The Order of the Symbolic Chain, or Chain Gang as it is more commonly known, is one of four Scottish Rite service organizations in Oklahoma (Knights of St. Andrew, Service Knights, the Order of the Duck, and the Order of the Symbolic Chain) and one of the three which were organized in Oklahoma – from most accounts it appears the Order of the Duck was formed at the Dallas Valley.  A service organization, as defined in the Scottish Rite, is a secondary organization within the Valley to assist in the functions of the Reunion or to assist the Valley Secretary in extending the privileges of the Scottish Rite. 

Chain Gang history begins at McAlester in the spring of 1933 when fourteen members of Indian Consistory # 2, in “an effort to foster camaraderie among the young Scottish Rite Masons”, formed a service organization based on being less than 40 years of age.  The charter members were Herbert H. Beck, Harve A. Butler, Lawton Beasey, Merle Chapman, Coleman L. Eckle, Earl Samuel Gibson, Willet Miller Haight, James Albert Long, David Earl McCroskey, Osborn Fisher Muldrow, Lloyd Virgil Newton, Charles P. Rosenberger, John Clyde Staiger, and Neil Ronell Woodcock.

Of the charter members several went on to have very large Masonic careers.  D.E. McCrosky was Grand Master of Masons in Oklahoma in 1947 [11], State Elks president from Ada lodge in 1957 [12], and involved in the Grand Line of the Shrine and State Odd Fellows [3].  Charles P. Rosenberg was named Sovereign Grand Inspector General of Oklahoma (1959 – 1981) after General William S. Key S.G.I.G (1951 –1959). 

Since its creation several Oklahoma Scottish Rite Masons have joined this Order, among them Paul Million, Jr S.G.I.G. (1986 – 2000), Elmer Hale Jr 33 large contributor to McAlester Scottish Rite, John Burks 33 past secretary of McAlester Valley, Donald Jones 33 current secretary of the McAlester valley.  The list of Grand Masters of Blue Lodge Masonry is extensive.   

A few years after the formation of the chapter at McAlester the Valley split to form another Valley closer to Tulsa (1956) and with it went the formulation of a second Chain Gang.  The members of McAlester wanting to maintain distinction of being the parent organization of the Chain Gang, pushed John Lynch (K.C.C.H.) Venerable Master in 1959 to write a letter to Charles P. Rosenberger, who was deputy of the S.G.I.G. to McAlester and charter member of the Chain Gang.  In his letter (dated March 13^th 1959) Lynch urged that McAlester chapter be established as the Supreme Body and that 13 of the original charter members be adopted as a governing body for the order.  Unfortunately, by this time Lloyd Newton had passed away.  Apparently, unknown to Lynch, John E. Burks had already written a similar letter to General William Key on December 8^th 1958 for the same purpose.  Key, however, failed to respond because he had recently taken ill.  Shortly thereafter Rosenberger was appointed to S.G.I.G [12].  Chain Gang minutes of this period show the correspondence between Lynch and Burk and copies of the letters sent to both Key and Rosenberger, but not the responses back from the office of the S.G.I.G.  Ted Burk, the fifty-year, secretary of the McAlester Chain Gang and brother of John Burk, notes that the request was finally granted [3] and McAlester was named the governing body of the Order with the particular title “Supreme Mother Grand Lodge”. It appears that only two other valleys followed McAlester and Tulsa in establishing a Chain Gang. Guthrie Valley acquired a charter in 1974 and Wichita Valley soon followed in 1976.    

The purpose of the Order was two-fold.  First, to provide an organization for young 32^nd degree Masons to meet in an organization of their own, and to also provide a service to the Consistory, specifically to the Masters of the four bodies [1], in its various activities both in and outside the reunion.  Many of the activities now include running concession stands and jewelry stores, providing support to the Almoner’s fund, supporting projects of the Consistory, and to supplement funding for Consistory activities.  As an interesting historical note, the Chain Gang at McAlester had in the past provided financial assistance in funding a Mason’s initiation fees if for some reason he could not pay them.  In the early days of McAlester Consistory (then Indian Consistory #2) fees were, at the time, exceedingly expensive and caused candidates to take out loans. The Chapter would occasionally pay off the remaining balance if the Brother happened to default on the loan consideration of being in “sickness and distress”[3]. 

