"If Freemasonry is good, let us talk about it" Theodore Meriam - Part 5

PHYSICAL IMAGE - by this I mean the physical facilities which we possess, such as Lodge Halls and cemeteries.  I also mean the physical image that is presented by individual Masons themselves.  First, let us talk about physical facilities.

This Memorial Temple is a tremendously impressive building.  It does its public relations work very well indeed.  It HAS quality, dignity, substance.

Does your Lodge Hall do the same relatively in your community?  In some cities, yes - in too many, no!

The Oklahoma man said, "get the birds' nests off the window sill" - and he's right!  PERHAPS there's the chance of a real project in your Lodge - a do-it-yourself project.  Or perhaps it's time to build the new Temple - MAYBE you town needs it!

What I am really suggesting here is that every Lodge should take real pride in the physical appearance of its meeting place, both inside and outside the building, and I believe it should be very hard to find any excuse at all to do anything but a first class job of housekeeping at all times.  The same applies to those Lodges which happen to possess their own cemeteries, or sections within community cemeteries which are allotted for Masonic use.  It is really important that these cemeteries, or sections thereof, be maintained in the finest possible condition - for these places are a constant reminder to those who visit them of the existence of Masonry in the community.

The public relations of the individual Mason can be, and ofttimes is, constantly at work.  The Mason who is looked up to for his every action is constantly bringing credit to the Craft.

On the other side of the coin - the Mason who creates a bad impression, in whatever field of activity it may be, can bring discredit to the Craft.

(I am in the women's clothing business, and in our business we are concerned about what our female employees wear "off the job" as well as on.  Our salesgirls make an impression at ll times - and we want it to be a good impression!)

This reminds me of another item; a detail perhaps, but nevertheless important.  Clean aprons at all public functions are essential if our image is to be good; and this is good public relations. (Clean aprons at Lodge meetings are important, too, because of the psychological effect on each of us as we wear the apron.)

Now let's return to our public relations definitions.

From Webster "...to interpret itself to society."  This is the basic theme. I am suggesting that we as Masons in California become concerned about our public relations - that we be alert to all means at our command to interpret ourselves, as Masons, to society - and above all, that we do so with DIGNITY, with full attention to the QUALITY and SUBSTANCE of our beloved Fraternity.

QUALITY, DIGNITY and SUBSTANCE attract good men.

BUT - they must see and sense them to be attracted!

Public relations for us is not just newspaper stories.  It is much, much more.  And it's our duty to recognize and use all the facilities at our command to project our IMAGE to the public, and I trust it's one of QUALITY, of DIGNITY, of SUBSTANCE.

"If Freemasonry is good, let us talk about it" Theodore Meriam - Part 4

2. LODGE ACTIVITIES - or, in other words, our public appearances as a group of Masons making up a Lodge.  Th are several natural Masonic functions that give the public an opportunity to watch us in action.  Many of the smaller Lodges have the custom of having an annual open installation and this is excellent providing, or course, that the ceremony is done in the most creditable manner possible.  Perhaps no other Masonic ceremony gives a more important image of the Masonic Fraternity than a Masonic funeral - for here, perhaps more than at any other time, many of the precepts of Masonry are presented to an attentive public and this is why it is so important that the ritual of our funeral service be done with DIGNITY and with QUALITY - and certainly there is a wealth of SUBSTANCE in the service itself.

Our sponsorship of Public Schools Week throughout California provides annually a very important function which the public can observe. For many years it seemed to be the pattern for the sponsoring Masonic Lodge to stay very much in the background and say almost nothing publicly about the fact that Public Schools Week actually was sponsored by the Masons.  Fortunately, in recent years, this pattern has changed and Lodges throughout California have become definitely identified in the mind of the public with this very important annual observance - Public Schools Week.  This is as it should be for certainly we are proud of our founding of and our sponsoring of Public Schools Week.

Annually, too, during Constitution Month there is the opportunity in every community for the Masonic Lodge or Lodges to stage an interesting and important observance, built around what should be, and can be, strong public interest in the tremendous value and importance of the Constitution of the Untied States of America.  I think there is a real challenge here to every Lodge to devise ways and means of developing greater public interest through outstanding programs in the annual Constitutional observance.

From time to time there are Grand Lodge functions which convey to the public an important image of the function of Masonry in California.  For example, in May of 1961, the Grand Lodge of California officiated at the re-enactment of the laying of the cornerstone of the State Capitol at Sacramento.  Perhaps the most important highlight of this occasion was the informal parade of approximately 1,000 Masons in aprons marching from the Masonic Temple on "J" Street several blocks to the State Capitol.  Many thousands of people in Sacramento saw this parade and saw the assemblage of Masons at the State Capitol building.  This provided a good image.

