Dan Kemble

Burlesquing Freemasonry

By John W. Bizzack, Ph.D. and Dan M. Kemble / April 29, 2024 /

Download PDF BURLESQUING FREEMASONRY THE WORKING JACKET OF A MASTER MASON AND THE AGE OF FRIVOLITY John W. Bizzack and Dan M. Kemble   BURLESQUING FREEMASONRY The Working Jacket of a Master Mason and The Age of Frivolity Past Masters John W. Bizzack, Ph.D. and Dan M. Kemble, J.D. This research appears in Volume 1…

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Good Timber Cover

Men of Good Timber – As Goes Society, So Goes Freemasonry

By John W. Bizzack, Ph.D. and Dan M. Kemble / March 8, 2024 /

When we refer to the caliber of a good man’s character, his work ethic, resilience, decency, citizenship, faith, family values, and other aspects of what we commonly consider the measure of such a man, we say the man is of good timber.American poet and short-story writer, Douglas Malloch, is credited with bringing that term into popular usage in his 1922 poem, “Good Timber.” The significance of the poem is Malloch’s use of a sagely metaphor that reminds us that, like a tree, a man must consistently bear up against strong winds and other elements of his surroundings, and develop deep roots to nourish growth if he is to live an upright life of value, upon which a premium may be placed. Men who strive hard to surmount struggles of their sum and substance become, like trees, good timber. Some interpret Malloch’s work as a reminder that life without hardship is one of unfulfilled potential.

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Defining Freemasonry – To Define The Essence Of Freemasonry, And To Understand Its Aim And – Purpose, We Need Look No Farther Than The Entered Apprentice Degree

By Dan M. Kemble / December 31, 2023 /

Following his installation as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Kentucky on October 17, 1957, M. W. Grand Master William O. Ware posed three questions to the Craft assembled: What is Freemasonry? What does Freemasonry mean to me? What do I mean to Freemasonry? All Masons engaged in a serious pursuit of Masonic light will address each of these questions at some point in their Masonic journey. Right now, we will consider the first of Grand Master Ware’s questions: What is Freemasonry?

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Who’s Left Standing? Freemasonry After Covid-19 Commentary

By Dan M. Kemble / December 31, 2023 /

Civil War historians generally agree that the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, although being a relatively small affair in terms of the total number of men engaged on both sides, was fought as fiercely as any of the larger and better-known battles of that war. Soldiers in both armies recognized the strategic importance of Kentucky and, indeed, Union President Abraham Lincoln remarked, “I think to lose Kentucky is nearly the same as to lose the whole game.” Metaphorically, an equally fierce battle is being waged for the heart and soul of American Freemasonry. While relatively few men are engaged on either side, the struggle is a bitter one and the outcome will determine the direction of Freemasonry in this country for the next several
decades.

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So Much Written John Bizzack And Dan Kemble

So Much Written To Be Read By So Few Masons Who Don’t Bother To Read

By John W. Bizzack, Ph.D. and Dan M. Kemble / December 29, 2023 /

You may know the saying, Reading is sowing. Rereading is the harvest. If you were not familiar with the saying, you are now, because you read it. Chances are you read it twice, harvested the truth of the saying and further advanced your skill in conceptualizing concepts and ideas – all by reading. We are in our sixth decade of swimming in reports, independent and government studies, surveys, editorials, writings from educators, social science researchers, and an inexhaustible list of opinion offered by pundits, all trying to explain why people do not read books anymore. There is something fascinating about trying to find the logic in the expectation that books and other writings about why people do not read anymore may be widely read by people who do not read books or writings anymore.

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The Mechanical Mason Constructing The Culture Of “Can’t”

By Dan M. Kemble / December 26, 2023 /

If you are currently a regularly made Mason in good standing in a subordinate Lodge of your Grand Jurisdiction, you are invited to imagine the following: On any given night, within the borders of your jurisdiction, three separate Lodges are holding their stated meetings. In the first Lodge, the Senior Warden rises to address the Master. After a brief preamble, he proposes that the Lodge begin to set aside fifteen to twenty minutes at each of its meetings for the purpose of Masonic education. His proposal finds support among the Brothers of the Lodge, and the Master, in turn, appoints a committee to prepare Masonic education subjects for the Lodge to consider.

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When The Band Stopped Playing – Public Awareness And Image Of American Freemasonry

By John W. Bizzack, Ph.D. and Dan M. Kemble / December 22, 2023 /

How does a person or organization begin to successfully address and resolve an issue if they do not know what caused it to become an issue and when? Root Cause Analysis is a useful process for understanding, as well as solving, a problem. It is a useful tool to answer those questions when something goes badly but can also be used when something goes well. There are only three questions to research and ponder: What is the problem? Why did it happen? and What can or will be done to prevent it from happening again? Figuring out what negative (or positive) events are occurring answers the first question. Looking at and understanding the complex systems that surround those events answers the second. Identifying the key points of failure (or success) answers the third. The answers, when properly researched and analyzed, reveal the root cause. As simple as it may sound, and sometimes as simple as it is to do, the evidence is scant that American Freemasonry has regularly used root cause analysis when it comes to the issue of public image and awareness of the idea of Freemasonry.

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What Is It That We Are We Passing On?

By Dan M. Kemble / December 22, 2023 /

As children, many of us played a game in school called, “Pass It On.” Some of us knew the game by different names. Some of us knew it as, “Gossip,” while others of us knew it as, “Chinese Whispers.” Regardless of the name, the game was almost always played in the same way. Children would arrange themselves in rows or lines, and the first would whisper something to the next person in line, then say, “pass it on!” By the time whatever it was that was being “passed on” reached the last person in line, it was generally something quite different than the original statement uttered by the first person in line. The amusement of the game was to see just to what extent the original message became distorted as it reached its final destination.

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What Happens In Lodge Shouldn’t Stay In Lodge

By Dan M. Kemble / December 22, 2023 /

Every Masonic Lodge conducts a ritualistic opening ceremony before transacting any business. The opening ceremony is actually quite brief – usually just about ten minutes long. Because of its brevity, its importance is often overlooked. Many times the ritual opening is viewed as an annoyance, to be hurried through as quickly as possible, or, in some cases, reduced to an abbreviated set of declarations, after which we can get down to the business of reading minutes and paying bills.

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Freemasonry’s Inattentive Ear – The Story Of Unheard Calls Of Reveille To American Freemasons

By John W. Bizzack, Ph.D. / December 22, 2023 /

How Freemasonry unfolded and evolved as an organization in the United States is an interesting story. One of the fascinating parts of that story is in how clearly becomes the answer to the question as to why much of the fraternity looks and behaves like it does today and faces the same issues as the ones troubling it over the past 160 years or more. The story provokes thought, at least to the non-casual Masons who take the time to study the facts of the unfolding, because it makes clear what happens when a majority of an organization’s culture takes an artless stance, then hones and passes on that stance through generations who cling to the belief that adequate fundamental instruction and education beyond passing through ritual is unnecessary.

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