Oatka Masonic Lodge #759

12/12/2025

What Makes A Mason?
What makes you a Mason, O brother of mine?
It isn't the dueguard, nor is it the sign,
It isn't the jewel which hangs on your breast,
It isn't the apron in which you are dressed,
It isn't the step, nor the token, nor grip,
Nor lectures that fluently flow from the lip,
Nor yet the possession of that mystic word,
On five points of fellowship duly conferred.
Though these are essential, desirable, fine,
They don't make a Mason, O brother of mine.
That you to your sworn obligation are true-
Tis, that, brother mine, makes a Mason of you.
Secure in your heart you must safeguard your trust,
With lodge and with brother be honest and just,
Assist the deserving who cry in their need,
Be chaste in thought, in your word and deed,
Support him who falters, with hope banish fear,
And whisper advice in an erring one's ear.
Then will the Great Lights on your path brightly shine,
And you'll be a Mason, O brother of mine.
Your use of life's hours by the gauge you must try,
The gavel to vices with courage apply
Your walk must be upright, as shown by the plumb,
On the level, to bourn whence no travelers come
The book of your faith be the rule and the guide,
The compass your passions shut safely inside
The stone which the Architect placed in your care
Must pass the strict test of His unerring square,
And then you will meet with approval divine,
And you'll be a Mason, O brother of mine.
Brother George Free

05/17/2025

Celebrating 150 years

05/05/2025

wow...

01/22/2025

07/09/2024

Provided by ERAC Brothers...

The Lambskin by Edgar A. Guest

It is not ornamental, the cost is not great,
There are other things far more useful, yet truly I state,
Tho of all my possessions, there's none can compare,
With that white leather apron, which all Masons wear.

As a young lad I wondered just what it all meant,
When Dad hustled around, and so much time was spent
On shaving and dressing and looking just right,
Until Mother would say: "It's the Masons tonight."

And some winter nights she said: "What makes you go,
Way up there tonight thru the sleet and the snow,
You see the same things every month of the year."
Then Dad would reply: "Yes, I know it, my dear."

Forty years I have seen the same things, it is true.
And though they are old, they always seem new,
For the hands that I clasp, and the friends that I greet,
Seem a little bit closer each time that we meet."

Years later I stood at that very same door,
With good men and true who had entered before,
I knelt at the alter, and there I was taught
That virtue and honor can never be bought.

That the spotless white lambskin all Masons revere,
If worthily worn grows more precious each year,
That service to others brings blessings untold,
That man may be poor tho surrounded by gold.

I learned that true brotherhood flourishes there,
That enmities fade 'neath the compass and square,
That wealth and position are all thrust aside,
As there on the level men meet and abide.

So, honor the lambskin, may it always remain
Forever unblemished, and free from all stain,
And when we are called to the Great Father's love,
May we all take our place in that Lodge up above.

06/26/2024

More wise observations from the fabulous Twain!💜🐈
“That's the way with a cat, you know -- any cat; they don't give a damn for discipline. And they can't help it, they're made so. But it ain't really insubordination, when you come to look at it right and fair -- it's a word that don't apply to a cat. A cat ain't ever anybody's slave or serf or servant, and can't be -- it ain't in him to be. And so, he don't have to obey anybody. He is the only creature in heaven or earth or anywhere that don't have to obey somebody or other, including the angels. It sets him above the whole ruck, it puts him in a class by himself. He is independent. You understand the size of it? He is the only independent person there is. In heaven or anywhere else. There's always somebody a king has to obey -- a trollop, or a priest, or a ring, or a nation, or a deity or what not -- but it ain't so with a cat. A cat ain't servant nor slave to anybody at all. He's got all the independence there is, in Heaven or anywhere else, there ain't any left over for anybody else. He's your friend, if you like, but that's the limit -- equal terms, too, be you king or be you cobbler; you can't play any I'm-better-than-you on a cat -- no, sir! Yes, he's your friend, if you like, but you got to treat him like a gentleman, there ain't any other terms. The minute you don't, he pulls freight.”
- Mark Twain, ‘The Refuge of the Derelicts’

06/26/2024

Feral cats... by Twain...

