The North Carolina Mason

Page 6 BENEATH THE Oaks Home away from home By Allen Hughes Administrator Masonic Home for Children at Oxford It’s that time of year again when I reminisce about my youth. Sep- tember 12 is the anniversary of my admission to Oxford Orphanage, and that event marks a momentous turning point in my life. I can say without reservation that the care and training I received here in my youth has positively influenced my actions and decisions throughout my adult life. In searching for children we can help, I am constantly reminded of all the efforts being made to keep children out of resi- dential children’s homes such as ours. It bothers me that my “home” could be perceived as an undesirable place for a child when it has so much to offer and has had a positive impact in the lives of so many disadvantaged children. I have only to look at the circumstances from which I and many others came and consider the alternatives had we been left in the bad environment with extended family. I know I am happier, more successful, and a much more productive citizen than I would have been. When I talk about “home,” I always speak of Oxford Orphanage or the Masonic Home for Children as my home. Would I have preferred to have spent my childhood with my siblings and family back in the mountains? Without a doubt; but that wasn’t a practical alternative for us. Looking back, if given the choice of living here or staying with family in the conditions we were in would I want to live here? You betcha’! During the second weekend in October each year, the Masonic Home for Children/Oxford Orphanage holds its annual homecom- ing. Homecoming weekend, like no other, will bring the past into focus. Seeing former classmates, teammates, “partners in crime,” or other “brothers and sisters” often triggers events we haven’t thought of for many years. Amidst the seemingly far-fetched tales we hear (most of them true), a large majority of alumni who lived here will agree that this was their home. Even today, as in recent years, some of the children who live here will admit that MHCO is more like home to them than what they have with their family. Many lifelong relationships among alumni began while they were children living at the Home. Some of our families through marriage have been ab- sorbed into our alumni family. It is said by many alumni of our Home that when we look at where we came from we give thanks that the Masons of North Carolina provided a home for us. How can we call this home and family when children often are far removed from familiar surroundings and the people they know? It is what the Home gives that makes the difference. I think of “home” as a combination of the people and the relations they share. What we had when I lived here were the adults around us who had a sincere interest in our well-being and our future. What we have now at the Masonic Home for Children are many people on and off campus who have a sincere interest in the well-being and future of the children. Te care is expressed through material gifts and loving concern, and that care is extended through college education if the youth re- main that long. One has only to visit with the children to see that the living conditions we provide are better than what many families have. Te children have opportunities to participate in numerous events and take trips they most likely would not experience were they not here. Our “extended family” for the children in our care includes Masons, other individuals, and support groups from all parts of the state who want to help improve the quality of life for the children. Te trips, the gifts, and the special activities with and for the children make a differ- ence. Most of those who give do so with the same sense that they give to family, not expecting anything in return. None of this can take the place of being with one’s own family in a safe environment, but know- ing that others truly care about them, and being able to participate in a variety of new experiences helps dim, if only temporarily, their memories of unpleasant events that led to family separation. Some of the passion, interest, and support for the Masonic Home for Children has dwindled in recent years. Many supporters and alumni say the Home is not the same, as it used to be. True, but it has changed to adapt to meet changing needs of the children. Tere has been, and will continue to be, change all around us. It was necessary to make changes if we want to continue caring for children in need. We can take pride in the fact that our Home has made the changes neces- sary to better provide care for disadvantaged children and families. I strongly encourage all our Masonic lodges and individual members to bring their families and friends to visit our children’s home and spend a little time with the children. Seeing the children and learning of the difference our Home has made in their lives is well worth the time and probably will motivate us to do more. Te number of children in care is much lower than years ago, but parents now have many more options for assistance