T h e 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 C T u a l, a n d s p i r i T u a l C o n s C i e n C e o f s o C i e T y b y T e a C h i n g T h e a n C i e n T a n d e n d u r i n g p h i l o s o p h i C a l
TeneTs of broTherly love, relief, and TruTh, whiCh are expressed ouTwardly Through serviCe To god, family, CounTry, and self under The faTherhood of god wiThin The broTherhood of man.
The Mason
NORTH CAROLINA
(USPS 598-260) is published bimonthly by e Grand Lodge of AF & AM of North
Carolina, 2921 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27608.
ird class postage paid at Oxford, NC 27565.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to e North Carolina Mason, School Of Graphic
Arts, Masonic Home for Children, Oxford, NC 27565.
Grand Master
Dalton W. Mayo
Board Of Publication
John A. Pea (Chair)
Don E. Bolden
R. Kevin Combs
C. omas Nelson Jr.
John A. Sullivan
Editor
Ric Carter
Good quality pictures, whether color or black and white, are essential for suitable reproduction. e
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 .
Each North Carolina Mason is a subscriber to e 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
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available to others at a rate of five dollars per year. Subscription inquiries and address changes only
should be sent to: e School of Graphic Arts, Masonic Home for Children, 600 College Street,
Oxford, North Carolina 27565.
Reproduction of articles
by Masonic organiza-
tions is permitted with
proper credits.
Opinions expressed
are not necessar-
ily those of The North
Carolina Mason, the
Grand Lodge, or Board
of Publication.
Page 2 The North Carolina Mason January/February 2014
From the editor's desk
NC Mason Deadlines
Issue Deadline
January/February January 1
March/April March 1
May/June May 1
July/August July 1
September/October September 1
November/December November 1
Grand Master Dalton W. Mayo plans to visit
about half our districts this year. His meetings start
in early January 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 sched-
uled 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 din-
ner at least seven days before your scheduled
meeting. It is very frustrating to try to plan for
February 10 ............8 .................. Royal Hart 497 .............................. 118 S. Main St., Littleton
February 11 ............3 ..................Washington 675 ........................ 1115 W. 5th St, Washington
February 12 ............1 .................... Unanamity 7 ............................... 215 E. Water St, Edenton
February 24 ...........26 ................Walnut Cove 629 ......................810 Summit St, Walnut Cove
February 25 ...........27 ..........Lexington Memorial 473 .................. 468 Central Ave, Lexington
February 26 ...........24 ................... Marietta 444 ..................................735 Liberty St, Ramseur
March 4 ..................6 .................... Radiance 132 ..........................112 N. Harper St., Snow Hill
March 5 .................14 ................ Wake Forest 282 ............................. 220 Wait St, Wake Forest
March 18 ...............41 ..................Junaluskee 145 .................................. 50 Church St, Franklin
March 19 ...............34 .............. Catawba Valley 217 ......................... 220 Collett St, Morganton
March 20 ...............22 .......................Bula 409 ...............................1307 S. Main St, Burlington
April 8 ...................10 ..................... Home 613 ........................... 104 S. Goldsboro St, Fremont
April 9 ....................4 ............... Semper Fidelis 680 ................. 727 Henderson Dr, Jacksonville
April 10 .................12 ..................... Orient 395 ......................1312 Shipyard Blvd, Wilmington
April 22 .................30 ................. Mooresville 496 ......................... 114 Institute St, Mooresville
April 23 .................36 ...............King Solomon 704 ...............................214 South St, Gastonia
April 24 .................32 .................... Temple 676 .......................... 3900 Litchfield Rd, Charlotte
April 28 .................40 .................... Oconee 427 ............................. 62 Clifton Ave, Bryson City
April 29 .................39 ................ Mt. Hermon 118 ................................. 80 Broadway, Asheville
April 30 .................38 .............. Polk Co. Unity 482 ................................ 622 Ozone Dr, Saluda
May 1 ....................33 ..................... Liberty 45 .............................. 1228 School St, Wilkesboro
May 7 ....................11 ...................... Hiram 98 ....................................... 213 Fisher Dr, Clinton
TBA .......................2 ................Cape Hatteras 698 ...............................48338 Hwy 12, Buxton
a meal when reservations have not been made.
