News Release for Bicentennial Lanterns

The news release below should be sent with a photo, when possible, to the local newspaper after a Lodge receives the District’s Bicentennial Lantern. Please fill in the blanks and retype the release on Lodge stationery.

Ohio Masonic Lodges share the light of Brotherhood

Ohio Freemasons are celebrating the 200^th anniversary of their statewide organization, The Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Ohio. As part of this year-long celebration, the 525 Ohio Masonic Lodges are passing handcrafted tin lanterns from Lodge to Lodge across the state to symbolize the spread of Freemasonry in Ohio over the past 200 years.

At a recent meeting, members of ________________ Lodge No. ____, located in ___________, Ohio, presented the traveling lantern to the officers and members of ________________ Lodge No. ____, located in ___________, Ohio.

“The lanterns are similar to ones that Ohio pioneers would have used. Punched tin lanterns were both practical and a form of early folk art. Ours have the Masonic square and compasses emblem on the side,” said Charles Eichensehr, historian of the Grand Lodge.

The Grand Lodge of Ohio was formed on January 4th, 5th, 7th, and 8th, 1808 in the Chillicothe Statehouse by delegates from the six Masonic Lodges then meeting in Ohio.

These six Lodges were spread across the state and met in Cincinnati, Chillicothe, Marietta, Warren, Worthington, and Zanesville. They reflected the diversity of the early Ohio settlers and operated under the authority of charters issued by East Coast Grand Lodges, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The oldest Lodge was American Union, chartered in 1776, and the youngest was Scioto Lodge, chartered in 1806.

Today, the 525 Masonic Lodges in Ohio have a combined membership of 114,000. As in their pioneer past, membership reflects the community in which the Lodges meet, uniting good men from a variety of social, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. More information about Ohio Freemasonry and their Bicentennial celebration can be found at www.freemason.com.

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