The Old Past Master

The Old Past Master communicates truths and wisdom in simple, obvious ways we can all understand. Claudy’s young Masons present problems, sometimes a sort of straw man, and his Old Past Master proceeds to explain how to think about these issues while keeping the Masonic principles of faith, hope and charity in the forefront of the conversation. Especially important is that the lessons are never communicated in a harsh or pedantic style, but one full of warmth and brotherly love, communicated in a conversational tone.

Carl H. Claudy was a great thinker and storyteller in Masonry and is no doubt responsible for inculcating the tenets of Masonry to several generations of brothers. Claudy was a writer and editor by trade and excelled as a journalist for the New York Herald. He wrote books about aviation and photography but we in the Craft know him best for his many books and articles on Freemasonry. He wrote as many as 350 Short Talks for the Masonic Service Association over the years and was heralded as an expert on Masonry. He became a Master Mason in Harmony Lodge No. 17 in the District of Columbia in 1908, served as its master, and became Grand Master of Masons in 1943. He was also a 33° Scottish Rite Mason and an honorary grand master of North Dakota, as well as being an honorary member of many subordinate lodges.