Monument Lodge welcomes special visitors from Massachusetts

  HOULTON, Maine — North Star Lodge No. 22 of Prince Hall Freemasons of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts paid a historic visit to Monument Lodge April 12. The visit was the first time the Bangor-based lodge had been received by a lodge under the Grand Lodge of Maine.
    Gerald Leighton, Grand Master of Masons in Maine, was present for the occasion along with several of his grand lodge officers.
Prince Hall Masons are predominately African Americans although race is not a prerequisite for membership, the same as it is not in the Grand Lodge of Maine. The Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts also has jurisdiction over the States of Maine and New Hampshire.
Prince Hall and fourteen others of African descent were made Masons in Castle Island in Boston Harbor in 1775 by a traveling military lodge.  Upon its removal from Boston they sought a warrant for their own lodge.
Originally chartered as African Lodge No. 459 by the Grand Lodge of England in 1787, it was stricken from the roll of that organization in 1813.  This was a common occurrence at that time as two competing English grand lodges united and cleared many lodges in the United States from their rolls.
With questions existing as regarded their charter, African Lodge did not become a part of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts which dates from 1733.  While one’s race or religion, so long as he believes in a Supreme Being, were not qualifications to Masonic memberships, it is acknowledged that race did in fact play a role in the exclusion of African Lodge from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
Upon being denied recognition by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, African Lodge continued to operate on its own until 1808 when it declared itself a grand lodge. It had previously chartered lodges in Pennsylvania, New York and Rhode Island.
Originally known as Africa Grand Lodge, it changed its name in 1847 to Prince Hall Grand Lodge to honor its most illustrious member who had died the year before.
From this grand lodge all other Prince Hall grand lodges in the United States and elsewhere about the world trace their lineage
In 1996, following a few years of dialogue between various Prince Hall Grand Lodges and lodges in United States and England, the Grand Lodge of Maine formerly recognized the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Connecticut.  In 1998 the Grand Lodge of Maine entered into fraternal relations with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts.
North Star Lodge No. 22 is located in Bangor and is the only Prince Hall Masonic lodge in Maine.
The first formal relationship between members of North Star lodge and the Grand Lodge of Maine took place in 1999 when the George Washington Maine Masonic Monument was dedicated in Market Square.  Several of its members took part in the dedication which was done by the Grand Master of Maine and his officers along with those Monument Lodge.
An invitation extended to North Star last January to officially visit Monument Lodge was accepted.  This inter-lodge meeting was the first to take place in Maine since Prince Hall Freemasonry was formally recognized.
The evening began with a spaghetti supper prepared by Danny Milton and was attended by 42 masons.
Monument Lodge Master Richard L. Rhoda welcomed all following the supper. He related that the meeting had been planned for before any of the observations of the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr. Martin Luther King.
Rhoda observed that much was owed to Dr. King and that America and Freemasonry had been made better by his life.
Ricky Hall, a Past Master of North Star Lodge and a District Deputy of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, was the principal speaker of the evening.  He gave a very informative history on the birth and development of Prince Hall Masonry down to the present day.
Hall advised the warrant originally given to African Lodge No. 459 by the Grand Lodge of England in 1784 is the only one still in existence for any of the Masonic lodges in America.  He presented Monument Lodge with a framed copy of this historical document which will be displayed by the lodge.
Following the address by Hall, Gerald Leighton, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Maine, gave very positive and moving comments on the position of the Grand Lodge relative to Prince Hall Masonry.  He recognized that issues of the past were now in the past and that Maine Freemasonry was moving forward.  The Grand Lodge of Maine hosted a rededication/re-obligation of the principles of Freemasonry with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in 2007.  This event was joined in by the Grand Lodges of New Hampshire and Vermont at their requests.
Leighton expressed appreciation for and recognized the historical importance of the meeting which Monument Lodge was hosting.
The meeting was concluded with all the brethren standing on the level, joining hands and singing “Auld Lang Syne.”
Accompanying Hall were fellow officers of North Star Lodge:  Worshipful Master Robert Lloyd; Leslie Buchanan, Secretary; and Sterling Diamond III, Treasurer.  Hall is also the current Senior Warden.
Accompany Grand Master Leighton were:  Walter Kyllonen, Junior Grand Warden, David King, Deputy Grand Master of District 1 which covers most of Aroostook County; A. James Ross, Grand Marshall; David Walker, Chief of Staff; Leslie Gray, Asst. Grand Chaplain; and Robert Hoyt, Past Grand Junior Warden.
Also attending the meeting was Vaughn Crump, Master of Woodstock Lodge along with three of his officers.