My Masonic Grandfather

My Grandfather was a 32 degree Mason. We had his Bible; a big, over-sized edition with a detailed pen and ink drawing of Solomon's Temple in the front of the book. We also had his fancy dress hat with a plume and a thick ceremonial ribbon (blue and white I think) and as I recall, some sort of large badge which I remember to be white and red and could have included a cross. All of the garb I finally donated to a costume shop after I called a local lodge and they didn't want any of it.
He became a Mason through a very influential New York based coal mining company where he rose to become a regional manager of in the 1920s or 1930s. The owner and officers of the company could trace their lineage back to the Founding Fathers and strangely my Grandfather shared the name of one of the prominent signatories of the Constitution, though he was not related to him, they might have thought so. He tried to recruit my father into the local Scottish Rite order, but my father wanted nothing to do with it, though he never said why, merely brushing the suggestion off that "he wasn't a joiner". He was half Scottish and English and from a poor part of Scotland and he might have thought the rite was too fancy for his tastes.
From what I remember my mother telling me, my grandfather resigned abruptly after he reached the 32nd degree level not wanting to go any higher. He never would discuss any of his involvement with the group, their ceremonies, activities with my mother. It all was pretty hush-hush. Now with all the information emerging about them, I remain confused and conflicted about them. It could be nothing more than a group like the Elks or Lions or, then again, so much more.
The fact that it was secretive within my own family has made me somewhat suspicous of what exactly were their motives and purposes and I continue researching. There is something of an urban legend about swearing allegiance to Lucifer himself at the 33rd degree level. I have also read that there are even higher degrees and the level of mystery increases with each level. My Grandfather was too good and decent of man to have been associated with anything nefarious, but then again, he could have simply become bored with all the ceremonies, etc. I will never know. In the meantime, I continue to read some of the excellent information available on Above Top Secret and other websites trying to get to the bottom of what is for me is something of a family secret.
And now the final mystery. My grandfather lived in Mexico before the Pancho Via and met and married my grandmother down there. What was his favorite souvenir of his years down there? A reproduction of the now very famous Aztec calendar in a crude, Mexican clay version.
I am still trying to connect all these dots because I still think to this day, that he knew something and the teachings he was getting was telling him something that maybe he couldn't figure out and I am still trying to decipher. Any input would be grealy appreciated.


[edit on 14-6-2008 by Barbs46]

reply to post by Barbs46


All of the rituals of the Scottish Rite are online I'm sure, and I'm quite sure the 32nd degree is. There is no "swearing allegiance to Lucifer," in fact, the word never appears in Scottish Rite ritual that I am aware of - its an old anti-mason propaganda line.

Also..if he never joined the Scottish Rite, he could never have gotten to the 32nd degree.

[edit on 14-6-2008 by ALightinDarkness]

reply to post by Barbs46


It appears to me that your Grandpa was a Knights Templar.