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SUMMER 2026 VOL. 57 | NO. 2

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A M A G A Z I N E O F 3 2 ˚ S C O T T I S H R I T E F R E E M A S O N R Y TM

CORNERSTONE LEGACY JOURNAL

THE THINGS WE WO N D E R B U T N E V E R A S K . . . A LOOK BACK

I F YO U C O U L D G I V E O N E P I E C E O F A DV I C E T O YO U R YO U N G E R S E L F, W H AT WO U L D I T B E ?

MY MASONIC JOURNEY

W H Y D I D YO U B E C O M E A FREEMASON?

REFLECTIONS ON GENEROSITY

W H AT D O E S T H E WO R D G E N E R O S I T Y M E A N T O YO U ?

WISDOM & REFLECTIONS

W H AT I S T H E B E S T A DV I C E YO U H AV E E V E R R E C E I V E D ?

A LIFE OF LEGACY

W H AT D O E S ‘A L I F E W E L L L I V E D ’ M E A N T O YO U ? A N A F F I R M AT I O N

I H O P E T H AT W H E N M Y S T O R Y I S T O L D, I T W I L L B E S A I D T H AT… IF YOU WISH TO SHARE, SNAP A PHOTO OF YOUR ANSWER BELOW AND POST ON FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM WITH #CORNERSTONELEGACY YOUR ANSWER.

The Cornerstone Society is the Scottish Rite Charities planned-giving program for members & supporters who remember the Charities in their wills and bequests. A planned gift sustains this life-changing work, provides financial and tax benefits for you and your family, and as our thanks for your gift, you will receive a hardcover Cornerstone Legacy Journal inclusive of the prompts above and many more, so you can pass on the story of your life as deliberately as you’ve planned what it leaves behind.

W E E N C O U RAG E YO U TO C O N S U LT A F I N A N C I A L O R TA X P R O F E S S I O N A L I F YO U A R E C O N S I D E R I N G A P LA N N E D G I F T. O U R STA F F AT S C OT T I S H R I T E H E A D Q UA RT E R S WO U L D B E H A P P Y TO WO R K W I T H YO U TO H E L P YO U F U L F I L L YO U R F I N A N C I A L A N D C H A R I TA B L E G OA LS .

LEARN MORE BY VISITING SCOTTISHRITENMJ.ORG/CHARITIES/CORNERSTONE-SOCIETY

THE NORTHERN LIGHT

Summer 2026

NEWS 8 In Memoriam

Ill. Norman L. Christensen, 33°

8 Over the Edge

Inside this issue… 4 Leadership Report

We Remember by Serving

6 From the Editor’s Desk

Our Indomitable Spirit

CULTURE

10 Masonic Aprons “Painted

in the Most Elegant Manner” 16 The Brazen Serpent: A 1955 Novel with a Scottish Rite Theme

9 Southern Jurisdiction

Scottish Rite Journal FEATURE

22 Rising From the Ashes

18 Hauts Grades Academy

There, Upon Mount Nebo

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On the Cover On December 3, 1999, Brother John Sullivan, 33°, responded to a fire at the Worcester Cold Storage warehouse. By the time it was over, six firefighters lost their lives. John’s story is one of courage, perseverance, and a Brotherhood that has helped him to heal after such a lifechanging event.

Summer 2026

EDUCATION

CHARITIES

29 Arizona and Florida Reunions 30 Celebrating New Beginnings

MEMBERSHIP

34 2025-2026 Valleys of Excellence 36 Around the Jurisdiction

MASONRY 42 Lost No More:

The “Francken” Constitutions of 1762 Rediscovered at Grand Lodge of Massachusetts 46 Remarkable Masons: Petitioners for Freedom

ScottishRiteNMJ.org

We Remember by Serving Some moments in history never fade. September 11, 2001, is one of those unforgettable moments in time.

This

year marks the 25th anniversary of that tragic day when thousands of innocent lives were lost, and countless first responders ran toward danger, knowing they might never return. Their courage, selflessness, and devotion to others continue to inspire me, and I hope they inspire you as well.

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We can never repay the debt we owe those heroes. But we can honor their legacy by caring for the families and fellow servants they left behind.

We can never repay the debt we owe those heroes.

by Walter F. Wheeler, 33°, Sovereign Grand Commander

That is why I am especially proud that the Scottish Rite Supreme Councils of the Northern and Southern Jurisdictions, together with the Prince Hall Affiliation, have united in support of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The Foundation ensures that the families of fallen first responders can remain in the homes they shared with their loved ones, while providing mortgage-free, specially adapted homes to catastrophically injured veterans and first responders rebuilding their lives.

The Northern Light

WELCOME

Our Fraternity teaches us that Devotion to Country, Service to Humanity, Charity, and Brotherly Love are more than ideals. They are responsibilities. They call us to stand beside those who carry burdens they should never have had to bear alone. I invite you to join me – and Brothers across the nation – in answering that call. Every gift, no matter the amount, is a tangible expression of our gratitude and a reminder to these families that they have not been forgotten.

We can never repay the debt we owe those heroes. But we can honor their legacy by caring for the families and fellow servants they left behind. Please visit srnmj.us/tunnelstotowers to learn more and make your contribution.

America250 Summer Series: Degrees on Demand I hope you are taking advantage of our Journey On Demand programming this summer. Known as our America250 Summer Series, this is a special compilation of seven degrees that highlights the stories of our nation in celebration of her 250th anniversary. Through this summertime offering, we have already welcomed more than 100 new Brothers to the Scottish Rite, NMJ, and counting. America250 Summer Series runs through August 31st – be sure to catch up on any degrees you may have missed and let your Brother Masons know about this great member benefit! Have a wonderful summer and Journey On!

Please make your contribution before September 11 so that, together, we can present our united gift to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and honor those who gave everything for all of us. Thank you for your generosity, your compassion, and your commitment to our shared values.

Summer Fall 2025 2026

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Our Indomitable Spirit Since

In my last article, (“Because She Is Good,” The Northern Light. Spring 2026), I talked about the dangers of the growing divide in our nation and implored us all to elevate ourselves and to better live our American ideals.

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by PJ Roup, 33°, Editor, Active for Pennsylvania

I penned that piece, America has celebrated her 250th anniversary, and I was privileged to be able to celebrate that day in the town where it all went down – Philadelphia. What I saw there reinvigorated my soul.

Craft. And on Independence Day, their presence could be felt. Washington, Franklin, Hancock, and so many more seemed to be there.

“We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

They were there in the smiles of the tens of thousands of people, bedecked in red, white, and blue, who crowded all the attractions, anxious to relive that moment in our history. They were there in reenactors who brought their sacrifices to life: fifers, drummers, soldiers, horsemen – all eager to transport us back to that time in our history. And the flags. Everywhere flags. On strollers, bikes, and cars. In the hands of children and adults. It was glorious to see the indomitable American spirit alive and well.

There was no way to know it at the time, but those words, carefully chosen, debated, and ratified in that city, would forever change the arc of history. The mission of the Declaration of Independence was twofold. First, it needed to outline the causes for separation, but more importantly, it had to stir the souls of the colonists toward the cause of liberty. This document – the world’s most famous breakup note – did just that in the most stunning way, for as Americans, we don’t celebrate when the war was actually won, but when we finally had the courage to declare, “Enough is enough.”

And the flags. Everywhere flags.

We celebrate these men who helped turn those Masonic ideals into American ideals.

Whether you were in Philadelphia, Peoria, or Portland, I hope you got to experience something similar – Americans celebrating the legacy of those Revolutionary patriots and so many others who understood the Masonic ideals of Brotherly Love, Courage, and Justice. We celebrate these men who helped turn those Masonic ideals into American ideals.

