There are utilitarian souls who assume that a fireplace is meant only to warm people. But he who tends a fire knows that it means much more.

A man who has a fireplace need never be lonely. A fire, correctly tended, requires thought and attention; in return, it offers warmth, music, and beauty. And the glow from the hearth means a glow in the heart.

A man who cherishes his fire wants a solid backlog of oak or hard maple. If he is fortunate enough to cut his own wood and has a choice, he sees to it that he has several kinds. The resin of pine or cedar means quick, hot heat, yellow flames, and a pleasant odor. Yellow birch gives an orange-blue flame, burns long and steady. Old apple wood means fragrance and a clear, bluish flame. Elm has deep russet flames. Balsam and spruce crackle and spit and must be watched.
Don’t poke your fire too much, and use judgment as you put on the logs. A moderately high fire creates its own draft. A good hearth tender uses his broom occasionally, but doesn’t worry if a few ashes spill out. Tending fire is for the patient man. It fosters deep thoughts and contentment with the simple, basic things in life.

Mechanical heat has its good points and one wants it. But somehow it is more meaningful if flames paint a picture in a fireplace and a man has a chance to tend his fire.  

Why not make your fire Freemasonry?

Reprinted with permission from the St. George’s Lodge Banner
(May/June 2003; Kelowna, B.C.),
Brother Kevan van Herd, 32°, Editor. E-mail to: kvanherd@shaw.ca