On Location Washington DC Interviews with John Schafer (The 3 Ruffians) and W:. Jeremy Barnes (Amity App)

Welcome to a world where cigars meet Masonic mysteries, where the smell of fine whiskey mingles with the intriguing tales of Freemasonry. Today, we're joined by Johnny Schaeff from the Three Ruffians cigar company, and we're cracking open conversations around their unique product range, including the mysterious JA cigar and their Cuban seed wonder. As we sit in the grand lobby of a Washington DC hotel, we delve into the world of Freemasonry, unraveling its deep-rooted traditions and the fascinating world of recognition between Grand Lodges. 

Ever wondered how technology is bridging gaps and making global connections in an ancient brotherhood like Freemasonry? Our guest, Jeremy, the creator of the innovative Amity app, spills the beans about the inception of this tool that's making Masonic travel a breeze, replacing physical recognition books, and connecting Freemasons across borders. As we probe the potential of this app, we also touch upon some exciting future plans, including its expansion for the Grand Lodge of Florida and possibilities of worldwide outreach. 

Today's podcast is not just a deep dive into Freemasonry and cigars, but it's also an exploration of forgotten histories and intriguing tales. From the fascinating story of the George Washington gavel to the mystery behind Dan Brown's symbolic severed hand, we've got it all covered. We'll also share a few laughs over the thoughts of creating a "Clandestine Lodge" and the mysterious disappearance of Chris's wife. It's a captivating, humorous, and enlightening discussion that you wouldn't want to miss! So, sit back, light up a cigar, pour yourself a glass of whiskey, and let's journey into the captivating world of Freemasonry.

#freemasonry #pocast #bluelodge #amityapp #the3ruffians #masoniccigars 

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:04

Hey, chris, yeah, fred, what's a Mason?

Speaker 2 0:09

That's a really good question, fred.

Speaker 1 0:15

You've reached the internet's home for all things masonry. Join Chris and I as we plumb the depths of our ancient craft, from the common gavel to the trowel. Nothing is off the table, so grab your tools and let's get to work. This is On the Level. Oh my gosh, chris. Where are you? Oh my gosh, there it is the Rebel Yell. Hey, when I grow up, I want to go to Washington DC and be a politician man. What about you?

Speaker 2 0:42

I want to go to Washington DC. I'm down with that.

Speaker 1 0:45

But I don't know about being a politician. Okay, fine, fine, wait, you are a politician. Aren't you the worst full master of 147 in Sarasota?

Speaker 2 0:54

Silence. What I would like to do, though, is sit in DC with some really good cigars and some whiskey with friends.

Speaker 1 1:03

What if we did it with Masons? What do you?

Speaker 2 1:06

think about that.

Speaker 1 1:08

Your wish is my command, sir, because, ladies and gentlemen, we are currently in the nation's capital, washington.

Speaker 2 1:14

DC OMG.

Speaker 1 1:16

And this is going to be an epic weekend for OTL I got to be honest with you.

Speaker 2 1:21

We're here. It's going to be awesome, man, we're sitting in the lobby of a hotel in DC, in DC, and we're broadcasting.

Speaker 1 1:30

There's a person next to me, oh yeah, well, our main sponsor, three-ruffy and cigar company, johnny Schaeff, is here. He is one of the three Ruffians.

Speaker 3 1:43

Johnny, how's it going? Man, it's going all good Brothers, how you doing.

Speaker 2 1:47

Wow, his first words on the air First words on the air.

Speaker 1 1:49

I love it, I love it man First words. We're doing great. We're doing great. Tell us a little bit about what's going on with the cigar company lately. Give us the 411.

Speaker 3 2:02

So there is a company out there called the Three Ruffians Three.

Speaker 1 2:06

Ruffians, a cigar company. That sounds very Masonic.

Speaker 3 2:08

What do they represent? I wonder the vices of the world.

Speaker 2 2:13

Perhaps Maybe there's layers to that, I think.

Speaker 3 2:16

Right, yeah.

Speaker 2 2:17

I definitely think there could be a representation that they do represent the vices of the world.

Speaker 1 2:22

I would agree with that. They.

Speaker 2 2:23

Might they do the vices the best ones whiskeys smoking, cigars.

Speaker 3 2:29

So I have to agree. Tonight, three of us are sitting here at the microphones and join some whiskey. What I've got next to us here, brothers, are four cigars that are offered by the Three Ruffians.

Speaker 2 2:41

This is going to well. We're going to take pictures of this and put it live we should. You're going to see the pictures before you hear the audio.

Speaker 1 2:46

Absolutely. You guys got to keep on here. I'm looking something up, so keep talking. She's just perusing pictures on his phone while we're doing our podcast.

Speaker 2 2:56

All right, Johnny who's that naked lady on your? Oh, it's your wife. Okay, what are you mad at me for? You married her.

Speaker 4 3:04

Favorite movie ever.

Speaker 1 3:07

Does anybody know what that movie's from?

Speaker 2 3:08

No, I actually don't. Come on the Mask. Come on, oh damn it. I called the Mask earlier too. Mask.

Speaker 1 3:13

Slapstick, modern Comedy of All Time.

Speaker 3 3:16

Somebody's going stop me.

Speaker 1 3:18

No, what I was looking for was the recording that I did of the Three Ruffians. Introduction.

Speaker 3 3:23

Oh, are you going to play that for us? And I thought I could play it, but it's on there, isn't it?

Speaker 1 3:26

It's on here which is on there, and it's everywhere. So the answer is yes.

Speaker 3 3:30

But, anyway.

Speaker 1 3:31

So. So, johnny, give us a. What do you? What do you got in front of us right now?

Speaker 3 3:34

I see four cigars there, tell us a little bit about each one. Can I smell one? We offer four cigars. I'm going to start this one for you, Chris, right here. This is the box press.

Speaker 2 3:42

It's flat. I know this it is flat, it's a weird shape.

Speaker 3 3:44

Right it is. It's a box press.