When one walks the streets of Philadelphia, one is in a quite literal sense following in the footsteps of giants – men who were not only heroes of the Revolution, but giants within our gentle

We must remember, Brethren, that freedom is not self-sustaining. It will forever depend on men of virtue. It depends on placing principle above self-interest. And it depends on

The Northern Light

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK

T H E

N O RT HE RN LI G H T A magazine of 32˚ Scottish Rite Freemasonry

Summer 2026 | Vol. 57 | No. 2

SOVEREIGN GRAND COMMANDER Walter F. Wheeler, 33°

Masonic values – our values. The great experiment that is the United States of America is far from finished. Freemasonry helped build this nation and Freemasonry still has a part to play. Every act of charity strengthens America. Every community we improve strengthens America. And every path we ease for others strengthens America.

ideals and live in such a way that we are worthy of the sacrifices they made so that all may enjoy life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Linda R. Patch EDITOR PJ Roup, 33° CREATIVE DIRECTOR Rodney E. Boyce, 33° CONTENT MANAGER Joann Williams-Hoxha DIRECTOR OF DESIGN Matt Blaisdell, 32°

When one walks the streets of Philadelphia, one is in a quite literal sense following in the footsteps of giants.

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE Richard J. Powell, 33°, Chairman Donald M. Moran, 33° PJ Roup, 33° William E. Tienken, 33° Howard D. Turner, 33° SUPREME COUNCIL, 33° Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A.

As we celebrate our semiquincentennial, let us not simply remember the deeds of those who gave us freedom, but rededicate ourselves to our Masonic

THE NORTHERN LIGHT (ISSN 1088-4416) is published quarterly in the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter by the Supreme Council, 33°, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, U.S.A., as the official publication. Printed in U.S.A. Periodicals postage paid at Boston, MA, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER Send address changes to The Northern Light 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421-5703 MAILING ADDRESS/EDITORIAL OFFICE The Northern Light 33 Marrett Road, Lexington, MA 02421-5703 phone: 781-862-4410 email: editor@srnmj.org WEBSITE: www.ScottishRiteNMJ.org @TNLMagazine

Summer 2026

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In Memoriam

NEWS

Over the Edge Teams

Ill. Norman L. Christensen, 33° 1938-2026

Ill. Norman L. Christensen, Active Emeritus Member for this Supreme Council for the state of Wisconsin, laid down his working tools on May 15, 2026. Ill. Brother Christensen, a native New Englander, was raised a Master Mason in December 1960 in Shorewood Lodge No. 339 as “courtesy work” for Frederick Lodge No. 14 in Plainville, Connecticut, and maintained membership in his home lodge. He also held plural memberships in James M. Hayes Lodge No. 331 and Freemasons Lodge No. 363. Past Commander-in-Chief of the Wisconsin Consistory. Received the Scottish Rite degrees in 1969 in the Valley of Milwaukee. Trustee of Scottish Rite Bodies, Vice President of Wisconsin Scottish Rite Board of Directors, and helped develop Humphrey Scottish Rite Center’s renovation and renewal campaign. From 1976 to 1986, he served in all offices from guard to Commander-in-Chief. Coroneted a Sovereign Grand Inspector General, 33°, Honorary Member of the Supreme Council in Pittsburgh on August 30, 1989. Crowned an Active Member in Boston on August 27, 1996. Member of the Annual Meeting Committee from 1996 to 1999 and chaired the Committee from 2000 to 2004. From 1999 through 2007, he served on the State of the Rite/Strategic Planning Committee and was its chairman for four years. Member of the Special Millennium 2000 Committee and Deputy for Wisconsin from 2002 through 2010. Member of the Board of Directors of the Trustee of Supreme Council from 2003 through 2009, as well as member of the Administrative Council from 2004 to 2007. Grand Minister of State from 2006 to 2007. Awarded the Supreme Council Medal of Honor in January 2009. Elected an Emeritus Member on August 28, 2012. Active in Tripoli Temple A.A.O.N.M.S. and past member of the Tripoli Shrine Motor Corps. Executive Director of the Midwest Shrine Game, as well as an active member of the Ritualistic Divan and Banquet Chairman of the Shrine High School All-Star Football Game in Wisconsin. Recipient of the Herbert L. Mount Award from the Midwest Shrine Game in 1995. Active in York Rite, West Allis Chapter No. 83, Kilbourn Council No. 9, and Palmer Wauwatosa Commandery No. 51, as well as El Hajj, Caravanserai No. 2; Royal Order of Jesters, Court 101; Royal Order of Scotland; and St. Wilfred Conclave, Red Cross of Constantine. Donations in Ill. Brother Norman’s memory can be made to the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Greater Milwaukee, an organization he regularly championed with his wife, Marcia.

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from the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Nashua and the Seacoast Children’s Dyslexia Center took part in a charity event called “Over the Edge.” Scottish Rite Masons from the Valleys of Portsmouth-Dover and Nashua helped to make up the teams. Over the Edge, sponsored by the United Way, is an event where organizations raise funds for charities. Once they reach a certain donation level, participants get to rappel down a 24-story building in Manchester, NH. Through the fundraising efforts of these brave participants, the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Nashua will receive over $19,000 and the Seacoast Children’s Dyslexia Center will receive over $10,000.

The Northern Light

Special Session Celebrates the 225th Anniversary of the Supreme Council, 33°, A. & A. Scottish Rite MARK DREISONSTOK, 33° Managing Editor, Scottish Rite Journal

he gentlemen returned to Charleston, S.C., on May 31, 2026, exactly 225 years after the founding of the Supreme Council in that city—not the “Eleven Gentlemen” who were its founders but the many Active Members, Deputies, and Brethren who comprise today’s world-wide Scottish Rite. The Special Session began with a proclamation and procession of the Supreme Council and Deputies, followed by a roll call and symbolic opening—proceedings 1801 Masons might recognize. These ancient traditions were followed by video greetings from all over the world—including one from NMJ Grand Commander Walter F. Wheeler, 33°. Connecting our present to our past, Grand Commander James D. Cole, 33°, conducted these proceedings with a gavel constructed of wood from Shepheard’s Tavern, the no-longer-extant Council birthplace in Charleston.

(Above) SGC James D. Cole, 33°, symbolically opens the special session of the Supreme Council, 33°. (Below) SGC Cole offers closing remarks at the special session. All photography: Kia C. Boone

South Carolina Grand Master A.C. “Acy” Flora IV, 33°, then spoke, wondering if the “Eleven Gentlemen of Charleston” could have known the full impact of what they started—a unique Masonic experience that would spread as this Mother Jurisdiction spawned so many others. Gr. Archivist and Gr. Historian Arturo de Hoyos, 33°, G.C., followed with a talk on how the Rite developed from a single “additional” Masonic Scottish-themed degree to today’s 29-degree system. Asst. Gr. Historian B. Chris Ruli, 32°, KCCH, then spoke about the

founders, noting that “like the formation of our own country, our earliest Supreme Council was composed of a diverse group of eleven men of different ages and different nationalities, religions, professions, and social standing” who came together for a common goal.* Ill. Cole closed the session acknowledging the 60 Supreme Councils recognized as in accord with the Scottish Rite, S.J., emphasizing that what we were commemorating was “what started 225 years ago,” with gentlemen riding horses to a meeting place, and which continues—not with horses, but with modern “horsepower.” Despite the march of history, Ill. Cole noted, “mankind always has a yearning to return to its roots,” and thus the importance of returning to and remembering our august founding in Charleston in 1801. •

* For more on this topic, see “Early Charleston: A Culture of Religious Tolerance Perchance Destined This City to Become the Scottish Rite Supreme Council’s Birthplace” in the July/August 2026 Scottish Rite Journal. Find it online at https://scottishrite.org, under the Education & Media tab.

To view the recording of the special session, go to https://www.youtube.com/live/krtbRJOXafI, scan the QR code, or visit our Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, SJ-USA YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/ScottishRiteMasons and select the “Live” tab. Summer 2026

ScottishRiteNMJ.org

Masonic Aprons “Painted in the Most Elegant Manner” Aprons signed by their decorators are rare and intriguing. In the early decades of the 1800s, a number of hard-working artisans pursued the trade of ornamental painting. They decorated a myriad of objects, everything from shop signs and military standards to furniture and carriages. Many turned their skills to painting aprons, tracing boards and other items for Masonic lodges and for members of the Fraternity. Some of these artists belonged to lodges, others did not. Aprons signed by these workmen offer a colorful glimpse of the visually rich worlds of lodges and Masonic events at the beginning of the 1800s.

