Smithfield Masonic Lodge #182 - Smithfield Ohio

09/02/2026

🇺🇸 80 YEARS AGO TODAY — V-J DAY 🇺🇸
September 2, 1945

Eighty years ago today, the guns of the Second World War finally fell silent.

On the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, the formal surrender of Japan was signed, bringing the most devastating conflict in human history to its official conclusion.

Standing among the Allied leadership that morning was General Douglas MacArthur a Brother Mason who accepted the surrender as Supreme Allied Commander.

But MacArthur was only one of countless Freemasons who answered the call during World War II.

Brothers stood in the ranks of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Army Air Forces, and Coast Guard. They fought on distant battlefields, sailed dangerous seas, flew into hostile skies, endured captivity, and sacrificed everything for the defense of freedom.

They lived the principles we as Masons still strive to uphold:

Brotherly Love. Relief. Truth.

Brotherly Love - standing beside the man next to you when the stakes could not be higher.

Relief - serving others, caring for the wounded, supporting families, and helping those in need.

Truth — remaining steadfast to the principles of duty, honor, and liberty, even when the cost was everything.

Today, Smithfield Masonic Lodge #182 pauses to remember the Greatest Generation.

We remember the Brothers who served.

We remember every American who answered the call.

We remember those who came home carrying wounds that could not always be seen.

And most importantly, we remember those who never came home.

The freedoms we enjoy today were not free.

They were purchased with courage, sacrifice, blood, and the lives of ordinary men and women who were willing to do extraordinary things.

May we never forget them.

And may we, as Freemasons, continue their example by serving our communities, helping our Brothers and neighbors, and being worthy stewards of the liberty they fought to preserve.

🇺🇸 Their war ended 80 years ago.
Their legacy lives on. 🇺🇸

Remember. Honor. Serve.

09/01/2026

🎉 Happy Birthday, Brother John McIntyre! 🎂

Please join the Brothers of Smithfield Masonic Lodge #182 in wishing our Tyler, Brother John McIntyre, a very Happy Birthday! 🥳

Brother John, we hope your special day is filled with happiness, fellowship, and plenty of reasons to smile. We are grateful for your dedication to our Lodge and for the time and effort you give to our Fraternity.

As our Tyler, you stand at the door of our Lodge, reminding us that the work within is sacred and that every Brother who enters does so with purpose and fellowship.

May the Great Architect of the Universe continue to bless you with good health, happiness, and many more years of life, light, and brotherhood.

Happy Birthday, Brother John! 🎂🎉

From all of us at Smithfield Masonic Lodge #182 we hope you have a fantastic day!

09/01/2026

The Brethren Have Returned 😂

After a long, dark, and apparently much-needed summer recess… Smithfield Masonic Lodge No. 182 is coming back to life! ⚒️

July? Dark.
August? Still dark.
September? Alright Brothers, get your aprons back on. 😂

Join us for our first Stated Meeting after summer recess:

📅 Thursday, September 3rd
🕕 6:00 PM
📍 Smithfield Masonic Lodge No. 182

We hope to see our Brothers back in the Lodge as we get back to the business of Masonry, fellowship, and probably a little good-natured arguing over who forgot to turn the lights off last time.

The summer is over. The Lodge is back. Let’s get to work! 🏛️⚒️

09/01/2026

🔵 September is National Su***de Prevention Month

September gives us an opportunity to have conversations that can be difficult to start but as Masons, we know that looking after one another should never be limited to one month of the year.

Our obligation to our fellow man extends beyond the Lodge room. Sometimes, being there for someone simply means asking, “How are you really doing?” Sometimes it means listening without judgment. Sometimes it means recognizing that a Brother, a Veteran, a friend, or a family member may be struggling silently and reminding them that they do not have to face it alone.

For many Veterans and military families, the conversation about su***de and mental health is deeply personal. Behind every statistic is a person a Brother, a spouse, a parent, a child, a friend.

For those we have lost, we remember.
For those who are struggling, we stand with you.
For those who are fighting, we remind you: you are not alone.

If you have lost someone to su***de, carry their memory with you. If you are struggling yourself, please know that asking for help is not weakness, and it is not giving up. Reaching out may be one of the strongest things you can do.

