Embark on a historical journey with us, your hosts Chris and Fred, as we unpack the annual Masonic trip to Washington D.C., a tradition richly steeped in camaraderie and history. We promise you'll acquire a deeper appreciation for this annual pilgrimage as we chat with our erudite guest, Stephen Silver. Together, we trace the origins of this trip, from its initiation in 2016 by Grandmaster Stan Hudson to the myriad of activities it encompasses, such as our time-honored visit to the Potomac Lodge and George Washington National Masonic Memorial.
Boldly delving into the patriotic tradition of honoring those who have selflessly served our nation, we engage in a thought-provoking discussion with Steve. The significance of this practice, its impact on younger generations, and the anticipation surrounding the upcoming event honoring four historic contributors - all promise to keep you riveted. We are confident this episode will not only enlighten but also inspire you, highlighting the enduring ties of tradition, history, and camaraderie that bind us all. Tune in, and let's explore together.
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Embark on a historical journey with us, your hosts Chris and Fred, as we unpack the annual Masonic trip to Washington D.C., a tradition richly steeped in camaraderie and history. We promise you'll acquire a deeper appreciation for this annual pilgrimage as we chat with our erudite guest, Stephen Silver. Together, we trace the origins of this trip, from its initiation in 2016 by Grandmaster Stan Hudson to the myriad of activities it encompasses, such as our time-honored visit to the Potomac Lodge and George Washington National Masonic Memorial.
Boldly delving into the patriotic tradition of honoring those who have selflessly served our nation, we engage in a thought-provoking discussion with Steve. The significance of this practice, its impact on younger generations, and the anticipation surrounding the upcoming event honoring four historic contributors - all promise to keep you riveted. We are confident this episode will not only enlighten but also inspire you, highlighting the enduring ties of tradition, history, and camaraderie that bind us all. Tune in, and let's explore together.
Connect with us on:
Email us directly!
Hey Chris, yeah, fred, what's a Mason? That's a really good question, fred.
Speaker 2: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. Well, chris, we are. We just continue to roll through. There. It is the Rebel Yell one more time. Well, that was an awesome interview with Jeremy Incredible. We are definitely going to have him back. There's no doubt about it.
Speaker 2:He is a lifer we are definitely going to harass him and follow him around until he says yes again. So we'll get him back on the show, no matter what. Steve brother, how are you? It's good to see you. You cannot hear me. You should be able to hear me loud and clear, man we have.
Speaker 1:Oh, it could be, check and make sure you're plugged in fully here. Now we're good.
Speaker 2:Oh, there you go, there you go. You're going to have to speak right into that microphone, brother.
Speaker 1:This is actually one of our very close neighbors from Hillsborough Lodge. Hillsborough Lodge yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we met up there at the symposium last year it was the first time I met you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was a lot of fun. We had a great time Right worshipful. Yeah, Right worshipful.
Speaker 2:Stephen Silver's.
Speaker 1:Stephen Silver's yeah, yeah, thanks for having me on.
Speaker 2:Hey, no problem. No problem at all, man, we want to get as many people on as we possibly can. All right, so give us the skinny.
Speaker 3:John was talking a little bit about the history of so originally this started out in 2016, when Stan Hudson became the grandmaster of Masons of Florida Right.
Speaker 1:You were district deputy there. I was a district deputy for him.
Speaker 3:Bill was a district deputy for him. Yes, we were also district instructors at the same time the year before.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:And several of the other guys that are here were also Really District deputies for Stan. We were known as Hudson's heroes. Okay, and after Stan's opportunity to sit in the grand east at the Grand Lodge of Florida, Bill came up with this idea hey, let's go to Washington. And because we wanted to visit the guys from Potomac, number five and attend their installation. Oh, and while we're at it, since we're going to be here for a few days, let's do a few things.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 3:And then a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Friday became one of our things that we do all the time in the grandmaster of the time at the time.
Speaker 2:Florida Grandmaster.
Speaker 3:Florida Grandmaster Glenn Bishop, this year most swishable bishop will be one of the four people who lay the wreath tomorrow at the tomb. And in just a few minutes we're going to draw three names out of a hat of all of the participants that are here from Florida to see the next three people that got to go with him, because four people can lay the wreath.
Speaker 2:That is awesome. What a privilege for people. Right, right?
Speaker 3:We've done a lot of different things in our time up here, as well as going to the installation Will the first year we laid a wreath at the Tomb of George Washington at. Mount Vernon in a ceremony that we do right outside of his grave site, and does that still going? Well, we did it last year, you did. We went to Mount Vernon again for the first time since the first year.
Speaker 3:So we started this in 2017. And, if I can, if I remember correctly, the only there may be three people that have been here every year, I think we said two before, but I believe that Greg Wynn over my left shoulder here. I believe that he's been here all every year that we've had this trip, as well.
Speaker 3:And Bill and myself so and every and the first year that we did it, it was just Hudson's heroes. There were about seven or eight of us, maybe nine, of the district deputy grandmasters, the grandmaster Stan Hudson and his grand marshal, and we were here and we have a picture in a hotel, you know, in front of the Christmas tree. And there's just there's like you know, there's like 10 or 12 of us and that was it Right.