Speaker 2 3:46

Cigar Connecticut wrapper. It's flat. Yeah, is that what they call the box press. They put it in a box and press it Because I'm asking this because I seriously don't know anything about cigars so they may seem like stupid questions. It's a unique shape.

Speaker 3 4:00

It definitely is. That's why they call it the box press, because of the shape that you see right there, this is correct this is Connecticut wrapper, okay, nicaraguan.

Speaker 2 4:09

Yes.

Speaker 3 4:10

I actually think this is one of the best cigars that we offer.

Speaker 1 4:13

See, now I keep hearing that and you would think that the Madura or that Connecticut torpedo would be. But we always hear that everyone loves that cigar, Everybody.

Speaker 3 4:23

Even if you're a 30-year guy who smokes cigars, you're going to like this one.

Speaker 1 4:26

Yeah, it's so true.

Speaker 2 4:28

Or a rookie who just getting started. Me too Is this more mild, it is very mild but very smooth. Okay, okay.

Speaker 3 4:37

It's a good cigar right there it's a good cigar.

Speaker 2 4:40

It's also as an orange band, and you have a name for this.

Speaker 3 4:42

Yeah, we call that the JA.

Speaker 2 4:45

The JA the.

Speaker 1 4:46

JA, we can't tell you what it stands for, because that's a secret.

Speaker 2 4:49

Johnny Appleseed's here.

Speaker 1 4:51

Johnny Appleseed wait a minute.

Speaker 2 4:53

Who are you talking about? La, Okay.

Speaker 1 4:55

We have three more.

Speaker 3 4:57

We'll go to the second cigar here, which is Zorn Torpedo Cigar.

Speaker 2 5:01

Torpedo, I see, because it has like a point on the end. That's right, but the rest it looks like a normal cigar.

Speaker 3 5:07

This also is a Connecticut wrapper, also a Nicaraguan, and I think that's really good. These have Cuban seed. Right, it is Cuban seed based. Yes.

Speaker 2 5:18

Okay, and this is a really cool logo wrapper that we've done.

Speaker 1 5:22

You guys are dying over there. Come on, pick up the pace.

Speaker 2 5:25

Pick up the pace, you two. Come on, just keep looking at your nude pictures on your phone, all right.

Speaker 1 5:31

You know it's, I'm not going to find it.

Speaker 3 5:33

The third one Actually that second one that we just presented that was the Connecticut wrapper yes, this is the. J the torpedo, okay A J.

Speaker 1 5:43

Oh, sorry J-O, Sorry J-O, that's the J-O, that's right.

Speaker 3 5:47

And that won't make sense when you put all three of them together. So we've got the J-A, the J-O and I'm going to introduce you to the third cigar, which we call the J-U.

Speaker 1 5:56

The J-U. This is the Habana, that's our Habana. That's a late cigar A little bit stronger.

Speaker 3 6:02

This is my personally, this is my second favorite of our four.

Speaker 1 6:06

Right Now, the last one of our line that I smoked was that one, and it was awesome.

Speaker 2 6:11

It burned perfectly right down to the roach clip man.

Speaker 1 6:14

It was just like yeah, that was a great smoke. You used roach clips with cigar. You know I do.

Speaker 3 6:18

A trained professional.

Speaker 1 6:19

A trained professional. I don't recommend Do not try this at home, folks. It's not for everybody.

Speaker 3 6:24

But Freddie Pac can do that.

Speaker 1 6:26

I can do that, all right. Well, johnny, we're going to have you back. And then there's one last one I just want to throw out there. All right, throw it out there, because by demand.

Speaker 3 6:33

People wanted this.

Speaker 1 6:35

Maduro cigar, yeah, that's heavy.

Speaker 3 6:37

We call this the Outlaw.

Speaker 2 6:38

The Outlaw. Yep, so we changed it up. No secrets on that one. No secrets on the Outlaw. There are no secrets on the Outlaw.

Speaker 1 6:44

That's a really good smoke as well. And Justin Broome, or or or Justin Broome. The right honorable district instructor Right honorable district instructor Broome highly recommends that cigar and. I didn't say that with great confidence and joy, because he is a connoisseur two to max man, so we're really happy about that.

Speaker 3 7:02

You can find all four of those cigars.

Speaker 1 7:04

Online.

Speaker 3 7:06

At the the threeruffianscom. The threeruffianscom, yeah, that's great.

Speaker 1 7:12

And we do appreciate we do appreciate threeruffians sponsor in the show, always, always, always appreciate it. Now John's going to give way to our next guest and he's going to put them headphones on and we're going to sit and yak a little bit, we'll have John back from time to time to talk.

Speaker 2 7:26

Bye brothers. Yes, all right, see ya. Come back, john. Please, please come back someday Next, wait, who's he giving way to I?

Speaker 1 7:35

don't know. Who is this man?

Speaker 2 7:37

Is he a ruffian? Probably.

Speaker 1 7:40

Yes, we're all. We all have a little ruffian in our heart. He doesn't admit it.

Speaker 2 7:43

He does not admit it. Could you please state your?

Speaker 4 7:45

I admit it clearly I actually put my name on the sign-in sheet today as a wrong worshipful.

Speaker 2 7:52

Wrong worshipful. Okay, all right, I put mine as left worshipful, so that works too. I'm also a lefty it's all right, I won't hold that against you.

Speaker 4 7:59

We're the only ones in our right mind.

Speaker 2 8:03

Could you please state your name rank?

Speaker 4 8:04

and serial number for the listeners please Wrong worshipful brother Jeremy Barnes past master of Potomac Lodge number five and happy to be here.

Speaker 2 8:12

Past master of Potomac Lodge number five, right around the corner.

Speaker 4 8:15

Right around the corner, oldest lodge in what is now known as Washington DC, because we actually predated the city.

Speaker 1 8:21

Ah, correct, that is very good.

Speaker 2 8:23

But you have another name for yourself. In Masonry you are the owner of the Amity app. That's correct, I am indeed one of the founders it's true One of the founders of the Amity app. Yeah.

