[Ciexyz]

My Dad was a Mason. There's a Masonic symbol on his gravestone, that's what he wanted. His Dad was a Mason. He used to tell me about the black ball system, when his lodge voted on a new member. Each member was given one black ball and one white ball (the white ball meaning, we accept this new member.) If one black ball was found in the jar, then every single member present was obligated to get up and vote again. And if a black ball was again found in the "ballot box" -- the request for membership was rejected.

[Ciexyz]

The Female auxiliary to the Masons is the Eastern Star. You don't hear much about it anymore, but in my Grandmother's day, it was a big social thing. There was also a girls' organization for daughters of Masons called Rainbow Girls, kind of like the Girl Scouts. I remember asking my Mom in the early 60's if I could join the Rainbow Girls, and she said, You don't want to get into that, they're snobby. So I joined the Girl Scouts instead.