More wise observations from the fabulous Twain!💜🐈
“That's the way with a cat, you know -- any cat; they don't give a damn for discipline. And they can't help it, they're made so. But it ain't really insubordination, when you come to look at it right and fair -- it's a word that don't apply to a cat. A cat ain't ever anybody's slave or serf or servant, and can't be -- it ain't in him to be. And so, he don't have to obey anybody. He is the only creature in heaven or earth or anywhere that don't have to obey somebody or other, including the angels. It sets him above the whole ruck, it puts him in a class by himself. He is independent. You understand the size of it? He is the only independent person there is. In heaven or anywhere else. There's always somebody a king has to obey -- a trollop, or a priest, or a ring, or a nation, or a deity or what not -- but it ain't so with a cat. A cat ain't servant nor slave to anybody at all. He's got all the independence there is, in Heaven or anywhere else, there ain't any left over for anybody else. He's your friend, if you like, but that's the limit -- equal terms, too, be you king or be you cobbler; you can't play any I'm-better-than-you on a cat -- no, sir! Yes, he's your friend, if you like, but you got to treat him like a gentleman, there ain't any other terms. The minute you don't, he pulls freight.”
- Mark Twain, ‘The Refuge of the Derelicts’

06/22/2024

Sounds about right!
Credit Lizcat

04/12/2024

There was a secret Catholic society called the Order of the Pug.
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FACTS

ORDER OF PUG INITIATION
The rise of Freemasonry in Europe during the 18th century sparked tensions within the Catholic Church, which regarded the secretive nature and political influence of the fraternal order with suspicion. In 1738, in response to this unease, Pope Clement XII issued a decree prohibiting Roman Catholics from participating in secret societies, including Freemasonry — a ban that continues to this day. In defiance of this papal prohibition, a Catholic leader (whose identity remains unknown, although many suspect it was Archbishop Clemens August of Bavaria) established a para-Masonic secret society called the Order of the Pug, drawing its name from the breed’s qualities of loyalty, trustworthiness, and steadfastness. The group attempted to reconcile elements of both Freemasonry and Catholicism, instituting their own initiation rituals, oaths of loyalty, and hierarchical framework. Diverging from Masonic tradition, however, the Order of the Pug welcomed women as members and allowed them to assume positions of authority.
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Echoing its canine namesake, members of the order were known as “Mops,” the German word for “pug,” and each lodge had a male and female lodge master and mistress who alternated serving as Grand Pug every six months. Prospective members were expected to mimic dogs by scratching at the door to gain entry, and new initiates were adorned with brass collars, blindfolded, and led around the room on all fours while fellow members barked at them. Initiates were also expected to demonstrate their dedication to the order by kissing a pug statue’s posterior. But the clandestine group’s existence was short-lived, thanks to Catholic abbot Gabriel-Louis-Calabre Pérau, who exposed the Pugs and their rituals in his 1745 French work L’Ordre des francs-maçons trahi et le secret des Mopses révélé, or The order of the Freemasons betrayed and the secret of the pugs revealed. Despite its brief tenure, the Order of the Pug remains a curious footnote in the history of secret societies. The Order of The Pug (A Para-Masonic Society)
by Masonic Find
Freemasonry has inspired various non-affiliated groups and fraternities, including the Benevolent Order of the Elk, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, etc.

However, few have heard of Der Mops-Orden, translated to English as the Order of the Pug.

What was the Order of the Pug?

It was a Catholic fraternity (meaning that it was made up of Catholics, but it was not authorized by the Roman Catholic Church), and it sounds like it would have landed on the scale somewhere between interesting and crazy.

The Order of the Pug

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Origin
It is believed that the Order of the Pug was established in 1738 (the same year that Freemasonry was first banned among Catholics) in Bavaria by Klemens August, a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty (and the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne).

It is speculated that August created this order specifically to get around the ban; if he could not be a Freemason, then he was going to start his own Order.

Being established in Bavaria, its members spoke German and referred to themselves as Mops (or pug).