Speaker 1 8:32

Now, jeremy, we've been trying to get you on since Grand Lodge of last year and I got to say our scheduler really really just bungled it up, and of course that's me, so Thank you for it.

Speaker 4 8:42

It takes two to tango. It takes two yeah.

Speaker 1 8:45

So we are really glad that you're on. Tell us a little bit about what's going on with Amity man. Give us an update, what's happening.

Speaker 4 8:50

Oh my gosh, when to start? It's been incredible. We are now either directly or indirectly supporting a million Masons around the world.

Speaker 2 8:57

No kidding In how many countries.

Recognition and Simplifying Masonic Travel

Speaker 4 8:59

We're up to about 120, 125 countries. And that's nuts About 280 Grand Lodges, wow, which? Not to dive into the trivia immediately, but one of my favorite things to think about is, if you talk about recognition, there are about 310 regular Grand Lodges in the world. The average Grand Lodge recognizes about 180.

Speaker 2 9:19

Really, Really Interesting. Wow, what a tangled word.

Speaker 4 9:23

The irony is within masonry on average. You don't recognize half the Grand Lodges and I don't say that to be negative.

Speaker 1 9:28

Don't get me wrong, right, right. It's a fascinating thought experiment to say why is this Right, right, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 9:35

So that actually just showcases a need for the app that you built.

Speaker 1 9:38

I was just going to say that's right.

Speaker 2 9:39

I think that's incredibly complicated to be a mason as a traveling man in the modern world. Absolutely, as you said, our Grand Lodge might not recognize the Grand Lodge of Washington DC, which they do, obviously.

Speaker 1 9:51

But how I know?

Speaker 2 9:52

if the independent Lodge is recognized by your Grand Lodge in DC, which is recognized by my Grand Lodge in Florida, it gets really complicated. They used to publish these books that were like bigger than a phone book, I think.

Speaker 4 10:06

And now we publish those right.

Speaker 2 10:07

So you can throw your right to me, but they're online, it's online. It's online Real time.

Speaker 4 10:12

We'll be the first one to say you don't need the book.

Speaker 2 10:14

It's digital Right. Right, you have the app. If you're a mason, you should have the app. Where can they go to download the app if they don't have it?

Speaker 4 10:20

If there's a Play Store, the app store. It's no matter what kind of phone you have. It's supportive, it's out there and it's free to download.

Speaker 1 10:27

So, jeremy, for the listener who he just downloaded, it it's in front of them. What does he do? Give us the 101 on this Sure.

Speaker 4 10:38

The easiest thing to get started with, right in the middle of the page on the home screen is a map and you just tap on the map and literally it's just like Google Maps. Matter of fact, it is Google Maps behind the scenes and we've overlaid every lodge in the world on that map and you can just move it around, zoom in, zoom out, See who's recognizing who Exactly. We've actually also got the appended bodies in there now in most cases, really.

Speaker 2 10:57

OK.

Speaker 4 10:58

Not to again to dive into trivia, but what I've learned recently is how many Scottish Wright Supreme Councils there are in the world.

Speaker 2 11:06

Really, you never think about it right, Even in the US we have two.

Speaker 4 11:09

You're right, exactly, but I mean almost every country has their own.

Speaker 1 11:14

Yeah, Wow.

Speaker 3 11:15

I didn't know that and a lot of Latin.

Speaker 4 11:16

America. Actually the Scottish Wright is who started the Blue Lodges.

Speaker 1 11:21

That's very interesting.

Speaker 4 11:22

One of the ways that it moved around the world.

Speaker 1 11:23

No kidding, yeah, that's interesting.

Speaker 2 11:26

I see a lot of famous Mason's. Oh, the Spaniards coming in. We got an SG IG walking.

Speaker 1 11:31

Well, no, we have. I better watch my mouth, you better watch what you say there, mister.

Speaker 2 11:36

Do you know who this is? He is the founder of the Amity app. You cannot touch this man, that's right. Yeah, you tried to tell him that to my grand lodge, so what?

Speaker 3 11:43

about that dues guard.

Speaker 2 11:45

Thank you.

Speaker 1 11:46

What about onboarding their profile? How about a profile? What lodge they're at? What's?

Speaker 4 11:51

the process. That depends on which grand lodge we're talking about these days, which is a pretty cool thing.

Speaker 2 11:55

Let's go with Florida, so just Amity has replaced Circumstries indeed it has of this year and it.

Speaker 4 12:02

In fact, florida Masons no longer need to create accounts. They have already been created for you, because we're working with the Grand Lodge. And so, okay, what you'll see if you try and create account. You'll see an error that says, hey, you've already gotten account. Okay, because it recognizes your member number.

Speaker 1 12:17

Oh, okay, so that's what they're gonna need their member number. They're gonna enter that in somewhere, yep, and that's gonna get it, get the process rolling.

Speaker 4 12:24

Yeah, from that perspective. All you need to do is go to our welcome site. Okay and you put your. You put your email address in there and if we can't find your email address, you can add your member number. Okay, and it'll. It'll finish activating the account for you super easy.

Speaker 1 12:36

All right. And then, once you have your profile, the way I understand that your profile is done, it's verified correct in that way, when you're traveling, you're you. This this proves digitally, proves this thing on your, your SAP on your phone proves who you are to any lodge in the country.

Speaker 4 12:50

And it's approved by the Grand Lodge of Florida that is. It's approved in both ways. Right, because there's hey, I'm a Florida Mason and I'm going to New York, right? Right, so you want to show who you are, but if your New York Mason is coming to you, yeah, it's also. You're also able to look up that brother's lodge right and see if he's recognized, that's.

Speaker 2 13:06

that's amazing, so much I mean I'm sitting master this year and many times I've had a brother come from another jurisdiction or even another lodge in my own jurisdiction. And it's very difficult to verify somebody is who they say they are, but you have this thing called the King Solomon's Passport which allows them to very quickly. For me is the master to say okay, you clearly are verified because the app is connected to the Grand Lodge records?

