John Habel Jr.'s personality exemplifies Freemasonry: principled, bold, charitable — and slightly mystifying.

The Washington Township resident will be the guest of honor at a testimonial banquet 6 p.m. Friday at The Willow Room in Rostraver.

The banquet is to celebrate his May 17 election as Grand Commander of the Knights Templar of Pennsylvania.

More than 200 are expected to attend, including the organization's Eminent Grand Prelate, Dr. Harold Knappenberger Jr., nearly a dozen elected grand officers and 14 eminent division commanders.

“This isn't a big, big job. You visit the Commanderies, see how their doing and try to get them to increase membership,” Habel said.

“We have a charity where we fund eye research like the Shriners have the hospital for crippled children. Right now we're funding universities.”

Habel, originally from Garrett, Pa., is best known as a longtime physics teacher who spent 34 years with the Monessen School District before retiring in 2005. He also served as the district's audio-visual coordinator and head track and field coach.

In his new Masonic position, Habel leads approximately 5,000 members of the Grand Commandery throughout the state.

“It's sort of a progressive six-year line,” Habel said of his recent election. “At first, there's a Junior Grand Warden, then the next year, you're the Senior Grand Warden. There's technically an election every year. but once you get Junior Grand Warden, you just progress through all these titles.”

Habel is a member of the York Rite under a national organization called the Grand Encampment. The fourth, and last, of the York Rite Bodies of Masonry, Commanderies of Knights Templar is the only recognized Masonic body that has religious connotations because it is based on accepting Jesus Christ as savior, Habel noted.

A Lutheran by faith, Habel said all denominations are welcome in Freemasonary.

A 24-year Army veteran who retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1994, Habel equated his new Masonic position as a similarly high-ranking military officer.

“I guess I'd be like a battalion commander,” he said. “The Grand Encampment is above me. There are 5,000 members, but only one Grand Commander. I guess it would be like we're the state and the local chapters would be like the county.”

Habel listed three goals he hopes to accomplish during his reign: Create a bank account to endow a Holy Land Pilgrimage to Jerusalem and other hallowed sites, convince every Knight Templar to become an organ donor and renew the fraternity's interest in drill and tactics.

Mostly Habel aims to increase membership. He said the fraternity has liberalized its methods for others to join in recent years — outsiders used to have to specifically ask a Mason to join.

Habel said when he first joined, there were 250,000 Masons in Pennsylvania but as members aged, attrition took its toll.

“Nobody's joining anything, the Elks, the Eagles. It's just the way society is,” he said.

“We actually had sons who wondered why their fathers never asked them to join. Now they just came out and said, ‘This is ridiculous. If you go to church for years and you think he's a good guy, why not just ask him to join the Masons?'”

Habel said the Commanderies originated after the Civil War, when uniform makers approached the fraternity to provide formal outfits.

“Let's say we're manufacturers, you're making swords and I'm making uniforms,” Habel explained. “The war ends and we have all these swords and I've got all these uniforms, so we go to a Masonic body and say, ‘Don't you think you should be a uniform body with swords and hats?'

“So now we didn't close our factories and we sold them to the Knights Templar. Until then, they just wore an apron.”

Habel and his wife, Ruth, have two children — John Habel III and Kathleen Louise Willard — along with three granddaughters.

Habel said the Masons are not inherently clandestine.

“I don't know where the temple treasure is,” Habel said, cracking a smile. “We're an organization with secrets, but we're not a secret organization. In every mainstream Masonic body, you say you believe in a Supreme Being. In the blue lodge we have Jews, Catholics and Muslims.”

Friday's banquet will occur nearly 43 years to the day Habel first joined McKeesport Commandery No. 86. He was coronated as a 33rd degree Mason — the highest obtainable rank — in 2002.

“It costs a lot of money to do this, traveling and having your convention, but I do it because it's fraternal,” Habel said. “It has been a long journey, but it has been a journey of love.”

Rick Bruni Jr. is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at rbruni@tribweb.com or 724-684-2635.

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