Benedict Arnold

Jan 14, 2022 | Birthdays, Masonic History

MASONIC BIRTHDAY

Benedict Arnold

January 14, 1740: American soldier, British soldier and traitor to the American Revolution

On January 14, 1741, in Norwich, Connecticut a future brother was born whose name later became synonymous with the diabolic deeds he committed against his country and fraternity. Forever labeled traitor, the name Benedict Arnold is not to be mentioned in many open lodges in the United States to this day.

Born to a wealthy family, the young Arnold started out as a bookseller and retailer of medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. After a series of questionable real estate transactions, he expanded his merchant business by purchasing three cargo ships to trade goods in the West Indies. Appointing himself Captain on several voyages in the islands, he was initiated in Freemasonry and later affiliated with Hiram Lodge No. 1 in New Haven, Connecticut in 1765. Two years later, Arnold married Margaret Mansfield, the daughter of Brother Samuel Mansfield, member of Hiram No. 1 and the local sheriff.

Arnold’s duplicity and traitorous actions against the Colonies are well documented and have afforded him the permanent title of “traitor,” an insult commonly used from school-aged children to senior citizens since his despicable actions in 1780 when he attempted to surrender West Point to the British Army. It is believed while Arnold was betraying West Point, he gained the trust of various officers using Masonic modes of recognition to gain their trust.

Brother Benjamin Franklin later wrote that “Judas sold only one man, Arnold three million.” In his hometown of Norwich, the words “the traitor” were scrawled next to his record of birth and all the family gravestones were destroyed with the exception of his mother’s.

After his exile in Canada, Benedict Arnold loaned money to British loyalists and fellow Freemasons, fully understanding he would never be paid back. His actions led Hiram Lodge No. 1 to remove all mention of his name from their records. Later, Solomon Lodge No. 1 in Poughkeepsie, New York, passed a resolution, stating “Ordered that the Name of Benedict Arnold be considered as obliterated from the Minutes of this Lodge, a Traitor.” Arnold visited Solomon No. 1 on June 12, 1771, but his signature in the visitor’s records were later crossed out with a drawing of a finger pointing to the word “Traitor.”

His unpopularity spread to England where he lived out his last years. After his death in 1801, “the bones” of Benedict Arnold were entombed in the basement of St. Mary’s Church in Battersea, London. If one was to visit the unpopular tourist attraction, the plain marker without a Masonic symbol resides in a church basement next to a fish tank.

For more information on Benedict Arnold, read this informative post from Freemasons for Dummies.

Written by Wor. Bro. Ronald J. Seifried, DSA
Trustee Chairman and Historian, Jephtha Lodge No. 494 F. & A.M.
Area 1 Historian, Nassau and Suffolk Masonic Districts
Co-Editor, Craftsmen Online NY Masonic History column
32° Scottish Rite, Valley of Rockville Centre
Companion of Asharokan Chapter No. 288, Royal Arch Masons
Member of Suffolk Council No. 76, Cryptic Masons
Author, “Long Island Freemasons,” Arcadia Publishing, 2020

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Tim Horton

Jan 12, 2022 | Birthdays, Masonic History

MASONIC BIRTHDAY

Tim Horton

January 12, 1930: Toronto Maple Leafs NHL defenseman and co-founder of the Tim Hortons coffee restaurant

Tim Horton was born in Cochrane, Ontario on January 12, 1930 and became one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history. Growing up in Cochrane and a mining community near Timmis Ontario, Horton was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs organization in 1948 and moved to Toronto to play junior hockey while attending St. Michael’s College School.

Overcoming severe career-threatening injuries in 1955 when he was checked into the boards and suffered a broken leg and broken jaw, Horton appeared in 486 consecutive games between 1961 and 1968. In his almost two-decade career with the Maple Leafs as a 7-time all-star, Horton was instrumental in helping Toronto 4 Stanley Cups. Horton later played with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres, who he played with when he was killed in a tragic automobile accident in 1974.

Horton had a reputation for enveloping players fighting him in a crushing bear hug.

While playing, Horton was generally acknowledged as the strongest man in the game; injuries and age were little more than minor inconveniences. Chicago Black Hawks left wing Bobby Hull declared, “There were defencemen you had to fear because they were vicious and would slam you into the boards from behind…but you respected Tim Horton because he didn’t need that type of intimidation. He used his tremendous strength and talent to keep you in check.”

In 1964 Horton opened his first Tim Horton Doughnut Shop in Hamilton, Ontario. By 1967 Tim Horton Doughnut Shop had become a multi-million dollar franchise, Tim Hortons.

Horton was a member of Kroy Lodge No. 676 in Toronto, Ontario.

