From: Jean
Date: 1/6/03
Time: 3:49:49 PM
Remote Name: 209.240.198.63
I come from a long line of Mason's. It is very important to people it is important to. Now it could have changed some during the years. But men where masons and boys where Demolay's. Women where Eastern Star and girls where Rainbow girls. I was encouraged to be a Rainbow Girl but was not in the least interested. To be a Mason you had to have a father or grandfather who was a Mason, Not sure if it could be mother as an Eastern Star. Women had to have a father or grandfather and not sure if she could become one thru the husband or her mother.
It was very secretive and us kids where not supposed to look at mother's book that looked somewhat like a prayer book. Of couse I did, but have no idea what I saw, not interesting, I vaguely remember that it did have drawings in it, like the star etc.
Lots of dressing up for rituals or meetings. More like formal dress. It was quaza religious in some way. Now my mother must never have known that these symbols had anything but a positive meaning cause she would not have participated in anything that would have had symbols that she did not appove of. But they do have some kind of initiations, reason for the dress up nights, I believe. I think initiations where after you had studied stuff and ready to study more stuff. Kinda like going up a grade in school.
Now almost all the presidents where related and masons or qualified to become masons. My daughter does geneology and we seem to be related to this bunch both thru my biological and adoptive parents. But as my daughter says after 10 generatons everyone is related to everyone else.
I think it also has something to do with being related to royalty. You can see how interested we are in this aspect of it.
Sorry I can't remember what was in that book, but I was very young when this was going on. I don't think my mother participated after we moved to Florida. Only a brother ever joined up. He was raciest and I think it ran thru the group, but not sure. I am not sure how one goes from being a mason to becoming a Shriner. Not sure whether brother was a mason or Shriner. But he got way up there.