by JAMES A. MARPLES
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Nearly every town newspaper showcases clubs and organizations that people belong to.  I wish to relate an interesting story we can learn from. Some people are aware of the name Albert Pike (1809-1891). He was a Brigadier General for the Confederacy during the civil war. He was both scholarly and sassy at the same time. He was arrested by his military superiors, one of whom reportedly stated that Pike was “either insane or untrue to the South.”
Held in Warren, Texas, Pike afterward migrated to Washington, DC to practice law. In 1840, Pike published a plea for the return of one of his runaway slaves:  “a negro woman named Rebecca. She is tall and good looking, with sharp features, high cheek bones, and a large head of hair, color a dark brown, age about twenty-two.”  He offered a “FIFTY DOLLAR REWARD” which was substantial for that time. 
In later life, it is claimed that he mellowed and had a fairly good friendship with his African-American barber.  But considering Pike’s long white disheveled  hair and his continually long scraggly beard, I often ask myself if he even had a barber? In the 1840s, he joined the Odd Fellow Lodge, by the 1850s, he had joined both the York Rite and Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. I belong to all 3 groups. Pike held the national title of Sovereign Grand Commander in Scottish Rite. He even briefly traveled through the Pacific Northwest. 
Like all humans, he did some very fine things and also some very dumb things. One good thing, he conferred the 4th-32nd degrees on Army surgeon Marshall W. Wood, a good Templar Mason, at Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1876. Pike was a great writer, but on a few occasions he would mix the sublime with the silly. As a lawyer, he earned a sizable dollar settlement from the US government when he defended some American Indians. Additionally, he was appointed as Receiver for the failed Arkansas State Bank and attempted to collect the debts owed to that organization. The fees he received were lucrative and he made a fortune.
Sadly, he frittered all that money away. He was broke at the end of his life and relied on Masons for a yearly stipend. His weight ballooned to over 325 pounds. I am fat, but not like that. Moral of the story: Not every Mason represents modern members. Especially not a man who died 133 years ago. I can cut Pike some slack in that he was a product of his times, but I am content to applaud his positive accomplishments without venerating his glaring flaws, just because of his holding of various fraternal offices. From 1867-1874, Pike had a turbulent relationship with George Frank Gouley, a very prominent Grand Secretary and Grand Commander of Templar Masons in Missouri.  Gouley found aspects of Scottish Rite ritual that Pike had allegedly plagiarized from York Rite rituals. After a back-and-forth of stern letters, Pike finally relented. Like all men, Albert Pike will face a Judgment Day.There are plenty of other members –past and present– for whom I have much more respect.