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Signed by an artist named J. Martin, this boldly painted apron, with its clearly delineated symbols, bright gold highlights, and arresting colors, catches the eye. The history of this apron is unknown, but a similar apron from Connecticut also bears Martin’s name. He painted the emblems and border on this apron – designed to suggest a knotted fringe – with style and 1

Apron, ca. 1800. J. Martin, New England. Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, GL2004.1050. Photograph by David Bohl.

The Northern Light

C U LT U R E

by Hilary Anderson Stelling, Director of Collections and Exhibitions, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

confidence. Based on the colors and symbols painted on it, Martin likely created this apron for a Freemason who participated in Royal Arch and Ark Mariner degrees. A decorative painter with a wide range of skills, A. L. Shaw, who worked in Buffalo and Ballston Spa, New York, undertook “all kinds of Sign and 2

Apron, 1810–1823. A.L. Shaw, Buffalo, New York. Gift of Jackson Masonic Temple Association, 2009.023. Photograph by David Bohl.

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Ornamental Painting and Gilding… with neatness and dispatch.” A frequent newspaper advertiser, in an 1816 notice he listed types of adornment that he was happy to provide to clients, including “enameling on glass, fancy pieces of every description,” and “military standards in superior stile.” A year later, he offered “Masonic Aprons and Carpets painted in the most elegant

manner.” This apron is an example of his work. Shaw signed it in ink under the flap. 3 Nathan Negus decorated this apron when he was sixteen years old and serving an apprenticeship with ornamental painter John Ritto Penniman of Boston. Never finished or worn, the decoration on this apron

Apron, 1817. Nathan Negus (1801-1825), Boston, Massachusetts. Special Acquisitions Fund, 79.47. Photograph by David Bohl.

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C MASONIC APRONS continued

may have been undertaken as part of Negus’ instruction in the Craft. During his time with Penniman, Negus painted fire buckets, signs, banners, and aprons, among other items. Penniman was a member of St. John’s Lodge in Boston. Negus, possibly following Penniman’s example, joined a Masonic lodge in Georgia in 1821. Writing to his family, he noted of this association, “I am a

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member of a society who will never see me Suffer….” 4 Born in England, John Meer immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1790s. There he earned his living as an artist and engraver in Philadelphia. He joined Montgomery Lodge No. 19 in 1807. The restrained design and square shape of the aprons Meer decorated,

along with his skillfully executed painting, distinguish Meer’s work from that of other craftsmen. Meer typically stamped his name on the aprons he ornamented. 5 Charles Codman, the artist who adorned this apron, also learned his craft from John Ritto Penniman. Soon after Codman concluded his apprenticeship

Apron, 1820. John Meer Sr. (probably 1756–1834), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Museum Purchase, 95.040. Photograph by David Bohl.

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C U LT U R E

Interested in learning more about the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library’s collections and exhibitions? Please visit srmml.org to discover more.

in Boston, he announced that he had set up business in Portland, Maine, as a “Military, Standard, Fancy, Ornamental and Sign PAINTER.” He highlighted “MASONIC PAINTING” among the many types of design, lettering, enameling, and ornamentation he offered to customers. In 1825, Codman advertised “Masonic Aprons,” among a variety of products, letting readers know

Apron, 1822–1830. Charles Codman (1800 or 18011842), Portland, Maine. Museum Purchase, 94.054. Photograph by David Bohl.

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“he will give them the Boston touch at Portland prices.” 6 In 1825, painter Nathan Lakeman advertised that he had on hand, “Masonic aprons of the newest and most elegant patterns, constantly for sale....” He also sold other items to the Fraternity such as “Floorings” and “Royal Arch Dresses...at short notice.”

This apron is marked with Lakeman’s paper label as well as the name of its owner, Charles Peabody. Both men belonged to Jordan Lodge in Danvers, Massachusetts. They may have enjoyed a relationship as Fraternal Brothers as well as craftsman and client. Mannevillette Elihu Dearing Brown painted this apron as a sixteen-year7

Apron, 1825–1830. Nathan Lakeman (1804–1835), Salem, Massachusetts. Museum Purchase, 94.003.1. Photograph by David Bohl.

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C MASONIC APRONS continued

old. At the time, he was likely studying drawing and painting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In ornamenting this apron, the young Brown likely copied an existing engraved apron printed by Edward Horsman in Boston in the 1810s. Horsman’s popular design, used throughout New England, may have also served as a model for some of the elements on the apron painted

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by Charles Codman. After studying in Portsmouth and Boston, Brown opened a lithography business in Philadelphia. Newly widowed Ann Sisco of Baltimore took over her husband’s fancy trimming business in 1846. She advertised that she would continue to manufacture all kinds of regalia “suitable and appropriate to the different orders.” 8

These groups included Freemasonry, the Odd Fellows, and the Sons of Temperance. It is likely that Sisco had assisted her husband in making the regalia that he had sold, so she was familiar with his business and clientele. This painted apron is marked with her label. With a focus on providing trimmings, flags, banners, and military and other specialized clothing for her

Apron, ca. 1826. Mannevillette Elihu Dearing Brown (1810-1896), Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, GL2004.1113. Photograph by David Bohl.

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C U LT U R E

Thinking about donating an object to the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library? Please contact us at info@srmml.org.

customers, it is probable that Sisco worked on the manufacture of textile products and hired an artist to decorate the painted regalia that she sold. The traveling artist who decorated this apron, noted on the back that it was “Painted and Warranted by R. B. Crafft.” Reason Bell Crafft worked in Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, and 9

Apron, 1846–1862. A. Sisco Regalia Company, Baltimore, Maryland. Special Acquisitions Fund, 2000.025.2. Photograph by David Bohl.

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Kentucky. He earned a living as an ornamental painter and portraitist, advertising that to create likenesses, he worked “from Daguerreotypes, and from life.” When Crafft produced this apron for Kentuckian Walter Hamilton Hays, between 1855 and 1865, the popularity of colorful hand-painted aprons was waning. By the middle of the 1800s, the design and decoration

of aprons underwent a change. Masonic authorities began to steer members away from highly decorated regalia. New standards for aprons privileged uniformity and understated embellishment. Crafft was among the last generation of artists who routinely offered painted aprons to their clients.

Apron, 1855-1865. Reason Bell Crafft (ca.1809after 1877), Kentucky. Gift of the Valley of Lowell, Massachusetts, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, USA in honor of Brother Starr H. Fiske, 32°, 85.6.2. Photograph by David Bohl.

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C THE B RAZE N S ER P ENT:

A 1955 Novel with a Scottish Rite Theme Published

in 1955, The Brazen Serpent is an adventure novel. The author, Chesney MacCauley Ramage (1884-1957), lived in West Virginia, worked as a medical doctor, and was a 32° Scottish Rite Freemason. Ramage weaves throughout the novel Masonic symbolism and allusions from the Scottish Rite’s 25th degree, Knight of the Brazen Serpent (today’s 6th degree, Master of the Brazen Serpent, in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction).

