The North Carolina Mason

Page 10 The North Carolina Mason September/October 2020 From the Grand Historian Cerneau's Last Stand: Winston-Salem 1914 By Ludwik Wodka Grand Historian In 1907, e Commonwealth of Virginia held a celebration to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown Settlement in Virginia. Among the numerous visitors that year was a Mason named Daniel Barton from Winston-Salem. During his visit, he encountered J.H. Messenger, who piqued his interest in the Scottish Rite degrees. Unbeknownst to him, was that the Scottish Rite Messenger spoke of was "the Supreme Council, A.A.S.R., for the United States of America, their Territories and Dependencies, Orient of New York," a body that traced its origin to Joseph Cerneau, a Masonic impostor. It was regarded as clan- destine by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. Brother Barton returned to his home in Winston-Salem where approximately 25 brethren also expressed interest in organizing a Scottish Rite body. A deputy was sent to Winston-Salem to commu- nicate all the degrees, 4°-32°, for a sum of $25 per member, all in a single day. PGM Walter S. Liddell heard about this activity and sent a message to the brethren at Salem Lodge warning them that joining this clandestine body would jeopardize their membership in the Grand Lodge. e brethren of Salem Lodge reached out to brothers Liddell, Grand Master Samuel M. Gattis, and Mr. M.W. Bayliss of the Cerneau Council, inviting them to Winston-Salem in hopes of clearing up any misunder- standing. Brother Liddell showed up but only spoke with the brethren of Salem #289, and refused to meet with Bayliss. Bayliss, indignant at being slighted by Brother Liddell, then chose to travel to the Grand Master's home in Hillsboro for a private audience. e conversation was very brief, with the Grand Master stating that he "will be governed by what Liddell recommends." Bayliss returned to Washington, and awaited a formal response. e Grand Master appointed a committee to investi- gate the matter. ey stated at the Grand Lodge convoca- tion of 1909 that a resolution adopted in 1892 declaring the Cerneau Council clandestine was still in force. Because of language in the committee report describing the Cerneau bodies as "spurious," "bogus," and "clandestine," the Cerneau Supreme Council filed a lawsuit in civil court in Winston-Salem, claiming mali- cious libel. A trial was held on Nov. 9-11, 1914. PGM Gattis and SGW Andrews, representing the Grand Lodge, were both prominent attor- neys. e defense pointed out that nearly every other Grand Lodge in the United States by that point had taken some kind of action against the Cerneau bodies. e Grand Lodge of North Carolina was recognized as the supreme authority in all Masonic matters in the state, thus upholding its 1892 interdict. Although the plaintiff 's attorney objected that the interdict was "incompetent and immaterial." e court dismissed the suit on the grounds that the matter lacked sufficient grounds for legal action. ough Bayliss appealed the outcome, nothing further became of the suit. Being blocked from nearly every Grand Jurisdiction in the United States, and now legal precedent against his Supreme Council, the fortunes of the Cerneau bodies had now reduced them to a fringe element in the Masonic world, terminally branded as clandestine and bogus. Five years after the trial, in 1919, Bayliss passed away, and with him, the Cerneau bodies' bid for main- stream legitimacy. The infamous Joseph Cerneau Masonic education lives on even in pandemic By Matt Parker Wendell #565 As Jeff Goldblum said in the 1993 movie Jurassic Park: "Life finds a way." In the era of COVID-19, Masonry likewise finds a way. In early March 2020, just before the start of the stay-at-home orders and self- quarantines, brothers and lodges from around the country leapt into action and began hosting virtual Masonic education presentations with some of the top Masonic scholars and speakers in North America, as well as local brothers who had invaluable knowledge and wisdom to share. Many lodges and Masonic organizations began to utilize the various virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom, WebEx, and others. e demand for Masonic education and broth- erly fraternalization continues despite lodges going dark. A great side effect of all of the virtual presentations and discussions is brothers who may have remained at a perpetual distance have formed what promises to be lifelong friendships. In North Carolina, several lodges and Masonic bodies use virtual platforms as well, including State College #770, Raleigh #500, University #408, the Raleigh Valley of the Scot- tish Rite, the North Caro- lina Masonic Research Society, and many others. While, as of this writing, we cannot perform our ritual or meet together as brothers in the same sacred space, we can still share in the knowledge and fraternalization offered by the Craft. As a result of the sudden explosion of virtual education and presentations, a group of brothers from many states came together for the Refracted Light Facebook group and YouTube channel to serve as a central hub for accessing these incred- ible presentations, most of which are recorded and can be viewed at a later time. e biggest takeaway from the virtual presenta- tions is that brothers around the world are hungry for Masonic education and enlightenment, and North Carolina is on the forefront of an incred- ible movement sweeping our fraternity. While we look forward to the day when things return to normal, the virtual education experience may truly be a new normal for our Craft for years to come. Here's how to find Refracted Light on Face- book: https://www.facebook.com/groups/refract- edlight/ You can access and subscribe to YouTube versions of the classes by searching for Refracted Light Masonry on YouTube.com. Matt Parker

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