The structure of the Order is fairly similar to most other bodies, in that the chapter is presided over by a Venerable Master.  There are Senior and Junior Wardens, Secretary and Treasurer positions which are elected yearly.  The Venerable Master has the purgative of appointing a Chaplin, Tyler, Junior and Senior Deacons.  Traditionally, a meeting of the Order is referred to as a Huddle and is held at various times and places each reunion.  In some cases, there are called Huddles between reunions for special events such as social gatherings and Grand Lodge service.  The Huddle is typically held to discuss business, elect “Links”, and initiate candidates.  Prospects petition and upon favorable vote are placed on a two year probationary period referred to as being “linked”.   

There are basically three great duties of a Chain Gang member, as pointed out in the ritual.  First, is to wear the jewel of the order at all times during the reunion.  A member found not wearing his jewel is subject to the strict penalty of purchasing a “cold drink” for the member that caught him.  The Second duty, is when passing through the town of a fellow member you should make some sort of personal contact with him so that you will have “…strengthened our Chain of Friendship, and left your Brother with a warm feeling that he is in a circle of men who remember each other.” [1]. Last, is the requirement to participate.  The Chain Gang purpose in the grand scheme of the Scottish Rite is to assist in Reunion activities and as the Chang Gang Constitution points out “You were chosen because of your work, now we will place even more on you” [1]. 

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Regulations of Membership

The design of the Chain Gang was one filled with the “young blood” spirit, in that the preamble of the Chain Gang constitution reads: “Feeling that the younger brethren of Indian Consistory #3 [sic], Valley of McAlester, have too often been neglected…” [1]. The Chain Gang was to promote a common bond among “younger” Scottish Rite Masons.  The requirements of being selected for membership were that the prospective be under 40 before being initiated.  Although, once initiated, members over 40 are still encouraged to participate in the activities of the Order. 

Each chapter is limited to 32 members below the age of 40 but is unlimited for members over 40.  The 32-membership limit is tied directly to the 32^nd degree which each member must posses.  According the Medallion Lecture, the jewel of the Order was also designed to reflect this, in that the number 32 appears below 40 on the face of the jewel noting “32 under 40” [2].  Distinguishing between members is simple; those members above 40 wear a purple ribbon suspending the jewel of the order, whereas those under 40 wear a red ribbon.  It has been said that the Red Ribbon symbolizes youthful zeal, while the Purple Ribbon represents the honor of a distinguished career of service to the Scottish Rite.  On reaching the age of 40 the red ribbon is exchanged for the purple, and while the ability to sit as an officer may change with the ribbon the ability to participate does not.  By McAlester tradition, Links (probationary members) wear a yellow cord suspending a single chain link as the badge of their Apprenticeship.  Some valleys, Guthrie specifically, refers to Links as Rookies and may or may not use the yellow ribbon.                                                                                                                                           McAlester Scottish Rite Temple        

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Symbolism and Ritual

While not going into too much detail about the ritual and inadvertently spoiling the mystique, certain points stand out as being extremely interesting if not profoundly touching for the thoughtful Scottish Rite Mason.  Ted Burk, current secretary of the Order at McAlester, recounts that it was Coleman Eckle and his Daughter that designed both the ritual and jewel for the Order around the formation of the Order in 1933 [3].  The ritual consists of two primary parts (1) the huddle ceremonies such as opening, closing, and initiation and (2) the Medallion Lecture.   

