Not just a Man. A Mason. Your Journey Starts Here.

 

Today in Masonic History - 6 October 1779

 

Today in Masonic History - October 4, 1927

 

The Rough and Perfect Ashlars

 

Today in Masonic History - October 2, 1866

 

The Three Great Lights of Masonry

 

Today In Masonic History - September 30, 1951

 

Today in Masonic History - 29 Sep 1907

 

Today in Masonic History - 29 September 1901

 

Today in Masonic History - 25 Sep 1929

 

This week in 1857: Grand Lodge of Nebraska Organized!

 

Today in Masonic History - 17 September

 

Constitution Day!

 

Remembering 9/11/2001

Twenty-five years later, we pause to remember the lives lost on September 11, 2001, and to honor the courage, sacrifice, and humanity shown in the face of unimaginable tragedy. Our thoughts and deepest condolences remain with the families of the victims, the survivors who carry the memories of that day, the first responders who ran toward danger, and every person whose life was forever changed by the attacks. We remember not only the sorrow of 9/11, but also the strength, compassion, and unity that brought Americans together in its aftermath. May we continue to honor those we lost by cherishing the freedoms we share, standing together as a nation, and ensuring that their memory is never forgotten. We remember. We honor. We will never forget.

Preserving the Memory of Ground Zero

 

Masonic Medical Relief After 9/11

 

When a Children's Hospital prepared to treat adults

 

Masonic Charities After 9/11

 

A Mason at The Pentagon

 

Freemasons in the 9/11 Response

 

The Master Mason Degree Explained

 

The Fellowcraft Degree Explained

 

The 7 Ringling Brothers and Freemasonry

 

The Entered Apprentice Degree Explained

 

Today in Masonic History: Rob Morris is born in 1818

 

Today in Masonic History: Rob Morris is born in 1818.

Rob Morris was an American writer and poet.

Morris was born on August 31st, 1818, near Boston, Massachusetts. There is evidence that he was actually born Robert Williams Peckham in New York State. It was not until after his father passed away in 1825, and his mother had passed away sometime before, that Morris was placed in a foster home and took the name of his foster parents, "Morris." Later in life, when he began writing, he shortened his first name to Rob to avoid confusion with another poet named Robert Morris. It is believed he also attended college in New York state.

Morris taught school for 10 years before moving to Oxford, Mississippi, to begin teaching at the Mount Sylvan Academy, a school established by Freemasons. In Oxford, he met his wife, and they married in 1841.

After becoming a Freemason in 1846, he decided there needed to be a way for female relatives of Masons to take advantage of the fraternity's benefits. While a teacher and principal at Eureka Masonic College ("The Little Red Brick School Building") Morris began writing what later became the ritual of the Order of the Eastern Star. He titled the original ritual as The Rosary of the Eastern Star. Morris formed the Supreme Constellation in New York City and begin issuing charters around the country.

In 1866, Morris became friends with Robert Macoy, a Mason as well, and the founder of Macoy Publishing. Morris was getting ready to travel abroad, and he turned over all of the authority for the Eastern Star to Macoy. Macoy later, using The Rosary of the Eastern Star as a guide, published a ritual for the Eastern Star.

During his travels, Morris spent a year in Jerusalem. There, he established the first Masonic lodge in Jerusalem, named Royal Solomon Number One. He became the lodge's first Master.

In 1884, Morris was named the second, and to this date, the last Poet Laureate of Freemasonry. The first was Robert Burns. The award was granted after Masons around the World petitioned for it, based on his extensive writings on Freemasonry. He wrote more than 400 poems in his life, most of which were about the Eastern Star and Freemasonry. One of his best-known poems is The Level and the Square,

Morris's health began to fail in 1887. By June of 1888, he was completely paralyzed. He passed away on July 31st, 1888.

Morris was raised on March 5th, 1846, in Kentucky. In 1858 and 1859, he served as the Grand Master of Kentucky.

This article was written by Brother Eric C. Steele.
This article was provided by Today in Masonic History at http://www.masonrytoday.com.

Masonic History - August 28

 

Masonic History - August 27

 

Masonic History - August 26

 

Masonic History - August 21

 

Colonel Sanders and Dave Thomas: Fast-Food Pioneers and Masonic Brothers

 

Two of the most recognizable figures in American fast-food history shared more than an entrepreneurial connection. Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s, were both active Freemasons, Scottish Rite Masons, and Shriners. Their professional lives crossed years before Thomas created Wendy’s, and Thomas later publicly remembered Sanders not only as a business associate and mentor, but as a fellow Mason and friend.

