My grandfather, Pop Pitcher, was a stonemason in St. John's. I adored him when I was a toddler, but saw little of him later. Perhaps in his working days he wore a mason's leather apron as he worked in stone. The regalia of the members of the Masonic Lodge also includes an apron, inheritance from the guild of the Middle Ages. A few years ago when my daughter and I were visiting the ancestral places and Mom's side of the family, we heard "The Mason's Apron" played by The Masterless Men, a group named for the historic band of Irish lads who left their British masters to fend for themselves in the wilderness of the Avalon peninsula.
They made this choice rather than as stay on under the thumb of the British navy that had press ganged them into service. Made popular by Sean Maguire, The Mason's Apron is performed here by Matt Molloy and the Chieftains.
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