A check of Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia informs us that in the past, Moon
Lodges: Population was more rural and there were no electric lights even in the
cities. In the 18th century, the almanac was a common household authority and
Freemasons, like others, measured their time and to some extent regulated their
activities by it. Lodge By-laws often fixed the stated meetings on, just before
or just after the Full Moon, thus, making 13 stated meetings per year.
There was a very practical reason for fixing meetings around the night of a
Full Moon for, in rural communities, which predominated in the 18th century,
there would be no natural illumination to guide the members to and from lodge
over several miles of rough road.' While many Grand Lodges have since legislated
Moon Lodges out of existence, others have clung to the old custom, preferring
the inconvenience caused by confusion as to just when the moon is full, to
sacrificing what has had the force of an "ancient usage and custom." It is
interesting to realize the first mention of Moon Lodges was in the Cooke
Manuscript of 1410, one of the oldest documents belonging to the Masonic Craft.
It is understood moon lodges were first mentioned in a ritual in "The Whole
Institute of Masonry," published in 1724. By 1767 there were five numbered
lodges governed by the moon operating under the Grand Lodge of England. By the
year 1776, this amount had increased to nine of 499 lodges in England which
included the Provincial Lodges located in the English Colonies abroad.
The Minutes of Aitcheson's Haven Lodge in Scotland, beginning in 1598 show
frequent meetings at odd dates, and although some of them may well have been
chosen because they were on or near the nights of the full moon, there are no
surviving regulations to suggest that those nights were deliberately chosen for
that purpose. The same applies to the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1,
whose minutes go back to 1599. Meetings of this lodge were also held frequently
and at regular intervals. The only regular or fixed-meeting was on St. John's
Day in winter to elect the Warden, which, at that time was then the Scottish
title for the Master of the Lodge. During the Colonial days around 1717, Moon
Lodges were noted to be operating in Philadelphia, Boston, and also in
Tennessee. By 1825, of the 75 instituted Connecticut lodges, many were Moon
Lodges of which a number were located near fishing and whaling harbors. In 1951
Grand Lodge of Missouri had 18 Moon Lodges within their Jurisdiction; Grand
Lodge of Indiana listed nine; and, in 1972 Grand Lodge of Maryland boasted one
Moon Lodge. Between the years 1946 and 1958 moon lodges dropped from 119 to 52
in Kentucky. By the turn of the century, there were over 3,000 moon lodges
operating, but by 1972 the number had dwindled to less than 500 spread amongst
30 jurisdictions within the United States. During this period of time; in those
old horse and buggy days, brethren were known to have walked eight to ten miles
or more to attend meetings. Some traveled by horseback, horse and buggy, and
even by boat. Some were unable to make the long trip home during the night were
given shelter, allowing them to leave after breakfast to return home the next
morning.
Occasions were experienced when the low time allowed brothers to walk to
attend his lodge, and, after the meeting, because of high tide, had to await the
next low tide. Bristol Lodge No. 25 celebrated its 200th Anniversary in 1980. It
all began back in February 1780 with a letter signed by nine brethren and sent
to the Right Worshipful Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of
Pennsylvania asking that a Warrant be issued to hold a lodge in the Town of
Bristol [or five miles around], and on the 15th March the Warrant was issued. In
those days Bristol was a full days trip north of Philadelphia on the road
en-route to New York.
Quite often we hear a remark about 'the good old days'. When moon lodges
began, there were no illuminated two or four lane blacktop highways and very few
gravel roads. Most consisted of two dirt ruts leading through bush and fields
and seldom in a straight line. While the main roads may have been gravel, the
side roads and towns roads had dirt roads. There was no train or bus service,
nor any cars for that matter. After dark a candle or coal oil lamp was used for
illumination: no electricity. If fortunate, everyone bathed in a galvanized wash
tub on Saturday nights.
In the Jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Iowa around 1870 every Masonic home
had a Masonic moon calendar drawn by a brother from that state. The calendar was
a 13-month one showing only the date and month of the full moon throughout the
year. Occasionally the brothers realized there were times when there was no full
moon in February: such as occurred in 1893, and this caused quite a bit of a
storm. As lodges usually met on a specific day such as the last Saturday of the
month, visitors in this particular month arrived to find no Lodge meeting taking
place, and so, the various Grand Lodges began eliminating the Moon Lodges.
The present Secretary of Bristol Lodge stated: 'The continuance of this
practice of meeting on Saturday evenings on or before the full moon, reminds us
of our heritage and tradition, and does provide some distinction when conversing
with other members of the fraternity.' One has to have a great deal of respect
for our brothers who decided to get together and form a lodge under such
conditions. No wonder they spent a few hours after the meeting enjoying a few
beers and socializing with a sing-song. There were few occasions when they saw
one another, except at Lodge meetings. As the Grand Lodges began to eliminate
the moon lodges, it is interesting to realize the brothers would then began to
open their lodges in the early afternoon, allowing their membership to arrive at
their homes before darkness set in. It is also realized Moon Lodges were also
held in various unnamed Canadian Jurisdictions.
