Alice and I are in Jeffersonville, Indiana this weekend for the arrival Brother General Gilbert Lafayette. The Grand Lodge of Indiana will be dedicating a new historic marker commemorating his 1825 visit here on Monday. Major General Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de LaFayette, was invited as ‘the Nation’s Guest’ in 1824-25 to tour America as part of the Jubilee 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and American Revolution. By that time, Lafayette was the last living member of General George Washington’s Revolutionary War-era generals and personal staff. His American tour took him to all 24 states in existence at that time, traveling 6,000 miles in 13 months. A hero of both the American and French Revolutions, the 67-year-old Lafayette was greeted by enthusiastic crowds everywhere he went, and Freemasons throughout the country invited him to attend lodges, dinners, cornerstone ceremonies and more. The American Friends of Lafayette have been reenacting the general’s famous national tour for its 200th anniversary. Following the diary made of his trip, they are holding events at every major stop he made, on the same dates he originally made them, with a French actor from Historic Williamsburg playing the part of Lafayette. (fb)

After a prolonged public silence, the officers and directors of the Masonic Society research organization have regretfully issued a statement officially announcing its closure. RIP TMS (fb)