Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Dressed up: At their anniversary celebration, Masons show off their aprons, which are considered the badge of a Mason. Every member of the organization has one.
For 150 years, Masons have quietly helped build San Jose
WG's Masonic Lodge hosts anniversary bash for members and their families
By Barbara Doheny
Among one local service club's treasured artifacts is a ceremonial apron of aged silk similar to that of an antique wedding dress. Its red, blue and gold colors are unfaded and carefully fill in the fine, straight lines of an architectural design. Juxtaposed above are a carpenter's square and compass and the same "all-seeing eye" which appears on the back of every U.S. dollar.
Such a workman's apron is worn at every meeting of the Free and Accepted Order of Masons, a men's fraternal organization that began among 17th-century English stonemasons.
The Masons, whose belief in the brotherhood of man influenced the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and early United States government, first met in San Jose in July 1850.
"It's a fraternity that doesn't get much notoriety, and that's OK with us, but it's quite tightly woven with the history of our country," said Ken Martz, a 30-year member of San Jose Lodge No. 10.
Saturday evening, about 200 local Masons and their families marked the 150th anniversary of the lodge with a formal banquet and ceremony at the Masonic Lodge in Willow Glen.
The fragile silk apron was present at both events, according to George Hesse, historian for the San Jose Masonic Lodge. He said it was brought West on the Stephens-Murphy-Townsend wagon train in 1846.
Its careful preservation signifies local Masons' commitment to a system of democratic values and service. The compass and square represent some of the "tools" Masons pledge to use as builders of community.
"Masonry is a fraternity that makes good men better," said Todd Williams, quoting a Masonic pledge, "by teaching them principles of truth and morality, benevolence, to take care of their brothers."
Williams has been a member of Santa Cruz Lodge No. 38 for 25 years. The lodges are named after the shelters left open for stonemasons as they moved from job to job.
The antique apron's original owner, Dr. John Townsend, was one of the 15 charter members of San Jose Lodge No. 10. His brothers in the lodge included early City Council members Jacob Hoppe, Henry Melone and Dr. Benjamin Cory.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Banjo Serenade: Mason Irv Cohen serenades his wife, Eleanor, to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," which was performed by the Peninsula Banjo Band. The two celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary this month.
The Masons laid the cornerstones of both San Jose and Santa Clara high schools, a project in keeping with the order's promotion of public education. Dr. Cory helped found the first county hospital where Santa Clara Valley Medical Center now stands.
"It's a philosophy more than anything else," said Hesse. "Live a good life, be concerned about your fellow man, take care of your family."
The tuxedoed men, elegant women and fresh-faced youngsters at Saturday's event are carrying on those traditions.
As Shriners, Prince Hall affiliates or members of the York or Scottish Rite organizations, they help support children's hospitals, two retirement homes in California and a local clinic for children with speech disorders.
The California Grand Lodge, the statewide Masonic organization, provides fingerprint kits to parents and schools through its KIDS (Kid Identification Service) program.
Shriners and members of the York or Scottish Rite organizations are all Masons who have completed the first three levels of freemasonry, called "Entered Apprentice," "Fellow Crafts" and "Master Mason."
Scottish Rite supports research for children with hearing impairments. Shriners, well known locally for their East-West football game, support more than 22 children's hospitals, where youngsters are treated free of charge.
Prince Hall affiliates are a separate network of African-American freemasons founded in 1787 in Boston by the African Lodge No. 429. In addition to other charities, they raise funds for sickle-cell anemia research, Black colleges and scholarships.
Even the Masonic youth groups are service-oriented. These are the Order of DeMolay for Boys, the Order of Job's Daughters (whose members must be related to a Master Mason) and the International Order of the Rainbow for girls (open to all girls).
Last year the Rainbow Girls raised more than $100,000 statewide for Jacob's Heart, an organization assisting families of children with cancer. Rainbow Girls in San Jose contributed more than $1,100 to the project.
"The Masonic charities as a whole raise $2.6 million a day," according to Ken Ruyle, current master, or president, of San Jose Friendship Lodge No. 210, that was founded in 1870. "We do it quietly." There are about 4.5 million Masons in the United States.
Bubbly: Brian Buck, right, Chaplain for San Jose Lodge No. 10, and Eric Albert, Junior Warden for the Lodge, sip champagne before the evening's ceremonies begin.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
About 1,800 men are members of one of the six lodges sharing the Masonic Temple at 2500 Masonic Drive. More than two dozen Masonic groups meet there, including six youth groups.
Freemasonry advocates the individual's right to think for himself, pursue truth through science and the arts, and take responsibility for the welfare of society through quiet acts of charity.
Masons require members to believe in some form of God, but religious tolerance was required of members since the first Masonic constitution in 1723.
These principles became part of the bedrock of American democracy as shaped by Freemasons Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Paul Revere and other Founding Fathers. Historians estimate 6,000 freemasons lived in the American colonies by 1734.
Some of the Masonic ideas were revolutionary in post-medieval Europe, and monarchists and the Catholic Church opposed the Masons. In later years, fascist dictators in Germany, Italy and Spain repressed the Masons.
