Article and pictures courtesy of Dave Ritchie
Brothers Randy Tolley and Andrew Bentley, both Freemasons of Dubuque Masonic Lodge (No. 3), brought together Brothers for a day of ritual and friendship. Dubuque on the west side of the Mississippi River sits on the Illinois/Wisconsin boarder. They began the process of putting together a day of ritual in the Tristate area, where all three degrees would be put on. Miner’s Lodge No. 273 of Illinois (Galena), Dubuque No. 3 of Iowa (Dubuque), and Warren Freemasons Lodge (No. 4) of Wisconsin (Potosi) would serve as the host lodges. These three lodges sit no more than 25 miles apart but are all in different Masonic jurisdictions.
The day started with something all three jurisdictions had in common: coffee, carbs, and conversation.
- Miner’s Lodge from Galena opened in the Entered Apprentice Degree and then (due to numbers) did a School of Instruction type walk through of the Illinois form of the Entered Apprentice Degree.
- Dubuque Lodge No. 3 followed by doing a full form Fellow Craft Degree (including opening and closing in Fellow Craft) in Iowa form. The degree was conferred upon an Entered Apprentice of Miner’s Lodge by consent of both Grand Lodges as courtesy work.
- After lunch Warren Lodge No. 4 and Brothers of Southwest Wisconsin exemplified the first two sections of the Master Mason Degree. Senior Grand Warden Joe Thompson served as the exemplar. Wisconsin closed in the Master Mason degree.
During the times that the lodge was informal or at rest the discussion was on the similarities and differences. Many questions were asked and many were answered between the Brothers. A great deal of informal education was shared and enjoyed by all the Brothers. The final thought and greatest take away was that, “We have to do this again.” Plans are being discussed.
