From the South

William Workman - Junior Warden  

Greetings, Brethren. 

I hope that his year finds you all in good health and good spirits, and that you too are looking forward to what aims to be a promising Masonic year for all of us in Washington Lodge No. 20.

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"Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man." - Ben Franklin

“I see you are a Traveler.”

Have you seen someone with a shirt that has the compass and square with the word Traveler?  What is that all about?  If someone asks you if you are a traveler, how do you respond?  Do you say “yes, form West to East?”  Is this a test, a try?  How about this one, “How old is your mother?” WTH?  Are they looking for a fat lip or are they looking to strike up a brotherly conversation about Freemasonry. Of course, I respond with 20.  (our lodge number) and yes, I am without a doubt a Traveler in every sense of the word.  From East to West, West to East to infinity and beyond. To boldly go to “that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns.”

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If you are like me, you have some type of bucket list for traveling.   I was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2005 and was given a rather dire prognosis.  A 50% chance to live for 5 years.  Well, that was nearly 20 years ago, and my travel bucket lists are being checked off every year.

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This traveling is rewarding and fulfilling, but it is the traveling in which I seek further Light in Freemasonry that affects me most profoundly. Like Robert Frost would say, the woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep. So may it be said, that of my Travels I will speak, but the secrets I won’t leak, for I have further light to seek. Travel on my brothers. 

The following and more come from this link:

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https://scottishritechicago.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2018-Fall-Reunion-Storyboardsweb-masonic-history.pdf

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Have you been asked if you are a ‘Traveling Man’ and wondered what was meant by the question? In the ancient European world of Operative Masons, the only people allowed to freely travel from town to town were Masons going to and from work sites. A Mason’s expertise in their craft would determine how often, how far, and how freely one was able to travel. In Speculative Masonry, Master Masons may freely move from Lodge to Lodge whether visiting or moving membership, upon proper avouchment, and/or by testing be found worthy to attend another Master Mason Lodge.

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Today, being a ‘Traveling Man’ represents the journey from Darkness to Masonic Light. Remember the words, “It will be necessary for you to travel?” In Masonry we are told to seek the Light. Light in Masonry is knowledge and from that knowledge comes information and understanding. A Master Mason is taught to always seek more Light. The East is the where the sun comes up, hence the source of Light and the reasoning for the Worshipful Master sitting in the East. In turn, a Mason is denoted as a ‘Traveler’ while rising from West to East symbolically when rising in the Degrees. The ‘Traveling Man’ denotes the privileges awarded to a Master Mason and is a phrase that would be recognized by other Master Masons as a true solicitation of the Brotherhood to which they belong.

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One of the oldest and most widely practiced customs and habits of Freemasons is to travel by visiting or affiliating with other Lodges. In the times of Operative Masonry, itinerant workers were often required to travel to renew their employment as each building project was completed.

This fluid nature of the Operative Masons led to the formation of trade societies, known as Lodges, to protect the professional integrity of their occupation, and to enhance the moral and social practices of their members.

The modes in which Masons are recognized originated in the Operative Period as a means of identifying the genuinely skilled craftsman who came to visit a Lodge in search of work. It is therefore reasonable to deduce visiting other Lodges is very old custom as many of the oldest Masonic manuscripts contain information associated with visiting, and the reception of visitors.

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I SEE YOU'VE TRAVELED SOME

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Wherever you may chance to be
Wherever you may roam,

Far away in foreign lands;
Or just at Home Sweet Home;

It always gives you pleasure,
it makes your heart strings hum

Just to hear the words of cheer,
"I see you've traveled some."

When you get a brother's greeting,
And he takes you by the hand,

It thrills you with a feeling
that you cannot understand,

You feel that bond of brotherhood
that tie that's sure to come

When you hear him say in a friendly way
"I see you've traveled some."

And if you are a stranger,
In strange lands all alone

If fate has left you stranded
Dead broke and far from home,

It thrills you--makes you numb,
When he says with a grip of fellowship,
"I see you've traveled some."

And when your final summons comes,
To take a last long trip,

Adorned with Lambskins Apron White
and gems of fellowship

The tiler at the Golden Gate,
With square and rule and plumb

Will size up your pin and say "Walk In",
"I see you've traveled some."

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