Apparently, it was first and foremost important to Eckle to expound the idea that the young Masons should take it upon themselves to assist the older members.  This is no more evident than in the symbolism of the Jewel, which according to the ritual is emblematic of the principle of the duty to assist [4].  A dissection of this relationship is pointed out in the ritual.  While the jewel prominently displays the Rod and Serpent as the focal point, emblems used in the Scottish Rite degrees, theses symbols have special significance to every Scottish Rite member.  Specifically, in the center of the jewel is a bar or rod in which a snake is wrapped.  Most notably, the rod and serpent have particular relation to Moses, first when Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh [9] and second when Moses erected a rod surmounted by a brazen serpent [10].  The later is probably an adaptation of the underlying story of the 25^th degree of the Southern Jurisdiction Scottish Rite the Knight of the Brazen Serpent.  It seems most reasonable that the tie in symbolism stems directly from the Mosaic reference since both the number forty and the rod and serpent appear together.  Additionally, the serpent was an emblem of wisdom and the rod a signet of truth [2] in the Scottish Rite tradition.     

Other interesting symbols of the jewel are the numbers, chain, circle, quadrants, and points.  As was mentioned earlier the numbers 40 and 32 relate to the age limit and the number of members under the age of forty that can participate at one time by the simple phrase “32 under 40”[2].  Thirty-two is primarily related to the 32 degrees of the Scottish Rite.  The jewel itself is a circle banded by a chain with fourteen prominent points.  The circle is a representation of both unity and Deity, while the bounded chain, which forms the circle, shows “the interconnection of us with our fellow Masonic Brothers”.  Purposefully, there are 32 links in the bounded chain [2]. The 14 points surrounding the periphery of the Jewel represent both the founding members and the fourteen degrees in the Lodge of Perfection [2].  The points are arranged into four quadrants.  The upper semicircle contains two quadrants of four points each, while the lower semicircle contains quadrants of three points each.  The cardinality and number of points are not regarded to have any specific symbolism and are mentioned briefly “…the points on the outer edge of the Medallion are not symmetrically arranged…” [2].  The four quadrants are representative of the four bodies of the Rite (Lodge of Perfection, Chapter of Rose Croix, Council of Kadosh, and Consistory) and are created by a cross in the background of the jewel, which alludes to the Rose Croix Degrees [2].

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Future and Potential

Current membership in the Chain Gang tends to follow the same path of decline as does most of the Masonic Fraternity.  Not surprising that a service organization, supposedly composed of “younger” Masons, is faltering due to the advanced age of most of our members.  However, the new surge of Millennials bursting into the Fraternity may be a saving grace for organizations like the Order of the Symbolic Chain.  With the age restrictions of the Chain Gang many younger Masons may see this as a way to be part of the active inner circle.  In researching the history of the Chain Gang it is not usual to have an elder member make the statement that in his day being invited into the Chain Gang was something special.  Perhaps this is a selling point of the Chain Gang we forgot.    

One item of constant struggle among Masons of different age groups today is the “focus argument”.  As each generation enters the fraternity they bring a sense of social need them and the design of Masonic heroism.  It is not difficult to see that in Eckle’s time the “grand ritualist” reigned supreme as the Masonic hero.  Perhaps, smaller side organizations may have to adapt quickly to the ideas and attitudes of new Masons to survive.  Specifically, the Chain Gang may have to adopt an inner circle specialty group philosophy to attract young members.  There is no requirement that the Chain Gang have any special focus, although many Consistory’s lean heavily on them for food preparation and snack stores.  It may be, then, a prudent move to enhance the Chain Gang experience and modify the purpose to get a larger portion of interest than is displayed at the moment.  One instance of adaptation to fit the desires of the membership can be found in the sudden on-growth of the Knights of St. Andrew.  The Knights, developed in the Tulsa Consistory (1993) fulfills a very special niche in that it is adaptable to the regional culture of the Valley.  Vast differences can be seen among the Knights throughout the three Valleys in Oklahoma and perhaps it is the diversity of culture that can make a service organization flourish.   

Valleys interested in starting their Order of the Symbolic Chain can contact:

McAlester Scottish Rite
Attn: Philip Johnson, Secretary Order of the Symbolic Chain
P.O. Box 609
McAlester, Oklahoma 74501

Or Email: Donald Jones Secretary McAlester Scottish Rite
djones@mcalesterscottishrite.org

Dean Monroe, Past Venerable Master, Order of the Symbolic Chain
dean.monroe@gmail.com 

Chain Gang Constitution

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References