This past summer also he Grand Lodge officiated in the dedication of a public park in the City of Redding.  The park had been named as a memorial to a very prominent Redding citizen, and ardent Mason, who had devoted his live to the service of his community.  To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time in the history of our Grand Lodge that a public park had been formally dedicated by the Grand Lodge.  This attracted widespread and very favorable attention in the general Redding community to the Grand Lodge of California.  This was good public relations!  Most important, though, we should be ready, willing and able to tell the public about such events.  We should not hesitate to tell the public what we are doing, if we are doing anything.  Just a year ago a Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Information was formed; although the title of the Committee is Masonic Information, what really is meant is public relations.  This Committee has done an excellent piece of work during its first year of existence and those of us who are strongly interested in this subject of Masonic public relations feel that as the Committee continues to serve, very splendid results will accrue to Masonry in California.  The Committee will be of much aid in the future to individual Lodges, and we suggest that the officers of each Lodge be anxious to use the suggestions an material which will be provided by this important Committee.

"If Freemasonry is good, let us talk about it" Theodore Meriam - Part 3

HOW DO WE HELP BUILD THIS IMAGE?

We do it by telling the world about ourselves!

Now - I am not advocating a flashy, brazen, "horn-tooting" approach - not at all!  I am advocating that we have a willingness to tell the world about ourselves - and in a dignified, quality-like manner.

We can transmit the message in a number of ways - ad always with DIGNITY, QUALITY and SUBSTANCE in mind.

Let us discuss some of the ways.  In fact, let's consider this "telling the world about ourselves" in three categories:

1. The individual Mason
2. Lodge activities
3. The physical image

1. THE INDIVIDUAL - The individual Mason should always be ready to stress the QUALITY, the DIGNITY, the SUBSTANCE of the Masonic Order - and his own personal pride in being a Mason.  He should not hesitate to talk about Freemasonry.

When somebody asks - "What do you do at the Masonic Lodge?"  each Mason should be prepared to tell of some of the things that are done.  He should not "clam up."  He should not imply that "all is secret."  He can say that we participate in serious ritualistic ceremonies designed to portray in a very graphic manner many fundamental precepts of ethical, good moral conduct of our lives.  He can say that the fraternal meetings provide an opportunity for friendly, sincere conversations with fellow members concerning many, many things.  He can say that this Lodge provides an inspirational thrust to its members to be thoughtful, conscientious, participating citizens.  There are many things he can say - any one of which helps build the image of QUALITY, DIGNITY, SUBSTANCE.  (This is public relations!)

I have often felt that we should provide each new Mason with an instructional pamphlet setting forth those things that he may - and should - talk about with PRIDE.  (Remember, there is no prouder Mason that the new Mason - and most new Masons, in their natural, human way, are anxious to talk to somebody about their new status.  Let's give them the chance - and help them to do it in a manner to bring real credit to the Fraternity!)

In a negative way - I deplore the individual mason who "tells the world" with "large signs and bright lights" that he is a Mason!  This should be discouraged.  It does not add DIGNITY!

To illustrate, let me tell you o an experience.  Several years ago I was flying from California to Texas and the plane stopped at Phoenix.  A man boarded the plane and sat directly across the aisle from me.  I noticed that he wore bright blue socks witha white Masonic emblem at least four inches high embroidered on both sides of each of the socks.  This may be a personal opinion, but I felt that this display of the was entirely out of place.  In other words, there is a right and a wrong way to display an emblem and I am sure that most Masons will recognize what is in good taste and has DIGNITY.

"If Freemasonry is good, let us talk about it" Theodore Meriam - Part 2

Let me read you part of a letter written this past May by the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Oklahoma.  It is very thought-provoking.

"In the first place, I believe we are reaping the harvest of what we did not sow.  In Oklahoma we have neglected - yes, woefully neglected - our public relations and proper publicity.  Our Lodges have Communications without anything to communicate.  our Lodges never, if they can possibly avoid it, permit any publicity or any information to leak out concerning the teachings and objectives of Freemasonry and thus never give those fine men even an opportunity to learn anything about the Craft.  Here in Oklahoma we have too many unkempt Lodge Halls, cob-webs and bird's nests in the windows, unswept stairs and hallways, undusted furniture that is, to say the least, unattractive, and a myriad of other shortcomings.

"There is seldom an incentive for non-Mason to petition for the degrees because he knows nothing about our purposes, teachings or objectives.  A school superintendent was interviewed by our Senior Grand Warden about American Education Week activities, in which Oklahoma Masonry has begun to participate, and at the conclusion of the interview he asked if this was a sample of what Masonry believed in and worked for, and in being assured that it was he immediately asked for a petition.  He stated that he had been around Masons all his life and this was the first time he ever knew that Masons did anything except go to the Lodge Hall and confer some degrees and now he had learned something and wanted to be a member.