🇺🇸 Veterans Crisis Line — Available 24/7
📞 Dial 988, then press 1
📱 Text 838255

You don’t have to be a Veteran to need someone. If you or someone you know is struggling, reach out to a trusted friend, family member, Brother, clergy member, counselor, or professional.

And if someone comes to you asking for help listen. Stay with them. Take them seriously. Help them find support.

As Freemasons, we are called to practice Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth. Sometimes that relief begins with simply letting someone know:

“You matter. Your life matters. And you don’t have to carry this alone.”

This month, who are you carrying with you?
You don’t have to share anything more than a first name. ❤️👇

Smithfield Masonic Lodge #182
Brotherhood. Relief. Service.

09/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BhxacLiux/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🧡🍁September in Smithfield! 💛🍁

There’s plenty happening around our community this month! Save the calendar, share it with your neighbors, and come out to support our local churches, organizations, and community groups. 😊

We’re grateful for all the people who give their time and talents to keep Smithfield connected. 💙

See something we missed 🧐? Or messed up 🤷🏻‍♀️. Send us a message so we can help spread the word!

08/27/2026

🔷 MASONIC HISTORY SPOTLIGHT 🔷

🇺🇸 Brother Warren G. Harding

August 27, 1920

“On the Level” From Marion Lodge No. 70 to the White House

On August 27, 1920, Warren G. Harding received the Third Degree of Masonry, becoming a Master Mason in Marion Lodge No. 70, F. & A.M., in Marion, Ohio.

Just months later, Harding would be elected the 29th President of the United States.

⚒️ WHO WAS WARREN G. HARDING?

Warren Gamaliel Harding was born on November 2, 1865, in Blooming Grove, Ohio.

Before entering national politics, Harding worked as a newspaper publisher and became involved in Ohio politics. He eventually served as a U.S. Senator from Ohio before becoming the Republican nominee for President in 1920.

The election of 1920 was one of the largest political landslides in American history. Harding won the presidency over Democratic nominee James M. Cox, also of Ohio.

On March 4, 1921, Warren G. Harding was inaugurated as the 29th President of the United States.

But there was another important part of Harding’s story that is sometimes overlooked:

He was a Freemason.

🔺 HIS MASONIC JOURNEY

Harding’s path through the degrees of Craft Masonry took place at Marion Lodge No. 70, located in his hometown of Marion, Ohio.

On August 27, 1920, he received the Master Mason Degree.

That date is particularly interesting because Harding was already a major political figure and was in the middle of the 1920 presidential campaign.

Within months, the man who had completed his Masonic journey in a local Ohio lodge would be preparing to occupy the highest elected office in the United States.

The contrast is striking:

Inside the lodge, he was a Brother Mason.

Outside the lodge, he would soon be President of the United States.

And that distinction illustrates one of the enduring principles of Freemasonry:

A man’s worldly rank does not determine his place among his Brethren.

📐 MEETING UPON THE LEVEL

Freemasonry teaches that men come into the lodge from many different walks of life.

A President.

A farmer.

A businessman.

A craftsman.

A soldier.

A sailor.

A teacher.

A laborer.

Regardless of what title a man carries outside the lodge, the symbolic teachings of the Craft remind us that we meet one another upon the level.

The lodge does not make a man important because of his political office, wealth, occupation, or social position.

Instead, the Mason is challenged to become a better man through Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.

The story of Warren G. Harding provides a fascinating example of that principle in American history.

🇺🇸 A PRESIDENT WHO WAS ALSO A BROTHER

Harding was not the only American President associated with Freemasonry.

The fraternity has counted numerous Presidents among its ranks, including well-documented Masonic Brothers such as:

🇺🇸 George Washington
🇺🇸 James Monroe
🇺🇸 Andrew Jackson
🇺🇸 James K. Polk
🇺🇸 James Buchanan
🇺🇸 Andrew Johnson
🇺🇸 James A. Garfield
🇺🇸 William McKinley
🇺🇸 Theodore Roosevelt
🇺🇸 William Howard Taft
🇺🇸 Warren G. Harding
🇺🇸 Franklin D. Roosevelt
🇺🇸 Harry S. Truman
🇺🇸 Gerald R. Ford

Their individual Masonic histories differed considerably. Some were deeply involved in their lodges and Masonic organizations, while others had more limited participation.

