Page 2
The North Carolina Mason
January/February 2013
Ric Car ter photos
Bells of NCSU getting closer
You may remember Raleigh Mason Matthew Robbins��� drive to put bells in the NC
State University Belltower. The University has ordered the last two bells in its first set.
The first set includes the largest bell, the bourden, which is 2,100 pounds and sounds
the F below middle C, and four other bells which compose the Westminster Chime.
Students, alumni, and staff have donated almost $200,000 for all five bells. Work also
includes the frame for the carillon, and the mechanisms to ring it. The total number of
bells is to be 55 to match what was designed in 1920. The Tower was designed in 1920
as a memorial to 34 NC State College alumni who died in WWI. Erecting the tower
took nearly 20 years. The tower is yet unfinished, however. It yet lacks a stairway and
bells. Plans are under way to complete the 1920 design. The bells are on display in D. H.
Hill Library on campus at Hillsborough Street.
Masons were integral to building the monument and set the cornerstone in 1921.
Robbins was a grad student at NC State when he learned there were no bells in the
tower and decided to do something about it.
Left, Robbins is seen with one of the new bells and right with his model
of the completed tower.
First District Masons reach out to USO
Elmer Gibson photo
By Ric Carter
ELIZABETH CITY ��� Perhaps it is the nature of the region,
but whatever the reason, there is likely no more closely knit Masonic district than the First. They frequently conduct charitable
projects for Masonic and local purposes. When the Elizabeth
City Chamber of Commerce needed help with their annual Coast
Guard Week last August, they sent a USO representative to the
District���s quarterly meeting. The Masons were moved.
On August 3, launch day, 15 Masons from eight lodges
showed up at seven o���clock in the morning. They aided in the
setup of tents, tables, chairs, and fencing. At 4:00, another shift
of First Masonic District members came on the scene to help
with setup for the evening���s John Parr concert. Other Masons
came to support souvenir and information tents. Still, others
helped with crowd management and in the food and beverage
concessions. They even passed a donation bucket collecting $500
for the USO. They joined the USO Directors in tossing souvenirs from the stage to the crowd.
Through the day, 65 Masons helped make the event successful
for the servicemen in their community and elsewhere. You could
tell the Masons, they wore bright orange t-shirts with a USO emblem on the front and square and compasses on the back.
They had fun together, they helped a good cause, and they even
got recognized in the local press as being central in making the
event happen.
PGM Gresham presented Brantley the Montfort
Medal as his lodge brothers looked on.
Brantley named
Montfort medalist
RALEIGH ��� Past Grand Master Robert E. Gresham recently
visited Raleigh 500 so that he could present Michael Brantley, past
grand historian, the Joseph Montfort Medal for outstanding service
to the Masonic fraternity. Brantley���s brothers in the lodge greatly
enjoyed sharing the occasion with their much respected brother.
Brantley has been important to the preservation of our Grand
Lodge historical legacy. He has shared the history and thus helped
preserve and restore various artifacts and treasures of the Craft.
His appreciation of art and architecture has been of great value to
all Masons in our state.
The Joseph Montfort Medal is the highest award in North
Carolina Freemasonry and is given to those who have proven the
most valuable servants of the Craft here. Each grand master is
allowed to present three such awards. The medal is named after
North Carolinian Joseph Montfort who was named ���provincial
grand master of and for America��� in 1771.
You���re invited
Reenactors meeting
May 6
YADKINVILLE ��� Yadkin 162 will host War Between the
States reenactors in conjunction with North Carolina Confederate Memorial Day. All Masons are invited to attend in uniform
for the stated meeting May 6. After lodge is closed, Bill Potts,
of Unanimity 7, will give a program on Masonry and the Civil
War. Potts is the commanding officer of the First North Carolina
Battalion of Infantry and has been a reenactor for over 30 years.
Non-Masons are invited to the educational program.
Barbecue dinner will be served before the meeting. Yadkin Lodge
Master John H. Baucom, also commanding officer of the 28th North
Carolina Infantry Regiment (reenactors), reminds us that, as the
real war is over, Federal troop reenactors and their
uniforms are welcome for the meeting. RSVP to
.
Lodge 76 records
added to Collection
CHAPEL HILL ��� Greensboro 76 donated its lodge minutes
and financial records from 1821 to 1962 to UNC���s Southern Historical Collection. Doug Wright, Rick Smith, and Ray Hall delivered the papers to Collection Director Tim West in December.
The lodge records capture a broad swath of Greensboro history
and contain the names of many prominent citizens. They join a
growing collection of Tar Heel Masonic history housed in Wilson
Library. The library collection can be searched at . Greensboro���s records must be processed and cataloged; so
they may not show up in the online catalog for a while.
The Southern Historical Collection, the world���s largest cache
of original manuscripts on the history of the South, is reorganizing its Masonic holdings. This will make searching easier for
researchers, but the papers may be temporarily unavailable while
library staff is reorganizing the collection.
Wilson Library has strict security measures to protect its collections from document thieves. Researchers are encouraged to
visit and look at papers. They���re advised to contact library staff
in advance at wilsonlibrary@unc.edu to check library hours and
learn about the registration procedure.
��� Speed Hallman
Seen here, from left, are SHC���s Tim West, Doug
Wright, Ray Hall, and Rick Smith.
GM meetings coming to a lodge near you
ALS Walk
May 19
RALEIGH ��� Hiram 40 invites you to
���Walk In Memory Of Past Master Ron Page���
who succumbed to ALS (Lou Gehrig���s Disease)
in 2011. Ron was chairman of Grand Lodge
Annual Communication from 1997���2010. The
ALS Triangle Walk will be on Saturday, April
13 starting at 10:00 a.m. in Raleigh at the Halifax Mall, Wilmington Street.