Speaker 4 13:31

in about 120 grand lodges now. Yeah oh, fairly, it's, it's immediate right immediately yeah you know, under a second right. Wow just just spins up and off you go. It's like we're using modern technology and you do this. Oh my god.

Speaker 1 13:44

Okay, here's what yeah let's go back to the beginning. Don't even get me started there.

Speaker 2 13:48

No, this is where the story really is trust right. Yeah no cuz we're in the fraternity. Okay, we're in our 40s ish. We're all in our 40s ish area of our age here or greater ourselves middle-aged men.

Speaker 4 14:02

Okay and Don't say that I'm not. I know I don't. I'm just starting on reading glasses. I've accepted it.

Speaker 2 14:08

I have a whole nother story about Jeremy, how I met him. That involves my wife, which is a fantastic story go ahead and share. I mean, look, you can't just drop that.

Speaker 1 14:18

All right well this involves my wife.

Speaker 4 14:20

It does not involve your wife like anything. Anyone that is listening to this would.

Speaker 2 14:26

My dear listener, please know I will tell you this truth.

Speaker 4 14:30

I was it also involves Mardi Gras it was my birthday.

Speaker 2 14:34

Okay, okay, okay. I've heard this story.

Speaker 1 14:36

I've heard this story, but our listeners haven't go ahead. Gentlemen, why don't we hear this story?

Speaker 4 14:40

I just wanted to up the ante with you know right. How he met me involved, his wife involved and Marty grass and Marty grow. It's the beginning.

Speaker 1 14:52

Marty grow his wife and him. Yeah, okay, here we go.

Speaker 2 14:56

You should know Jeremy's a good-looking guy.

Speaker 4 14:58

Oh, okay, you're a doll, he's, you're taking though I am taken.

Speaker 1 15:03

I am taken, let's move on and my wife is 15 Uncomfortable. I'm getting there. Yeah, I'm getting it.

Speaker 4 15:09

It's the middle-aged thing, right, we're all middle-aged.

Speaker 1 15:12

Let's face it Some of us are more middle-aged than others.

Speaker 2 15:15

Middle-earth not a bad thing.

Speaker 1 15:16

All right keep going, keep going.

Speaker 2 15:18

So we have a mutual friend in common, bill Cattilitz. Bill Cattilitz, very, you've heard him on the Paddy, oh yeah, yeah, Magnanimous personality.

Speaker 1 15:27

He's around here somewhere. We're gonna get him in here in a minute.

Speaker 2 15:29

So I'm going for my birthday you to Mardi Gras and I tell my wife, you know, and I think I know a guy that's kind of like we're embedded in there and I post are you still there? And he's like are you effing kidding me? Am I still here? Like I'm the king of oceanists this year and I'm like I don't even know what that means.

Speaker 1 15:45

What does that mean?

Speaker 2 15:46

But I kind of know because I lived in Baton Rouge for a couple of years so I had some familiarity with you know, mardi Gras and stuff. But my wife had never been. So I was trying to convince her to go to Mardi Gras for my birthday. We go up there. Bill's like, come immediately to me, I'm gonna hook you up. We went to this fancy ball. He, we got all the equipment to be on the float. It's like really hard to get on the float we got it in the last minute.

Speaker 4 16:06

It is like the day before. Wow, especially last minute, I know you can imagine.

Speaker 2 16:10

So Bill was pulling some strings. He definitely pulled some strings. And we are up there doing our thing, having the time of our life, and we get off the float and I, Mike, see my wife talking to this handsome guy and I'm like let me get her away from this freaking tool before I get into some serious trouble. And he's like hi, my name's Jeremy and I'm like wait a second, are you the Jeremy? I've emailed you. This is my wife. We've talked, we've met. We've actually had many times how dare you sir.

Speaker 4 16:37

Step away, sir.

Speaker 1 16:39

Ha ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ha ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, cause I have an attractive wife, amazingly, I don't know how. I don't know how either. Well, you're right, she's very attractive.

Speaker 2 16:46

I'll marry up Cost a lot of money, I guess.

Speaker 4 16:48

I don't know.

Speaker 2 16:49

Yeah, no, she's sweetheart.

Speaker 4 16:50

Thankfully everything, all the doubloons you got at Mardi Gras. You know they're not actually real. That's right.

Speaker 2 16:55

That's how I met Jeremy. I met Mardi Gras. He was hitting on my wife accidentally. Hey, hey, hey, or she was hitting on you. I was gonna say I know.

Speaker 4 17:02

Look, I've been around enough Masonic events that that part of you just shuts off.

Speaker 1 17:06

Yeah, that's not a bad policy. Not a bad policy.

Speaker 4 17:08

I mean I promise until proven, otherwise they're all taken Not gonna go there, I'm gonna go with my wife as a fault here because he is a good looking guy.

Speaker 2 17:16

I don't blame her, okay. And that's how I met Jeremy. I was like okay.

Speaker 4 17:19

I thought we were just being friendly. You were friendly, obviously.

Speaker 2 17:22

And she loved it. That was a great time she never been to Mardi. Gras, mardi Gras, ever. That was her first visit to a Mardi Gras.

Speaker 4 17:29

I'm the freaking fault. We should all go back.

Speaker 1 17:31

I'm down with that. Who does it every year? I'm down with that. I would go back. That'd be a lot of fun.

Speaker 4 17:35

That's one of the things I mean to talk to him about this weekend.

Speaker 1 17:37

Yeah, you should definitely go to Mardi Gras at least once a decade. Absolutely, yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 4 17:42

It's the type of fun that you just can't get anywhere else, and especially with Okeanos and Bill's group.

Speaker 1 17:47

it's such a community Right, that'd be a lot of fun.

