For Pete Cutler, master of Freeport Lodge No. 23 of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the mission of the organization has not changed in nearly 200 years.
“It’s about community and people helping people,” said Cutler, 71, a Mason for 43 years.
In conjunction with that mission, the lodge is hosting its annual tag sale on Saturday at its Mallet Drive building, constructed in 1972 after a former Mason donated the land. Last week, Cutler was busy wading through a basement full of donated items for the sale.
“All of the proceeds from the sale go toward our community involvement,” said Cutler. “We don’t really put prices on the items. We try and appeal to people’s civic conscience.”
The Freeport Masonic Lodge, which will celebrate its bicentennial anniversary next year, has been appealing to people’s civic conscience from the start through partnerships with local organizations like Freeport Community Services and the Lions Club. One annual effort involves sponsoring a family for Christmas and providing gifts and food. Not all the charity efforts are done through a partnership, however. The organization will also donate resources, such as helping a deaf woman procure a guide dog, on an as-need basis. Other recent efforts include providing aid to victims of Hurricane Sandy and putting American flags along Main Street in Freeport during the Fourth of July.
To some, the history and agenda of the Freemasons is shrouded in myth and mystery, ideas fueled by bestselling novelist Dan Brown, in books such as “The Da Vinci Code” and “The Lost Symbol,” and in movies such as “National Treasure,” with Nicholas Cage.
Founded in London in the early 18th century, Freemasonry was exported to the British Colonies in North America by the 1730s, with the earliest known lodges appearing in Pennsylvania. By definition, it is a fraternal organization and is derived from the ancient guilds of Europe.
“The guilds eventually ran out of things to build because towns had built their huge cathedrals and so on,” said Cutler. “The guilds began to decline in membership due to the lack of work. They reached out to surrounding communities for what they called speculative masons, not operative and people who were not necessarily builders. They looked for people of good character and repute in the community to accept into a fraternity. In the old days, an apprenticeship could last year’s just learning about the trade. So they wanted good people who didn’t gamble or drink.”
The membership drive proved successful and the ranks of the guilds swelled with a diverse group of men, said Cutler.
“These men were leaders by necessity, stand-out members of the community,” said Cutler.
The modern requirement to become a Freemason hasn’t changed drastically. An interested person is still vetted for his moral character by members and if accepted, pays a modest membership fee.
“We try and determine what kind of person they are,” said Cutler. “We then put the membership to ballot. It’s an apolitical and non-denominational group.”
According to the laws set forth by the organization, a lodge must hold regular meetings at a fixed place, elect and initiate members, manage its meetings and charity funds and so forth. The balance of activities is individual to each lodge, and lodges evolve their own traditions.
Most lodges consist of members living or working within a given town or neighborhood. Others consist of Masons with a particular shared interest, profession or background. The Freeport lodge has counted numerous civic and business leaders as members through the years, including Leon Leonwood Bean, better known as L.L., whose history and influence continues to dominate the landscape of Freeport.
“We’re everybody,” said Alan Hindley, a past master of the Freeport lodge, which has an active membership of 150. “From lawyers to tradesman, Masonry has a tendency to take a good man and make him better.”
Women are not allowed in the group, but participate in the Order of the Eastern Star, an organization that functions as an auxiliary to the Masons.
Like other traditional community organizations in Maine and nationwide, membership is dropping, a concern for Cutler, one of many military veterans who joined in the last century.
“It was about the brotherhood, the foxhole mentality,” said Hindley.
While Cutler acknowledges the decline is troubling, he feels it mirrors a trend in the tri-town area.
“Years ago organizations like the Masons were the center of activity for entertainment, socializing and getting together to do things,” said Cutler. “Unfortunately, in this day and age, that is declining. It’s become more centered around personal technology. The community took care of their own, something that we try and do every day.”
A CLOSER LOOK
The Freeport Masonic Lodge will hold a tag sale on Saturday, Aug. 31, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at its headquarters on Mallett Drive. All proceeds will benefit the organization’s local charity fund. For more information, call 865-3536.
Freeport Masonic Lodge Master Pete Cutler, in the basement of the lodge on Mallett Drive in Freeport, says the organization is still active in the community, despite a drop in membership. Cutler has been a Mason for 43 years.Send questions/comments to the editors.
