The North Carolina Mason

Page 4 The North Carolina Mason GRAND LODGE, from page 1 September/October 2010 Washington Masons study before the voting starts. Filing for per diem may feel like begging. Carter photos Ric Harkers Island Nikes help the Homes. Hanging. Stedman delegates at GM Dill’s reception. Motorcycle lodge is granted charter. Amendment Scoreboard Tom Gregory Toby Fitch Group 1 OSW use limit to Code ........................Withdrawn Group 2 Allow instructors Lecture Service ............. Passed Group 3 Allow funerals for unburied cremations .. Passed Group 4 Alter officer’s catechism requirements ....Tabled Group 5 Limited alcohol usage ....................................Failed Group 6 Criminal background petition checks ....... Passed Group 7 Change affiliation deadlines ....................... Passed members of the National Sojourners Spirit of ’76ers. Te officers of the Grand Lodge entered and opened the Annual Commu- nication in a ceremony very much like the one you use in every meeting. District deputy grand masters and grand lecturers were seated on either side of the ceremonial lodge floor. Grand Lodge officers from the grand lodges of Prince Hall North Carolina, Alabama, District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia, and sitting officers from state appendant bodies were escorted to the stage which held the podium and the symbolic East. Finally, our past grand mas- ters were brought to the stage. Each group was welcomed and accorded private grand honors. Grand Orator Thomas W. Gregory, past grand master, delivered the keynote urging Masons to give special consid- eration to their vows of toleration in this time of rampant intolerance and hate. Trough the rest of the morning, recognitions were presented, and a number of reports were introduced before breaking for lunch. Im- mediate Past Grand Master Dan C. Rice presented a supplement to his preliminary report of last year, finishing the business of his term. Immediately after lunch, and before resealing the lodge, rep- resentatives of North Carolina’s Masonic youth groups, Rainbow for Girls and DeMolay, spoke to the gathering. After the non-Masons were escorted from the lodge hall, we resumed labor. A ceremony was conducted to honor our members who died this past year. At the conclusion of the Necrology, Grand Master Dill pre- sented his preliminary report on his year thus far. Tere was business requiring voting on Friday afternoon in- cluding the Report of the Committee on Appeals. Appeals’ rec- ommendations were adopted by the delegates. Several less contro- versial amendments were discussed and voted on. Grand Master Dill called us from labor to refreshment around 4:00 p.m., then supplied refreshments at a reception for Masons. On Friday evening, Masons were seen in groups all over down- town Winston-Salem. Tey enjoyed the entertainment and many restaurants around the center of the city. On Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m., the final business session of the Annual Communication began. Te first business before us on the second day was the budget for 2011. Finance Committee Chairman Sam Lee presented the budget in sections, calling for discussion before asking for approval of the delegates for that sec- tion. Interspersed between those parts, delegates marked ballots to elect Grand Lodge officers for next year. Te budget, with a small surplus projected, was approved as presented. Elections proceeded without any surprises. Raleigh resident Lewis R. Ledford of Statesville 27 was elected to become our next grand master. Ledford is director of North Carolina State Parks. Te Grand Lodge voted to grant a charter to Knights of Solo- mon Lodge No. 764, a lodge for motorcycle enthusiasts. We adopted a resolution supporting our Masonic forefathers who signed the Mecklenburg Declaration in 1775 and our Char- lotte members who signed a resolution of support for them in 1999 at the dedication of the American Freedom Bell. We were expecting to vote on seven issues during the meeting. Amendment Group 1 would have moved some rules regarding use of the Official Standard of the Work (OSW) into Te Code. Te proposal was withdrawn by the Board of Custodians before a vote. Group 2 was to allow certified instructors to conduct Lecture Ser- vice. It passed easily. Group 3, allowing Masonic funeral services for unburied cremations, also passed by a very wide margin. Group 4 drew several speakers concerning the need for doing away with the Tird Degree catechism requirements for lodge of- ficers other than the wardens and master. After several suggestions of possible changes to the amendment, Grand Master Dill tabled the amendment for further consideration by the committee. Group 5 allowing lodge facility renters to serve alcohol was the subject of much floor debate. Te vote was close with perhaps a small majority voting in favor of allowing. It was, however, short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass a change to Te Code. We will likely hear from this one again. Group 6 was to have the grand secretary’s