The Trestle Board

From the South
Brethren, this month I have chosen to give a brief history
about the Trestle Board and the origins of the use. I have
utilized material from The Masonic Lodge of Education and
The Masonic Trowel to assist me with the writing of this
article I hope it is enjoyed by all.
A Masonic trestle board is a design board for the
Master Workman to draw his plans and designs upon to give
the workmen an outline of the work to be performed. In today's
terms, it would be called it a blueprint. It is one of the 3
Movable jewels as is learned in the Entered Apprentice
Degree. A trestle board is a framework consisting of vertical,
slanted supports with one or more horizontal crosspieces on
which to hang or display an item. Today, it is better known
as an "easel". Some jurisdictions around the world call it a
tracing board. The "Tracing board" may very well have come
before the use of the word "Trestleboard" because lodges in
Europe (which pre-date American lodges), use the word
"Tracing Board".
When lodge was held in secret areas, once lodge was in
session, the Tyler would draw an oblong rectangular
representation into the dirt that symbolized the form of the
lodge. Then onto that tracing board was drawn the
architect's plan, the working tools in the degree that was to
be worked. Through the years, the Masonic Tracing Board
progressed to charcoal or chalk on the floor of taverns
where lodges were held back in the 1700s. After the lecture
was complete, the Stewards or the Entered Apprentices
would get a mop and bucket and remove all trace of these
drawings, this practice was used as a lesson in secrecy.
This procedure was messy and somewhat uninteresting, so
cloths or rugs were created which could be laid onto the
floor and simply folded up when the lecture was complete.
Later, these cloths were placed onto a table.
News from the East
Hello my Brothers, I would like to thank everyone at our last
meeting for putting on such a nice Degree.
Congratulations to our newest Obligated Brothers. Please
make our new Brothers Tom Anderson, Joe Falzone and Rick
Hanson feel welcome when you see them in Lodge for we are
all family now. Also we are planning a Fellow Craft Degree on
the 21st of June. On that note I would like talk about the
origin of the term Fellow Craft. The term ( fellow ) has a long
and distinguished history, most commonly used to denote
that one is of higher status than just being a member of some
organization. One becomes a fellow of research or
educational society, for example by being voted into that
position after having done research and being published.
Members of the teaching staff of a university who are not full
members of the faculty are sometimes called ( teaching
fellows). In the guilds from which we believe Masonry arose a
( Fellow of the Craft ) had roughly the same status as a
journeyman would have today .When Masonry had only one
Degree there was a section known as the (Fellows Part)
which was conferred on those who had shown a mastery of
the material of the Apprentice Degree. Food for thought from
the East. May God bless our lodge and all the service men
and women who keep our country free.
Jim Phillips - W.M:.