"There is no need for me to harass you with a lot of detail about my ideas.  You are much more conversant with our manifold problems and shortcomings than this writer.  However, it has come to my attention so many times that if and when a Lodge gets enough ambition, vim and vision and begins to do something for the community there is immediate response in new petitions and the reinstatement of those in arrears.  There seems to be no way in which you or I can be induced to offer our money for membership into some unknown organization.

"In Oklahoma Freemasonry has been on the bargain counter.  I almost said the 5 and 10 cent counter, for so long that it just does not arouse the interest that it should have.  You could probably put a genuine diamond on the counter of a local variety store amidst the "Kress diamonds' and it would be passed up by those who don't know values.  We need to let the world know, in a proper and discreet manner, just what Freemasonry teaches, what it stands for and what it can do for the community and then we shall have petitions for the degrees...We don't have enough activity to keep the public informed as to what we are doing and what we believe.

"Our fathers and grandfathers were always doing something for their neighbors and gave Masonry the credit.  They waited on the ill, buried the dead, cared for the destitute.  We don't get that publicity any more.  I merely say: Take him to the hospital, I don't have time to fool with him.  Call the undertaker, I don't have time to bury him.  In fact, we have just about quit doing anything for anyone other than our selfish selves and then wonder why the public doesn't recognize our great vision and great purposes and teachings.  I just wonder.

" Dear Broher Morris, this will show you that i know little about the reasons for the decline in membership and have not even answered your question.  Frankly, I don't know any method by which the downward trend can be stopped and turned upward except by letting our purposes, our beliefs and our objectives be known.  If Freemasonry is good, let us talk about it and advise our friends.  If we are ashamed of Freemasonry let us keep quiet (about like many of us have been doing) and membership will continue to decline."

This letter is signed by J. Fred Latham, Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge of Oklahoma.

I think we NEED to tell the world about US!

I think we NEED to BUILD and IMAGE - an image in the mind of the public that Freemasonry is a great institution, a most valuable asset for the community, a tremendous influence for public good - and above all, an institution of DIGNITY, QUALITY and SUBSTANCE.

"If Freemasonry is good, let us talk about it" Theodore Meriam - Part 1

This is an address made before the Research Seminar of Grand Lodge at its 1961 Annual communication by Theodore Meriam, then a member of the Masonic Information Committee.  It is commended to you for your reading and application.  MASONIC INFORMATION COMMITTEE

The opportunity to speak to you on public relations for Masonic Lodges is most welcome, because I feel that discussion of this topic is long overdue.  In order that we may be on common ground, let's consider for a minute what we mean by public relations.

Some definitions: Webster - "Public relations are the activities of a corporation, union, government or other organization in building and maintaining sound and productive relations with special publics such as customers, employees or stockholders, and with the public at large, so as to adapt itself to its environment and interpret itself to society."

This last phrase - "interpret itself to society" - is perhaps the most important.  Keep it in mind.

Another - "Public relations are the words and deeds which over a period of time establish and maintain a business' (Masonic Lodge's) reputation for good or evil."  (Notice how appropriate this definition is when we substitute the word "business" with Masonic Lodge.)

And another - "Public relations are designed to give a business a good reputation with the public, establish it in the public mind as an institution of character and an institution which functions in the public interest."

Abraham Lincoln once said: "Public sentiment is everything.  With public sentiment nothing can fail.  Without it, nothing can succeed."

This is appropriate to our topic also.

Perhaps we can say - for our purposes - our public relations are the things we do to build an IMAGE, in the public mind, or our Lodge.

For hundreds of years Masonry has rightfully enjoyed a position of great respect in the general public eye.  This has been because of favorable activities on the part of individual members, individual Lodges, and Masonry as a whole.

While there is some mystery surrounding the function of a Masonic Lodge in a community - there is very little misunderstanding as to what Masonry represents - OR IS THERE?

Two years ago it was my privilege to speak formally in this room during the 110th Annual Communication of this Grand Lodge.  At that time I asked this question: "Are we relatively as influential as we have been or should be?"  This question can be disturbing - and it's very hard, if not impossible, to answer.

What really is our relative position?

ARE we as important and influential in each of our communities as we should be?

IS Masonry the same in Alturas, in Sacramento, in Oceanside, in Fresno, in Pasadena, in Marysville?  Is the Masonic Fraternity regarded, by the community, as the finest fraternal organization in each of these communities?  And if it is, what what has it done to justify this position - or is the public riding along in the vapor trail of a great tradition?