Speaker 4 17:50

Bill really brings like a Masonic sort of influence. It's obviously not Masonry, right. Right right that speaks to, in my view, not to shamelessly bring it back to Amity, but part of what we can do by meeting each other and learning from each other is bring Freemasonry into the world around us, and build us that really really well.

Speaker 1 18:09

Yes, I would just absolutely brought that influence into Mardi.

Speaker 4 18:15

Gras and his Mardi Gras crew. Are we not connected? I don't know. I see the levels going on.

Speaker 2 18:21

I do, I do too. We'll just wait for it, did you guys?

Speaker 3 18:24

get it. Sorry, were you guys off. No, I'm sorry.

Speaker 1 18:27

Keep going, keep going. We're still amazing. We're still amazing, we're still Good. I don't know what happened.

Speaker 2 18:31

Fred's flipping out over there. He's twisting knobs and pushing buttons. No, I hit the solo button. Sorry, do you feel? Ok, man, you've got the group codes on that thing.

Speaker 1 18:41

I'm in the middle of a restaurant producing a podcast. This ain't easy.

Speaker 2 18:44

Jackson so.

Speaker 1 18:47

Jeremy, speaking of shamelessly plugging the app, the future of Amity man, where are you going? What's happening?

Speaker 4 18:53

here? Where are we going with this? You know, the biggest challenge with Amity is there is so much to do and so little time.

Speaker 1 19:01

I can only imagine there are a lot of numbers. It's got to be nuts man. It's a lot of fun.

Speaker 4 19:06

It really is. We're at a point where people are really starting to love what we're doing. I mean, it took us years. It's been a matter of trust, right.

Speaker 1 19:12

Right.

Speaker 4 19:13

And we can totally understand it Masons take a little while to trust we want to know you're not these crazy people stealing all of our data.

Speaker 1 19:19

You want to know you're going to be around and it's not a short-term thing, right? Yeah, yeah, I get it.

Speaker 4 19:24

Almost eight years in right. We're here. Eight years, Eight years.

Speaker 1 19:28

Wow, no kidding, yeah, that's awesome.

Speaker 4 19:30

February 29th. Actually, It'll be our second birthday.

Speaker 1 19:33

Nice your second birthday.

Speaker 2 19:35

Well, we started on a leap year.

Speaker 1 19:37

Oh, got it. Ah, clever, I'm the 28th.

Speaker 2 19:39

That was right there as well. Just about there. Yeah, four years, just about there. That'd make me like 12.

Speaker 4 19:46

We're actually wrapping up the rollout of dues. Ok, dues payments for the Grand Lodge of Florida.

Speaker 1 19:50

That's great, yeah, and when we got, the kinks worked out of that.

Speaker 4 19:52

That's going to go nationwide and then actually worldwide. We've got a couple grand lodges that are super excited about that.

Speaker 1 19:58

Yeah, that's going to make life so much easier. Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2 20:01

You're solving a major problem.

Speaker 1 20:02

That solved that right there. As a treasurer of a lodge, I can tell you that's going to solve a big problem.

Speaker 4 20:08

Yeah, the other interesting thing and this is sort of above the interest level of a lot of normal masons, but one of the things that I'm really excited about- there are normal masons.

Speaker 1 20:18

Normal masons, huh, I don't worry Is that the name of a lodge somewhere I don't know Normal Lodge number 125.

Speaker 4 20:24

I'm still trying to get clandestine lodge chartered. I think that'd be hysterical Clandestine number 135. Well, you don't even put a number on it. Yeah, no, that's right. No, no. It just says I'm in clandestine lodge Clandestine lodge Wait I don't think I'm supposed to be talking to you.

Speaker 2 20:38

I don't know what's going on here. You know, let's go to Are you on Amity. Maybe Could be Scan this code.

Speaker 4 20:46

I have been in grand lodges where we have this whole thing in ritual, at least in DC, where it's like. This is why we have the words, the way we do, in which degree. Yeah right, I do a grand lodge that uses them backwards and I'm like hey, my ritual told me about you.

Speaker 2 20:59

Oh really For real. But you've been, you really are traveling man.

Speaker 4 21:04

I imagine that is fair, because how?

Speaker 2 21:06

many countries are you in?

Speaker 4 21:07

I've got 120 now Wow.

Speaker 1 21:10

That just blows my mind.

Speaker 2 21:11

That's a huge number, that's countries, Right. So how do you even get that many countries on? I mean you have to do a lot of work right With each individual one to get them to sign on.

Speaker 4 21:21

It is. But, to be honest, we're at a point now where our reputation is proceeding.

Speaker 1 21:25

We've been working with conferences for quite a while.

Speaker 4 21:28

I was just in Serbia, actually at the European Conference of Grand Secretaries.

Speaker 1 21:32

Wow, but to be honest, the fun thing about that was oh no, God, no, no. I started as a secretary.

Speaker 4 21:38

But no, the fun thing about that was, I mean, half the room. We already knew we're at the point where these are our friends.

Speaker 1 21:44

Now they're starting to come to you, right.

Speaker 4 21:46

And so we're super honored and humbled. Really, that's awesome. You know that, hey, that people are still talking to us, yeah.

Freemasonry and the George Washington Gavel

Speaker 2 21:54

You know If those amity gays, michael and I like to joke that if New York and DC can get together, it'd actually like each other.

Speaker 1 22:00

Oh yeah, we can do this anywhere, you can go anywhere.

Speaker 2 22:02

Also thanks for joining us tonight, so is that your?

Speaker 4 22:04

partner Yep. Yep Michael is a Mason out in New York. But you know, the crazy thing is, we've known each other since we were three.

Speaker 1 22:11

Oh, no kidding.

Speaker 2 22:12

Oh yeah, Wow. How did this happen, this whole idea? Can you talk a little bit about the inception of this, the birth of this in your mind, you know it was, it was super random, I mean I've.

Speaker 4 22:21

I've sort of toyed with this idea since God, since about 2000 or so when I was in a civil organization, right you? Know. I heard somebody on on on Instagram the other day say they were a teacher and one of their students asked if they could use sources from the late 1900s, because they found something from the 1980s.

