# Hello from Matagorda TX



## SMITHENHALS

Hello Brothers, I'm a MM at Matagorda Lodge #7 in Matagorda, TX. I'm extremely proud to be a Mason, and proud to be a member of such a well organized, informative website such as Mason of Texas.

Thanks,
Brother Bill


----------



## JTM

welcome to the boards.


----------



## Bro. Stewart P.M.

Welcome!


----------



## david918

Welcome brother!


----------



## JEbeling

Matagorda #7 is the greatest old lodge to put on a Master Mason's Degree... ! As you put the Degree you can just see 100 years of men working and walking around on the old floor. I have put on two or three MM Degree's and always enjoyed the people and the old two story building with the pine floors... ! The only Lodge in Texas with Grand Masters Permission to have spit-toons in lodge..? Grand Master said they were there before the Civil War ... ! not going to change now.. !


----------



## Bill Lins

Good to see you here!


----------



## SMITHENHALS

JEbeling said:


> Matagorda #7 is the greatest old lodge to put on a Master Mason's Degree... ! As you put the Degree you can just see 100 years of men working and walking around on the old floor. I have put on two or three MM Degree's and always enjoyed the people and the old two story building with the pine floors... ! The only Lodge in Texas with Grand Masters Permission to have spit-toons in lodge..? Grand Master said they were there before the Civil War ... ! not going to change now.. !


 
I always thought those were just really weird shaped ash trays!


----------



## david918

I've visited Matagorda lodge and seen the spit-toons but they are not that old since the lodge was not chartered until 1911 defiantly not pre civil war.


----------



## Huw

Urghh!  Perhaps this is some sort of transatlantic cultural difference, but it seems to me quite bizarre to have spittoons in a Lodge, let alone that Brethren could take pride in something so inappropriate.  Is it a Lodge or a saloon, for Heaven's sake?


----------



## SMITHENHALS

It's a lodge, and a damn good one at that. As far as I have seen they are used as ash trays, but hey tobacco spit is just a part of life here in Texas, nothing inappropriate.


----------



## Huw

Hi Smithenhals.

I'm sure it's a good Lodge.

I wasn't trying to cause offence, I was just trying to explain how very strange this sounds from an English perspective.  For some reason, chewing baccy has never caught on over here (even though many of us smoke), and tobacco spit is emphatically not a part of life here - it'd be widely regarded as highly offensive, and putting a spittoon in a Lodge would seem to us almost as inappropriate as putting a urinal in a Lodge.  I assume chewing baccy is probably obtainable somewhere in England for those who really want it, but to illustrate how rare it is here, I'll mention that I've never seen it in my life.  Amazing how different some little details of life can be, eh?

T & F,

Huw


----------



## JTM

i'm sure there are things ya'll do in english lodges that we would see the same way you see the spittoons, Huw.


----------



## SMITHENHALS

So comparing a Masonic lodge to a saloon, wasnâ€™t meant to be offensive? How about comparing the spittoons you already know are there to having urinals in our lodge, I guess that wasn't meant as offensive either. You are aware you are on a website named Mason of TEXAS right? Well I may just be a dumb olâ€™ Texan, but I have enough manners to not insult anotherâ€™s culture...especially while on a website primarily for that culture.


----------



## Huw

Hi JTM.



JTM said:


> i'm sure there are things ya'll do in english lodges that we would see the same way you see the spittoons, Huw.


Sure, I guess there may well be.  At the moment I don't know what, but it'd be interesting to find out.

T & F,

Huw


----------



## Huw

Hi Smithenhals.



SMITHENHALS said:


> So comparing a Masonic lodge to a saloon, wasnâ€™t meant to be offensive?


 
Correct, it wasn't meant to be offensive. The point I was trying to illustrate is that to us over here, a spittoon is something we'd think of in connection with a saloon - and your saloons rather than ours, since we know chewing baccy is popular over there and not over here.



SMITHENHALS said:


> How about comparing the spittoons you already know are there to having urinals in our lodge, I guess that wasn't meant as offensive either.


 
Again correct, it wasn't meant to be offensive. I'm trying to give an honest illustration of how different the attitude is between places, because it seems to me interesting that it's so different - tobacco spit really is regarded as very offensive over here, and I think the urinal comparison was a fair description of how it'd seem to us here, even though obviously you take a very different view over there.



SMITHENHALS said:


> You are aware you are on a website named Mason of TEXAS right?


 
Obviously. And one which is deliberately open to masons (and even non-masons) from elsewhere, for the mutual benefit of comparing notes about what's the same and (as in the present case) what's different. You wouldn't want this forum restricted to Texans only, would you?



SMITHENHALS said:


> Well I may just be a dumb olâ€™ Texan, but I have enough manners to not insult anotherâ€™s culture...especially while on a website primarily for that culture.


 
Well today it seems difficult for me to comment on how my culture is surprisingly different from yours without you interpreting it as an insult to your culture. No doubt this is merely due to my own inadequacies at explaining my point clearly, and I'm sorry you're offended to hear that we take such a different attitude over here on this point. Personally I thought it was surprising and rather interesting to find out about this, because I hadn't been aware that your view there was quite so different.

T & F,

Huw


----------



## fairmanjd

Speaking as a proud Texan who has been blessed with the opportunity to see, visit, spend time with folks all over the world, I've noticed another interesting cultural difference between us who are from God's Country (Texas) and the rest of the world.  Take any given Texan and any given argument... when a Texan knows/thinks he's right, he will argue his point with no compromise until his opponent fully concedes.
I've noticed most folks from other cultures (my primary experience is with Japanese, Okinawan, and some English folks) are very skilfull in the art of winning an argument and still giving their opponent an honorable way out.
That's my two cents on a totally unrelated topic just in case anyone was interested. Have a great day.


----------



## JEbeling

I am sorry I mentioned it... ? I just always thought it was kinda of neet.. ! didn't meen to take away for a great old two story lodge with great people and great old Texas charm.. ! when you walk in you can not help but think of all the people who sat in the chairs and worked to get the lodge to today... ! its a great visit for anyone in south Texas.. ! you will have a great time.. !


----------



## JTM

that's incredibly annoying.


----------



## Casey

Welcome brother!


----------



## Joey

Welcome Brother!


----------



## Texas_Justice85

Ill be heading down there the first part of September


----------



## doramider7

david918 said:


> Welcome brother!


 Matagorda #7 is the greatest old lodge to put on a Master Mason's Degree... ! As you put the Degree you can just see 100 years of men working and walking around on the old floor. I have put on two or three MM Degree's and always enjoyed the people and the old two story building with the pine floors... ! The only Lodge in Texas with Grand Masters Permission to have spit-toons in lodge..? Grand Master said they were there before the Civil War ... ! not going to change now.. !


----------

