here in mass. the tyler must be a Master Mason, but not from that particular lodge, but must be in good standing as well. The duties of the Tyler were many and varies. Not only should he know the Tylers obligation, he should know all the signs, words and grips of all the degrees. He should have some knowledge about Freemasonry, since he may at times recieve visitors from not just other lodges and states, but also countries. He should have with him or at least at the sign in desk the copy of blue lodge book, which tells what Grand Jurisidictions and states we recognize. In early days of Freemasonry, in some by-laws of the Lodge, it was the Tyler that was the ONLY paid officer of the Lodge. Not only was the the outer guard, but at times he was required to procure refreshments at the meetings. He was in charge of the Lodge regalia and required to fix any and clean the regalia if needed. He was usually the first to come to lodge and help set up the lodge room, we read in early rituals and books that it was the Tyler who drew the emblems and symbols on the floor and sometimes it was he who cleaned it up. Above all since in the early days of Freemasonry, lodges sprung up in closely nit communities, sometimes in certain sections of towns and small cities, it was the Tyler who hand delivered the Lodge notices to the members.