[Jason]

Time was, happenings at the Temple of Freemasonry off the Capitol Square - from statewide gatherings of members to dramatic performances like 1928's hit play "Are You a Mason?" - made the front pages of the local newspapers. Today, the imposing limestone building at 301 Wisconsin Ave. is a national landmark, but people passing by may have little idea of what goes on behind its walls.
Freemasons, also known as Masons, are still a focus of curiosity in popular culture. They are cast as the keepers of the key to ultimate enlightenment in the current best-seller "The Lost Symbol," and to a literal treasure beyond measure in the 2004 hit film "National Treasure." Freemasonry also long has been the target of exposes linking the group to everything from Satanism to plots to launch a New World Order and assume global dominance. Even treatments that present the Masons as an organization devoted to traditional values package their story in enigma.
A bemused Bob Canfield shrugs it all off. "Anytime something is not fully understood, it's a conspiracy. Conspiracy theories are fun," says Canfield, 62, a retired administrator from the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and a 33rd degree Mason, the organization's highest rank.


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