But together, they form part of the fascinating historical record of Freemasonry in the United States.

🔨 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE THIRD DEGREE

For a Mason, the title Master Mason is not simply another achievement to place on a resume.

The Third Degree represents the completion of the three degrees of Ancient Craft Masonry.

The Entered Apprentice begins the journey.

The Fellow Craft advances in knowledge.

The Master Mason receives the lessons of the highest degree of Craft Masonry.

The degrees are designed to encourage the Mason to reflect upon questions of duty, morality, mortality, fidelity, brotherhood, and the proper conduct of one’s life.

The real work begins when the Mason leaves the lodge.

The challenge is to take the lessons symbolically presented within the lodge and apply them to everyday life.

🏛️ FROM MARION TO WASHINGTON

There is something especially fitting about Harding’s Masonic story.

He did not begin his journey as a Mason in the nation’s capital.

He began it in Marion, Ohio.

His lodge was not the White House.

It was Marion Lodge No. 70.

His Masonic Brothers were not members of the President’s cabinet.

They were his fellow members of the fraternity.

And on August 27, 1920, he stood where countless men before and after him have stood:

as a candidate seeking further Light.

Only months later, he would stand before the nation as its President.

The circumstances changed dramatically.

The responsibilities changed dramatically.

But the fundamental Masonic lesson remained:

Character matters more than position.

⚒️ FROM THE ROUGH ASHLAR

The story of Brother Warren G. Harding reminds us that Freemasonry is ultimately about the individual Mason and the work he performs upon himself.

We are taught to contemplate the rough ashlar and the perfect ashlar—symbols reminding us that every Mason has work to do.

The objective is not to become perfect in the worldly sense.

It is to continually improve ourselves.

To become more charitable.

More honest.

More dependable.

More compassionate.

More disciplined.

More faithful to our obligations.

And, ultimately, to leave the world better than we found it.

📜 ON THIS DAY — AUGUST 27, 1920

Smithfield Masonic Lodge No. 182 proudly remembers this moment in Masonic history:

🔹 Warren G. Harding
🔹 Marion Lodge No. 70, F. & A.M.
🔹 Marion, Ohio
🔹 Master Mason — August 27, 1920
🔹 29th President of the United States — 1921–1923

More than a century later, the lessons of the Craft remain unchanged.

We meet upon the level.
We act upon the plumb.
We part upon the square.

And regardless of the office a man holds, the wealth he possesses, or the honors he receives, every Mason is still called upon to labor upon the same great work:

The building of a better man.

⚒️ Happy Masonic Anniversary, Brother Warren G. Harding.

08/25/2026

08/19/2026

⚓🔺 OLD IRONSIDES & A BROTHER WHO GAVE HIS LIFE IN BATTLE 🔺⚓

On this day in American history, August 19, 1812, the USS Constitution fought HMS Guerrière in one of the most famous naval actions of the War of 1812.

It was during this battle that Constitution earned the nickname “Old Ironsides.” American sailors and Marines fought with extraordinary discipline and courage, and after a fierce engagement, Guerrière was so badly damaged that Captain Isaac Hull ultimately ordered her scuttled. The victory sent a wave of excitement throughout the young United States and demonstrated that the American Navy could stand toe-to-toe with the Royal Navy.

But there is another story from that battle that deserves to be remembered one with a distinctly Masonic connection.

🔺 Brother William Sharp Bush

Serving aboard Constitution was First Lieutenant William Sharp Bush of the United States Marine Corps, commander of the ship’s Marine guard.

When Constitution and Guerrière collided during the battle, the opportunity arose for the Marines to board the British frigate. Bush led his Marines toward the enemy and called out to Captain Hull:

“Sir, shall I board her?”

Before he could receive an answer, a British musket ball struck Bush in the left cheek and killed him instantly.

Brother Bush became the first U.S. Marine Corps officer killed in combat.

And here is where American naval history and Masonic history meet.

William Sharp Bush was a Freemason.