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Adolph Zukor

Jan 7, 2022 | Birthdays, Masonic History

MASONIC BIRTHDAY

Adolph Zukor

January 7, 1873: Hungarian-American film producer and co-founder of Paramount Pictures

Adolph Zukor was a Hungarian American film producer and a co-founder of Paramount Pictures. Zukor was born on January 7, 1873 in Ricse, Hungary, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Both of his parents passed away by the time he was seven years old, when he moved in with his uncle Kalman Liebermann, who wanted his nephew to become a rabbi. Zukor instead served a three year apprenticeship in a family friends dry goods store. Zukor emigrated to the United States when he was 16 years old.

Soon after arriving in New York City in 1889, Zukor became an apprentice at a furrier. Within two years, he was a successful contract worker and accomplished designer. By 1893, he started his own fur business, soon after attending the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The following year, at the age of 21, Zukor’s Novelty Fur Company had 25 employees in two locations in the U.S. By 1903, he was a wealthy young burgher, living in a spacious apartment in the upper class German-Jewish section of Manhatten at 111th St and 7th Avenue.

It was during this time when his cousin Max Goldstein asked Zukor for a financial loan to invest in a chain of movie theaters. Originally started by Mitchell Mark in Buffalo, the Vitascope Theater was a special attraction in the Ellicott Square Building since 1896 and was one of the first permanent, purpose-built movie theaters in the world. During a time that movie theaters were temporary attractions, lasting only days or weeks, Mark was the first American to have a distribution agreement with Pathé Films.

Zukor formed a partnership with Mitchell Mark and Morris Kohn, and the three opened the Automatic Vaudeville Company, a penny arcade on 14th Street. With additional funding from Marcus Loew, the founder of Lowe’s Theaters, they soon opened theaters in Philadelphia, Newark and Boston. The Famous Players Film Company was formed in 1912 by Zukor, later to be named the Famous Players-Lasky in 1916 when producer Jesse L. Lasky joined the company.

Advertising as “Famous Players in Famous Plays,” the company was the American distributor for the French film Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth starring Sarah Bernhardt. The following year he obtained the financial backing of the powerful New York City theatre impresarios the Frohman brothers, with an eye to introduce respected stage actors to the silver screen. Zukor purchased the armory on 26th Street and converted it into Chelsea Studios, a movie studio that is still used today.

Paramount Pictures Corporation was formed to distribute Famous Players-Lasky films, creating the first national distribution system. By 1919, he built the Publix Theatres Corporation, a chain of nearly 2,000 screens and ran two production studios, one in Astoria, Queens and the other in Hollywood, eventually producing up to 60 films per year.

In 1933, Paramount Pictures went into receivership after almost collapsing at the start of the Great Depression. Zukor’s over-expansion of the studio was primarily to blame, but a bank-mandated group kept the studio intact. By 1936, Zukor was appointed chairman of the board and reorganized Paramount Pictures and steer the company out of bankruptcy. Zukor was made Chairman Emeritus in 1959, a position he kept until his death.

Brother Zukor was a member of Centennial Lodge No. 763 (now Munn Lodge No. 203) with fellow film producer J. Stuart Blackton. Zukor received a pin from the Grand Lodge of New York in recognition of 50 years of membership in the craft. In 1915, Zukor co-produced the film Are you a Mason? , based on the 1901 play by Leo Ditirchstein and starring John Barrymore as a young husband who pretends to join the Masons as an excuse to get out of the house. This film is now believed to be lost.

Brother Zukor passed away in 1976 at the age of 103.

Are you a Mason? movie poster, 1915. Produced by Adolph Zukor and Charles Frohman, the film is believed lost today.

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King Camp Gillette

Jan 5, 2022 | Birthdays, Masonic History

MASONIC BIRTHDAY

King Camp Gillette

January 5, 1855: Inventor of the Disposable Safety Razor

Brother King Camp Gillette should need no introduction to Freemasons around the world, as every Mason has probably used one of his namesake inventions at least once. Gillette was born on January 5, 1855 and invented the best-selling version of the safety razor. Although several models were in existence before Gillette’s design in the late nineteenth century, including the popular straight razor which constantly needed to be sharpened, Gillette’s innovation was the thin, inexpensive, disposable blade of stamped steel.

Working with metallurgists for almost ten years to help perfect his disposable razor blade concept, Gillette and his business associates developed the technology to rapidly produce the razor blades and required handle. The Gillette Safety Razor Company sold 51 razors and 168 blades in its first year, 1903 : The following year those numbers jumped to 90,884 razors and 123,648 blades. By 1915, Gillette was selling 70 million razor blades worldwide. Gillette later supplied World War I servicemen with a shaving kit consisting of a razor and razor blades.

In the late 1920s, Gillette was known as a frequent guest of Nellie Coffman, proprietor of the Desert Inn in Palm Springs, CA. After he lost his fortune early in the Great Depression. he was often seen wandering about the grounds and lobby in a tattered old bathrobe. When Coffman was asked why she allowed such a lowlife to hang out at her establishment, she responded, “Why that is King C. Gillette. He has practically kept this place in the black the last few years.”

Gillette passed away on July 9th, 1932.