The Catholic Church and the Masonic Grand Lodges developed better relations during the 1960s. Many local Masons are also Catholic.
The Prince Hall and Masonic Grand Lodges officially recognized one another during the 1990s. That decision trailed the actions of rank and file members, who were already freely associating, Martz said.
Masons are still considered by some to be a secret society wielding undue influence. This theory arises partly from the Mason's use of subtle hand signals and emblems to communicate membership and rank.
The theory also refers to the use of Masonic imagery, such as the pyramid and eye, used by early American designers of federal insignia and U.S. currency.
Masonic rituals of secret handshakes, identifying emblems and closed meetings protected them during times of repression, and still strengthens group identity today, Martz said.
Hesse added that discussions of politics or religion are forbidden within the lodges, and that persons attempting to use membership for commercial gain have been removed from the group in formal Masonic trials.
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Lead Mason: Robert W. Martin, left, Master of Los Altos Lodge No. 712, shares some thoughts with Alvin Weis, Grand Master of the Masons of California. Weis is head of all the Masonic lodges in California.
Local Masons said the rituals and insignia still serve to establish common ground and shared values across language and cultural differences. Lodges exist in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East, as well as Europe. The master of a Chilean lodge attended San Jose's anniversary dinner.
Larry Grant, a local jeweler and one of three men in his family to serve as a lodge master in San Jose, said what attracted him most was "the brotherhood."
"It's the only place where you can be halfway around the world, where if you see another brother Mason, it's like you haven't seen each other in 20 years," he said, throwing arms wide in gesture.
Last year, 80 San Jose Masons visited Israel on a group tour, recalled Hesse. "You walk into a lodge in Israel and it's just like old home week," he said.
Masonic Temples honor the wisdom of King Solomon in their name and draw some points of his famous temple in site and design.
In recent years, though, the tradition of quiet charity and a low profile has made membership levels harder to maintain. Masons are not allowed to actively recruit members, and can only talk to candidates who inquire on their own.
"There's been a loss of membership in many fraternal organizations, mainly due to attrition," acknowledges school psychologist David R. Driesbach, Master of San Jose Lodge No. 10. "We want to increase our numbers so we're now talking about it. We'll bring it up in conversation if we have an opportunity."
Most local Masons say they joined the group in their twenties or thirties after observing friends or family participate. Galvin Jackson's path to becoming a Mason is typical.
"I was attracted as a youngster by some of the Masons in town in West Virginia," he said. "I saw them in church. They did a lot of charitable kinds of things."
A teacher with the Hollister Unified School District, Jackson is also a Shriner.
Masonic youth organizations are one of the biggest boosts to membership, according to Jayme Ruyle. Her husband Ken became a Mason after helping their daughters Linsea and Kelley with their youth group projects.
"Dads want to be more involved with their girls," Mrs. Ruyle said. She added that the benefits are lifelong. "It teaches a girl a lot of organizational skills, public speaking. She's learned how to take a project from the beginning and carry it through," she said. "It also teaches the girls how to interact with adults. They know how to handle a formal situation."
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Historic Garment: George Hesse, Historian for San Jose Lodge No. 10, holds up an apron from past member, John Townsend, who brought it to California in 1844. Townsend was the first school-trained doctor in California.
More than 100 youngsters are involved with clubs at San Jose's Masonic Temple. Each group must raise its own money and contribute to that year's designated charity. The Ruyles estimate their daughters' club budget at $20,000 annually.
"They have to make [their own] budget," according to Olga Schaffer, an Associate Mother Advisor to local Rainbow Girls. "They manage their own thing. We are just advisors."
Fundraisers included holiday wreaths, food sales at Masonic events, garage sales and car washes. In addition, Mrs. Schaffer said, the girls helped the Vanished Children's Alliance with paperwork and thumbprinting events.
"They were just a godsend," VCA Executive and founder Georgia Hilgeman said of the Rainbow Girls. "It is a very time-consuming type of work, and not the most mentally stimulating, but so important."
Youngsters also visit two Masonic retirement homes in Union City and Covina, and may send cards and gifts to an "adopted" retiree. Each club has colors (purple for Job's Daughters, pastels for the Rainbow Girls) and show their progress with special jewelry or hairstyles. Jeans aren't usually acceptable at meetings, skirt length is regulated, and formal events offer the chance to practice etiquette.
Mothers say the girls enjoy dressing up and learn confidence, poise and maturity. Parents credit Masonic youth groups with teaching their children values.
"Those girls do a lot. From Marshal to Senior Princess, they have projects they have to do," said Barbara Valdez, whose daughters Rachael, Esther and Jennifer participated in Job's Daughters. "It kept them out of trouble. God, church, country, state-oriented. It has a set of values built into it."
Martz said freemasonry has something unique to offer families in Silicon Valley.
"There's something to be said for a fraternity that fills a void that work doesn't fill," he said. "It allows people of a common interest to meet and know each other, who would otherwise have remained strangers."
Links to local lodge websites are available at www.netnology.com.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