The USS Constitution Museum preserves an extraordinary piece of evidence: an 1812 publication entitled:

“A Masonic Oration on the death of Brother William S. Bush, Lieutenant of Marines…”

The oration was delivered on November 26, 1812, only a few months after Bush’s death, before the officers of the Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, along with members of several lodges and Lodge No. 51, of which the deceased was a member.

This isn’t simply a modern claim that Bush may have been a Mason.

There is a surviving contemporary Masonic document from 1812 explicitly identifying him as “Brother William S. Bush” and identifying Lodge No. 51 as his lodge.

The oration commemorated his life, his character, his service, and his death aboard Constitution.

His sacrifice was also officially recorded in the ship’s casualty report, which lists Lieutenant of Marines William Sharp Bush among the seven men killed during the battle.

⚓ A Brother aboard “Old Ironsides”

So when we remember the victory of USS Constitution over HMS Guerrière, we can also remember that among the men who fought aboard her was a Brother of the Craft.

Brother William Sharp Bush
First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps
Member, Lodge No. 51
Killed aboard USS Constitution
August 19, 1812

Only a few months later, his Masonic brethren gathered before the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania to honor him as Brother William S. Bush.

More than two centuries later, his story still connects three enduring traditions of American history:

🇺🇸 Service to country
⚓ The United States Navy and Marine Corps
🔺 The Brotherhood of Freemasonry

From the decks of Old Ironsides to the lodge room in Pennsylvania, Brother Bush’s memory reminds us that the principles of duty, courage, fidelity, and brotherhood have long been carried by Americans in both peace and war.

Lest we forget.

🔺⚓🇺🇸

08/18/2026

🇺🇸🐍 THE GADSDEN FLAG, FREEMASONRY & CHARLESTON 🐍🇺🇸

“DON’T TREAD ON ME.”

Most Americans recognize the famous yellow flag bearing a coiled rattlesnake, but there is a much deeper story behind it one that intersects with Colonial Charleston, the American Revolution, the birth of the Continental Navy, and Freemasonry.

The flag is traditionally attributed to Christopher Gadsden (1724–1805), a prominent Charleston merchant, politician, Patriot, Brigadier General, and leader of the Sons of Liberty in South Carolina.

Gadsden became one of the most influential figures in South Carolina’s resistance to British rule. In 1775, he served on the Continental Congress’s Marine Committee as the colonies were establishing their own naval forces.

It was during this revolutionary period that the famous rattlesnake standard emerged.

The U.S. Navy’s Naval History and Heritage Command documents Gadsden’s presentation of the yellow flag bearing a rattlesnake and the words “DON’T TREAD ON ME.” The symbol became associated with the Continental Navy and the earliest days of American naval history.

⚓ BUT WHERE DOES FREEMASONRY ENTER THE STORY?

This is where the history becomes especially interesting.

Christopher Gadsden has been identified by Charleston historical sources as an active Freemason in Charleston. However, there is an important distinction: while secondary historical sources identify him as a Mason, a surviving primary lodge record conclusively establishing his specific lodge membership has not yet been located.

So it would be irresponsible to claim that the Gadsden flag was officially a Masonic flag or that its design was unquestionably based on Masonic symbolism.

But the overlap between Freemasonry and the Revolutionary symbolism surrounding the flag is very real.

And it begins with another famous Mason.

🐍 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN & THE RATTLESNAKE

In 1754, more than twenty years before the Gadsden flag appeared, Benjamin Franklin published his famous Join, or Die illustration.

It depicted a rattlesnake divided into sections representing the American colonies, with the message that the colonies needed to unite.

Franklin was unquestionably a Freemason.

He was initiated into St. John’s Lodge in Philadelphia in 1731, later serving as Grand Master of Pennsylvania. Franklin also printed the first American edition of Anderson’s Constitutions of the Free-Masons in 1734.

So a Freemason was already using the rattlesnake as a powerful symbol of American unity and resistance decades before the Gadsden flag.

The symbolism was already becoming part of the political language of colonial America.

🐍 WHY A RATTLESNAKE?

The rattlesnake was considered a particularly appropriate symbol for the American colonies.