Ramage’s interest in the brazen serpent was influenced by his vocation as a medical doctor. As the publisher notes, “this novel deals with the emblem of the twenty-fifth degree, symbolizing the healing art.” The description of the brazen serpent in the Bible is clear about its healing property: “And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (Numbers 21:9)

The publisher’s description on the dust jacket flap further details the role of the brazen serpent as a symbol of healing: This gripping novel of a modern-day search for the Brazen Serpent of Old Testament fame is a powerful study of today’s need for the rediscovery of aids to mental and moral healing. It is the fascinating story of an obsession—a stubborn hunch on the part of two otherwise completely different men, one a simple, modest rabbi, the other a crusty old millionaire collector and hoarder of rare antiquities. And it is an adventure in time and space; a modern story of love and greed and deception and heroism, coupled with imaginative reconstruction of history and legend. The Brazen Serpent of the Bible was an image made by Moses to cure his people who were bitten by poisonous serpents during the Exodus. Though fashioned by God’s command, it came later to be worshiped as an idol by those who remembered the tales of its miraculous healing power…

by Jeffrey Croteau, Director of Library & Archives, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

The Brazen Serpent is just one of many works of fiction influenced by Freemasonry that are part of the library collection at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library. Although most of the books in the library’s collection are non-fiction, a number of novels and short story collections influenced by – or explicitly about – Freemasonry help the museum document the Fraternity’s influence on popular culture. The Brazen Serpent sits on the shelf with other works of fiction that draw on Freemasonry as their subject to varying degrees. A partial list of these works includes Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace (1869), Rudyard Kipling’s The Man Who Would Be King (1888), Sylvanus Cobb Jr.’s The Caliph of Baghdad (1892), Will L. Garver’s Brother of the Third Degree (1894), Carl Claudy’s The Lion’s Paw (1944), Robert A. Heinlein’s Revolt in 2100 (1953), Brad Meltzer’s The Book of Fate (2006), Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol (2010), and Shelley Sackier’s The Freemason’s Daughter (2017).

Have questions? Drop us a line at library@srmml.org or give us a call at 781-457-4109.

The Van Gorden-Williams Library & Archives is located in Lexington, Massachusetts, at the Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library and is open to the public.

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The Northern Light

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Chesney MacCauley Ramage, The Brazen Serpent (New York: Vantage Books, 1955). Museum Purchase, 66 .R165 1955

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There,Upon

Mount

Nebo MASTER OF THE BRAZEN SERPENT

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The Northern Light

E D U C AT I O N

6 T H DE G R E E by Chase Ryan Wilhelm, 32° Valley of Springfield, Illinois

HAUTS GRADES ACADEMY

The 6th Degree, Master of the Brazen Serpent, as presented in its 2003 format, presents to us, as Scottish Rite Masons, an opportunity to reflect not only upon the Core Value embedded within it, that being Reverence for God, but also upon our own struggles and the proverbial “deserts” which we all journey in and through at some point within our lives.

The

degree, in all its snakesravaging-the-masses grandeur, offers unto us an opportunity to reflect upon not only the often felt long stretches of our lives wherein we struggle daily to see the horizon of humanity and personal purpose, but also, at a more Fraternal and pragmatic level, the long stretches of nights spent in a lodge room, which seem to melt into each other, evenings spent away from other established obligations, or even family. Nights spent debating the nuances of upcoming events. Long nights of degree practices. Evenings spent locked in rote and regurgitated ritual that can sometimes feel as if we are moving through our Craft as merely trained drones rather than dedicated members of a fraternal order. While the ultimate core reflection of this degree, and the importance of perseverance, commitment, foresight, and reverence, in the face of what may feel like perpetual struggle, can easily be reflected upon, what I intend to turn towards within this essay is a

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very personal reflection upon my own experience. An experience that, for the sake of this essay, encapsulates a moment in time where I found myself standing before the literal tower of the brazen serpent at Mount Nebo, Jordan, in the Fall of 2023.

The weight of the past eight months that I had spent merely “doing my duty” fell upon me. In a tired and well-worn corner of the Levant, where Jordan bounds up and meets Israel, there, high upon a bluff, stands the Basilica of Moses. There, upon Mount Nebo, a bare and harsh ridge where one can overlook a clear path to Israel, outside the entrance to this Basilica, stands boldly a towering statue of the brazen serpent overlooking the purported “promised land.” It was there, mere months before I would be wounded in combat, that I found myself in late 2023. After having secured all appropriate

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E THERE, UPON MOUNT NEBO continued

! To learn more about HGA and sign up for the waitlist, visit

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approvals, documents, and passes necessary, I had been granted the unique opportunity to commandeer a “civilian” vehicle, load it with as many soldiers as I could, drive them nine hours out of Syria down into Jordan, baptize them in the River Jordan, and spend the day visiting any other relevant religious/historical sites I could with the time I was given on our pass out of the depths of a barren desert to the North.

Yet what remains profoundly important for anyone who has witnessed the degree is its Core Value of Reverence for God despite the unyielding trials of life. I baptized three soldiers that morning in the River Jordan. I rededicated three others. We spent our day “off the line,” relaxing and enjoying our fleeting freedom from the context of joint combat operations in Syria, and when presented with the opportunity to either show back up late to a checkpoint or take these soldiers to Mount Nebo, I chose the latter… after all, what were they going to do to me? Make me join the Army? Too late! So, we loaded up and made the long, winding journey out of the valley where the Jordan River winds its way upon the Israeli border, and up the ridge to Mount Nebo; we blended in as well as we could with the other tourists, many on some standardized religious tour bus stop-by-stop excursion across the “Holy Land.” And yet there we were, eight soldiers, and me, the purported leader of the vagabond group who 20

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was basking in our chance not to be trapped in the confines of some endless war that continued with or without us in the north. We parked, gathered our things, and made our way through the preselected stops and guideposts that exist on Mount Nebo on your way to the bluff where the basilica stands. I had no realization that what I would witness when I rounded the corner of the basilica would be standing proudly there on the edge of that ridge overlooking the valley below: the Brazen Serpent Monument. Immediately I froze; I stopped in my tracks when my eyes fell upon that giant symbol which cut across the very core of my identity. I immediately realized what I was gazing upon was at the heart of the 6th degree – a degree I had the unique opportunity to witness just before I left for this deployment. It hit me: the weight of the notion of what it means to journey for months through a barren desert, not symbolically, but rather very literally. It washed over me, the months spent dodging drone attacks, running random patrols, all for what? The weight of the past eight months that I had spent merely “doing my duty” fell upon me. The heart of the 6th degree was, in a very literal sense, standing there before my eyes. The degree, in its fullness, presents us with many opportunities to offer critiques in its visceral presentation: the overuse of dramatized costumes, the vernacular, the deeply rooted early-twentieth-century Judeo-

Christian romanticization of “Old Testament” narratives. All of those similar, low-hanging critiques are evident throughout the degree’s production. Yet what remains profoundly important for anyone who has witnessed the degree is its Core Value of Reverence for God despite the unyielding trials of life. For, at a very personal level, while I thought my experience on Mount Nebo and my reflections upon the degree had encapsulated the breadth of my experience thus far, little did I know that merely a couple of months later I would face the darkest day of my personal life and military career. Little did I know that while I thought that moment standing before the statue of the brazen serpent encapsulated and reflected the struggles of my journey thus far, it rather indeed was just the beginning of the most trying moments of my life.

What I intend to turn towards within this essay is a very personal reflection upon my own experience. The work of the 6th degree requires that we reflect not only upon the desert we are walking through on this very day, but it also demands we reflect upon the question of “what deserts lie ahead?” While the degree, as most all do, couches itself neatly in a broader narrative, if we are truly attentive to the work of the degree, we must come to wrestle with the reality that Master of the Brazen Serpent is not a degree we witness once, but a title we must carry always.

The Northern Light

E D U C AT I O N

IMMEDIATELY I FROZE; I STOPPED IN MY TRACKS WHEN MY EYES FELL UPON THAT GIANT SYMBOL WHICH CUT ACROSS THE VERY CORE OF MY IDENTITY.