Colonel Harland Sanders

Harland David Sanders entered Freemasonry long before his famous white suit, string tie, and fried-chicken recipe made him an American icon. Records derived from the Grand Lodge of Kentucky card file show that Sanders was initiated on April 6, 1917, in Henryville Lodge No. 651 in Henryville, Indiana. He received the Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees in 1919, with Clark Lodge No. 40 assisting Henryville Lodge by courtesy. Sanders demitted from Henryville Lodge in 1920.

More than three decades later, after establishing himself in Kentucky, Sanders returned to active membership in the lodge. On October 27, 1953, he affiliated with Hugh Harris Lodge No. 938 in Corbin, Kentucky, the community closely associated with the development of his restaurant business. Records indicate that he demitted from Hugh Harris Lodge on April 13, 1976.

Sanders also became a 33° Scottish Rite Mason. His own autobiography referred to his installation as a 33° Mason in Washington, D.C., and Masonic sources identify him accordingly. His grave memorial bears the Square and Compasses along with Scottish Rite and Shrine emblems, a visible indication that his Masonic associations remained important to his public identity.

He was also a Noble of Oleika Shriners in Lexington, Kentucky. Shriners International identifies Sanders as a devoted member of Oleika and notes his more than three decades of Masonic involvement. 

Dave Thomas

Dave Thomas entered Freemasonry considerably later, but his Masonic career is exceptionally well documented. He became a member of Sol. D. Bayless Lodge No. 359 in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Thomas was initiated April 13, 1959, passed April 20, and raised a Master Mason on May 25, 1959.

His involvement soon expanded into the Scottish Rite. On November 16, 1961, Thomas became a 32° Scottish Rite Mason through the Scottish Rite Bodies of Fort Wayne in the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction. After later relocating, he affiliated with the Miami, Florida, Scottish Rite Bodies on December 18, 1991. He received the rank and decoration of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour in 1993, was coroneted a 33° Inspector General Honorary in 1995, and in 1997 was elected to the Grand Cross of the Court of Honour, one of the Scottish Rite’s most distinguished honors.

Thomas was also a Shriner. Shriners International specifically identifies both Thomas and Sanders as Freemasons and Shriners, although the available authoritative sources do not clearly identify Thomas’s particular Shrine temple. 

From KFC to Wendy’s

The connection between Sanders and Thomas began in the restaurant business.

Before Wendy’s existed, Thomas worked for the Clauss family’s Hobby House restaurant operation in Fort Wayne. When Sanders was attempting to expand Kentucky Fried Chicken through franchising, the Clauss organization became involved with KFC. Thomas subsequently worked to improve KFC operations and helped develop ideas to strengthen the growing brand.

Among the changes associated with Thomas was an effort to simplify KFC’s menu so the company could concentrate on its signature fried chicken. He also encouraged Sanders to capitalize on his distinctive personality and appearance in advertising—a decision that helped transform the Colonel himself into one of the most recognizable corporate spokesmen in American history. Thomas was eventually sent to Columbus, Ohio, to turn around four struggling KFC restaurants. He succeeded, later sold his interest in the restaurants, and used the experience and financial foundation he gained from KFC as part of the path toward opening the first Wendy’s in Columbus in 1969. 

Their relationship, however, was not merely a connection reconstructed years later by Masonic historians.

At the Scottish Rite’s 1997 Biennial Session, Thomas appeared as the keynote speaker. The official account introduced him as Dave Thomas, 33°, Grand Cross, founder and senior chairman of Wendy’s International. During his remarks, Thomas reflected on his decades in Masonry and specifically discussed his friendship with fellow fast-food entrepreneur Colonel Sanders, 33°. He even remembered Sanders as a man who proudly wore a large Masonic ring.

That contemporary Scottish Rite account provides particularly strong evidence that Thomas himself regarded Sanders as both a friend and a fellow Mason.

A Brotherhood Beyond Business

There is a tempting story to tell that Sanders brought Thomas into Freemasonry or that their Masonic brotherhood was responsible for their business relationship. The surviving evidence does not establish that. Thomas became a Mason in 1959 while already involved in the restaurant industry, but no reliable record found so far states that Sanders sponsored, recruited, or recommended him for membership.

