Every jurisdiction is familiar with this dilemma--what to do with the Master Mason aprons brought to them by families of Brethren who have passed away? While they're intended to be buried with the Brother, often times this doesn't happen. Instead, many of these aprons are brought to Grand Lodge by the loved ones of the departed Mason.
Several years ago, after developing quite the backlog, the Grand Lodge of Washington decided to purchase a crypt at Grand Mound Cemetery (located in Rochester) to provide a final resting place for these aprons. Since then, the Washington Masonic Library & Museum has worked with Grand Lodge to photograph and catalog every apron brought in that year. They are then interred in the crypt during an annual ceremony, held in August.
This year we've already processed 71 aprons in preparation for our August ceremony. You can view our online catalog of interred Masonic aprons through our CatalogIt database located on our website: https://www.masonscare.org/library-museum/
