| The Widow's Son by Sis. Joyce Reaves Published March 2002 The Masonic Globe Magazine |
| Greetings! I am a Proud Prince Hall member of the Order of the Eastern Star. I came to this Fraternity on a strong foundation and a have been educated well on the history of PHA and the issues of recognition. I have much gratitude to my first teacher as I write this article. "Thank You Bro. Michael McMullen, you have taught me well". Being very new to the Masonic family, I begin as inquisitive as many on the origins of this beautiful fraternity. I have come across many rich and beautiful historical tales, although this one strikes me as particularly interesting. "The trash of anti-masonic literature was in every house; and, vile and mendacious as it was. There were many men, otherwise of good estimation, who believed in it, and were influenced by it. But what matters this long array of objections which was presented before the little meeting of the brothers assembled in the parlor of Sister Page! They were sufficient to justify the conclusions to which the party came, "that the reinstatement of Masonry at Spafford, under the present untoward circumstances, was impracticable, and was for the present postponed." The brothers, however, would not disperse until they had announced their decision to the good sister herself, and a messenger was sent to the door of her sitting-room to announce it." "She came at their summons, leading by either hand a stout boy, stalwart lads, once the pride of the father as they were now the hopes of the mother. She listened, with downcast eyes to their statement of the obstacles which had deterred them from pursuing their desire, and answered not a word until the catalogue was complete. But then a change came over her face; her eye kindled with meaning as she directed it toward them. She arose with a dignity they had never seen her exhibit before; and, placing her two boys before her, thus began: "This is not what I looked for from the companions of my deceased husband. On his death-bed he charged me to prize, as one of my highest privileges, my claims as a Jason's- widow. He said that these boys would never want a father while there was a Mason in the land, and that a Mason's Lodge was the widow's home!" "From this startling exordium, she went on to make known, what was clearly evident to her mind, that without the establishment of a lodge, it was useless for men to profess themselves Masons; that all the benefits of the Order flow out of the lodge as the fountain; and that as her husband was buried at the hands of the Brethren in lodge assembled, so she hoped some lay to see her sons initiated by the same body. In short, she pursued to its legitimate conclusions the argument, "that every Brother ought to belong to a lodge," and "that without the lodge there is no Masonry;" and she pressed it so earnestly home upon each of her hearers, that he could not resist it. Perceiving, with a woman's tact, that she had convinced them as to the expediency of the effort, she proposed to furnish a vacant chamber in her dwelling, and to see to it that all necessary furniture and clothing were supplied for the work of the lodge." "She offered we have a copy of her letter before us as we write this-she offered to furnish the lodge gratuitously with refreshments at every meeting, until they could do better; and that the public might not be deceived as to the respectability of the institution, she would march with the lodge in its first public procession, and protect it. Of course she triumphed-of course the petition was prepared and signed that very night; forwarded to the nearest lodge for recommendation that week; sent to the Grand Master for approval that month; and returned accepted ere the moon'waned.. At the organization of the lodge, the subject of a name was agitated; but all suggestions and debates ceased when a Brother proposed "Widowed Sister's Lodge;" it was too good to admit of a moment's hesitation." "The aprons were ready, made of white silk, furnished from her own old-fashioned wedding-dress! Her family Bible made the first Great Light-could a better be desired? The gavels and other implements were provided at her charge. An ample supper was ready at the close of the meeting, and she presided at the head of the table, with her little boys at her side. Her own domestic wine made the beverage in which the regular toasts and her own name, the best of all, were duly honored." "But the occasion of her public appearance as a Mason, is the most interesting part of our tale. Father Lawson, the oldest member of the lodge, died suddenly, yet not so suddenly but that he had time to request a Masonic burial. The Brethren hesitated. They were not quite prepared to meet the public eye. They referred the matter to Sister Page. She, good soul, unhesitatingly told them they were bound to obey a dying Mason's request-much she knew of the matter!