Join ���Ron���s Jamn��� Team��� by making a donation or coming out to join Hiram 40 in the battle against this disease. Donate/register online:
, click the ���Walk to
Defeat ALS��� logo, click on Donations upper
right corner. Give online now and/or participate in an event. Click on Triangle Walk, Find a
Team and look for ���Ron���s Jamn��� Team���. To learn
more contact Sue Page at (919) 801-1263.
Montana���s first livestock brand was the
Square and Compasses and is still in use. It was
registered by Poindexter & Co. of Beaverhead
County, MT in 1873.
��� From ���To Light��� by Larry Jacobson,
The Nebraska Mason, Spring 2012
Grand Master Dewey R. Preslar Jr. plans to visit
about half our districts this year. His meetings start
in early February and will finish at the end of May.
His meetings will be similar to the area meetings
of the past few years. Pre-meeting meals are scheduled for 6:15 p.m. with the tyled meeting starting at
7:00 p.m. District officers and the grand master will
be received with usual honors.
You may make your lodge���s reservation for the
meeting with your district deputy grand master
or host lodge secretary. Please be considerate of
the host lodge. Make your reservations for dinner at least seven days before your scheduled
meeting. It is very frustrating to try to plan for
a meal when reservations have not been made.
Your lodge will be responsible to pay for all
meals reserved. Those who have not made reservations should not expect to eat.
In case of inclement weather, meetings will be
cancelled in accordance with local schools cancellations. If a meeting is cancelled, the host lodge and
district deputy grand master will be notified. Your
lodge may cancel its stated communication to attend your district meeting. Information will also
be posted on the Grand Lodge web site: . This schedule was the schedule as of December 7, 2012. Changes may be necessary. Please consult your lodge for updates.
The
DateDistrict
The Mason
(USPS 598-260) is published bimonthly by The Grand Lodge of AF & AM of North
Carolina, 2921 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608.
Third class postage paid at Oxford, NC 27565.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The North Carolina Mason, School Of Graphic
Arts, Masonic Home for Children, Oxford, NC 27565.
Grand Master
Dewey R. Preslar Jr.
Board Of Publication
Thomas A. Pope Jr. (Chair)
Don E. Bolden
R. Kevin Combs
John A. Pea
John A. Sullivan
Editor
Ric Carter
Location
February 6..............15.......................Hiram 40.....................................1520 Caswell St, Raleigh
February 7..............13.................. Henderson 229.............................401 Brodie Rd, Henderson
February 11............29................... Kilwinning 64................................. S. Greene St, Wadesboro
February 12............21....................Carthage 181............................... 302 Saunders St, Carthage
February 27............17.......................Phoenix 8..................................221 Mason St, Fayetteville
February 28............19..................... Mosaic 762........................... 1211 Franklin St, Chapel Hill
March 5..................35................... Cleveland 202.............................. 1456 E. Marion St, Shelby
March 6..................31................... East Gate 692............... 500 N. Sharon Amity Rd, Charlotte
March 7..................34.................... Catawba 248...............................200 N. College St, Newton
March 19.................6...................... Grifton 243.....................................108 Gordon St, Grifton
March 20.................9.................... Corinthan 230............. 1700 S. Winstead Ave, Rocky Mount
March 21................11.................. Mill Creek 125.......................513 Raleigh St, Newton Grove
April 8....................41................. Robbinsville 672.................................Church St, Robbinsville
April 9....................37...................... Vesper 554..................................637 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine
April 10..................39................. Mt. Hermon 118..................................80 Broadway, Asheville
April 11..................33.......................Snow 363........................................240 Temple Dr, Boone
April 15...................5............... American George 17.....................205 College St, Murfreesboro
April 16...................1.......................Eureka 317.................. 218 S. Hughes Blvd, Elizabeth City
April 17...................3......................Atlantic 294..........................Court House Sq, Swanquarter
April 22...................4..................... Newport 706............................. 235 Howard Blvd, Newport
April 23..................12.................Federal Point 753................... 5th and Harper, Carolina Beach
April 24..................18.................. Chadbourn 190.............. 417 E Strawberry Blvd, Chadbourn
May 13...................23...................Greensboro 76........................426 W. Market St, Greensboro
May14....................25.......................Elkin 454..........................................114 Market St, Elkin
May15....................28.............. Andrew Jackson 576.........................401 N. Fulton St, Salisbury
m i s s i o n o f F r e e m a s o n r y i n N o r t h C a r o l i n a i s t o r a i s e t h e m o r a l , s o c i a l , i n t e l l e ct u a l ,
tenets of B rotherly L ove , R elief , and T ruth , which are expressed outwardly through service to
NORTH CAROLINA
Host
and
G od ,
spiritual conscience of society by
family , country , and self under the
teaching
the ancient and enduring philosophical
of G od within the B rotherhood of M an .
F atherhood
Good quality pictures, whether color or black and white, are essential for suitable reproduction. The
right to reject any submission not suitable for use is reserved. Pictures will be returned to the sender
only if accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Submissions and other correspondence
should be sent to the editor at PO Box 6506, Raleigh, NC 27628 or .
Reproduction of articles
by Masonic organizations is permitted with
proper credits.
Each North Carolina Mason is a subscriber to The North Carolina Mason. If you know a member
who is not receiving the paper, please send us his full name, his complete address and the name
and number of his lodge. Masonic widows receive The Mason free upon request. Subscriptions are
available to others at a rate of five dollars per year. Subscription inquiries and address changes only
should be sent to: The School of Graphic Arts, Masonic Home for Children, 600 College Street,
Oxford, North Carolina 27565.
Opinions expressed
are not necessarily those of The North
Carolina Mason, the
Grand Lodge, or Board
of Publication.