The North Carolina Mason

January/February 2013

North Carolina Mason

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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.

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