Speaker 2 22:39

Oh my God, it's like you know what my wife's little brother says movies like Rambo are classics, and I'm like you know what I lived that?

Speaker 1 22:46

It's in color. What are you talking about?

Speaker 2 22:48

It's a classic. I digress.

Speaker 4 22:50

Right, go back to the beginning of Amity.

Speaker 2 22:52

I need to hear this story.

Speaker 4 22:53

So so I'd been toying with the idea of some sort of member management system for quite some time and and and sort of let it go because life happened right. Yeah, oh, yeah. And then the funniest thing happened with one of my oldest friends. So so Michael and I, like I said, our families were friends and we were too old, too young to know what friends were right. And then we sort of fell apart. Parents moved away, that sort of thing.

Speaker 2 23:15

Where are you from New York?

Speaker 4 23:16

Yeah, yeah, where I was born on the Upper West Side in New York City.

Speaker 2 23:19

Oh no, kidding, OK yeah, real, new York Real. New York Real cold.

Speaker 1 23:24

I'm not.

Speaker 2 23:24

I'm not one of the.

Speaker 4 23:25

Burgeon Tunnel people.

Speaker 4 23:26

Yeah, I am now, but but so. So Michael was actually at his mom's house and on her fridge she had my family's Christmas photo and in the Christmas photo I was wearing a belt buckle that had the Masonic symbols on it. Why, right? Well, her compasses, you know whatever. And he took one, look at the photo and said I have to talk to him, called my, got my dad's number from his mom. Crazy Right Called my dad, who at the time was not the biggest fan of Freemasonry. He's a preacher as his second career.

Speaker 1 23:59

OK.

Speaker 4 24:00

And he's been sort of come around as he's seen. You know me improve in life because of Masonry, but but he called my dad, michael called my dad and my dad said, no, you don't want to talk to him about that.

Speaker 1 24:10

And Michael said actually, I really do, can you?

Speaker 4 24:12

give me his number and finally got my number from my dad and I mean we talked for six, nine months like just back and forth, back and forth back and forth.

Speaker 2 24:19

He was just fascinated with the idea that you are a Freemason.

Speaker 4 24:23

Well, he had been looking into Freemasonry, ok, but he didn't actually know any Masons.

Speaker 1 24:27

OK.

Speaker 4 24:27

Come to find out through this circuitous route of you know, the photo on the fridge, sort of thing Right.

Speaker 2 24:33

You know we end up and finally he's like look how hard it was to get involved in the fraternity back in the day.

Speaker 1 24:39

Well, it was not easy, if you care, freemason.

Speaker 2 24:42

I mean, you care Really. You had to get to work at it hard to become a Mason back in the day.

Speaker 4 24:48

I'm still a big fan of our in general. Our Lodge dues are not commensurate with the value that we get from Freemasonry.

Speaker 1 24:55

Correct, yeah, I agree.

Speaker 2 24:56

I came from a Lodge in Florida that just increased their dues. They're now in the triple quadruple digits for their dues annually and their per degree fees are in the triple digits.

Speaker 1 25:07

Yeah right.

Speaker 2 25:08

And so they're trying to experiment with. This is the value we're bringing, and are people willing to pay it? And they're finding that people are willing to pay.

Speaker 4 25:16

It's, yeah, it's actually happening. Well, not only that when people realize that they're paying that sum of money, they want to contribute and make sure that they get the value that they're paying for.

Speaker 1 25:25

Yeah, absolutely Right, so in my book.

Speaker 4 25:27

It's actually a self-fulfilling prophecy, right? Yep, it's absolutely true.

Speaker 1 25:31

Hey, Jeremy, I've been asked to ask you about the George Washington gavel.

Speaker 3 25:36

And the reason why I've been asked.

Speaker 1 25:38

That is because apparently you got. You got some of the skinny on that man. You got a little of the history going on. Share a little bit about it with us, will you?

Speaker 4 25:46

For sure. So segwaying back into Potomac Lodge number five.

Speaker 1 25:50

That was a rabbit trail, by the way. That's that's what we call those Go ahead.

Speaker 4 25:53

Don't even get me started. We could be here all night.

Speaker 1 25:55

Yeah, we could have a million. We have whiskey on four more times, yeah, yeah, four more times, right, okay, all right, give us, give us what you got there, and then we'll move on.

Speaker 4 26:03

So so I'll try, and I'll try and condense this a bit, give us a story, I mean. I could do a half an hour lecture on this by itself.

Speaker 1 26:08

Well, you will book it, so you're in.

Speaker 4 26:11

Potomac Lodge number five is the oldest lodge in what is now known as the District of Columbia. We were first chartered in 1789 as Maryland Lodge number nine.

Speaker 1 26:19

Okay, maryland Lodge. Maryland Lodge number time, because you remember.

Speaker 4 26:22

The District of Columbia was originally a section of Virginia and a section of Maryland.

Speaker 1 26:26

Right, okay, that's right, that's right.

Speaker 4 26:28

And the portion that is now Georgetown used to be called George Space TOWNE, right Georgetown was a port city on the Potomac River Okay.

Speaker 1 26:37

The.

Speaker 4 26:37

Potomac, of course, goes into the Chesapeake Bay and then out to the to the Atlantic Right, yeah Right. Virginia has since taken their section of land back. It's now Arlington County. Georgetown, of course, was in Maryland, you know, is still in what was at that time Maryland, and Potomac Lodge was started in 1789. We went through a few iterations, but in 1793, the cornerstone of the Capitol was going to be laid and there was a great ceremony that went along with it, of course, president. Washington was a Mason. We've all seen those paintings.

Speaker 4 27:08

Yeah, exactly, yeah Well but the interesting thing is what a lot of people don't realize is that procession actually started in Georgetown.

Speaker 1 27:16

Oh, okay, right Okay.