Summer 2026

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Rising From the

Ashes

An Interview With John Sullivan 33°

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The Northern Light

F E AT U R E

by PJ Roup, 33°, Editor, Active for Pennsylvania

On the third floor of a six-story cold storage warehouse in Worcester, Massachusetts, Lieutenant John Sullivan cracked open a door barely visible through the acrid smoke. Behind it, he suspected, might be two rescue squad members who had gone up over a ladder to search the roof and had not come back down. “I said, ‘Chief, do they have their PASS alarms on upstairs?’” he recalled. The chief radioed up. Yes. Sullivan pulled the door open and listened. Nothing. “I kind of knew we weren’t on

the same floor as them,” he said. “I didn’t hear anything. I felt kind of relieved because now I don’t really have to go through that door.” He closed it and doubled back the way he came. The warehouse was a maze, and every door a firefighter went through, especially in near-zero visibility, increased his chances of getting lost. Roughly 40 minutes later, the section of the building on the far side of that door collapsed into a fire that state police helicopters would later measure at nearly 3,000 degrees. Six firefighters died in the Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire on December 3, 1999 – two of them his own men, sent in behind him that night. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Fire Chief John Sullivan to talk about that night, the years since, and the Fraternity that helped carry him through it. Sullivan spent thirty years with the Worcester Fire

Summer 2026

Department, becoming deputy chief of operations before taking the job of chief in the town of Brookline in 2018. Next April, after nearly forty years in the fire service, he will retire. His story is one of fire, faith, Brotherhood, and the hard work of finding

purpose on the other side of tragedy.

Worcester Roots

John Sullivan grew up in Worcester, the youngest of six children — two girls and four boys. “I got, as my wife says, I got raised by the pack,” he said. “I didn’t really get raised by my parents. I got raised by the pack. So I learned to be pretty self-reliant early on.” His family was working class – his father, a social worker for the Massachusetts welfare department, his mother, a waitress. “We were poor, but I didn’t know we were poor,” he said. “It was a challenge, but it was good for character building. I learned to be self-reliant. I learned to have to deal with many different personalities. That was very helpful for me later on in the fire service.”

Worcester Cold Storage Warehouse fire

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Rising From the Ashes continued

After graduating from Burncoat Senior High School in 1980, Sullivan drifted for a few years – a stint as a theater major at UMass Amherst, then years spent bartending and cooking. A marriage and a mother-in-law’s suggestion changed his direction. She asked him casually if he ever thought about the fire department. “I really hadn’t,” he said. “It was my ex-mother-in-law who said, maybe you should think about being a fireman.” On her advice, he took the civil service exam and in 1987, the city of Worcester called. Sullivan built his career the same way he’d later build his Masonic path – one rung at a time. He earned an Associate’s Degree in Fire Science from Quinsigamond Community College, a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire

The fire rages

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Science Administration from Anna Maria College, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Clark University. “I knew as I was going through my career that I wanted to keep advancing to potentially become a chief of department someday,” he said. “That was the educational track that would give me the best opportunity to do that.”

266 Franklin Street

By December 3, 1999, Sullivan was five years into his post as a lieutenant on Engine 3, working out of headquarters on Grove Street. It was an unremarkable night – raw, overcast, in the high thirties – until the call came in for smoke coming from the roof of the Worcester Cold Storage warehouse, a vacant, windowless six-

story building Sullivan had driven past his entire life.

It was the last time he saw Jay and Joe alive. Unknown to the first-arriving companies, two homeless people had been squatting inside, using candles for light in a building with no electricity and no windows. A candle had tipped into bedding. The two tried to put the fire out, couldn’t, and slipped out the back without telling anyone. “Fire will double in size every minute if it’s left unchecked,” Sullivan said. By the time firefighters arrived, the blaze had a 45-minute head start, and it was hunting for oxygen inside a

The morning after

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building whose walls were insulated with twelve inches of cork soaked with asphalt, a material, Sullivan explained, that is chemically close to gasoline. Coupled with the flammable cork, it made a deadly combination. A man who ran a diner near the warehouse told a police officer on the scene that he had been feeding the two squatters and thought they might still be inside. When word reached the incident commander, the operation shifted from firefighting to search and rescue. Two members of the rescue squad, Paul Brotherton and Jerry Lucey, had already gone up a ladder to the roof and entered from above, planning to search down while other companies searched up. The building, it turned out, was actually two structures joined decades apart, with a connecting door on each floor that never lined up in the same place twice. “If you searched one floor and you went through that door, you weren’t in the same place,” Sullivan said. “That’s what we believe was part of the problem.” Disoriented

Jay Lyons’ funeral

Summer 2026

in blinding smoke, the two men called for help as Sullivan’s crew arrived. Sullivan, riding that night with his full crew for once – firefighters Jay Lyons, Joseph McGuirk, and two others – was assigned to search the third floor. “Jay, you take Joe with you and meet us inside,” he told his senior man, “I’ll take Doug and Mark, and we’ll report to the chief.”

“I knew as I was going through my career that I wanted to keep advancing to potentially become a chief of department someday.” It was the last time he saw Jay and Joe alive. Once inside the structure, Sullivan reached a connecting door, called the chief to confirm the trapped men’s PASS alarms were sounding, and listened. He heard nothing,

and doubled back – a decision that, without his knowing it in the moment, kept him out of the section of the building that would soon collapse. Lyons and McGuirk, having gone in behind him, ended up on the fifth floor alongside Ladder 2 officers Timothy Jackson and Tom Spencer (one of Sullivan’s closest friends on the job). None of them made it out. The building shook. “It was almost as if you’re in your house and a big eighteen-wheeler goes by out front,” Sullivan said. On the far side of the door he had chosen not to walk through, the fire had consumed the support columns on the second floor, and that entire wing of the warehouse came down, sending flames hundreds of feet into the air. Six men died that night: Brotherton, Lucey, Lyons, McGuirk, Spencer, and Jackson. It remains one of the deadliest days in American fire service history. “We only fought

John Sullivan’s charred helmet after the WCSW fire

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Rising From the Ashes continued

the fire for about an hour and forty minutes before the collapse happened,” Sullivan said. “In the grand scheme of things, that’s not a lot of time. But the situation just overwhelmed the number of resources that we could put on it.”

Despite all the pain, Brother Sullivan has remained determined to make a difference to honor those men who died. At the height of the fire, Chief Michael McNamee made a call that Sullivan still describes with reverence. “We’ve lost six,” McNamee told his companies. “We’re not losing any more.” The building was abandoned. No one else went in. Firehouse Magazine’s award for valor now bears McNamee’s name. “He made the most courageous call that any fire chief has in modern history,” Sullivan said.

McNamee had none. Grief in the department turned into anger, and some of it landed on him. “I lost two firefighters. And, you know, the finger got pointed back at me,” he said. For years he was questioned. Why weren’t they with you? What went wrong? “I got a lot of grief,” he said. “I turned it toward the teaching, and people didn’t like that.” He found real help at the Onsite Academy, a Massachusetts program built for first responders carrying PTSD, and leaned hard on the recovery program that had already carried him twelve years by then. “I went to AA, and I dealt with my trauma through the program, and through my family, and that’s kind of how I got through it.” “I wasn’t going to make myself a victim of the anger,” he said. “I know what I did was right, and I know that

the actions I took that night were in concert with what everybody else did. So if they just need somebody to be mad at, that’s fine.” The cost wasn’t only professional. Sullivan’s stepdaughter lost her closest friend that night – Tom Spencer’s daughter, sixteen years old, whose father worked the same station as Sullivan and never came home. “That’s not fair,” he said. “That relationship was gone from that day forward. And that has worn on me for my whole life.” He eventually left Worcester for Brookline in 2018, in part for a fresh start, free of the institutional weight the fire had left behind. “It gave me a new lease,” he said.

From the Ashes

The lessons of that December night rippled far past Worcester. Since then, Sullivan has traveled across

The Aftermath

The Worcester Cold Storage fire, Sullivan says plainly, changed his life completely. “I became a different person afterward,” he said. “I certainly had post-traumatic stress. I’ve become, unfortunately, I think, hardened in a lot of ways. I don’t view things as emotionally maybe as I did before.” In the aftermath, Brother Sullivan struggled. The victims’ families had support through national foundations. Sullivan and Chief John on the job

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F E AT U R E

In His Own Words the country and around the world, teaching other departments about air management, rapid intervention teams, and large-area search. These practices barely existed in the American fire service before 1999. He spent seventeen years on the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Safety, Health and Survival Section, eventually chairing it. “Thousands of firefighters came,” he said. “And then that sprung into other conferences in other places. The Worcester Cold Storage fire had an impact on the fire service not only across the country, but across the world. That’s the legacy for those six firefighters who gave their lives that night.” Those men gave a legacy to the fire service. In fact, seven sons of the firefighters who lost their lives that night now serve in the Worcester Fire Department themselves.

