If You Seek His Monument, Look Around You... Freemasonry in Lakewood

Fire-washed skies frame the setting sun, directly over William Stinchcomb's monument off Hogsback Lane, in the Metropark's Emerald Canyon.

Photo by Gary Rice

More accurately, "Lector, si monumentum requiris, Circumspice" are some of the words inscribed upon the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren (1632-1723), arguably one of England's best-known architects and scientific minds. Wren helped to rebuild London after the Great Fire and designed fifty-three London houses of worship, including St. Paul's Cathedral. He is also believed by many to have been a Freemason.

These all-so-apt words, provided by Wren's son, have also been used to describe accomplishments by great men and women in our modern era.

Lakewood has had a number of people like this. This particular column will note several with Lakewood connections who have been mentioned in association with the Masonic fraternities, sometimes known as Freemasonry.

Freemasonry is probably the world's oldest fraternal organization. The exact beginnings of Freemasonry are lost in time. One of the oldest documents having Masonic language is called "The Regius Manuscript," from around 1390. When translated into modern English, the manuscript speaks across the centuries with Masonic allusion and positive virtue.

Nonetheless, by 1738, the first of a number of Papal Bulls (or pronouncements) against Freemasonry was issued. Several churches have looked at Masonry as being incompatible with Christianity. Reasons for this ongoing condemnation of the fraternity have included charges that it is a religion of "Naturalism" and that it is a secret society, or even perhaps satanic in character. Freemasons would deny these charges, of course. They would probably state that while Masonry is religious in its nature, it is certainly not a religion, and it is certainly not satanic in the least. Freemasonry has a great number of Christians among its ranks, although the fraternity has many members of other faith traditions as well. In addition, Masons would probably describe the fraternity not as a secret society but as a "society with secrets." There's no question about when or where Masons meet, for example, or who they are.

Controversy aside, Freemasons have historically comprised many of the leaders of this country, and of Lakewood.

The first public announcements concerning Freemasonry came from London in 1717. Masonry was originally said to have sprung from the cathedral builder guilds, who were operative Masons (those who practiced the building trades). Later, the fraternity included "accepted," or "speculative" Masons, who had other livelihoods. These men had to be "free" and not in bondage to anyone; hence the development of the word "Freemason." More recent historical research, however, lends credence to other theories that Freemasonry may well have sprung from the Knights Templar, a group of knights who were disbanded in the 1300's by Papal decree.

Whatever their origins, the Craft, as Masonry is known, was once a very large and influential force in American life. These days, it seems but a shell of its former self, as extra jobs, television, the internet, and other activities consume more and more of the modern American family's after-work evening time. At one time, Masonic influence even contributed to the physical layout of cities like Washington, D.C. and Sandusky, Ohio with their square-and-compass town centers. Today, Masonic influence, or lack thereof, is an ongoing subject of interest on the internet chat rooms of the world, even as actual Masonic membership seems to be on the decline.

Here in Lakewood, Lakewood Lodge recently celebrated its 100th anniversary. At one time the Lodge was so large that two other local lodges were formed (Clifton and Gaston G. Allen). The latter two have since merged into one lodge. Other Masonic bodies in Lakewood include Cunningham Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Lakewood Council, and Holy Grail Commandery of Knights Templar. These groups all have used the Lakewood Masonic Temple, along with other Masonic sponsored groups, like Lakewood Chapter of DeMolay, Ann Rutledge Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, and Cleveland Assembly #15, Social Order of Beauceant. The Temple building itself is also available for rental activities by private parties and has been utilized for church activities.

Lakewood's Masonic Temple, at Andrews and Detroit Avenues, was completed in 1916 of Grecian architecture, having four massive Doric columns on its facade. Like the American Capitol building in Washington D.C., there was a cornerstone laying ceremony by Master Masons at the building's inception.

Our first President, George Washington, was a Freemason. Other Presidents who were Master Masons include both Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt, along with Presidents Truman, Ford, Harding, Taft, McKinley, Garfield, Andrew Johnson, Buchanan, Polk, Jackson and Monroe.

American fraternalism is a subject all to itself. In 1881, the Knights of Columbus was founded as a strictly Catholic fraternity by Father Michael McGivney, as it was not permitted by their church for a Catholic to become a Freemason. (Although Freemasonry itself has no such restrictions against Catholic membership.) Other American fraternities included the Knights of Pythias, the Woodmen of the World, the Odd Fellows, the Moose, Eagles, Lions, and Elks clubs, among others.

These days, most of the surviving fraternities emphasize various charitable works and causes, or provide insurance or other benefits for their members. The family of Freemasonry supports numerous charitable activities, including an eye foundation and an expanding group of children's learning centers for dyslexia.

Another fraternity comprised of Masons--the Shriners--have 22 hospitals addressing the conditions of children's orthopedic conditions, cleft-palate difficulties, spinal cord injuries, and burns. Children from every background are treated without charge whatsoever at those facilities. The nearest Shriners' hospitals are in Cincinnati and Erie. Local area Shriners volunteer to drive shuttles to and from those facilities.

Reportedly, an interesting local Freemason from Lakewood's past would be Albert Engel, the Cleveland area's first aviator who kept his seaplane "Bumble Bee" down at the Lakewood (now Cleveland) Yacht Club in the years before World War One. "Bumble Bee" eventually went over to the Crawford Auto/Aviation Museum at University Circle, where it became a popular exhibit. Another prominent area Freemason was reportedly William Stinchcomb, who was the principal developer of our Metroparks system, and whose monument graces the mesa near Hogsback Lane. (Sincere thanks again go out to the late Dan Chabek for providing some of the above information in his book "Lakewood Lore," available at the Lakewood Historical Society.) Yet another famous Freemason, made so in Lakewood Lodge, was former Air Force General Curtis E. LeMay.

Of course, Freemasons comprise only one part of the many great fraternal histories that have embellished the Lakewood story over the years. Hats off to the Masons, the Knights of Columbus, the Lakewood Elks, and all of the dedicated fraternal groups who continue to celebrate high ideals, and higher standards of personal conduct, and in so doing  continue to enliven and enrich the pulse of this city.

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Volume 5, Issue 2, Posted 11:23 PM, 01.27.2009