Ah, yes, the Masons -
My grandfather was a mason, back in their hayday - the twenties and thirties. He had a Mason ring, which he wore all the time. My dad got the ring when he died, and I got the ring from my father just before he died.
I wore the ring in honor of them. Someone told me that unless I was a Mason myself, I could not and SHOULD not wear that ring. So now it sits in a safety deposit box.
Granddad was a grand poomba with the Masons, or whatever they call the big cheese. Back in his home territory (the Pennsylvania coal mine region), granddad's name carried some weight, though he was just a linemen for the local power company and a volunteer fireman.
All of that was before my time, but when we visited granddad, strangers often would come up to my brother and me and introduce themselves. We were seven and four years old at the time.
My mom's family was a bit different. In the 1870's, the group that was a truly secret society back in that region were the Molly Maguires. If you have never heard of them, you might want to look them up. Several of mom's uncles by marriage and other relatives were members of the Maguires in their hayday.