Despite all the pain, Brother Sullivan has remained determined to make a difference to honor those men who died. “It’s a hard pill to swallow in some ways. In other ways, I wouldn’t give it up. I firmly believe that I did survive that night to be able to be here today and to have the impact. If I had squandered that,” he considered, “If I don’t go on and become the best that I can be as a chief and advocate for the firefighters that are under my command and to do the things that I know I can do, that I know I’m good at… if I didn’t do that, I wouldn’t be fulfilling the purpose that I was meant to fulfill.”

“I followed in my grandfather's footsteps.” “And I do feel the same way about Masonry. I think Freemasonry has given me that same level of focus and determination and pride and ability to do things and impact people’s lives.”

Another Brotherhood

Freemasonry gave Sullivan back something the fire had taken from him. “In 2007, I found Masonry, and it helped me to further heal from that,” he said. “It gave me the brotherhood that I had kind of lost at the fire station. I didn’t have the same connection necessarily with a lot of the people there anymore.” Sullivan’s maternal grandfather was a 33rd degree Mason in Worcester, deeply active in the Scottish Rite. Growing up Irish Catholic, Sullivan was told John was featured in the Smithsonian’s “Time and Navigation” exhibit.

Summer 2026

Freemasonry and the Fire Service

“As a young firefighter and a young Mason, it was more about me and what I was going to be able to get from it. We all join the Fraternity in search of something for [ourselves]. And then you realize that at a certain point that it’s in the giving that you get. The same holds true for the fire service. You know, we all join an occupation for a paycheck and for selfish reasons, in one way or another. I don’t mean selfish in a pejorative way, but, you know, it is what it is. We all want to get paid. We all want to have a career. And then, you realize that what you’re doing is bigger than that. The mission is outside of me. It’s my brother and sister firefighters and keeping them safe and making sure that they’re trained and ready and able. And then beyond that, it’s the communities that we serve, and making sure that when that person calls on their worst day that we are there and we’re ready and we’re prepared and we’re trained and we’re able to do the most efficient and effective service for them in their worst time. And, once you get to that point, it becomes even more satisfying, you know, as a Mason and as a firefighter, that this is really this is really isn’t about me.”

To view the full interview, scan the QR code.

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F E AT U R E

Rising From the Ashes continued

for years that the Fraternity wasn’t open to him. “You’re an Irish Catholic, you’re not going to be able to be a Mason,” he remembered hearing. Years later, while presenting on the cold storage fire in North Carolina, Sullivan noticed the host at the event wore a ring like his grandfather’s. “I said, ‘Oh, you must be a Mason,’” Sullivan recalled, explaining that he couldn’t join since he was Catholic. “And he said, ‘No, that’s not really true. You can still be a Mason. When you get back to Massachusetts, you should look that up.’” In 2007, Sullivan, by then a District Chief, was riding through Worcester with his driver, who nodded toward the city’s Masonic Temple and said he’d love to see inside it someday. They knocked

John and Louise Sullivan

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on the door. A caretaker named Bill Valiquette let them in, gave them a tour, and at the end asked if either man was a Mason. Sullivan said no, but that he’d always thought about it. Valiquette handed him an application addressed to the secretary of Morningstar Lodge, a man named Sam McClure, who turned out to be Sullivan’s old high school math teacher.

It gave me the brotherhood that I had kind of lost at the fire station. “I followed in my grandfather’s footsteps,” Sullivan said. Old-timers in the Valley of Worcester who remembered his grandfather steered him into the Rose Croix line, just as his grandfather had walked it, and later into the Massachusetts Consistory in Boston, where his grandfather had also been active. Today Sullivan serves as Commander in Chief of that body. He is a Past Master of Morningstar Lodge, a Past District Deputy Grand Master, and served in 2022 as Deputy Grand Master for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. “That’s the way the Masonic railroad works,” he said, smiling. “There are still a few old-timers who remember my grandfather, which is really satisfying. That history is fun.” Sullivan was quick to point out the similarities to the fire service. “The same kinds of bonds were

reinforced in the Fraternity as they were in my occupation,” he said. “So it’s a wonderful, seamless kind of transition to go from the firehouse to the lodge room, where you still get that same sense of camaraderie, that same sense of distinct mission that we’re all on.”

Moving Forward

With retirement on the horizon, John talks about slowing down, writing, consulting, and giving more time to his family. He married his wife, Louise, who he describes as the love of his life, in 2018. “We’re living our best life now,” he said with a smile. “We travel. And as long as we have health, we’ll keep moving.” He also plans to spend more time with his three children and seven grandchildren than the job allowed him before. “I joke with my wife that I just want to be a Walmart greeter,” he said. “But I know in my heart that won’t be the case. I’ll still be out there fighting the good fight. I’m not exactly sure what, but I’ll be doing something.” Asked what he would tell the young lieutenant who cracked open that door in 1999, Sullivan didn’t hesitate long. “Be good to yourself,” he said. “Don’t beat yourself up so much. It’ll all work out the way it’s supposed to.” Those are wise words from a man who has spent more than a quarter-century turning a night of unimaginable loss into a lifetime of service – to his firefighters, to his lodge, and to the six men whose names he still carries.

The Northern Light

ARIZONA>FLORIDA SUPREME COUNCIL, 33° COMMANDER’S TOUR

FOLLOW THE SUN, BROTHER! The Scottish Rite heads to Arizona & Florida in Winter 2027.

WHEN THE NORTHEAST TURNS GRAY, THE SCOTTISH RITE HEADS TO WARMER CLIMATES

Join Sovereign Grand Commander Walter F. Wheeler, 33°, and his Supreme Council staff for lunch and an opportunity to reconnect with Brothers and friends, and hear what’s next for the Scottish Rite and its charities. ARIZONA TOUR Early Bird: December 1st Registration Deadline: January 20th

FLORIDA TOUR Early Bird: February 1st Registration Deadline: March 5th

ARIZONA FEBRUARY 2: Sun City West

FLORIDA MARCH 11: The Villages MARCH 13: Sarasota MARCH 15: Tampa MARCH 18: Bonita Springs MARCH 19: East Coast

EV E N T DE TA I L S : $25 P E R P E R S O N

· E A R L Y B I R D : $20

Reserve your seat by calling 781-465-3346 or visiting: ScottishRiteNMJ.org/Arizona and ScottishRiteNMJ.org/Florida

WE’LL SAVE YOU A SEAT!

Celebrating New Beginnings Each year, Children’s Dyslexia Centers across the Jurisdiction honor students who have reached a milestone that once felt out of reach. Graduation is meaningful not only for the students, but also for the parents, tutors, and volunteers who have supported them along the way.

Central New York, NY

Lancaster, PA

Columbus, OH

Indianapolis, IN

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The

ceremonies are often filled with pride, gratitude, and a few tears as students say goodbye to the tutors who have invested deeply in their success. They also offer a moment to reflect on how far each child has come. For many families, the challenges that once seemed overwhelming have given

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CHARITIES

by Bridget Steele, Director of Charities

way to confidence, new skills, and hope for the future. This year, that sense of possibility was captured especially well by one former student who returned to inspire the next generation of graduates. Ciara Crilow attended the Columbus Children’s Dyslexia Center, named in

honor of Richard J. Luckay, 33 , MSA, from 2016 to 2018. She was selected to participate in a prestigious NASA internship while still in high school. This fall, she will begin studying aeronautical engineering at the University of Alabama. Ciara had these words of encouragement to share:

“

As I stand here today, returning to the place that helped me find my wings, I want you to remember this: dyslexia shaped your journey, but it never defined your limits. It taught me how to rise, how to lead, and how to guide others as they learn to fly in their own way. Congratulations, graduates. Your story is just beginning. Keep soaring.

