Back to Current Issue Contents

---

Furthermore and the Worshipful Pooh:
From the Chronicles of Furthermore, the Masonic Raven

William H. "Skip" Boyer, 32°, KCCH

---

Being, for the most part, a series of adventures in pet care, bartending, and brotherhood with a boy and his bird, the Chronicles of Furthermore, the Masonic Raven, is recounted by the late Wor. Skip Boyer, P.M., Paradise Valley Silver Trowel Lodge No. 29, Free and Accepted Masons of Arizona, who passed away on May 27, 2006.

The ancient and honorable fraternity of Freemasons has attracted the best and brightest men of every generation to its philosophy and teachings. Kings, princes, potentates, and leading thinkers, teachers, and philosophers have all worn the square and compasses of Freemasonry with honor, dignity, and humility.

It was only a matter of time, then, before something like this would happen.

I have a pet raven named Nevermore. He lives in a great cavern below my home, and I’ve been chronicling his adventures for a select group of friends for many years. Well, it turns out that Nevermore has a cousin, Furthermore, who, through a strange quirk of fate, was initiated into the ancient Craft of Freemasonry. I know how careful we are to guard the West Gate. This was a freak occurrence.

Furthermore had the good fortune to be trapped one night in an old lodge building, and before anyone realized he was there, he was an Entered Apprentice. There remained nothing to do but continue the process. His memory work is, as you would expect, flawless, and he has hopes of arriving in the East one day. Stranger things have happened.

Since then, Furthermore has taken up residence in the great caverns with Nevermore, a nine-headed hydra I employ to guard the bridge over the underground river, several things that show up when needed, and I don’t know what all else. And because Furthermore is now my Masonic-pet-raven-brother (All right. You figure out the relationship!), I’m happy to have him. Oh. There is also a bat named Everafter. We don’t see a lot of him.

Anyway, these are the tales of Furthermore and the crowd that lives below my home in the ancient stone caverns. There’s not much Light down there, but we do have a good deal of fun—all in the spirit of brotherhood. Welcome, Brothers! Get a grip on your aprons. Here we go!

The author, Skip Boyer, with his adventurous raven, Furthermore.

Furthermore and the Worshipful Pooh

Brother Furthermore Raven was in a contemplative mood last night after Lodge. I mention this, my Brothers, only because he doesn’t think I can spell that word, and I do so love to surprise him.

Anyway, we had been to Junior Wardens’ Night at Oriental Lodge No. 20 in Mesa, Arizona, and it was a wonderful event. Furthermore, as a rule, doesn’t think much of Junior Wardens. Whether that is because I am one or not is a point of continuing discussion. So he groused (bird pun), and I had a great time with a dozen or so other Junior Wardens and the terrific hospitality of our host lodge.

But I digress.

On the drive home, Furthermore finally got to the point. “Your lodges need to be more inclusive, welcome Brothers of all persuasions and cultures. It would be much better.”

I was surprised and told him so.

“I’m surprised, Brother Furthermore! I thought we pretty much did that now.”

“Nope,” he responded quickly. “I saw it tonight. Nothing but human beings. You guys were the only species there—except me, of course.” He preened briefly.

I was stunned and told him so.

“I’m stunned, my Brother. Seriously, what did you expect? Do you know of any Brothers of other species?!”

Silly question, of course. I should have spotted a setup.

“Of course. And you should have spotted the setup.”

I’m getting slow. And old.

A lengthy and surreal discussion followed, as you probably suspected. For your benefit, I’m condensing. I know. You’re welcome.

Furthermore holds to the belief that many species have their own form of Freemasonry, some very much like our own, except they tend to enforce the penalties of the obligations. Which isn’t all that bad an idea, now that I think about it. Furthermore seemed to think there were significant differences, however, in the ritual among cats, but, then he would think that, you know? He has little love for cats.