What can be said with confidence is more interesting because it does not require speculation: the two men knew one another professionally, became friends, and shared substantial Masonic involvement. Both became 33° Scottish Rite Masons. Both became Shriners. Thomas publicly acknowledged Sanders as a fellow Mason decades after their early business association, and Shriners International today describes the relationship as extending beyond simple mentorship. 

Their lives also shared a strong charitable dimension. Sanders supported hospitals and charitable causes, while Thomas became one of America’s most prominent advocates for foster-care adoption, establishing the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. Thomas’s Scottish Rite writings show that family and helping children occupied an especially important place in his later life. 

The story of Colonel Sanders and Dave Thomas is therefore more than an interesting footnote in fast-food history. These two enormously successful entrepreneurs were connected through business, friendship, philanthropy, and Freemasonry. Sanders helped build the industry in which Thomas learned some of his most important lessons, and Thomas later became an industry giant in his own right. Years afterward, when speaking before his Masonic brethren, Thomas still remembered Colonel Sanders not simply as the founder of KFC, but as a friend and fellow 33° Mason.

That may be the clearest description of their relationship: two restaurant pioneers, two philanthropists, and two Masonic Brothers whose paths crossed long before either man’s legacy was complete.

References

Al Chymia Shrine. (n.d.). Famous Shriners. https://alchymiashrine.org/famous-shriners/

Berger, Z. (2021, February 17). The lasting legacy of entrepreneur, philanthropist, and Freemason, Dave Thomas. Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Ohio. https://www.freemason.com/legacy-dave-thomas/

Boettjer, J. W. (1998, January). The 1997 biennial session. Scottish Rite Journal. https://srjarchives.tripod.com/1998-01/Boettjer.htm

Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. (2004, April 29). Colonel Harland Sanders. https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/biography/sanders_h/sanders_h.html

Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Ohio. (2022, July 13). Colonel Harland David Sanders. https://www.freemason.com/colonel-sanders/

Shriners International. (2026, June 25). 29 notables throughout history who were proud to be Shriners. https://www.shrinersinternational.org/en/news-and-events/news/2026/06/29-notables-throughout-history-who-were-proud-to-be-shriners

Thomas, D. (1998, November). Family comes first. Scottish Rite Journal. https://srjarchives.tripod.com/1998-11/THOMAS.HTM

 

 

Masonic Affiliation - Brother Michael Richards

 

Michael Richards is best known for portraying Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld, one of the most recognizable television characters of the 1990s. Beyond his entertainment career, Richards is also a Freemason. He was initiated into Riviera Lodge No. 780 in Pacific Palisades, California, on December 17, 1998, passed to the Fellow Craft Degree on March 25, 1999, and raised to the degree of Master Mason on May 20, 1999. He later affiliated with Culver City-Foshay Lodge No. 467.

Richards’ public story, however, also includes a serious failure. In 2006, during a stand-up performance at the Laugh Factory, he responded to hecklers with an angry racist outburst that drew widespread condemnation. Richards publicly apologized soon afterward and has returned to the incident several times over the years, acknowledging that he lost control and expressing lasting regret for what he said.

From a Masonic perspective, the incident itself stands in clear opposition to the principles of restraint, respect, brotherly love, and self-government. Yet Freemasonry does not teach that a Mason will never fail. It teaches that a man should examine his conduct, recognize his faults, accept responsibility, make amends where possible, and continue the difficult work of improving his character.

Richards’ story, therefore, offers something more meaningful than simply noting that a famous actor belongs to the fraternity. It is a reminder that being a Mason is not a declaration of perfection. It is a commitment to continual self-improvement. The real test of Masonic values often comes after a man has fallen short—when he must decide whether to deny the failure or confront it, learn from it, and strive to do better.

Masonic History - August 19

 

Remembering Brother Joseph Emm Seagram

 

Masonic History - August 16

 

2026 Tangier Shrine Wings Fezt

Members of Centennial Lodge #326 Participated in the 2026 Tangier Shrine Wing Fezt!

 

Masonic History - August 14

 

Masonic History - August 14

 

Masonic History - August 13

 

Masonic History - August 12

 

We meet on the level

 

Masonic History - August 10

 

Masonic History - August 7

 

Masonic History - August 5

 

Masonic History - August 4

 

2026 Corn Fest Photos

 Centennial Lodge #326 2026 Corn Feed at the West Omaha Masonic Center