Speaker 4 27:18

So these days, if there's no traffic which is a rarity in DC right, it still takes about 15 minutes to drive from Georgetown to the Capitol. Okay, right Now, get out of your car and walk. Let's talk about how long of a walk that was.

Speaker 2 27:32

How long of a walk, was that?

Speaker 4 27:33

Yeah, I mean we're talking well over an hour. You know, getting close to two, Right the whole way there were people cheering on the procession, there were, there was artillery in the parade, right there. I mean like bands, this was a thing, A big deal. This was like Mardi Gras at the time. Yeah, right.

Speaker 1 27:50

Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 4 27:51

And so George Washington got rode over from Virginia because his house was at Mount Vernon, right, right. And so he got, you know, got over to the Georgetown side, did the whole procession, and again you got to remember, put yourself back in that time, right, there was no DC, it was a swamp in a forest.

Speaker 1 28:08

Right.

Speaker 4 28:08

And you get to the top of what was Jenkins Hill and they've cut a few roads through the forest.

Speaker 1 28:13

Right.

Speaker 4 28:14

So we're talking like some you know Hillbilly movie. If you think about it, you've literally got a stack of trees. Right you can kind of walk through them, and that was where the Capitol was going to be.

Speaker 1 28:24

Wow, and they dug a hole no-transcript.

Speaker 4 28:26

At the top of the hill and they said we have the vision to create this building that is going to be the cornerstone of a country in the middle of nowhere Right. And I mean, you know, I'm getting chills on my back just thinking about that.

Speaker 2 28:40

Yeah, no, we were right over here at a pizza place and this guy's grew up here and he's like Masonry.

Speaker 4 28:46

What's that? What's that? I'm like, how do you live here? How do you live your whole life here? It's so central, right, it's so central to the city.

Speaker 1 28:51

Right, it's so central to the country, right, and so just to give you a bit of a story real quick, right? So the gavel.

Speaker 4 28:57

So, as many people, many Masons will know, when you dedicate a cornerstone, you dedicate with corn, wine and oil and you have to test the stone. You use the implements of a master Mason the plum, the level, the square and you know you have a gavel and you tap the square into place right and at the end of the ceremony, george Washington gave the gavel to a man named Valentin Renssel. Valentin Renssel was the master of what is now Potomac Lodge number five. Oh okay, he also became the first grand master of Washington DC.

Speaker 4 29:26

Wow, Now at the time again to sort of have a little fun with it. You know, he just put the gavel in his closet because it was just George and it was just a gavel.

Speaker 2 29:34

Right, right, right, and so when he passed away People aren't legends yet Right.

Speaker 4 29:38

Exactly they were just dudes you know and who you guys are going to be legends one day. So I'm happy to be here.

Speaker 1 29:43

We're already legends. We didn't ask for that Incompetence. Maybe there you go.

Speaker 4 29:45

Incompetence. Maybe I'll take it right, it's still not famous in it. Just want to be remembered. And so when Valentin Renzel passed away, his wife came to the lodge and kind of said hey guys, you want this? And we said, uh, yeah.

Speaker 2 29:58

Yeah, so you've been in possession of that gavel, yeah, for 200 years 200 years. And how do you keep that?

Speaker 4 30:07

How do you store that? Right now it's between one and two places. Either it's in the capital because it's one of the oldest artifacts.

Speaker 1 30:14

So it's a national treasure. It's considered a national treasure it's yours.

Speaker 2 30:17

Oh wow, it belongs to the lodge Exactly, but you lend it to the capital of the.

Speaker 4 30:21

United States. Matter of fact, they love it because the way they frame it to us is most of the stuff they have. There is art. It just hangs on a wall right. It doesn't do anything.

Speaker 1 30:30

Right.

Speaker 4 30:30

They like the fact that our gavel is what they call a living artifact.

Speaker 1 30:34

It still goes places Right.

Speaker 4 30:36

That's how we all got to know each other, remember, because the gavel was invited to come down to Florida.

Speaker 2 30:42

Yes, right, that's right. That's where this trip up to DC started. Wow, that's so cool. Bill did tell that story when he was on the podcast.

Speaker 1 30:49

Yeah, that's right Right.

Speaker 2 30:51

And the idea of how that even happened was so random and cool. Totally Well, it's Bill. I'm not surprised at all, I mean let's be honest Right, right, right.

Speaker 4 30:59

But so this thing has taken on a life of its own. Another interesting sidebar and again you've got to be careful. Stop me if I'm going too long, I'll talk all night. But across the street from Potomac Lodge in Georgetown is a PNC bank. Ok, Now, if you go back a while.

Speaker 4 31:14

It was bought by PNC as part of Riggs National Bank when Riggs went out of business, and they went out of business, because they had too many accounts from people that were under sanctions and they shouldn't have had them, and that's its own story, which you should go look into yeah, it's banking baby. But before that all happened, one of the guys who started it, who started the bank, was a guy named William Wilson Corcoran, and so some of our listeners may remember him as the namesake of the Corcoran School of Art. Ok, or the Corcoran Gallery here in DC. William Wilson Corcoran was also a member of Potomac Lodge.

Speaker 1 31:46

Wow.

The Story of the Gavel

Speaker 4 31:46

And so when we needed the place to hold the gavel, we went to him and he said sure, we'll do something in our bank for you, not a problem. And so if you walk into that PNC bank on the corner of M Street and Wisconsin Avenue and you look at the vault, which is a circular vault, it's one of those big circle doors that they open every morning. They still close it every night. At the eye of the circle, right at the point in the middle of the circle, is a double high safe deposit box. To our knowledge, it is the only glass front safe deposit box with electric lighting inside.

Speaker 1 32:15

Wow.

Speaker 4 32:15

Geez, just for the gavel.

Speaker 1 32:17

Just for the gavel. That's an awesome story brother. That's a great story man. That's sort of that's its home.

Speaker 3 32:22

I love that, because we don't want to just leave it in the lodge.

Speaker 1 32:24

Yeah, right, right, yeah. It's a national treasure. I don't think you could.

