The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Illinois is now offering the Lewis Jewel. The Lewis Jewel may be worn by a Mason, if, at the time of his Initiation, his father was a Mason in good standing. If you are interested and qualify please download the order form here and return it to our lodge secretary.
Old English Tracing Boards of the entered Apprentice degree show the Lewis, a peculiar tool of operative masons. The instrument is made of a pair of dovetail wedges, provided with a hook or ring. Inserted in a hole in a large stone, pulling on the hook or ring spreads and locks the wedges securely in the stone, so that it may be raised by derrick or other lifting force, without putting a rope or chain about it. The greater the pull, the heavier the stone, the more securely is the Lewis locked in the hole. From this the Lewis easily became a symbol of strength, and is so denominated in certain old English rituals.
The son of an English Mason is called a Lewis, for a reason
which is set forth in Browne’s “Master Key,” which purports to be a verbatim
account of a part of the original Prestonian lecture. It reads:
What do we call the son of a Freemason?
A Lewis.
What does it denote?
Strength.
How is a Lewis depicted in Mason’s Lodge?
As cramp (clamp) of metal, by which, when fixed into a stone, great and ponderous weights are raised to a certain height, and fixed upon their proper basis, without which Operative Masons could not so conveniently do.
What is the duty of a Lewis, the Son of a Mason, to his aged parents? To bear the heavy burden in the heat of the day and help them in time of need, which, by reason of their great age, they ought to be exempted from, so as to render the close of their days happy and comfortable.
For more information on the details and history of the Lewis please visit the Masonic Dictionary.
Apparently there are some who did not know that we had an article written about us in Time Out Chicago Magazine. It was back in the July 17-21 2008 issue as part of a feature called "Secret Chicago" The title of the article was "Masters of the Universe?" Thanks to Paul Scheeler who helped with pointers on dealing with the media. Even after being very careful in how things were phrased, the author still managed to get one or two details wrong, but they are minor quibbles. All in all I think she did a pretty decent job, considering what they were trying to accomplish.