Ebenezer Masonic Lodge No. 33 marks 210 years in Wooster

The Ebenezer Masonic Lodge No. 33 has been a thing in Wooster for 210 years, an anniversary it will celebrate later this year. Its current building, a rarity in the world of Freemasons, has been at one site for 110 years.

So what, with all that longevity and continuity, is the secret? Well, to be blunt, there is no secret, at least none that should be all that interesting to anyone.

“The big misconception is that we’re a secret society,” said Blair Young, senior warden of the Ebenezer Lodge. “We’re not. We’re a private club. I think probably if you go back 100 years, it probably was a lot more secret than it is now. One of the requirements used to be that I couldn’t say, ‘Why don’t you join the Masonic Lodge?’ You would have to come to me. Guys would die hoping their sons would join, and the sons would never ask them to. We’ve gotten over those rules a little bit.

“It was a little bit like Fight Club. We didn’t talk about it much.”

OK, so maybe there are some secrets. But they’re not heavily guarded, and nobody’s really afraid of them getting out. Like any other group, this one has things only members know, but given that it’s a public organization, pretty much anybody can be privy to what’s going on.

The building sits at 140 N. Market St. in Wooster. It was built exactly a century after the organization was chartered as part of the Grand Lodge of Ohio. There were nine original members, and it cost 12.5 cents to attend a meeting — 18.75 cents if a member showed up later. That’s according to woosterhistory.org.

The website goes on to detail that the Freemasons came to the area as Wayne County’s first secret society, and trouble followed as an ex-Mason in New York was purportedly murdered for giving up details of secret Masonic rituals.

Maybe that’s why some of the secrets gradually faded and the lodge became what it is today, a largely philanthropic nonprofit organization.

“I think it really boils down to there’s good people in the world, and they like to be around other like-minded people,” Young said. “They like to give back to the community. They enjoy the bonds of friendship. They like to have fun.”

Young said Lodge 33 has about 150 members. Though a charitable fraternity, it’s not like the Elks or Eagles. There’s no bar; it’s not really a hangout spot.

“We’re a little bit more conservative in what we do,” said Young, who, as senior warden, is sort of like a vice president in the world of Freemasonry, overseeing the lodge and perhaps expected to be the next master. “The foundation of the fraternity is for men who want to become better people. There’s some self-improvement that happens. It’s some charitable things, some looking out for each other. We meet twice a month. We get out in the community and support a lot of local charities.”

A typical lodge member would be a man in his early to mid-30s, on up to much older ages. Men who join are, as Young explained, looking for something deeper than what they’re already getting out of work and other parts of their daily lives.

The group meets at the historic lodge building, which is different from many branches. The unique nature of having the building is not lost on the membership. Most branches don’t have one.

“There is something about being in that room here, where 100 years ago there were guys who did a lot of the same things we’re doing today,” Young said. “The building is certainly an asset.”

Before the building initially opened in 1916, the Ebenezer Lodge met in a variety of locations. In around 1913 or 1914, it was decided to build a structure so the group would have a dedicated place to gather.

The lodge itself is in a constant state of change, evolving over the years and changing with the times. These days, Young said, things are a bit less formal than in years past when members would not think of showing up for a meeting without a coat and tie.

And these days, as with every other walk of life, the lodge incorporates technology more, both in day-to-day operations and into the ways it does fundraising.

Still, Young said, the lodge remains well grounded in a lot of traditions and experiences — other than keeping things hush-hush.

“I think that’s part of the evolving,” he said. “We’re a little bit more open.”

That includes public tours of the building, which is not on the National Register of Historic Places. Despite the openness the lodge maintains these days, there are always going to be naysayers, perhaps guided a bit by the mystique of days long gone by.

“Absolutely,” Young said, “all the facts aren’t out there, so people come up with their own assumptions. You’ll see more articles denouncing it than praising it. Again, these are people who don’t know. I’ve heard some people say if we’re secretive, we’re pretty bad at keeping secrets.”