After a time, he began citing great and famous animal Masons. Remember the Dick and Jane stories from our youth? And their dog? Our Most Worshipful Brother Spot? And Worshipful Brother Flipper the Dolphin, 32°? (I’ve heard that he is a holder of the Grand Dorsal Cross!)

The most amazing part of the list, however, was the bears. Bears, apparently, hold the Craft in high honor. And their memory work is almost as good as the elephants. Consider Worshipful Brother Teddy, Most Worshipful Brother Smokey, and, of course, Worshipful Brother Pooh.

I stopped Furthermore at this point. Pooh?! Winnie the Pooh! That Pooh?

Yup. And he proceeded to point out the more esoteric parts of the Pooh stories that I had missed when reading them to my small children years ago.

You’d better sit down for this.

Let’s begin with the obvious. Pooh is much smarter than he looks. Of course, this is true about many of us. You will recall that in the first paragraph of the book, Pooh is being dragged down a flight of stairs. In the last paragraph of the same book, Pooh is being carried up the same flight of stairs. Without getting into the ritual significance of the stairs themselves, it is clear that Pooh is a traveling bear, from Up to Down and Down to Up again. He later confirms this, himself, when talking to Rabbit. “I must move about more. I must come and go.” To further signify a change has occurred, in the opening paragraph, at the top of the stairs, he is introduced as Edward Bear. It isn’t until he reaches the bottom that we learn he is now Winnie The Pooh, clearly, I believe, the initiatory difference between “Mister” and “Brother.”

In Chapter Three, we find Brother Pooh laboring in a quarry as he seeks the Lost Woozle. The esoteric meaning is, of course, clear to a Master Mason. In the same semi-sacred source, we also discover Pooh leading his friend Piglet through the quarry in clockwise circles. Here, of course, is Brother Pooh at work as the elder Deacon as he guides Piglet in what appears to be Third Degree ceremonies. At one point, Pooh explains to Piglet that they may face hostile animals on this rough and rugged road.

Pooh as Senior Deacon appears elsewhere. In the chapter dealing with Heffalumps, Piglet is struggling to knock on the door of Pooh’s home. He is unable to reach the knocker. Worshipful Brother Pooh, instead, knocks for Piglet, thus gaining admission. Incidentally, I confess to assuming his election to the Oriental Chair. I find it highly possible, because in Chapter Nine, we learn that “Pooh went out to discover the East Pole by himself.” Clearly, the Master’s job is a lonely one.

I was completely convinced by the next bit of evidence. A central part of the story of Pooh and Piglet is the building of a house. In the Hundred Acre Wood, there is no mention of any architectural structure save the House they build at Pooh Corner. It was a simple house of wood, and no sound of metal was heard during its building. And it was built at a corner, an angle of 90 degrees or a square. And it was built in the shape of a triangle, the inverted compasses. The illustration of this confirms the description. The Square and Compasses. How much clearer can it be? As for his own dwelling, Pooh describes it in one chapter as “a beehive.”

One final piece of evidence: In Chapter Nine, a partial list of Pooh’s titles is given. His is an F.O.P. (Friend of Piglet), R.C. (Rabbit’s Companion); and an E.C. and T.F. (Eeyore’s Comforter and Tail-finder). So, in part, we have Worshipful Brother Pooh, F.O.P., R.C., E.C., and T.F.

Now, I ask you. Is that Masonic or what?!

There was much more evidence to support this thesis, of course, but a little education at a time is probably a good thing. Brother Furthermore and I thank you for staying with us this far. In the words of Eeyore, another Brother of the Lodge of the Hundred Acre Wood (who is clearly speaking to brothers here), “Thank you … you’re a real friend. Not like some.”

---

Bro. William H. “Skip” Boyer, KCCH, was a strong supporter of Freemasonry. He spoke at two of the 2002 Leadership Conferences before being diagnosed with cancer, and eventually succumbed to the disease on May 27, 2006. His “Chronicles of Furthermore,” from which this excerpt came, can be found at http://www.furthermoreraven.org, and will bring a smile to all, especially those who knew Skip and his dry wit.