"ride that goat"

[Garson O'Toole]

I could not find the exact text of the tweet in a newspaper in the
NewspaperArchive. But the topic of Masonic brethren riding a goat was
discussed in a newspaper in Ohio in 1888.

Citation: 1888 September 8, Portsmouth Times, A Historic House, Page
1, Col. 8, Portsmouth, Ohio. (NewspaperArchive)

The brethren subsequently fitted up a lodge room on the west side of
Market street, between Second and Third, and still later built their
present temple. Most of the middle aged Masons of Portsmouth took
their first ride on the goat in that room, and many who are now high
up in the order, as well as far on the downhill side of life,
doubtless have pleasant recollections as they glance up at the closed
and time-stained windows.

According to an article on the Dummies.com website: "Freemasons do not
ride a goat in their lodges. It's a joke, perpetrated often by Masons
themselves on nervous initiates."

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/debunking-common-myths-about-freemasonry.html

Of course Dummies.com may not be an ideal website for authoritative
information. There are plenty of other websites that say Masons (or
other groups) do ride mechanical goats, or rocking-horse style goats,
or real goats in ceremonies.


On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 11:28 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "ride that goat"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Masonic initiations supposely involved riding a goat. Why I don't know. I
> don't know why "lodge members" would be encouraged to go out an do it on a
> moonlight night either, except as a joke.
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Jan 30, 2010 at 1:10 AM, Dan Goodman <dsgood at iphouse.com> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Dan Goodman <dsgood at IPHOUSE.COM>
>> Subject:      "ride that goat"
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> This is for my own curiousity; no scholarly enterprise will be damaged
>> if I don't get an answer.
>>
>>  From Twitter http://twitter.com/TweetsofOld)
>>
>> TweetsofOld
>>
>> The moon is as full and bright as a new dollar. Get out to your lodge
>> meetings, brethren, and "Ride that Goat" ! OH1888
>>
>> Taken from an 1888 Ohio newspaper (which one, in what city, not
>> specified.)
>>
>> --
>> Dan Goodman
>> Journal at:
>> dsgood.livejournal.com
>> dsgood.dreamwidth.org
>> dsgood.insanejournal.com
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
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>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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