to keep their family together. On average, the children do not stay here as long because we make a more concerted effort to work with them and the parents or custodians to reunify the families when appropriate. Te children come from different backgrounds and most are placed with MHCO because of poor social conditions rather than poverty. One main constant throughout the history of our Home has been that children have been brought to us because they could not live safely in their own homes. Whether children live at the Masonic Home for Children at Ox- ford only a few months or until they finish college, the time they spend here gives the children a safe and caring home while the adults in their lives seek to resolve the problems which led to family separa- tion. Rarely will any child admit being better off living here than with their parents, regardless of the conditions with their family. I have witnessed it in the past, and I am able to see now that many of the children shed a veil of unhappiness and disappointment and begin to show the confidence that they will be safe and get the care they need while living at our Home. Trough the years most of the children here never give up the hope of being able to go back to live with their family, but as they reflect on reality in later years they often recognize that the stability, care, and concern our Home has provided is more homelike than what their families have provided. Having lived through being separated from family, I pray that all children are able to live safely with their families. However, I realize that will not happen, and in far too many cases it is better and safer for children that they are not left with their family. Had our children’s home not been available to me, I doubt I would have had much sta- bility or care that would have made me feel like I had a home. But, as one who long has called Oxford Orphanage (now the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford) home, I give my sincerest apprecia- tion and respect to all who have helped provide a home away from home for disadvantaged children. Tere are many children around us who need our help. Please, let’s expand our efforts to find more children who need a safe home. Tools of the IT Mason By Lon Tomas Te grand lodges of the world are discussing modifying the tools of the craft to reflect the 21st century reality. As software design and the Internet are the admired monuments of today, so too they feel that their tools should be used as allegory for men of this millennium. An example of what is being proposed is presented here: Te laptop is an instrument made use of by operative webguys to write code and design websites while sitting in Starbucks, the browser to view their work, and the spell checker to prove syntax; but we as speculating webguys make use of them for more global and entertaining purposes. Te laptop admonishes us to never be far from email, lest we miss something unbelievable about a public personality, verify- ing email claims using the browser to get to Snopes.com, ever remembering that spell checker isn’t always riot. Lon Tomas is junior warden of Payson 70 in Arizona. WELCOME OUR NEW Brothers 1 ......................Michael A. Faulkenbury 1 ..........................Adam Blake Jennings 1 ...................................... Ben Sorensen 3 .............................David Alex Daniels 3 ........................Mark Douglas Daniels 3 ........................Michael Allen Gerlach 3 ................................ Billy Jack Golden 3 ....................William Henry Herndon 3 ............Behren Mark Allen Allen Von 4 ................... Joseph Christopher Gates 4 ................................Kermit Lynn Hill 4 ................................Danny Lee Webb 7 ...................Darren Trevor Hilsenbeck 7 ............................Stephen Earl White 8 .............Michael Brian Johnson Pruitt 8 .............................Gustavo Ritschl IV 8 .......................William Paul Seifert Jr. 13 .........................Gerald Bond Wilson 27 .................Ronald Martin Henion Jr. 27 ............................ Jack Glenn O’Neal 27 ......................Duane Richard Smyth 27 ...........................Jeffrey Alvin Young 31 ....................Robert Timothy Aycock 32 ..............................Ted NMN Cisine 45 ....................Mark Robert Tompson 53 .............................Gene Autry Jewell 64 ...................... Parker Colson Dunlap 75 ....................Brian Keith McPherson 75 ..................Roger Needham Morgan 76 .......................Justin Mathew Brown 76 ......................Blake Anthony Collins 76 ..................... Tomas Michael Saitta 76 .....................Jerry Paul Shropshire II 76 ......................David Rash Tomas Jr. 76 ................... Jeremy Russell Williams 81 .............................Dan Eugene King 81 ......................Myron Page Meadows 81 .....................Brent Robert Whitford 83 .................................Daniel Corrales 83 ......................Ronald Leroy Graham 83 ..................... Abrahm Stacey Polaski 83 ........ Joseph Emanuel Sharif Polingo 106 ............................Ersal Overton III 109 .......................... Mason Leslie Ellis 109 ....................... Steven Bryan Marsh 109 .............Tomas Carl McArthur III 109 ..................Ryan Artley Pepperman 109 ...................... Eddie Dale Reynolds 117 ......................... Barrett Daniel Ellis 118 ....................Michael Wayne Begley 118 .........................Mark-Ellis Bennett 118 ...................... Stephen Ferris Camp 118 ................................Carey Harnash 118 ............ Martin Wirth Houghtaling 118 ........................Eric Edward Rainey 122 ........................... Dennis Ray Dilda 122 ...........John-Caleb Woodlief Sadler 123 ....................Andrew Allan Dudash 126 ....................Timothy Young Earley 126 ........................Johnny Ray Gunnell 127 ..........................John Riley Beaman 128 .................. Carlos Manuel Morales 128 .................Matthew Tomas Rector 129 .................Edgar William Barker Jr. 129 .............. Darrell Wallace Brumfield 129 ..............................Eric Dean Davis 129 .........................Michael Jan Knight 129 ....................Adam Michael Ramey 129 ...........................David Lee Stanley 132 ...................Joseph Carlton Braxton 134 .......................... Cecil Todd Corvin 134 .......................Joseph Daniel Crotts 134 ....................Kevin Delano Hendrix 134 ...............Randy Dean McDaniel Jr. 136 ...........Benjamin Stewart Hamilton 136 ....................Samuel Allen Pearman 136 .................. Armpstead Ned Walker 143 ...................Charlie Michael Brown 143 ................................Jerry Lee Cook 143 ...................Martin Wayne Pinnock 145 ............................Allen Paul Knopp 149 .....................Jeremy William Vargo 162 ....................Marion Shermer Jones 170 ..................... Joey Allen Hammond 170 ...........................Jeffrey Scott Tracz 172 ...................John Robinson Morton 172 .......................James Ralph Riddick 172 .............. Crafton Bishop Warren Jr. 176 ................Edward Morgan Watkins 181 .......................Billy Ray Freeland Jr. 188 ........................ Jody Michael Ferree 188 ..........................Derrick Philip Hill 191 ...................Tomas Scott Winslow 198 ..................Marc Andrew Belle-Isle 198 ........................Andrew Lee Rickett 202 ...................Steven Travis DeMetro 202 ............William Clayton Greene Jr. 207 ..................Shaun Chadwick Eason 207 .......................Paul Hamilton Jones 207 ..................William Pinkney Sellers 207 ............................... Brent Simmons 218 ..................... Donald Travis Bryson 218 .......................David Bennett Glass 218 ........Damon Lawrence Williamson 230 ................William Ashley Woolard 231 .............. Jr. Howard Nelson Brewer 244 .......................Michael Ray Flanner 244 ...................Adam Kendall McCain 244 ..........................Mark Robert Potts 248 .........................Brent Arthur Fidler 248 ................Charles Bennett Munday 249 ................... Melvin Lee Watkins Jr. 253 ............... Jonathan Paul Goodnight 259 .............................Steven Lee Hord 259 ..................... Julius Felmet Morrow 259 ..............David Anil Wijewickrama 261 ................ Paul Louis Digiacomo Jr. 261Lee Colter Pemberton McDermott 261 ......................Derek Lee McKelvey 262 ...................... Bennie Joe Bradshaw 262 ......................Joe Wilson Bradshaw 262 .......................Joshua Aaron Bristol 262 ....................Mark Christian Bryant 262 .......................Benjamin Paul Reese 262 ................... Daniel Scott Whisnant 271 ..........................Tomas Leon Bass 271 .................Adam John Riley Inman 272 .........................Steven Duain Moss 272 ..................... Michael Glenn Stuart 277 .....................Daniel Sexton Jenkins 282 ................ Albert Daniel Denniston 282 ....................Harold Lee Duncan Jr. 282 ...........Charles Edward McGhee Jr. 282 .........................Jeffrey Arthur Sank 289 ..................... Derek Geoffrey Frosh 289 ...............Austin Lawrence Schaner 289 ......................... Stephen Ray Wood 293 .................Christopher Alden Gurr 294 ......................Keith Webster Harris 300 ..............Christopher Patrick Grose 301 ......................Jerry Dustan Buckner 301 ................ Joseph Madison Buckner 301 .........James Christopher Turmond 304 ................... Donald Louis Bland Jr. 304 .................Edward Earl Eubanks Jr. 304 ....................William Michael Gray 304 ...............Daniel Elvin McLawhorn 304 ............. Samuel Elton McLawhorn 304 .......................Rickie Allen Pearson 306 ................. Matthew Aaron Hodges 306 ........................Paul Andrew Richie 314 ......................... Mark Allen Hurley 317 ...................William Arnett Bryant 343 .........................Andrew Ryan Haas 343 ....................Timothy Wayne Valko 352 .................David Eugene Hartmetz 352 ...................Ronald William Morra 352 .............Christopher Haynes Noyes 363 .................... John Lawrence Moore 363 ..................... Jerry Hugh Moretz II 363 ...........................Toby Dean Ragan 377 ............................ David John Force 377 ............................ John Alden Force 377 ................ Jeffrey Chester Forehand 377 ................Matthew Eugene Paschal 387 ...................... Edward Day Flocken 387 ..........................Gary Maurice Pace 387 ....................... Paul Edward Westin 388 .................... Preston Lance Hinson 388 ................John Franklin Robbins II 388 ..................... John Henry Smart III 390 .........................Bruce Gerald Shore 391 .................. Michael Frank Gardner 391 ................ Edward Manuel Morales 391 ....................David Sean VonHagen 397 ........Frederick Ernest Ellis Loomis 405 .......................Jeffrey Wayne Shultz 405 ...........Chase Alexander Templeton 407 .................................. Keith Clonch 408 ......................Blake Austen Burklin 408 ......................Edmond J. Byrnes III 409 ...................Joseph Michiel Burgess 409 ......................Timothy Wayne Isley 409 .......................Gregory Lynn Stutts 423 ............................ Kenneth Waddell 426 .................Jeffrey Alexander Liakos 426 ..................... Jewel Dorsey Rushing 428 ..................David Corbett Everidge 428 .........................Donald Wayne Hill 428 ......................Jesse Blanton Joyce Jr. 429 .......................... Scott Alan Merritt 439 .................Christopher James Revis 446 ......................Walter Flave Hart III 446 .........................Steven Kelly Knapp 446 ............Christopher Devon Liedtke 446 ....................... John Spruill Paschall 446 ............................Chad Lee Presley 446 ...........................John Arthur Ward 453 ..............Travis Charles Williamson 454 ............................. Jason Lee Stokes 461 ..........................Grant Lee Holmes 461 ...................William Blake Holmes 461 ......................... Sonnie Boy McRae 461 ............... Ricky Marvin Rosenbalm 461 .....Cameron Mitchell Schrecengost 462 .............. Justin Billy Ray Carpenter 462 ............................Sean Paul Dudley 462 .....................James Edward Martin 462 ............ Clarence Mingus Martin Jr. 482 ...........................David Evan Guice 482 ...............Norman Benjamin Moore 482 ...................Richard James Wade Jr. 484 ....................Gino William Lamolli 484 .......Newton Farragut McCurdey Jr. 491 ........................ Erik Turner Phillips 498 ........................Robert Leon Barbee 499 ..................David Brandon Haskins 499 .........................Sean Reid McNally 499 ..........................Eric Bruce Royster 500 ....... Eric Michael Wilson Boone Jr. 500 ...................Anthony Justin Eldreth 505 .................Robert Nathan Bowman 505 .......................... Tony Jeryl Brittain 505 ..................Matthew Stephen Craig 515 .....................Chranson Todd Beam 515 ....................Joshua Brandon Capps 515 ................................Adrian Certain 515 .............William Edgar Farnsworth 515 ..........................Todd Jeffrey Gantt 515 ...........................Peter Kyle Watson 517 ................Cameron Worsley Moore 517 ...............Joseph Michael Vandiford 517 .................. Lawrence Vandiford III 521 ........................ Robert Duane Korb 528 .......................John Edgar Elam III 532 ..................James Edward Boone Jr. 534 .......................Robert Abram Clark 534 ................Blake Anthony McNeilly 534 ..................Adam Steven Whisnant 535 ..............Buford Garmon Chapman 535 ........................Roger Ward Hellard 543 ........................Kenneth Mark Bean 543 .....................Kenneth Wayne Dietz 554 ..........................Aaron Dean Smith 556 .....................James Edward Reagan 565 ...............Timothy DeWayne Reese 568 ...................Cleaters Jeffrey Hart Jr. 568 ............. Carroll Glenwood Ipock II 571 ............................... Tyler Dale Furr 576 ........................Max Alan Crawford 576 ....................Timothy Van Mauldin 576 ..........................Joel Eugene Young 590 ................James Benjamin Freeman 590 ........................Jeffrey Dale Roberts 592 ...................Jason Steven Cloninger 594 ......................John Samuel Brabson 594 .........................Terry Joshua Jordan 594 ...........................Andrew Seth May 594 ............... Joseph Samuel Testerman 602 ............ Daniel Stephenson Pridgen 602 ....................Derek James Robinson 602 ......................Phillip Andrew Wells 616 ................Roy Christopher Tomas 618 ...............Vincent Joseph D’Andrea 618 ..................... Mitchell Allen Elliott 618 .......................Rodney Blake Sehen 624 ...............Matthew Wayne Grissom 624 .............. Philip Tomas Grissom Jr. 629 ................Norman Tomas Scott II 629 .................... Edward Andrew Sipes 634 ........................Justin Tomas Stone 637 ...................... Matthew Alan Bolen 643 .....................Ronald Marcus Surles 650 ................... Joseph Dewayne Payne 650 .....................Tomas Arthur Smith 654 ...........................Larry Alan Hogan 657 ..................John Matthew Rowland 663 .................Timothy Glenn Buckner 663 ..................Tomas Aron Sammons 663 ....................... Scottie Tyler Wynne 667 ..........................Jory Dillon Mathis 669 .......................Marcus Greer Bundy 669 ...........................Shawn Jerry Lowe 669 ................................Ralph Wadkins 670 ............................Alan Fowler Jacks 670 ........................Chadd Allen Powell 672 ..............Matthew Cullin Buchanan 672 .............Gregory Clifton Grindstaff 672 ......................... Carie Jarrod Sellers 673 ........................Jason Russell Crowe 673 .......................William Paul Crowe 673 .........................Kevin Charles Dills 673 ......................... Michael Joe Sisk Jr. 674 .............. Joshua Michael Blackburn 674 ...............................Nick Ryan Wall 675 ....................Norman Eugene Hiatt 676 .........................Joshua David Blake 676 ............... Alfred Charles Holden Jr. 676 ..........................John Stewart Knoy 680 ............Shawn Christopher Hughes 680 .......................Jeffrey William Hurt 680 ..............................Ryan John Keith 680 .........................John Morgan Little 680 ..................... Richard James Lydick 680 ...........Daniel Norman McDermott 680 ...........................Richard Earl Near 680 .........Anthony Jiravasin Pamintuan 680 .............Steven Benjamin Slaughter 680 .......................... John Bruce Lee St. 680 .....................Timothy Alan Tolfree 690 ........................Walter Lind Conine 692 ......................Larry Stephen Nester 694 .....................John Russell Fields III 694 ................Myron Stanley Herron Jr. 694 ............Chauncey Eugene Lambeth 694 ..................... Jacob Tomas Nichols 694 ................William Charles Rush Jr. 694 ............... Calvin Franklin Summers 699 ...................William Taylor Browne 699 ...................Taylor Brooks Callicutt 699 ............... Matthew Frank Altamura 701 ......................Tomas Elliott Gantt 701 ...........................Billy Ray Mitchell 704 .......... Joshua Scott Wade Chandler 706 ....................... Jose Nicolas Aispuro 708 ............................James Bailey Britt 708 .....................Lance Robert Collette 708 ..................... Jonathan Taylor Keith 708 ................Michael Charles Rogister 708 ........................Daniel Allen Turner 709 ..........................Gregory Lee Ream 709 ............. Brandon James Shoemaker 709 ...................... Lance Wayne Teague 712 ................William Fredrick Boykin 712 .......................Adam Baird Tomas 713 ............................Ashley Dale Price 713 ...................Jonathan Michael Todd 722 ...................... James Edward Miller 722 .......Joshua William Edward Miller 724 ........................David Mark Rose Jr. 725 .............Chester Eric Dolph Gartin 725 ........................Samuel Allen Heath 727 .........................John Fletcher Frink 727 ........... Christopher George Raynor 727 .........................Aaron Glen Stanley 734 ......................Dallas Patrick Hurley 736 .....................Nathan Dale O’Maley 738 ................Stephen Christian Tilson 739 ...................Walter Webster Ballard 739 .........................Steven Lee Wallace 741 ..............................Eric Dean Floyd 741 .....................Charles Milton Taylor 749 ..................Michael Edward Lanier 749 ........................ Jeffrey Scott Sturgis 749 .........................John Pressley Watts 749 ................ Douglas Olen Yarbrough 751 ........... Brian Christopher Boyenger 751 .............Dwaine Andrew Hutchens 751 .............James Tomas Matthews II 751 ...........Tomas Kenneth Noetzel Jr. 751 .........................Robert Gray Reavis 751 .................Robert Wesley Whitaker 754 ....................Robert Curtis Coombs 755 ....................... David Edward Allen 755 ............................... Angelo Caprilli 755 .................... Richard Cress Pulliam 755 ..................Wesley Grayson Walker 757 ......................Shane Tomas Curtis 757 ....................Mark Douglas Kincaid 757 ....................... Derek Brenden Pfaff 759 ........................Melvin Jesus Correa 762 .....................Adam Tomas Tucker 763 ..............William Chanford Wright The North Carolina Mason September/October 2010

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