Bluenose and the Masons?

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Apr 30, 2019
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Cobourg, ON
Here's something interesting that I just noticed. This morning I turned my attention to how to do the lettering on the stern of my Bluenose model and for the first time took a good look at this picture:
stern.png
That appears to be the Masonic emblem between the words "Bluenose" and "Lunenburg" It sure looks like it to me and seems like a very odd thing. What is it doing there?

Then I took another look at this picture:
8.png
In this picture there is a decoration between the words "Bluenose" and "Lunenburg." I had assumed this was just a generic decoration, but once I saw the Masonic emblem, I looked at this one with new eyes. I now think these three interlocking rings might actually be the emblem of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
oddfellows.jpg

Is this possible?

I have never read anything about the Bluenose being associated with fraternal organizations. Does anyone have any information about this? It has really piqued my curiosity.
 
I knew it was definitely three rings. The question is whether or not it's the emblem of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and if so, why is it there. I would never have crossed my mind that that's what it might be, but after seeing the Masonic emblem in the other picture, it made me think twice.

Perhaps different owners or captains at different times wanted to express their affiliation. I'm not sure.

Thanks for the pictures; they're better than the ones I had.
 
but after seeing the Masonic emblem in the other picture

Wow David, your observation skills are amazing. I have seen that photo before but never noticed. Is it really the Masonic emblem or just our imagination? Then it leads us to the 3 rings... Oh my.. LOL.. David!!! I need a cup of coffee.
 
Is it three rings or four, if you count the ring mounted in the center painted ring.

The first photo does look like masonic emblem. But I have seen other nautical emblems with the compass and globe used with navigators in past. We need a better stern shot of first image to validate your question.
 
Mike, I think this is an enormously interesting question and a real mystery. I would really like to discover the answer. So far, I haven't found any reference to it in the Nova Scotia archives, so I think I'll email them at Bluenose II and see if they can shed any light on it.

Kurt, if you look at the pictures that Uwe provided above, I think it's clearly three rings, not four. It appears that the "fourth" ring is attached to the hull and is not part of the artwork. The three rings clearly resemble the Odd Fellows emblem.

With respect to the Masonic emblem in the other photo, I'm pretty convinced that's what it is. I've blown it up as far as I can before it distorts too much and it seems fairly clear.
masonsInset.png

I hope I'm not entering "Da Vinci Code" territory here!
 
I am making great progress solving this mystery. I contacted the people at Bluenose II and received a very quick reply with a link to this video:


It seems that the Bluenose was built and owned by three masons including the captain and it was very much a Masonic project. (This video also includes some of the clearest pictures of the Bluenose that I've seen yet.)

So that answers the first part of my question. Now I just have to discover when and why the Masonic emblem was changed to the three links and whether or not it is in fact the Odd Fellows emblem, but I increasingly suspect that it is.

The person at Bluenose II also told me that there is still a Masonic Lodge in Lunenburg, so I'll contact them and see what information they can provide and I'll search and see if I can find an Odd Fellows Lodge as well.

Soon I will have to decide where my loyalties lie - with the Masons or the Odd Fellows and which way I want to depict the model. I have never been much interested in fraternal organizations (I tend to not join things that require a costume), so I think it will come down to which design is easier to duplicate and I have a feeling I already know the answer to that question, but we'll see.
 
OK - I think I have the final piece of the puzzle. I contacted the Masonic Lodge in Lunenburg and received a reply tonight from a representative of the lodge. He confirmed that the three interlocking rings featured in many of the photos is in fact the Odd Fellows emblem and that Captain Walters was actually a member of both the Masons and the Odd Fellows. He explained that the emblem was changed from the Masonic one to the Odd Fellows one in 1940.

I think this is just the most curious bit of trivia about this boat that I have come across yet. I find it surprising that it isn't really referred to in the histories of it apart from the one video produced by the Masons.
 
Is this somehow connected with the fact, that a lot of inhabitants of Nova Scotia and Lunenburg were coming from Germany and were protestants?
Often they show three rings reffering the ring parable of Nathan the Wise by Lessing

Its major themes are friendship, tolerance, relativism of God, a rejection of miracles and a need for communication.


Ring Parable
The centerpiece of the work is the "Ring Parable", narrated by Nathan when asked by Saladin which religion is true: an heirloom ring with the magical ability to render its owner pleasing in the eyes of God and mankind had been passed from father to the son he loved most. When it came to a father with three sons whom he loved equally, he promised it (in "pious weakness") to each of them. Looking for a way to keep his promise, he had two replicas made, which were indistinguishable from the original, and gave on his deathbed a ring to each of them.

