Christopher L. Hodapp's Blog

by Christopher Hodapp

A shocking case of (alleged) betrayal has rocked the Masonic community in the Milwaukee area. Tyler Kristopeit, 39, former treasurer and officer of the George Washington 1776 Masonic Lodge in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin and his wife Katie, 37, both of Muskego, were charged last week in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with conspiracy to commit theft in a business setting exceeding $100,000 and conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to court filings and news reports, the...

by Christopher Hodapp

Brethren, if you are anywhere near Arizona in mid-August, don't miss this amazing event! On August 14th and 15th, the Grand Lodges of Arizona, Nevada and Utah will jointly confer all three Blue Lodge degrees under the canopy of heaven at the breathtaking Grand Canyon!

From the registration site for Camp Cornerstone 2026 :

Camp Cornerstone 2026 will be held at the Shrine of the Ages, a distinctive interfaith chapel and gathering space located on the South Rim of Grand Canyon Nat...

Photo: KRGV-TV5by Christopher Hodapp
Julio Diaz (allegedly) shot and killed Freemason Robert Wise outside a Masonic lodge in McAllen, Texas almost three years ago. But the murder case against him has been delayed multiple times, most recently on Monday.
McAllen is a small town right on the Mexican border in the southernmost tip of Texas, just west of South Padre Island.

On the night of July 10, 2023, Brother Wise was leaving an officers’ installation ceremony at McAllen Lodge 1110 (he had just been...

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Lodge of California has officially established Freemasonry’s first Star Trek-themed affinity lodge. Starfleet Lodge U.D. was consecrated on Sunday in the Pleasanton Masonic Hall. Grand Master Garrett S. Chan was on hand for the occasion. (Photos from Jonathan Hirshon’s Facebook page) 



Their location makes sense as Pleasanton is a suburban neighborhood of San Francisco, where, according to the canon of the Star Trek universe, is the location of Starfleet headquarters...

Photo: City of Franklin Fire Dept.

by Christopher Hodapp

On the morning of Friday, April 10, 2026, just after 5:00 a.m., a large fire broke out at the Indiana Masonic Home at Compass Park in Franklin, Indiana. The blaze rapidly engulfed Young’s Creek II, a 39-unit apartment building under construction as part of the campus expansion. The building was unoccupied at the time and just 100 days from opening.

It's been declared a total loss, with damages estimated to exceed $20 million.

Credit: WTHR-13 ...

by Christopher Hodapp

I will be speaking Wednesday night at Jubilee Lodge 746 in Whiteland, Indiana at the request of WB Michael Steele, Worshipful Master. Dinner begins at 6:00PM, prepared by the indefatigable Heather Steele, and the meeting will open at 7:00. Michael and Heather have been of immeasurable help to the Masonic Library & Museum of Indiana this year and I can't thank them enough for all they've done (even if Michael DID use the silliest photo of me he could find - it was a 4th of Ju...

IMAGE: STEFAN GLERUM FOR M LE MAGAZINE DU MONDE
by Christopher Hodapp

There's a bizarre story blowing up across French and European media this week, and it has the potential of being a public relations nightmare for the entire fraternity the likes of which we haven't seen in decades. Newsfeeds everywhere are blaring headlines about Freemasons! Mafia! Murder plots! Not since the old P2 (Propaganda Due) story in Italy in the 1980s has there been a tale so convoluted, bizarre and seriously sinister i...

by Christopher Hodapp

I always knew Reba McIntyre was a lady of great esteem. 
Many years ago, back when the Earth cooled and dinosaurs ruled the world, I made TV commercials. One of our biggest clients was HH Gregg appliance stores, and some of our most enjoyable projects were for them. We made multiple (and VERY different) campaigns for them for many, many years.
One year, they decided to hire a celebrity spokesperson for a new campaign, and they chose country music superstar Reba McEntire to be ...

by Christopher Hodapp
All weekend long Masonic groups and individual Masons on social media platforms have circulated images and text snippits that claim popular actor and martial arts champion Chuck Norris  was a Freemason. One especially detailed image appears to come from the Grand Lodge of Texas paying tribute to the late Norris by falsely claiming he was a distinguished Texas Mason.
Norris died suddenly on Thursday after being hospitalized in Hawaii with a medical emergency. He was 86 years o...

by Christopher Hodapp

To my surprise, my 2006 book, Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers, and the Secrets of Washington D.C., has just been released as an unabridged audio book and is now available from Amazon/Audible for $18.18. Unfortunately for fans of audio books, there are many photos and illustrations in the print edition, so your enjoyment of Solomon's Builders may be less than ideal, unless you use it as a companion to the dead tree version. That's not me trying the old Chico ...