Christopher Hodapp A fire destroyed the historic Masonic Temple in Greenville, Maine on Monday. According to news accounts, firefighters were called to the scene at 149 Pritham Avenue in Greenville at 1:00AM Monday morning after the fire was raging. Arson or other foul play is not...

by Christopher Hodapp England's two female grand lodges ( the Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons ) have released their own response to the London Metropolitan Police's new requirement forcing their officers to declare their Masonic membership - past...

by Christopher Hodapp Here we go again. London's Metropolitan Police (MET) have officially decided to force all police officers to declare their Masonic membership – whether past or present – in spite of ongoing protests from the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE). We've seen this program...

by Christopher Hodapp The Grand Lodge of Mississippi F&AM has a resolution to be voted upon at their next annual communication to jointly recognize the Most Worshipful Stringer Grand Lodge of Mississippi (Prince Hall Affiliated). The resolution is being circulated on social media this week...

by Christopher Hodapp In a previous life, Alice and I co-wrote Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies For Dummies (which is woefully out of date by 15 years, at least, yet still a hot seller in Turkey, if you can believe it). Every once in a while it pops back up in our daily doings. One of...

by Christopher Hodapp Many thanks to the brethren of Calvin W. Prather Lodge 717 in Indianapolis for their warm hospitality Thursday night. I was asked to make a presentation about the Masonic Library & Museum of Indiana and I rolled out a new PowerPoint show for the first time. My apologies...

(Google) by Christopher Hodapp With so many stories of Masons losing their century-old, architectural and historically significant temple buildings all over the country, it's gratifying to be able to report actually keeping one. The Prince Hall Masons of Washington D.C. have prevailed in...

By Christopher Hodapp Despite what many regular readers might think, I really hate reporting on internal Grand Lodge fights. I REALLY don't like doing it. And I notoriously wind up getting the story in bits and pieces which makes if difficult to be factual and unbiased. With that disclaimer...

by Christopher Hodapp The MW Grand Lodge of AF&AM of West Virginia has extended recognition to the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Tennessee. Yes, that's correct. Tennessee, not West Virginia. My understanding is that they had originally reached out to the MW Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West...

Photo: Fox News by Christopher Hodapp The bronze statue of Scottish Rite sage Albert Pike has been restored by the National Parks Service and put back in place in Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C. after being defaced and toppled during George Floyd-related protests in 2020. The...

by Christopher Hodapp Two suspected arsonists were arrested after an historic Australian Masonic temple was severely damaged by fire early Wednesday in New South Wales. The temple was home to Northern Rivers Lodge 77. According to several reports, the 1920's-era brick lodge building itself...

Photo: Mason Lodge 678 in Mason, Ohio by Christopher Hodapp A Masonic temple in a Cincinnati, Ohio suburb escaped what might have been a serious arson fire last month when an incendiary device that was thrown through a window failed to ignite. But police and federal authorities are taking...

by Christopher Hodapp Note: I spotted this story back in April on the 450.fm website (La loge "La Flandre" à Bruges Louvre set ports au public"). Unfortunately, I neglected to post it then. So forgive the tardiness. Founded in 1881, La Flandre Loge (Flanders Lodge) is the oldest Masonic...

Masonic halls contain unique spaces, and we all have countless opportunities to host community activities and be welcoming to our neighbors. In many cases, lodges in smaller towns may have better opportunities to be seen by their surrounding communities than their big city counterparts by virtue...

When the Grand Lodge of Texas built their magnificent art deco/Egyptian-revival grand lodge building in Waco in the 1940s, a mural was designed originally to be installed behind the auditorium's Grand East. It was never completed, for reasons lost in the mists of time. Cheapness, laziness...

by Christopher L. Hodapp Great Britain's Council For Freemasonry has responded to yesterday's idiotic editorial in The Spectator, “There’s something vulgar about Freemasons” by Irish 'journalist' Melanie McDonagh. It reads, in part: The Council for Freemasonry is a cooperative association...

by Christopher L. Hodapp As a kid, I always hated reruns. Turns out that I still don't like them as an adult. London's Metropolitan Police Federation (something like a UK version of a police union) has once again resurrected the snaggletoothed notion that all law enforcement officers be forced...

by Christopher Hodapp I just received a last-minute message from my editor at Wiley that Amazon is offering a flash sale RIGHT NOW on the Kindle version of Freemasons For Dummies for an unbelievable $2.99! That's a markdown from the usual Kindle price of $17.99 and it's available today...