Your lodge will be responsible to pay for all
meals reserved. ose who have not made reser-
vations should not expect to eat.
In case of inclement weather, meetings will be
cancelled in accordance with local schools cancel-
lations. If a meeting is cancelled, the host lodge and
district deputy grand master will be notified. Your
lodge may cancel its stated communication to at-
tend your district meeting. Information will also
be posted on the Grand Lodge web site: . is schedule was the sched-
ule as of December 13, 2013. Changes may be nec-
essary. Please consult your lodge for updates.
GM's district meetings
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANI-
STAN — Whitestone 155 member Robert W.
Rideout Jr. is serving here with his National
Guard unit. He found a Masonic Lodge here,
Kandahar Lodge-Afghanistan, chartered un-
der the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Ac-
cepted Masons of Canada in the Province of
Ontario. Rideout serves as their chaplain. He is
seen in the accompanying photo, second from
left, at the lodge's October 21 meeting.
Rideout recently sent Grand Master Dalton
Mayo a flag which was flown over the garrison
compound of his 207
th
Regional Support Group
at the airfield. Its letter of authentication states
it was flown October 14, 2013. Says Rideout,
"Considering the number of rocket attacks we
have had, there is a good possibility a Taliban
107mm passed over this flag."
e flag now hangs in the Grand Lodge of-
fice. You're invited to come see it and other in-
teresting historic artifacts.
Rideout finds Brothers in Kandahar
ASHEVILLE — e memory of Zebulon
Baird Vance, one of North Carolina's most historic
Masons, is beckoning to today's Masons to step for-
ward and help with restoring a monument erected
to his memory and honor in downtown Asheville.
In 1853 and while attending the University of
North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Vance petitioned
Mount Hermon 118 in Asheville, and was raised
as a Master Mason in June of that year. He affili-
ated with Phalanx 31 and Excelsior 261 as well as
the York Rite.
Vance became "a political superstar of 19
th
Cen-
tury North Carolina." A native son of Buncombe
County, Vance was elected to serve in the US Con-
gress in 1858 at the young age of 28. After the
outbreak of the Civil
War in 1861, Vance
was appointed Colonel
of the 26
th
NC Regi-
ment. While serving in
the 26th, he was elected
governor, winning elec-
tions to that office in
1862 and 1864. After
the Civil War, he was
again elected Governor
in 1876, and as US Sen-
ator from 1879 until his
death in 1894.
In April 2005, then
Grand Master Graham
W. Pervier along with
many other Masons,
assembled at Riverside
Cemetery in Buncombe
County to convey for-
mal Masonic Burial
Rites to Vance. ey
also installed a Hero
Among Masons marker
on his grave.
In 1897, three
years after his death,
a 65-foot-tall granite
obelisk was erected in his honor on Asheville's
Pack Square. Having withstood 117 years of west-
ern North Carolina's elements, today this histori-
cally important monument is in desperate need of
restorative preservation. Years of exposure have
caused serious deterioration of the mortar joints
of the monument, allowing water to infiltrate the
joints and causing serious damage to the internal
iron pins. While a complete restoration project has
been officially endorsed by the City of Asheville,
budgetary constraints require that private funding
support the restoration. e need is pressing. Mon-
ument conservation experts estimate that $115,000
will be necessary to complete this project.
Acting in concert with the City of Asheville, the
Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26
th
Regiment North Carolina Troops is spearheading
private fundraising efforts for this project. Funds
are currently being raised locally by civic organiza-
tions, by Civil War re-enactors themselves, and by
the UNC fraternity (Phi Gamma Delta) of which
Vance was a member.
A challenge has been put forth from a major do-
nor that requires us to raise the remaining funds by
March 31 of this year. Multiple funding sources are
being actively pursued, but donations are needed by
March 31 to help meet the goal.
Freemasons across North Carolina and else-
where have an opportunity now to honor and pre-
serve the memory of this distinguished Brother.
All contributions to the Vance Memorial Fund
will be deeply appreciated and are fully tax de-
ductible, as the 26
th
NC
Regiment is a 501(c)(3)
organization. One hun-
dred percent of monies
raised will go into the
Monument Restora-
tion Project. Dona-
tions should be sent to:
e Vance Memorial
Fund, c/o Cole Hutch-
erson, 2304 Chatham
Drive, Greensboro, NC
27408.