Gillette was raised in Adelphi Lodge in Quincy, Massachusetts in June of 1901 and later affiliated with Columbian Lodge in Boston.

Masonic engraved Razor Kit, early 20th century
©Scottish Rite Museum and Library

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J. Stuart Blackton

Jan 5, 2022 | Birthdays, Masonic History

MASONIC BIRTHDAY

J. Stuart Blackton

January 5, 1875: Silent Era filmmaker and the father of American animation

James Stuart Blackton was a British-American film producer and director of the silent era. One of the pioneers of motion pictures, he co-founded Vitagraph Studios, a film studio that was the first to bring many classic plays and books to the screen. He was one of the first filmmakers to use the techniques of stop-motion and drawn animation and is considered the father of American animation.

Born on January 5, 1875, in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, he emigrated with his family to the United States in 1885. Working as a reporter and illustrator for the New York Evening World, Blackton was sent to interview Thomas Edison, who showed off his early filmmaking tools in the Black Maria, a special cabin used for filmmaking. This writing assignment introduced Blackton to his lifelong obssession of filmmaking. It was in the Black Maria that Edison created a new film in front of the future filmmaker and convinced Blackton and his partner, magician Albert E. Smith into buying a print of this new film, as well as prints of nine other films, plus a Vitascope to show them to paying audiences.

Vitagraph Studios was founded by Blackton and Smith in 1897 in Brooklyn, New York, as the American Vitagraph Company. By 1907, it was the most prolific American film production company, producing many famous silent films. The studio produced the first film adaptation of the novel Les Misérables in 1909 consisting of four reels, each released over the course of three months, making it one of the earliest known “film franchises.” The following year, Vitagraph released the five part serial The Life of Moses at almost 90 minutes in length, what many consider today as the “the first full lenght-feature film.” Vitagraph was purchased by Warner Bros. in 1925.

Animation

Blackton’s first film to feature “stop-action” animation is The Enchanted Drawing from 1900. In this film, Blackton himself sketches a face, a bottle of wine and a glass, a top hat, and a cigar on a large paper pad on a pedestal. Toward the end of the short film, he appears to remove the wine, glass, hat, and cigar as real objects, and the face appears to react. Stop-action is where the camera is stopped, a single change is made, and the camera is then started again.

In 1905, Blackton accidently transitioned to stop-motion animation. After reviewing a complex series of stop-action effects on a roof while steam from the building’s generator was billowing in the background, a new effect created by the steam puffs scooting across the screen was discovered. Most of Blackton’s use this effect was used to display ghosts or to have toys come to life, have been lost.

One film that has survived is Humorous Phases of Funny Faces in 1906, a stop-motion short, combined with stick puppetry. Once again, Blackton is seen on camera (only his hand) and draws two faces on a chalkboard. The two faces they appear to come to life and engage in silly antics. Although the most of this short film uses live action effects instead of animation, it had a profound impact of animated films in the United States.

Too busy in running the day-to-day operations of Vitagraph, Blackton retired from directing films in 1909. His animation experiments, in his opinion, were juvenile and received no mention in his unpublished autobiography.

Masonic Career

Blackton was a member of Centennial Lodge No. 763 in New York, and was part of a group of New York Freemasons to form their own Masonic Temple in Hollywood. Named after Pacific Lodge F. & A.M. No. 233 in New York, the 233 Club had an exclusive membership of entertainment and theatrical brothers. Chartered on August 16, 1924, the group elected Edward Davis, former president of the National Vaudeville Association as President. The charter stated in part, that a member must be “a Master Mason in good standing in any lodge in the world and a motion picture worker in any capacity.”

One of the 233 Club’s earliest public events was supporting the Shriners National Convention in Los Angeles on May 5, 1925, with a parade from the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street up Highland Avenue to the Hollywood Bowl.

Plans to construct a twelve-story clubhouse, providing auditorium, meeting, and social space, as well as apartments for “visiting Masons” never materialized due to lack of funds. By the club’s one year anniversary at the end of 1925, membership totaled 1233, and the celebrations included a fourteen-act vaudeville show performed by the brothers. The club’s popularity with the Hollywood masonic crowd soon counted Douglas Fairbanks and Harold Lloyd among its ranks.

Later Life

In 1915, Blackton produced The Battle Cry of Peace, a propaganda film supporting the United States entry into World War I. Strongly supported by former President and Masonic brother Theodore Roosevelt, General Leonard Wood loaned Blackton an entire regiment of marines to use as extras.

Blackton lost most of his fortune in the Stock Market Crash of 1929, which forced him to file for bankruptcy in 1931. He spent his last years on the road, showing his old films and lecturing about the days of silent movies.

Blackton died August 13, 1941, a few days after he suffered a fractured skull after being hit by a car while crossing the street. But his passion for filmmaking never ceased; at the time of his death he was working for Hal Roach improving the color process backgrounds in motion pictures.

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