Speaker 3:So this started in 2017 with like 12 brothers and now, six years later, we're getting 40, 50 guys coming riding on up the gigantic bus to go and do all these great things together. So it's a great time to meet people from around the state who maybe I haven't met, who heard about the trip for a year and everybody to get to know each other and, and you know, masonry is one big happy family, so it's a great time to get together, and it's right before the holidays and it's become quite a tradition.
Speaker 2:I love it. I think it's as, as Masonry begins, we see an ascendancy of masonry, it's kind of coming back to. We see younger and younger men getting involved in masonry and they need to know this. This is what the new masons coming in need to understand the history and to actually see this place that was very masonic in its founding, and they need to understand the fraternity that they're getting involved in has some deep, deep roots in the very country you know that we're hoping to make an impact, a positive impact on in the future. You know, and so this is a great event, man, I mean absolutely an amazing event.
Speaker 3:It's magical to be here Right. This year we're gonna, as our first time, we're gonna go to Capitol Hill. Really, we're all going up to the United States Capitol tomorrow afternoon. We're gonna get a tour, we're gonna have lunch in the Capitol cafeteria.
Speaker 2:If you guys could show me where the suggestion box is, I'd like to throw one in.
Speaker 3:They don't have a suggestion box apparently not no we've gone to the George Washington National Masonic Memorial several times Beautiful. A couple of years ago we actually held a tiled meeting at the George Washington a tiled meeting a tiled meeting in one of those three lodges on the ground floor.
Speaker 2:No kidding.
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely as a matter of fact. It's really funny. I was walking around the basement area of that. They have those photographs of the historic lodges around the country downstairs. I'm walking along in the corridor and I look and there's a picture of Hillsborough Lodge, number 25 on the wall in the Masonic Memorial for George Washington. I love it.
Speaker 1:We don't have a lot of time, but there's something I have to ask you, because we were just talking to Jeremy about the fact that he spoke to someone that you know actually had experiences with George Washington. So we're talking about legends that are going to survive time, and this is something that not very few men have an opportunity to be remembered in time. You are one of three people who started this adventure, this historical precedent that's happening in Freight Nationry. I know, be humble, but don't be humble Now you, okay, we're only in the sixth year, but I can see 200 years down the line when we're all dead and gone.
Speaker 1:This could be a mecca migration for Masons in the future.
Speaker 2:I hope, so what does?
Speaker 1:it feel like to be a man who could be remembered in history.
Speaker 2:Do you?
Speaker 1:even realize it? Do you even realize it?
Speaker 3:I'm getting goosebumps as you say that, but honestly, to be quite honest, Bill Cazulus was in Ocala with another brother who's not here, who came a couple of years and to bring the gavel down to Ocala when Bill had arranged for that to happen, he asked me to come up and join them and I did, and it was great. He, kind of Bill, dragged me into this in 2016.
Speaker 3:And ever since, you know, we, Bill and I have been very close for a long time, but he dragged me into traveling around with the gavel meeting the guys who brought it down from Washington and who we became great friends with. So the general purpose of our coming up here originally was specifically to attend the installation of officers at Potomac.
Speaker 2:Number.
Speaker 3:Five and so, because we became friends and every year there's a different chairman of the gavel, they brought the gavel down to the Grand Lodge of the floor. The Warshville Master of Potomac Lodge Number Five is like the chairman of the gavel committee. And then they have people that are authorized to remove it in a special lock case with that Right?
Speaker 2:yeah, that's what Jerry was talking about With the handcuff to your wrist and so yeah, it was.
Speaker 3:It was a. I'm happy to be part of that group. I'm thankful for Bill including me in all of the activities that he imagines in his head and then makes come true. So we owe this to Bill Sure, and I'm happy that you know be one of the trusted confidants that he'll call up and say hey, we're thinking about, let's do this, what do you think about going here? What do you think about going there? And there are a group of four of us now, including him, that we bounce these ideas off of to decide on what we're going to do for the trip. So we have a good time doing that. I have a good time, you know, meeting all the new brothers. I have a wonderful Masonic family that comes up here every year. It's a great tradition and I agree If they remember my name in oh in a hundred years.
Speaker 3:that's great, but I don't do it for that.
Speaker 2:I do it for them. It's a, it's a tradition, that's. That's the perfect word.
Speaker 3:It's a tradition and it'll keep going, and yeah, so, um so, steve, thanks, man.
Speaker 2:Thanks for sitting down and giving us the skinny on that. I appreciate it. We are there about to draw names for those four people that Jeremy talked about, so we're going to cut off for right now and we'll come back out a little bit.
Speaker 1:We have so many people. We need to talk so much. That's right. That's right. These are historic people doing historic things for our country and our country.
Speaker 2:We will be back after the drawing to do a few more interviews and uh and we'll, we'll see y'all. We'll see y'all on the other side, brother, see you in a little bit.