Our Lodge was chartered in 1870, and the current structure was built in 1925. It is an old edifice of some three stories plus, made of brick, with the outside teaching a Masonic lesson by the steps (3,5,7) leading to the door of the building.

After you enter the building, you must ascend a stairway that creaks and groans with each step as if bemoaning its many years of supporting the weight of thousands of Masons. You then transverse a long hallway lined with years of photographs of past Masonic events, previous Masonic buildings, and Past Masters of the Lodge. The Masters all have the appearance of monitoring everyone walking down the hall. They seem to be evaluating each Brother's worthiness to be in the Fraternity. You then enter the anteroom where the door is closely guarded by the Tiler with his sword drawn as if to protect the inhabitants from some impending evil.

Once inside the meeting room, you see wooden folding seats with silver nameplates on them in honor of past Masons. The seats line, two deep, three sides of the room. Many have names and dates that precede my Masonic affiliation by over 50 years. On three sides, a balcony extends from the interior walls and provides seating for approximately 200 additional Brothers.

This structure does not, and should not, appear frightening. The frightening aspect comes from sitting in Lodge during meetings and looking at the haunting, empty seats. Long ago, those seats were filled with Brother Masons who were enthusiastic when fulfilling their obligations. My father, who is a 50+ year member of the Lodge, as was my grandfather, remembers the days when there were Assistant Deacons who would collect the word from the Brothers in the balcony while the Deacons collected the word from the Brothers on the main floor. It is eerie to look at all those empty seats and wonder, "What has happened to all those Masons?"

Our Lodge has approximately 400 members, and yet we sometimes have difficulty filling the chairs, and I know we are not the only Lodge to have this problem. What must we do to attract interest to our Fraternity? Has society so changed that people do not have the time to dedicate to the service of others? Have recent generations forgotten what obligations we took as Masons and what personal obligations we assume, to serve our society and community? Have we forgotten our obligation to the Deity?

I say we as Masons need to take a good look in the mirror and determine if we have or have not been fulfilling our commitments to our Lodge, our Brothers, and our God. We all have choices in life. I challenge each Brother reading this article to choose to become involved with his Blue Lodge and to carry that dedication over to his Scottish Rite Bodies. Numerous changes have taken place over the last five to ten years to help attract new Masons. However, simply attracting numbers will not suffice. We need to attract and retain dedicated Masons who sincerely wish to carry out the obligations they have taken and to fulfill their responsibilities in their communities, families, Lodge, and other Masonic Bodies.

Members of this Fraternity were and are instrumental in making this country free for over 200 years. If we, as Masons, do not remain active, Masonry will surely die. I, for one, do not wish to be the cause of the death of such a grand and glorious institution. I hope many of you feel the same way.

Robert D. "Bob" Couldry is a Past Master of King Hill Lodge, No. 376, St. Joseph, Missouri, and a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies and Shrine of St. Joseph. He was raised a Master Mason in 1977, made a Scottish Rite Mason in 1977, and became a Shriner in 1986. He, his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all members of the same Blue Lodge. He and his father are both members of the same Scottish Rite Valley and the same Shrine Center.