office to conduct a criminal background check on all petitioners for the degrees. One law enforcement officer rose to remind delegates that asking The Dills sharing the stage has us seeing double. Lew Ledford Speed Hallman him or other officers to run checks was, with current professional restrictions, tantamount to asking him to quit his job. Te chief objections expressed during the lively discussion were the added expense and removal of the investigation from the lodge. Del- egates were reminded that the cost of the background check was to be borne by the petitioner and that the report was to be only a piece of information to be used by the lodge’s investigating com- mittee. Te amendment passed readily. Group 7, redefining deadlines for membership transfers, passed easily. All changes to Te Code take effect January 1, 2011. Others elected to Grand Lodge offices were Robert E. Gresh- am Jr. (Albemarle 703), deputy grand master; Dewey R. Preslar Jr. (Andrew Jackson 576), senior grand warden; Dalton W. Mayo (Hiram 98), junior grand warden; Clifton W. Everett Jr. (Crown Point 708), grand treasurer; and T. Walton Clapp III (Mystic Tie 237), grand secretary. Tis year’s appointed officers include Douglas L. Caudle (Statesvile 27), senior grand deacon; Bryant D. Webster (Nich- ols-West Asheville), junior grand deacon; A. Gene Cobb (Royal White Hart 2), grand marshal; Jimmie B. Hicks Jr. (St. John’s 3), grand steward, C. Speed Hallman (Eagle 19) and Larry Tomp- son (Blackmer 127), grand tyler; Paul F. Kelly (Sanford 151), grand chaplain; Michael W. Brantley (Raleigh 500), grand his- torian; D. W. “Mack” Sigmon (Catawba 248), grand lecturer; A. B. Swindell IV (Oxford 122), grand orator; and James R. Stevens (Garner 701), judge advocate. Te most awaited appointment each year is the new grand steward, the man who will join the line of men advancing toward the office of grand master. Te new steward is C. Speed Hall- man of Eagle 19 and Mosaic 762. Hallman is associate dean for development and alumni affairs for the Journalism School at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Annual Communication was adjourned shortly before noon on Saturday. Installation of Grand Lodge officers is set for Saturday, De- cember 4 at 10:00 a.m. in old House chamber at the State Capitol in Raleigh. You are all invited.i SIGN, from page 1 carries a historical plaque, at the corner of Fayetteville and Har- gett streets, one block south of the State Capitol. According to the National Park Service “growing membership, lack of parking and the desire for greater autonomy by the local lodges led to the sale of the building and the relocation” to our current home. You are urged to visit the Grand Lodge offices to see the grow- Lodge 115 on Register HOLLY SPRINGS — Te Masonic lodge building here, Holly Springs 115, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places. In his letter from the NC Department of Cultur- al Resources, State Preservation Officer Jeffrey Crow says, “You are most fortunate to own and preserve a property that justly de- serves this honor.” Te Register has been called “a roll call of the tangible reminders of the history of the United States.” Holly Springs 115 was chartered in 1847 and has seen unbro- Senior past master honored DOBSON — On August 12, Copeland 390 honored one of their most senior members, Pete Carroll. Carroll was being pre- sented his Veteran’s Emblem celebrating his 50 years in the lodge. Tey further honored the past master by having him preside as master for the evening. Carroll was praised for his “vigor of mind and spirit” and his skill opening the lodge. When the 94-year-old was asked the secret to such longevity, Carrol retorted, “You have to be born a long time ago.” — Dempsey Brewer ken service since. Tey completed and moved into their current home on Raleigh Street in early 1853. It is termed “a utilitarian Greek Revival-influenced side-gable roofed building.” Te report cites the officers’ pine podiums and the wide-plank pine floor of the lodge room as original to the facility. It also mentions the carved wooden G given to the lodge before the Civil War. Te building is praised for its “excellent architectural integrity, retaining most of its original materials and spare detailing at the exterior.” Te building has served as a home for Baptist Missionary So- ciety, the Women’s Society of the Methodist Church, the Home Demonstration Club, and the Wake County Health Department. A major supporter of education, Holly Springs Lodge partici- pated in the operation in its building of Holly Springs Academy and Holly Springs Institute at the lodge in the 1800s. ing number of historic artifacts on display. If you have some Ma- sonic memento which needs protecting and preserving, or just needs a good home, the Grand Lodge would be happy to receive and share it with the world. Above is the sign in its found rough and broken condition. At right, Grand Secretary Walt Clapp prepares a hanging bracket for the museum area’s newest addition.

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