”

Reading, PA

Ciara Crilow

Great Lakes Bay Region, MI

Ciara Crilow

Summer 2026

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CHARITIES

CELEBRATING NEW BEGINNINGS continued

Congratulations to this year’s Children’s Dyslexia Center graduates and to the supporters who made this achievement possible. This milestone marks more than the completion of a program. It celebrates the skills and confidence they now carry into the next chapter of their story.

“

For many families, the challenges that once seemed overwhelming have given way to confidence, new skills, and hope for the future.

Worcester, MA

Columbus, OH

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”

For more information on your local Center and how you can help students access essential tutoring resources, please visit: www.ChildrensDyslexiaCenters.org

Central New York, NY

Columbus, OH

The Northern Light

M 2025-2026

THE SCOTTISH RITE is committed to continually raising the bar in delivering a premier member experience, and our Valleys of Excellence exemplify that commitment. Through innovative programs, meaningful engagement, strong leadership, and unwavering dedication to our values, these Valleys create outstanding opportunities for fellowship, learning, and service.

This year,

we are proud to recognize achievement at three distinct levels – Gold, Silver, and Bronze – reflecting the various ways our Valleys excel in serving their members and communities. Each recognized Valley has demonstrated a commitment to excellence and a passion for ensuring every member enjoys an exceptional Scottish Rite experience. We proudly celebrate their accomplishments and leadership. Congratulations to our Gold, Silver, and Bronze Valleys of Excellence for setting the standard and inspiring us all to reach even greater heights.

Family life events play a large role in the Valley of Excellence. Here are examples from the Valleys of Chicago (right) and Michigan (below).

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Gold IN128

George Rogers Clark

105.00

WI019

Milwaukee

104.58

NY037

Rochester

104.57

NJ018

Central Jersey

104.48

WI104

Eau Claire

104.33

OH052

Columbus

103.63

NY043

Utica

103.00

CT014

Bridgeport

103.00

NY035

Buffalo

102.86

OH053

Toledo

102.22

NJ122

Northern New Jersey

102.11

OH078

Canton

102.07

PA021

Harrisburg

101.73

MA004

Boston

101.56

CT045

New Haven

101.50

NY105

Rockville Centre

101.39

CT080

Waterbury

100.73

NY002

New York City

100.68

OH089

Youngstown

100.05

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MEMBERSHIP

Bronze

Silver ME050

The Androscoggin

96.41

IL034

Peoria

84.76

PA008

Pittsburgh

94.65

OH028

Cleveland

84.71

IN025

Indianapolis

91.45

IL010

Chicago

84.62

PA061

Scranton

91.03

MI129

Michigan

83.39

ME057

Bangor

90.98

PA013

Philadelphia

82.66

NY103

Schenectady

90.10

IN114

Terre Haute

82.10

MA020

Worcester

89.60

IL093

Springfield IL

81.79

NY017

Syracuse

87.73

CT031

Hartford

81.66

PA111

Allentown

85.35

IN066

Fort Wayne

81.38

CT023

Norwich

81.03

PA062

Erie

79.16

NH070

Concord

78.48

MA015

Lowell

78.16

PA115

Altoona

78.05

ME077

Augusta

77.37

IL090

Danville

77.32

IN110

South Bend

76.26

RI006

Providence

75.27

NY087

Jamestown

75.06

NJ040

Southern New Jersey

72.76

OH054

Dayton

72.33

NH075

Lancaster-Littleton

71.83

PA095

New Castle

70.74

PA088

Reading

70.06

Summer 2026

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Around the Jurisdiction The Valley of New Haven celebrated the summer with a Valley picnic.

MI New members at the Valley of Michigan’s Rite on the Road: Summer Edition in Dearborn

NH Ill. Karl Bickford presented Cadet Caedric Allen with the Scottish Rite Americanism Award.

IN June was Hawaiian Shirt Night at the Valley of Indianapolis.

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MEMBERSHIP

The Valley of Chicago hosted a Sundae race to benefit the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Metropolitan Chicago.

Hog Wild for Dyslexia Jan Miller, Grand Lodge of Illinois Office Manager, went hog wild for dyslexia. Jan competed against five other contestants to see who could raise the most money for Southern Illinois Children’s Dyslexia Center. Jan won with the most donations and got to kiss the pig at a two-day event held during the town’s Oktoberfest.

IL IL

Congratulations to the new leadership team at the Valley of Northern New Jersey!

(L to R) Billy McIntyre, MSA, Thrice Potent Master; Jenny Gain Meyer, Belleville Mayor; Jan Miller; and Tim Haddad, 32° at the Kiss the Pig event

Members and guests of the Valley of Concord enjoyed a night at the ballpark.

Jan kisses the Pig.

Summer 2026

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Around the Jurisdiction

continued

Consistory Night at the Valley of Southeastern Massachusetts

IN MI The newest Sublime Princes at Marquette’s summer reunion

Rochester Donates Flag Members of the Valley of Rochester Scottish Rite presented a new American flag to the Avon Town Board at their July meeting. Bryant Dunham, a past leader of the Valley of Rochester, noted that the Scottish Rite Masons have used the Opera Hall for public programs during the past two years. He then introduced fellow member Mike Simmons, who has portrayed Theodore Roosevelt in presentations held at the hall.

IN RI The Valley of Providence took a road trip to New York City to see the 24th-31st degrees.

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Simmons told board members that the group had been impressed with the renovated facility but noticed it did not have an American flag on display. As a gesture of appreciation for the town’s hospitality, the Scottish Rite purchased a flag to be permanently displayed in the hall. Town board members thanked the group for the gift and joined them for a photograph with the new flag.

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MEMBERSHIP

The Valley of George Rogers Clark was well represented at the Indiana Council of Deliberation.

NJ Brothers were all smiles at New Haven’s Valley picnic.

Members of the Valley of The Hudson celebrate the end of the Scottish Rite year.

NY (L to R) Town Board Members David LeFaber (Supervisor), Paul Drozdziel, Thomas Mairs (Deputy Supervisor) and Collin Hayes. To the right of the flag are Masons Mike Simmons, Bryant Dunham, Ted Sargent (front), Steve Cinotti (behind), Ryan Witherow, and Gary Burke. Rochester Sentinel photo.

Summer 2026

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Around the Jurisdiction

continued

Maine’s Scottish Rite 33rd degree team conferred a Master Mason’s Degree for Brother Gilberto Lozada III.

MI ME

MI The cast of the 32nd degree following their summer reunion in Marquette

VT Scottish Rite members from Vermont gathered at Killington Mountain Lodge for Council of Deliberation.

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MEMBERSHIP

Brother Jeff Jones, 32°, received his MSA at the Pennsylvania COD meeting in July.

OH Ohio’s newest MSAs were honored at Council of Deliberation.

! If you would like to have your Valley featured in Around the Jurisdiction, be sure to submit photographs and descriptions to

Communications@SRNMJ.org

WI The Valley of Milwaukee installed its new officers in June.

Summer 2026

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M LOST N O M OR E :

The “Francken” Constitutions of 1762 Rediscovered at Grand Lodge Deep in the basement of the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, tucked among piles of yet-to-becataloged books and papers, sat one of the oldest Scottish Rite-related documents in America. Older than the United States and thought lost for nearly 100 years, the “Francken” Constitutions of 1762 of the Order of the Royal Secret has been brought to light once again.

The

find came this past November, when library volunteer John Wilder (Grand Historian, Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and Curator, Aleppo Shrine Museum and Archives) discovered the document among a pile of loose nineteenth-century papers. Noticing it appeared older than the rest, Wilder immediately brought it upstairs to the library for further study.