The brothers quarreled over who owned the real ring. A wise judge admonished them that it was impossible to tell at that time – that it even could not be discounted that all three rings were replicas, the original one having been lost at some point in the past; that to find out whether one of them had the real ring it was up to them to live in such a way that their ring's powers could prove true, to live a life that is pleasant in the eyes of God and mankind rather than expecting the ring's miraculous powers to do so. Nathan compares this to religion, saying that each of us lives by the religion we have learned from those we respect.
 
Thanks guys; it was a lot of fun!
I've now been experimenting with recreating the two logos and lettering on the computer and sadly, they're so small I could represent either with a small dot and it would look just as good. However, I'll know what it's supposed to be. I've decided to settle on the Masonic emblem, not because I have a preference for the Masons, but because it was the original decoration and was there the longest.

Ewe - the three rings were there only because they are the symbol of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, so the question really is how did they become the symbol for that fraternal organization. This kind of stuff really fascinates me and I was happy to hear the ring parable that you shared. It seems that there are many mythologies surrounding rings. It's interesting that the same themes keep popping up in mythologies in diverse cultures and in different time periods. Have you read Joseph Campbell? He explores all of this kind of thing. It's compelling reading.

I found this article which suggests three possible explanations as to why the Odd Fellows adopted the rings as their symbol :
(Sorry for the digression; I've gotten way off topic, here.)

David
 
It's really interesting. I love all this stuff and there are endless avenues to explore. Some even believe that the Holy Trinity is a primitive expression of the superego, id and ego - father, son and holy ghost respectively.
 
And the Robert Graves neo-pagans have the triple goddess- maiden, mother and crone. All slightly different ways to look at the same stuff.
 
Here's something interesting that I just noticed. This morning I turned my attention to how to do the lettering on the stern of my Bluenose model and for the first time took a good look at this picture:
View attachment 151110
That appears to be the Masonic emblem between the words "Bluenose" and "Lunenburg" It sure looks like it to me and seems like a very odd thing. What is it doing there?

Then I took another look at this picture:
View attachment 151111
In this picture there is a decoration between the words "Bluenose" and "Lunenburg." I had assumed this was just a generic decoration, but once I saw the Masonic emblem, I looked at this one with new eyes. I now think these three interlocking rings might actually be the emblem of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
View attachment 151112

Is this possible?

I have never read anything about the Bluenose being associated with fraternal organizations. Does anyone have any information about this? It has really piqued my curiosity.
I don't have specific information on this but these are two different photos/names as I view them. Either could be possible as there were Masonic lodges up there then and possibly Odd Fellows which is the three links. The Masonic one almost looks PhotoShopped as it is darker and crisper than the older worn looking one for Odd Fellows. I'll do my own research into lodges in those decades back there that are now recognized by the Grand Lodge of Oregon but older lodges could have closed and harder to find.
PT-2 Rich
 
Here's something interesting that I just noticed. This morning I turned my attention to how to do the lettering on the stern of my Bluenose model and for the first time took a good look at this picture:
View attachment 151110
That appears to be the Masonic emblem between the words "Bluenose" and "Lunenburg" It sure looks like it to me and seems like a very odd thing. What is it doing there?

Then I took another look at this picture:
View attachment 151111
In this picture there is a decoration between the words "Bluenose" and "Lunenburg." I had assumed this was just a generic decoration, but once I saw the Masonic emblem, I looked at this one with new eyes. I now think these three interlocking rings might actually be the emblem of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
View attachment 151112

Is this possible?

I have never read anything about the Bluenose being associated with fraternal organizations. Does anyone have any information about this? It has really piqued my curiosity.
I did a quick bit of research into Masonic Lodges recognized by the Grand Lodge of Oregon and in their directory found in Canada the following: Nova Scotia, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, chartered 1866 to the present; Luneberg had and still has Unity Lodge No. 4. That would have been chartere very soon after their Grand Lodge some time after 1866. It is feasible that some lodge members placed teh Masonic emblem on the stern as shown and then posed for a photo. There is no way immeidately available for the provenence but I'll try to contact them, Grand Lodge to Grand Lodge only allowed, to see what I can find. Do you have any indication of the date of the photo? I'll see if their lodge minutes contain anything realted to Bluenose but their Grand Secretary or Lodge Secretary may or may not reply.
PT-2 Rich
 
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