Speaker 2 32:27

It has to, it's got to be locked up somewhere, man, but it's their property to do what the hell they want with it, right? Well?

Speaker 4 32:32

unfortunately, it's PNC now, so they're charging us for the safe deposit box, which Riggs never did.

Speaker 1 32:36

But you know, what do you do? Well, that's banking baby.

Speaker 2 32:39

Welcome to America, right, so true, yeah, so do you use that gavel so?

Speaker 4 32:43

does the?

Speaker 2 32:44

lodge ever actually utilize it for anything, so it depends on how you look at it.

Speaker 4 32:47

We can't, we can't actually pick it up and use it anymore because the handle is broken on the inside of the gavel.

Speaker 1 32:52

Yeah, you know, right, but it still goes all over the place.

Speaker 4 32:54

Matter of fact we have a picture of the Queen of England, rest or soul, using it to lay the extension of the cornerstone of the British embassy here in DC.

Speaker 1 33:02

Oh, that is sweet, which, to me, is the ultimate irony. Yeah, it is the ultimate irony, right?

Speaker 4 33:07

And for anybody who didn't get it, we've got the Queen of England using the implement used by George Washington, the treasonous, the secessionist Right right, who used the gavel at its inception to create the country that seceded, you know, from.

Speaker 1 33:21

England. I love it, I love it, I love it. It's amazing, that's awesome.

Speaker 2 33:23

My favorite picture of the gavel.

Speaker 1 33:24

That's. That's a great story, man, that's a great.

Speaker 2 33:26

Jeremy, it's a great American story.

Speaker 4 33:27

Jeremy, can I, can I give you 30?

Speaker 1 33:29

seconds more.

Speaker 2 33:29

You can give me 30 seconds more. My favorite thing about the gavel. Give us 30 minutes more, oh well.

Speaker 4 33:33

I don't know if we want to go there. Damn you know. Give me a drink and you got 12 minutes at least so.

Speaker 1 33:36

I'll say it again no you don't? We got, we got to move on.

Speaker 4 33:42

So one more fun piece is when Valentin Rental passed away and his wife gave us the gavel and whatever the grandmaster at the time said well, how do we know this thing is real? And so they got two people that had seen the gavel at that ceremony and they were in their 80s, which is saying something in the early 1800s.

Speaker 2 33:57

right, yeah, they got two people that had seen it. That's like twice the life expected to see somebody probably at that time Right.

Speaker 4 34:01

Yeah, you know so. Anyways, we can speculate about that. But they had to write a letter saying hey, I certify that this is actually the gavel. Wow. And that's why there's the gold cap on the top. But the interesting thing, one of the guys that wrote the letter which we still have. His letter says you know why? I know this is the gavel Because I saw George Washington carrying it when I rode him across the.

Speaker 1 34:23

Potomac Jesus, oh, that's sweet, oh man, and we still have that letter. That's awesome, that was freaking amazing.

Speaker 4 34:28

Yeah, totally, and so it's going to be on display at our that our bylaws say there are two times when the gavel has to be out in addition to any.

Speaker 2 34:36

This is what I was curious about, in addition to any visits it does. Okay.

Speaker 4 34:40

At a minimum it must be present for the installation of officers at Potomac Lodge.

Speaker 1 34:44

Wow.

Speaker 4 34:44

So this coming Saturday is our installation, which is why you guys are all up here.

Speaker 1 34:48

Yeah, that's going to be awesome, you'll see, it'll be on our altar and the altar and the altar and the altar.

Speaker 4 34:51

Okay. The other thing is when we know in advance, to be fair, not if it just shows up, but when we know that the grandmaster is going to be present in our lodge, we must bring the gavel.

Speaker 2 35:02

If the grandmaster is present, it must be in the lodge, correct.

Speaker 1 35:05

And installation.

Speaker 4 35:06

As long as we know in advance, because we have to have a resolution of the lodge.

Speaker 2 35:09

So if the grandmaster just shows up, I picture like a bunch of guys in black suits with a brief face.

Speaker 4 35:14

I mean, look, I've literally had a handcuff to my wrist as we were on a plane.

Speaker 1 35:17

You've done that You've done that. That's cool. Yeah, that's cool.

Speaker 4 35:19

I mean it makes it a lot less awkward because everybody looks at you like why? You know why are you the first person to get off the plane.

Speaker 2 35:24

So you know if they see a handcuff.

Speaker 4 35:26

It's like oh, it's real.

Speaker 2 35:27

That is fascinating.

Speaker 4 35:29

Wow.

Speaker 2 35:30

Thank you for being here.

Speaker 4 35:31

Yeah, thanks. My apologies for trying to cram all this space. No, no, we're going to have Yann for a.

Discussion on Forgotten History and Cliffhangers

Speaker 1 35:35

For a full show. So we'll get you. We'll get you on a new year.

Speaker 4 35:39

When you have time, we can sit and talk about all this stuff. You can tell I have fun with this.

Speaker 1 35:43

Oh yeah, I'm just happy to be here. We love it. People need to hear this stuff.

Speaker 2 35:46

We've forgotten our own history in this country.

Speaker 1 35:48

Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 4 35:49

Well if you want to have fun, I'll drop a seed for you. Did you know Dan Brown cut off my hand in the law symbol? Do tell. Oh, that's a story for another podcast. Damn man, we'll leave that. That's a cliffhanger, son of a biscuit.

Speaker 1 36:01

That's a cliffhanger. We'll leave that one for next time.

Speaker 3 36:04

Jeremy brother, thank you so much.

Speaker 4 36:05

Brother this is amazing to be here. I'm so glad to see you and we will definitely have you back. And I want to be clear I have not seen Chris's wife since that day that I met her.

Speaker 1 36:13

Yeah, we'll stay on that one.

Speaker 2 36:16

I'm very happy to hear that. Very happy to hear that he hasn't gotten any worse, looking to Son of a.

Speaker 1 36:21

Biscuit, all right.