Let me illustrate with an assumption.

Let's assume that in Alturas, Oceanside and Marysville the Masonic Lodge is of relatively greater stature and community importance than in the larger cities - simply because a greater proportion of the population is aware of the existence of Masonry and what it stands for.  THIS CAN BE A REASONABLY VALID ASSUMPTION.

If the assumption is correct - if it is unfortunately true - then perhaps we are declining in importance in the larger communities.  (Remember - I am using this assumption only for the purpose of illustration - and I don't want to invite calls from delegations of representatives from Sacramento, Fresno and Pasadena).

I am reasonably certain that our membership enrollment figures do not show a growth in direct proportion to California's population growth.  And I am quite certain that we have not gained in membership in proportion to our economic prosperity.  WHY?

Perhaps too few people know what we stand for and what we do.

Shouldn't we tell them?

125th Year Observance, part 10: This is Masonry

California Freemasonry ardently supports free public education, and Chico Lodge has always been an active supporter of our public schools.  the minutes of the Lodge are testimony to the concern and participation of the Masons of Chico in matters affecting public education in our community.  Masons recognize the essential role of public schools as a primary unifying force for our free American society.

Masonry is a patriotic institution.  Appreciation for the law of our nation is demonstrated by an annual observance honoring the U.S. Constitution, which is the foundation of our national liberty, and by observance of Flag Day.

Masonry stands for exemplary moral conduct to which we are personally committed by our vows and obligations as well as by the removal of membership of any Mason who does not lie up to the standards which he is expected to perpetuate.  Past Gran Master of Indiana, Dwight L. Smith, summed it up this way:

"The person who yearns to be a bit above the average can climb several rungs on the ladder of excellence - first, by refusing to be content with mediocrity, then by lifting his standards to the highest possible level of attainment and working unceasingly to measure up to those standards."


"It all adds up to the fact that the purpose of Freemasonry is and always has been to take a good man - just one at a time - and try by our teachings to make a better man out of him."

Masonry must speak out for that for which it stands.  It has a character building philosophy.  It compels men to look at themselves, to clean up their own act when character seems to get out of line.  Men will regulate their behavior when they do not want to affect the group to which they belong, especially when that group is a Lodge of Freemasons advocating standards which are the bond of all society.

It is not a social kind of thing; it is a fraternity, a brotherhood, mutually supporting yet helpfully guiding.

125th Year Observance, part 9: Theodore Meriam

Theodore "Ted" Meriam

Ted Meriam, singularly, stands out in the Masonic history of Chico Lodge No. 111.  Most representative of the vertical view of our Blue Lodge's life, Ted was raised to Master mason on December 3, 1940, and served as Master of Chico Lodge in 1946.  in 1958, he was appointed Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge of California.  He was elected Junior Grand Warden in October, 1961, Senior Grand Warden in October, 1962, Deputy Grand Master in October, 1963, and on October 16, 1964, he was elected Grand Master of California Masons.

Not only has Ted filled those august offices through which his election honors this Lodge which raised him, but he is a leader, lecturer, author and historian as well.  A sought after advisor on Grand Lodge committees, Ted has served for many years on the important Policy and General Purposes Committee.  While serving on the Masonic Information Committee, he authored the widely circulated pamphlet "If Freemasonry Is Good Let Us Talk About It."  Many times this Lodge and other Masonic bodies in Chico have been the benefactors of his speeches and research.

Ted was born in Chico on April 18, 1910, and he has lived in this community all of his life, except for the two years spent at Stanford University completing his degree in economics.  From January, 1932, until July, 1978, he was continually employed at M. Oser & Company, becoming a partner and later the President of this long established retail company.  He has been active in business, civic, and municipal affairs, even serving a ten-year term as Mayor of Chico.  He was also, in 1958, the President of the League of California Cities.  He served for over ten years on the prestigious Board of Trustees of California State Colleges, serving as its Chairman in 1968-69.

He is a member of the York Rite Bodies in Chico, of the Scottish Rite Bodies in Sacramento, and belongs to Ben Ali Temple of the Shrine, Sacramento.  he has been awarded the honorary 33rd degree of Scottish Rite Masonry.  He is a member of St. Francis Conclave of the Red Cross of Constantine, San Francisco, and he holds plural membership in Sincerity Lodge No. 132 at Greenville.  The "1965 Proceedings in the Grand Lodge of California" reports that Ted "has been an outspoken advocate of individual responsibility by all Master Masons for the welfare of Freemasonry...He has stressed that Freemasonry is an institution of Quality, of Dignity and of Substance."