-and declared her determination to go with them!" "The procession formed at Bro. Lawson's-the whole population of Spafford gathering together in doubting whether to laugh or applaud -and, true to her word, the resolute woman marched at its head! It must have been a moving spectacle to see the dear lady, dressed in deepest mourning weeds, leading her little sons one by each hand, and walking the whole of that weary two miles in front of the Tyler! Many was the proffer from the gentlemen of the village to lend her a conveyance; many was the door opened to invite her in to pause and rest; but she refused all entreaties; was the first as well as the last at the grave; and joined, by permission of the Master, in casting clods of earth upon the coffin!" "That day's exercises settled the question for all this generation as to the popularity of Masonry in Spafford. After that, there was no room for ridicule; for the thought of that devoted woman's adherence to the institution in its hour of adversity, incontinently banished it, or gave it a favorable turn. Men, who knew nothing of Masonry, admitted that it must be a good thing to deserve the support of so estimable a lady as Mrs. Page. The first effect of her devotedness was to bring in the adherence of many of the demitted Masons of the vicinity, who, from timidity probably, had stood thus far aloof; and this gave great additional strength to the lodge. Its second effect was to allure a few outsiders, whose parents, long ago, had taught them the value of Masonry as a social tie, and thus the temple was still further enlarged." I had downloaded that story from the internet quite a while ago and have lost the link and have not been able to get it back, so the most that I can say is that the author is unknown. Perhaps someone reading this might know where I can find it again. There is much to glean from the story of Mrs. Page and in light of the many struggles that Masonry is going through with recognition and divisions of affiliations, anything that is an obstacle to Masonry's growth is just like that old town. The article starts with "The trash of anti-masonic literature was in every house". My Sisters, there are far too many of us that are guilty of that very statement. Maybe not as literature, but as ignorance and lack of participation. Lack of education and support to our PHA Brothers as they face the issues of recognition in this country. I belong to quite a few e-groups and have brought up the issues among my Sisters. PHA Sisters and Mainstream Sisters. I have found that many are uneducated, unconcerned and feel that it is not a Sisters place to be concerned with these issues. Are we so blind that we do not see that this is not only the Brothers struggle? In the States that enjoy mutual recognition between PHA and mainstream GL's, how many of those States offer that fraternal hand of recognition to the PHA OES? Too few Sisters are even aware that the OES mainstream GC's do not take direction from the GL's in the same way that PHA GC's receive direction from MWPHGL's. Each Grand Lodge, (Mainstream and PHA) stands separate and answers to no one else. Grand Lodges are sovereign within their Grand Jurisdictions and there are many differences between them. There is no General Grand body for them. This is the greatest, most fundamental difference between PHA GC's and mainstream GC's. Mainstream Eastern Star Grand Chapters are subordinate to the General Grand Chapter (GGC). Most if not all mainstream Eastern Star Chapters follow the same rules, use the same ritual and do things basically the same way. This is but one of the many things that we need to be aware of (I do not say change, I say "be aware of") to address the issue of visitation, social interaction and support with each other as Sisters of the greatest fraternity of Women, The Order of the Eastern Star. In light of this revelation, it is NOT the Brothers issue, now is it? Just as there would be no Eastern Star if there were no Masons, there can be no recognition for the OES as a whole until our Brothers struggle is won. Our Brothers struggle IS our struggle, for they lay the foundation and the path for us to go forward. Just as of our Brothers (both mainstream and PHA) in many States have worked out the differences to remain autonomous yet unified, I pray that we as Sisters of the OES can also find a mutual ground. The story "The Widow's Son" ends with "thus the temple was still further enlarged." I hear both mainstream and PHA talk of dwindling membership. The strength is in our union, as we are divided amongst ourselves we give more strength to the prejudices the Masonic fraternity already battles. My challenge to my Sisters is, educate, learn, study, question and most of all support our Brothers in this quest of recognition. In studying and learning the issues of recognition and unification, the light of understanding of where WE must go will come. Mrs. Page went a long way to stand for what she believed in, a future for her son's as Masons. I pray that my Sisters become more aware of our part in the responsibility of learning and educating ourselves. Standing together for the sake of all our children's future, they sit in school together, they pray together in our personal choices of worship, why can we not come together in this beautiful way of life? Remaining Prayerful, Sis. Joyce Reaves, OES PHA (My Chapter and Jurisdiction have not been mentioned because the article is the sole opinion of the author and does not represent any Masonic entity) |
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