ABOUT US
THE HAUNTED HOUSE ON THE HILL COMMITTEE
ABOUT US
The Haunted House on the Hill is an annual event in its’ 4th year, put on by the Brockton Masons of Baalis-Sanford Lodge. Held every year at the Brockton lodge on prospect Street in Brockton, the old yellow trimmed brick mansion continues to be the perfect setting for the event. As always, the event is free, as an event for the children of Brockton.
The first Haunted House on the Hill was held in October 2001. Spearheaded by its’ mastermind, Mark Maraglia, the event proved to be a success. Through three subsequent years and dramatic growth, the Haunted House on the Hill has become a yearly event looked forward to by both patrons and the volunteers alike. This year the 4th Annual Haunted House on the Hill is chaired by Dane Boesse. Though the event is sponsored by Baalis Sanford Lodge, many members of this and previous years’ committees have been made up of citizens of the community not affiliated with masonry. The event has been exciting in its’ ability to bring together people of different backgrounds irregardless of age, race, education, etc, to work together to give something back to the people of the city.
ABOUT FREEMASONRY AND THE LODGE
Baalis Sanford Lodge was formed on April 2, 1917, and together with Paul Revere, Saint George, and Paul Dunbar, make up the four lodges of Freemasonry in Brockton, Massachusetts. But what is Freemasonry, and what do masons do? Are they a secret society?
Freemasonry is the oldest fraternity in the world. Formed in England, spread to Scotland, and then on to the US through Boston, Masonic lodges or “Temples” can be found all over the world. Based on traditions and symbols of the ancient operative building guilds, Masonry is group of men joined together by three main tenants: Self improvement, friendship and brotherly love. Masonry is not a religion. It is a brotherhood of men from every country, sect, and opinion, joined in a common effort to make themselves better people, to ease the suffering of others, and to make the world a better place.
You probably did not know it, but Freemasonry is one of the biggest contributors to charities. Over $2 Million per day is contributed by Masons to charitable causes. The Shriner’s Burn centers are run and operated by the Shriners’ (a Masonic organization), which provides care without charge. Over 21,000 pints of blood are collected every year through blood drives in cojunction with the American Red Cross. We support Schizophrenia, Alzheimer, and Cerebral Palsy research. Masons support education by giving scholarships, fund programs such as DARE, and run the Child Identification Program (CHIP). This list in no way comes even close to listing the thousands of people and organizations whom Masons touch every day.
As to the famed “Secrets” of masonry which Tolstoy wrote about, let me explain. As mentioned earlier, one of the tenants of masonry is self improvement by “making good men better.“ Masonry seeks to do this by a set of degrees or ritual ceremonies. The rituals are symbolic and are based on the tools used by the great mason builders of the cathedrals hundreds of years ago. The world around us is full of symbols. When one sees a red octagon, one knows it means to stop. A green light means proceed, and a yellow one means proceed with caution. Symbols are a way of teaching without words, of finding deeper meanings in simple objects. Moral lessons and virtue are concepts that the great writers of the day have attempted to put into words since the dawning of time. And those concepts are still as mysterious and difficult to explain as they were back then. Masons have found that the most effective way to convey these concepts are as symbols in the rituals. And that is 95% of the rituals. The only “secrets” in masonry are those tokens of membership in which a member identifies himself as a mason. In a world of shifting virtues and everchanging morals, masonry is a foundation.
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