Why Illinois Masons Stay: In Their Own Words
We recently reached out to Illinois Masons across the state, some raised only a few months ago, others closing in on fifty years in the Craft, and asked them a simple question: What is your favorite part about Illinois Freemasonry?
A Brother remembering his father obligating him at the altar. A Brother sitting in Lodge in Afghanistan with men from six countries. A Brother whose son later became Master of the same Lodge he had led as Master. And a Brother who described the moment he signed his name in a a Lodge By-Laws book that had been in continuous use since 1886 — flipping first through the careful penmanship of men who had signed decades before him, then adding his own name to a record that will outlast him.
What follows are those stories and more, in our Brothers' own words.
Fathers, Sons, and Longtime Relationships
Worshipful Brother Cary B. Coplon, Chicago Lodge No. 437
For WB Cary B. Coplon, the strongest memory came from a different kind of record — a family one. After 38 years in the Craft, his favorite moment is raising his son and watching him progress through their Lodge’s leadership, eventually becoming Master. “The memories of which,” he wrote, “still put a happy tear in my old eyes.”
Brother Chuck Black, Harmony Lodge No. 3
Brother Chuck Black traces his connection to the Craft through his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather — all Masons. “Few people share a set of knowledge with their great-grandfathers,” he wrote. “It’s great knowing we learned the same rituals as we each advanced through the degrees.” He also remembers that in 2009, while serving in Afghanistan, he sat in Lodge with Brothers from England, New Zealand, Canada, Holland, France, and the United States.
Worshipful Brother Marvin Barnes, DeKalb Lodge No. 144
WB Marvin Barnes was raised a Master Mason by his late father, Worshipful Brother Merrill “Barney” Barnes of the former Sycamore Lodge No. 134. His father mentored him through the chairs twice, as he became Worshipful Master twice. Fifty years later, Brother Barnes still measures his life by what his father taught him. “He taught me to love Freemasonry, the Lodge, and live my life daily by the Masonic teachings as he did.”
Worshipful Brother Michael A. Marvin, Past Grand Master, Scotland Lodge No. 148 and York Lodge No. 313
When reflecting on his favorite Masonic moments, WB Michael A. Marvin thinks of conferring the first degree on his son, with his own father in attendance. He also remembers the “flashlight degree” — the night the power went out mid-ritual, and the Brothers finished the work by flashlight. And, more quietly, the Brothers whose degrees he helped confer, and then later stood beside their caskets.
Names That Last
Right Worshipful Brother Chad Lacek, Dundee Lodge No. 190
RWB Chad Lacek of Dundee Lodge No. 190 describes signing the 140-year-old Dundee Lodge No. 10’s By-Laws book as being “adopted into a worldwide family.” Raised as an only child of a single parent, he had spent years searching for what he called a tribe. The Marine Corps gave him one for a while. Freemasonry, he wrote, gave him one for life. “My unknown name is recorded alongside so many great ones. I carry on their traditions. I perform their rituals.”
Finding the Way Back
Right Worshipful Brother Charles (Chuck) A. Simms, Scott Lodge, Area Assistance Deputy Grand Masters from the Southern Area of Illinois
Not every Brother’s story runs in a straight line. RWB Charles A. Simms was suspended in his early Masonic years for unpaid dues. In 2005, a Deputy Grand Master from Scott Lodge invited him back. He calls his reinstatement one of the best decisions of his life. He dove into the degree study the old way — mouth-to-ear, no book — from a Brother named John Burgus. “John has long passed,” he wrote, “but those sessions in which John taught me, I will never forget.”
Right Worshipful Brother Gary Eckhardt, Buffalo Prairie Lodge No. 679
RWB Gary Eckhardt drifted after serving as Master in 1987 — family and work took over — and did not return in earnest until he retired in 2021. Then he started visiting nearby Lodges that were struggling to open. “It was like I got totally sucked back in,” he wrote. He now holds membership in eight Lodges and serves as District Deputy Grand Master.
Different Men, One Lodge
Worshipful Brother Michael Overturf, Past Grand Master, Secretary of Lake Creek Lodge No. 729
WB Michael Overturf, Past Master, learned his most lasting lesson from a joint gathering with Masons from North Carolina. The Brothers around the table were nothing alike. Some rode motorcycles, some lived for York Rite and Scottish Rite, while others lived for the ritual itself or the esoteric study behind it. “Despite our different interests, backgrounds, and approaches, we collectively form the Lodge.”
Ask enough Brothers, and the answers converge in the same place. It is not the building. It is not the regalia. It is the moment a Brother’s name enters a book that outlasts him, and the realization that the Brothers around him will help carry it forward.
Or, as one Illinois Brother put it after a lifetime of searching for where he belonged: “I’m somebody. I’m a Freemason.”