The document is an early manuscript copy of the Constitutions of 1762, the foundational governing document of the Order of the Royal Secret that was carried to America by Henry Andrew Francken and became the basis for the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. Historian Samuel Harrison Baynard, in his 1938 The History of the Supreme Council of the 33rd Degree of Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, documented 10 known copies of the

Samuel Crocker Lawrence

Jacob Hugo Tatsch

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1762 Constitutions and examined the variations among them: half in French, half in English. Of the five English copies, one – which Baynard identifies as the “Francken” version – had gone missing: “Given by Henry Andrew Francken, in 1767, to the Ineffable Lodge of Perfection in Albany, New York, afterward noted as being in the Carson Collection, but which we have been unable to locate.” The “Carson Collection” Baynard references belonged to Cincinnati Masonic collector Enoch Terry Carson. In 1898, shortly before Carson’s death in 1899, his entire collection was purchased by Samuel Crocker Lawrence of Massachusetts. Lawrence had previously served as Grand Master of Massachusetts and Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Massachusetts and Rhode

Moses Michael Hays

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MASONRY

of Massachusetts

by Matthew Ahern, 32°, Valley of Lowell Librarian, Samuel Crocker Lawrence Library, Grand Lodge of Massachusetts

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Though the “Francken” Constitutions originated in New York, then made their way to Ohio before coming to Massachusetts, they share an important connection with early Massachusetts Freemasonry.

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The “Francken” Constitutions of 1762

Summer 2026

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M LOST NO MORE continued

Island. He would go on to serve as Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction (1909-1910). With this purchase, Lawrence’s collection became one of the most comprehensive private Masonic collections in the world. Upon his death in 1911, it was bequeathed to the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. That same Lawrence-Carson material had previously yielded a related discovery. In 1935, Grand Lodge librarian Jacob Hugo Tatsch found the 1783 Francken Manuscript among these papers, shortly before it was transferred to the Supreme Council, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. Unfortunately, Tatsch’s early death in 1939 halted further identification of the Lawrence-Carson collection, and the “Francken” Constitutions lay undiscovered until now. Though the “Francken” Constitutions originated in New York, then made their way to Ohio before coming to Massachusetts, they share an important connection with early Massachusetts Freemasonry. Among the members of Albany’s Ineffable Lodge of Perfection was Moses Michael Hays. Before departing New York in 1768, Francken made Hays a Deputy Inspector General of the Order, giving him authority to constitute lodges in North America and the West Indies. Hays eventually made his way to Rhode Island and then to Massachusetts, where he served as Grand Master from 1788 to 1792. In 1791, while Grand Master, Hays acted

on his authority as Deputy Inspector General to charter King Solomon’s Lodge of Perfection in Holmes’ Hole, Martha’s Vineyard. The lodge remained active until a new charter was issued in 1797 by then Grand Master Paul Revere. Styled King Solomon in Perfection Lodge under this new charter, the lodge ceased conferring the 4th through 14th degrees and was brought in line with the Craft lodges of the jurisdiction.

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There is a strong possibility that Hays personally held onto the “Francken” during his lifetime, making the document’s arrival in Massachusetts in 1898 more of a return home. While further research and study of this document remain, the Samuel Crocker Lawrence Library is grateful to John Wilder for the sharp eye that brought this document back into the light. The “Francken” Constitutions of 1762

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The Northern Light

MASONRY

While further research and study of this document remain, the Samuel Crocker Lawrence Library is grateful to John Wilder for the sharp eye that brought this document back into the light.

Summer 2026

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MASONRY

M C REMARKABLE MASONS:

Petitioners for Freedom

by Stacey Fraser, Assistant Curator Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

When the Declaration of Independence, which claimed “all men are created equal,” was signed in 1776, slavery was practiced in all the states that formed the new nation. Inspired by the ideals outlined in the Declaration, Black men in Massachusetts petitioned the state legislature to abolish slavery since they had “in Common with all other men a Natural and Unalienable Right to that freedom.” Among these petitioners were two remarkable Masons: Lancaster Hill and Peter Bess.

Detail, Petition to the Massachusetts Legislature, January 13, 1777. Massachusetts Anti-Slavery and Anti-Segregation Petitions; Massachusetts Archives Collection. v.212-Revolution Resolves, 1777. SC1/series 45X. Massachusetts Archives. Boston, Massachusetts.

Lancaster Hill (1713-1796)

Peter Bess

PROBABLY born in 1713, Lancaster Hill moved to Boston as a free man in 1751. He married an enslaved woman, Margaret, four years later. Hill operated a store on Washington Street for more than 28 years.

IN April 1773, Peter Bess and three other men signed a circular petition to abolish slavery in Massachusetts. Referencing the legislature’s resistance to the British government, the petition reads, “We expect great things from men who have made such a noble stand against the designs of their fellow-men to enslave them.”

Hill and other men in Boston, including Prince Hall, drafted a petition against enslavement in 1776. Hill was the first to sign this document, submitted in January 1777 to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. This body met in the building where the Declaration of Independence was first read to Bostonians the previous July. House members drafted a bill to abolish slavery that year, but lacking approval from the Continental Congress, did not advance it to a vote. In 1788, after a ship captain kidnapped three Black men to be sold into slavery, Hill, Hall, and 21 other men submitted an appeal for justice and protection for the captives. This effort met with a different fate than the 1777 petition. Massachusetts government officials brokered freedom for the kidnapped men, and the General Court enacted a law prohibiting the slave trade in Massachusetts. Hill was made a Master Mason in African Lodge No. 1 on June 23, 1779, and served as Treasurer that year. In 1791, he became the lodge’s Grand Sword Bearer. Five years later, Hill died. Free for at least 40 years, Lancaster Hill spent more than 20 years appealing for freedom for his wife, children, and other enslaved Massachusetts citizens. 46

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(also known as Betts/Best; dates unknown)

In March 1775, Bess was one of the first Black men to join a Masonic lodge in North America. He and others, including Prince Hall, joined Lodge No. 441, a traveling military lodge chartered under the Grand Lodge of Ireland whose members were British soldiers stationed in Boston. Hall, Bess, and other Masons established African Lodge No. 1 after the British evacuation from Boston in March 1776. Along with Hill and six other men, Bess signed the 1777 petition to end slavery in Massachusetts. This document contained a wish for the inhabitants of Massachusetts to find success in “their present glorious struggles for liberty,” and a suggestion that “benevolent minds” would not wish to deprive a fellow human of the same liberty. Bess was raised as a Master Mason on June 20, 1778. In 1791, he became the Grand Treasurer for African Lodge. His profession and the dates of his birth and death are not known. Details about Peter Bess’ life are hard to uncover, but his signature on these petitions for freedom offers clear evidence of what he valued. The Northern Light

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12·01·26 Gather by candlelight. Give from the heart. As the year turns toward its longest nights, we come together for the best reason there is: to take care of each other. When the sun begins to set and the chill settles in, people have done the same thing for centuries: gather close and care for the ones who need it most.

A w

N I GHT of

On the first Tuesday of December, live entertainment, a generous reception welcoming friends old and new, and a livestream carrying the night’s generosity from our hearts to your homes can be expected as we plan to envelop each attendee with that same warmth and good company. BE A PART OF A COMMUNITY THAT BRINGS A LITTLE LIGHT TO HOMES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

IN-PERSON Doors open 5:30 PM (ET) · Livestream begins 7:00 PM (ET) $

50 I N D I V I D U A L / $90 C O U P L E

ONLINE Watch the live event on December 1 and give from anywhere, beginning 7:00 PM (ET) at the website below.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS, PLEASE VISIT

S R N M J.O R G/ G I V I N G T U E S DAY

The Northern Light 33 Marrett Road Lexington, MA 02421-5703

THE SCOTTISH RITE UNITY PROJECT · IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION

One Fraternity. One Promise. For the first time, all four Supreme Councils of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry in the USA, Northern, Southern, and both Prince Hall Affiliation jurisdictions, are standing together in unity for our first responders and military, through the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. On September 11, 2026, the 25th anniversary of the attacks, the four Sovereign Grand Commanders will present a shared gift to the Foundation. Together, our goal is $50,000, given as one Fraternity.

ABOUT THE TUNNEL TO TOWERS FOUNDATION Since 9/11, we have been helping America’s heroes by providing mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and by building specially-adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. We are also committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and helping America to Never Forget September 11, 2001.

Scan to donate and help us reach our goal or give by visiting: SRNMJ.US/TUNNELTOTOWERS