Donors will receive
a letter acknowledg-
ing their tax deductible
contribution. e cor-
nerstone of the original
monument was set with
formal Masonic cere-
monies in 1897. Project
planners, in conjunc-
tion with the City of
Asheville, are hoping to
rededicate the monu-
ment with a similar
ceremony following its
restoration. Plans are
afoot as well to list on
the rededication marker the names of the organiza-
tions or individuals whose contributions made the
restoration project possible. Planners also hope to
be given the opportunity to place a time capsule at
the site of the monument, and those same contribu-
tors would be named in the contents of that time
capsule as well.
is is a chance to highlight Freemasonry's rich
history and the ongoing presence and activity of our
honorable society across the state and world. e
story of Zebulon Vance and the monument erected
in Asheville to his memory is intertwined with the
story of Freemasonry in North Carolina.
Details on this project may be reviewed at
. You may also contact Jim Minor at
(919) 641-2856 or .
Help protect Vance memorial
Why do we have Freemasonry?
We don't know where our fraternity came
from. Our existence predates our history. It is
unlikely we shall ever factually know our origin.
But, over the centuries, men of every ilk and in-
terest have treasured their membership.
Maybe a better question, and one more likely
answered, is why do we still have Masonry at all?
Why did it survive so many generations of so
varied a membership roll?
Perhaps the answer is to be found in ob-
serving our two newest North Carolina lodges,
Knights of Solomon 766 and Sophia UD.
Knights of Solomon is one of our state's new-
est affinity lodges, a gathering of men who share
an interest in motorcycles. ey are all members
of other community lodges, but joined KoS to
ride motorcycles to their meetings and take part
in lodge projects which emphasize their passion.
Sophia Lodge UD may also be consid-
ered an affinity lodge. e members belong
to other lodges also. Sophia's members share
an interest in traditional observance lodges, a
fascination with the spiritual aspects of Free-
masonry's lessons.
At a Knights meeting, you will see men in
leather vests and blue jeans. At Sophia, you will
find the members white-gloved and white-tied
in tuxedos and tails.
At a Sophia meeting you will be struck by
smoke and the smell of incense. At a Knights
meeting, it's exhaust smoke and the odor of
gasoline.
With the Knights, events may be a bit rau-
cous with the rattling engines of Harleys. In
Sophia, there is soothing music to aid with the
quiet contemplation they encourage.
A meal with the lodge at Sophia will have
multiple courses served in a fine restaurant.
The Knights may have a pig cooker smoking
behind the lodge.
At Knights, the conversation is in the parking
lot watching the bikes arrive, and the discussions
more boisterous and about some new chrome or
saddlebags. At Sophia, the pre-meeting conver-
sation is quiet and philosophical.
e wonder of Masonry is that neither of
these nearly opposite approaches is wrong and
both are right. e universality of Masonry is
that men meet on the level and by the plumb
and on the square — that they respect each oth-
er and enjoy each other's company.
Freemasonry gives each man a chance to find
what he needs most and in a way that is mean-
ingful to him. It provides different paths to that
universal need for community and friendship
and brotherhood.
at's why we still have Freemasonry.
Why do we still have
Freemasonry?
A Mason was having trouble with his ritual,
and was telling a fellow Mason in a pub.
His friend said, "I know a bloke down the
road who sells parrots who know the ritual and
prompt you when you have any trouble."
His next day off, he went to the shop. "Yes,"
the man said, "I have three." He pulled back a
curtain, and there were three parrots, one with
a Mason's apron on, one with a Master's apron,
and one with a Past Master's apron.
e man asked, "How much is the one with
the Master's apron on?"
"$2,000, and he knows all the ritual, includ-
ing the red work. He will always prompt you
when you get stuck."
"No," he said, "He's too expensive. What
about the one with the Master Mason's apron
on?"
"Well, that one is $1,000, and he knows all
the ritual, but not the red work, but he will al-
ways prompt you while you are learning it."
"No, he's too much, too. What about the one
with the past master's apron?"
"You can have him for ten dollars."
"Why so cheap, he must not know all the
ritual and the inner workings?"
"Oh yes, he knows all the ritual, but when you
make a mistake all he does is sit there and go,
"Tut! Tut! Tut!"
— From Blackmer Buzz, 2004.
Memory work helper
