Chance Encounter Forges Lasting International Bond

In 1961, a Mason from Centennial-Lafayette Lodge No. 544 in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, was fishing along a river in Orillia, Ontario, when he struck up a conversation with the man beside him. As they talked, they discovered they were both Masons, and the Canadian brother warmly invited him to visit his lodge in the future.

 

That chance meeting sparked a 65-year relationship — interrupted briefly by two years of the pandemic — in which the two lodges have visited one another on alternating years. What began as small gatherings of just a few members has steadily grown into a much larger and enduring tradition.

In mid-June, Centennial-Lafayette Lodge No. 544 spent a weekend in fellowship with their Canadian counterparts at Three Pillars Lodge No. 192, which has since merged with several other lodges, and Cedar Masonic Lodge No. 270 in Oshawa, Ontario.

“The brothers from Cedar Lodge joined in and are included in the activities, although the event is centered around Three Pillars Lodge, which is the primary hosting lodge,” said Brother William (Chip) Segeleon of Centennial-Lafayette Lodge, a member of the planning committee who helped organize the trip.

This year, seven Pennsylvania brothers traveled to Canada by van — a journey of about seven hours. They departed early Friday morning and returned Sunday after breakfast. The weekend also included the ladies, who were invited to take part in a variety of activities.

“The weekend was a great opportunity for establishing friendships with some newcomers, and even those of us who have taken the trip before made strong new friendships with other brothers,” Chip said. In total, 85 people participated.

While attendance varies from year to year, the largest gathering came in 2011, when 72 Canadian brothers traveled to the United States and between 75 and 100 Centennial-Lafayette Lodge members took part in the weekend’s events.

“These visits usually center around some form of lodge activity,” Chip said.

This year, Centennial-Lafayette Lodge brothers attended the installation of the Worshipful Master at Three Pillars Lodge. The Canadian ceremony took 2 ½ hours, whereas Pennsylvania’s usually takes about 20 minutes.

“When we do it, the installation of the Master is done by the outgoing Master,” Chip said. “Up there, the outgoing Master had speaking parts, but there were numerous other participants. It was a neat thing to witness.”

Two years ago, members of Three Pillars traveled to Pennsylvania to witness Centennial-Lafayette Lodge confer a Third Degree.

“On Saturday, there is usually breakfast and local sightseeing and hanging out,” Chip said. “On Saturday afternoon, there is a picnic dinner. We recently had ours at the home of one of our hosting brothers, Brother Kip Padgelak, who offered his property, pool and catering services.”

With Centennial-Lafayette Lodge located near Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania brothers have often treated their Canadian counterparts to sightseeing in the city, including visits to Fallingwater in Mill Run, Pennsylvania — a National Historic Landmark designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 and famously built over a waterfall.

When traveling to Canada, Pennsylvania brethren typically stay at a local hotel, where a hospitality room is set up for fellowship and socializing. Three Pillars Lodge recently sold its longtime building and purchased a larger property that includes a converted church, Chip said. Like many American lodges, their setup features a lodge room upstairs and a social hall on the lower level. The historic Masonic Temple in Orillia serves as a meeting place for Masons and other affiliated organizations.

“They [Canadians] have different ways of doing certain things,” Chip said. “In Pennsylvania, the Master does most of the work and stands throughout the meeting. Their Master mostly sits, and there are shared responsibilities for ritual work, with the Junior and Senior Wardens having many speaking parts.”

One of the greatest rewards of these annual visits is the lasting friendships that have grown over the years, Chip said. Some brothers now make a point of seeing one another several times a year. Chip and his son, William, 32, also a lodge member, have developed a particularly close bond with Brother Randy Peacock and his wife, Tammy, the current Canadian visit coordinators. The Peacocks, from Ontario, Canada, have been participating in the visits for 13 years, and they get together with the Segeleon family two to five times annually.

“My son was involved with the visitation as a teenager, prior to becoming a member when he was 18, so he really has grown to enjoy it,” Chip said.

“Chip comes out often and stays at our house. We visit Algonquin Provincial Park [in Ontario] because we’re both outdoorsmen,” Randy said. “Through these visits, we get to see how both of our lodges conduct business and it also develops into lifelong friendships. We always try to exchange gifts, like shirts, hats, coins, etc., to remember us by. But the big thing is to enjoy each other’s company.”

Although Masonic laws and guidelines differ somewhat between the two countries, the work within the lodge itself is largely the same, he said.

While Chip isn’t sure how long the formal reciprocal visits between the lodges will continue, he intends to keep making personal trips to Canada for years to come.

 

“To the best of our knowledge, we’re the only lodge in Pennsylvania to have a long-term relationship with a lodge in another country,” he said. “Regardless of what happens, we’re quite proud of that.”