Though this Order was not Masonic, it was created in rebellion against the Pope’s ban of Freemasonry and secret societies in general; quite ironic, given that pugs (the dogs, not the members of this Order) are known for their loyalty.

Initiations and Rituals
The Order of the Pug wiki
The Order of the Pug. Source: Wikipedia
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Candidates had to wear dog collars and scratch at the door in order to get in at their initiations.

During their initiations, they were conducted around the room nine times blindfolded, while members of the Order would bark at them to test each candidate’s resolve.

The Order also had a porcelain pug, the backside of which initiates apparently had to kiss in order to express their devotion to the Order.

Pugs claimed to be thumbless (therefore making them more like the dog breed which their name commemorated), describing such a digit as “a little finger.”

Initiations featured such furniture as a table, glass pug statues, a sword, and a toilet. It is unknown why their ritual called for a toilet in the middle of the room.

Members wore silver Pug medallions. To be a member, one had to have the following traits:

Loyalty
Trust
Discretion
Tenderness
Sweetness
Humanity
The Order was open both to men and to women. Seating arrangements alternated between the sexes. The top offices were those of Grand Master and Grand Mistress.

The Grand Master was the head of the Order for half of the year, and the Grand Mistress was head of the Order for the other half.

Exposé and Supposed End
In 1745, the ritual of the fraternity were exposed in the book L’ordre des Franc-Maçons trahi et le Secret des Mopses révélé (translated as The Order of Freemasons Betrayed and the Secret of the Pugs Revealed), which included both descriptions and illustrations (from which much of the above information is indirectly sourced).

Göttingen University banned a student lodge of this Order in 1748, which looks to be the year that the secret society itself folded.

However, there is a rumor that the Order was active in 1902; I recommend, however, taking that rumor with a boulder of salt.

facts 2
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Conclusion
When I first heard of the Order of the Pug and learned that it was a Catholic order, I originally assumed that it was sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church; however, this was not the case.

Although it tried to emulate both Masonic and Catholic traditions, it went against many of the values held in each organization.

Nowadays, Catholics have the Order of Columbus (in the Americas, at least), which is permitted by the Roman Catholic Church, and Freemasonry survives.

This article was written for MasonicFind.com by WM-Elect Brandon Cole.

03/14/2024

Richard Evelyn Byrd passes away in 1957. He was never a Member of OATKA LODGE #759 and history says he never visited Oatka...
He was and adventurer and enjoyed the Journey...He would have been welcomed at Oatka Lodge anytime...
Richard Evelyn Byrd was a United States Naval Officer who specialized in exploration, especially in polar regions.

Byrd was born on October 25th, 1888 in Wi******er, Virginia. He attended the Virginia Military Institute for two years, one year at the University of Virginia and finally graduated from the United States Naval Academy on June 8th, 1912.

In May of 1926 Byrd claimed to have made to the North Pole. This has been argued back and forth as to whether he actually flew over the North Pole. One of his chief critics was Bernt Balchen who worked with Byrd on several South Pole expeditions.

In 1927 Byrd and his team tried to win the Ortieg prize for the first Trans-Atlantic flight. On a practice take off the plane crashed injuring the pilot and Byrd. While the plane was being repaired Charles Lindbergh won the price. After replacing his original pilot with Balchen, Byrd's team successfully flew across the Atlantic from New York to France. When they arrived in Paris heavy cloud cover prevented a landing. They returned to the Normandy coast and made a water landing, it was not a water equipped aircraft. The whole crew were able to walk away from the crash.

In 1928 Byrd led his first expedition to the Antarctica. His second came in 1934, a third in 1939, a fourth called Operation Highjump in 1946 and finally in 1955 he was part of a multinational collaboration. On the 1955 expedition permanent bases were established in McMurdo Sound, the Bay of Whales and the South Pole.

Byrd passed away on March 11th, 1957.

Byrd was very active in the masonic fraternity. He was a member of Federal Lodge No. 1 in Washington DC, affiliated with Kane Lodge No. 454 in New York, a member of the National Sojourners Chapter No. 3 in Washington D.C. and in 1935 he was one of the founding members of Antarctic Lodge No. 777 established under the constitution of New Zealand.