It was not generally an animal that went looking for trouble.

But if threatened, cornered, or attacked, it would defend itself.

That made it a perfect metaphor for the revolutionary message:

We do not seek conflict but we will defend ourselves if threatened.

The warning “DON’T TREAD ON ME” carried essentially the same message.

🔺 A REAL MASONIC ARTIFACT

Perhaps the most fascinating evidence is not a claim about Gadsden at all.

The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library preserves a Revolutionary era powder horn belonging to John P. French.

The horn contains extensive Masonic imagery and inscriptions, including the phrase “Cemented with Love,” associated with Masonic brotherhood.

But it also contains a rattlesnake alongside the words:

“DON’T TREAD ON ME.”

This is an actual surviving Revolutionary-era artifact demonstrating that Masonic identity and the “Don’t Tread On Me” revolutionary symbolism existed together in the material culture of the period.

That is a much stronger historical connection than simply assuming that every Revolutionary symbol was Masonic.

⚔️ FREEMASONRY & THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

Freemasonry did not secretly create or control the American Revolution.

That is an important distinction.

But Freemasons were undeniably present throughout the Revolutionary generation.

George Washington.
Benjamin Franklin.
Paul Revere.
John Hancock.

And countless other Patriots, officers, merchants, printers, politicians, and civic leaders belonged to the fraternity.

Freemasonry provided a network in which men from different professions and social backgrounds could meet as brothers.

The fraternity emphasized Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth, while the revolutionary generation was wrestling with questions of liberty, representation, self-government, and resistance to arbitrary authority.

Those concepts are not identical—but they existed within the same intellectual and civic world.

🏛️ CHARLESTON & THE MASONIC CONNECTION

This becomes even more interesting when we look specifically at Charleston.

Gadsden’s hometown already had a strong Masonic presence during his lifetime.

Charleston’s Masonic community was well established in the colonial period, and the city’s Masonic lodges became part of the social and civic fabric of Charleston.

There are even historical accounts describing Patriot activity taking place in or around Masonic lodge spaces in Charleston during the resistance to British policies.

In other words, the worlds of Charleston Freemasonry and the Patriot movement were not isolated from one another.

They existed within the same city, among many of the same civic circles, during one of the most turbulent periods in American history.

⚓ AND THEN THERE’S THE NAVY

The Gadsden flag also has a fascinating connection to the birth of the United States Navy.

Gadsden was involved in organizing the Continental Navy, and the rattlesnake symbol became associated with America’s early naval forces.

The flag was presented to Commodore Esek Hopkins, the first commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy.

The rattlesnake would continue appearing in Revolutionary naval imagery and eventually became part of the visual language associated with America’s new fighting forces.

So when we look at the Gadsden flag today, we’re not simply looking at a modern political symbol.

We’re looking at a symbol born during the American Revolution and closely connected to the earliest history of the United States Navy.

🇺🇸⚓🐍

🔺 SO IS THE GADSDEN FLAG A MASONIC SYMBOL?

No not officially.

There is no good evidence that the Gadsden flag was designed as a Masonic emblem.

But there is a fascinating historical intersection:

Benjamin Franklin a Freemason, uses the rattlesnake as a symbol of colonial unity.

Christopher Gadsden identified by Charleston historical sources as a Freemason, becomes associated with the famous rattlesnake flag.

Charleston , a major center of colonial Freemasonry and Patriot activity.

Revolutionary-era Masonic artifact , a powder horn bearing both Masonic imagery and “DON’T TREAD ON ME.”

Continental Navy — adopts the rattlesnake symbolism during the birth of American naval power.

That doesn’t make the Gadsden flag a Masonic flag.

But it does show something that is perhaps even more interesting:

Freemasonry, the American Revolution, and the birth of the United States were often being lived out by the same men, in the same communities, during the same extraordinary period of history.

And perhaps that is the real lesson.

When we see the words:

DON’T TREAD ON ME

we can remember not only the Revolutionary spirit of independence, but also the generation of Americans including many of our Masonic brethren who believed that liberty carried with it a responsibility to stand for principle, serve their communities, and leave something better for those who followed.

🇺🇸 Liberty. Service. Brotherhood.