The North Carolina Mason

TraveLing The tar heel state News From North CaroliNa's lodges By Ric Carter If your lodge has a newsletter for its members, make sure The North Carolina Mason is on your mailing list. Lodge newslet- ters are a major source of news for Masons around the state. If you don't have one, think about starting one. Newsletters are a good way to keep your mem- bers active, happy, and informed. March/April 2014 The North Carolina Mason Page 3 Southport Pythagoras 249 recently gave cash gifts to a lodge widow as well as a lodge member to help them through tough circumstances. e lodge will be sponsoring a hot dog sale on Independence Day. — Newsletter Statesville Mt. Moriah 690 used a raffle to raise more than $3,000 for Masonic charities as well as a local homeless shelter. ey delivered fruit bas- kets to the lodge widows during the holidays. ey helped out with the 25 th annual blood drive there which collected 180 units of blood. — Marty Byers Several members of Statesville 27 meet every morning at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast at the Wil- liams Family Friendly Restaurant. ere, they sometimes enjoy simple fellowship; other times they have book club discussions of challenging topics. At various times, the topics have been on Plato, traditional observance lodges, Born in Blood, and e Way of the Craftsman. In lodge, they were planning to host degree demonstrations from both the DeMolay and the Rainbow Girls. — e Joppa Informer Winston-Salem Old Town 751 celebrates 40 years as a lodge this year. ey delivered fruit baskets to their lodge widows for Christmas. e delivery crew gath- ered before their run to enjoy breakfast together. In January, Old Town's Bill Moon was pre- sented his Diamond Jubilee celebrating his 60 years as a Mason. — On the Level at Old Town Lodge Thomasville In 2012, omasville 214 had their first Toys for Tots distribution and served 184 kids. is past year they helped 287 children have a bet- ter Christmas. Santa was even on hand to have his picture taken with them. e Denton East- ern Star supplied cookies and drinks. e lodge is contemplating asking Shrine clowns to come help entertain the kids next season. omasville Lodge's Brunswick Stew Fund- raiser was set for February 15. — Trestle Board Charlotte Temple 676 raised their first third-generation Masons January 23. ey raised Joseph and John White, the sons of Jerry White and grandsons of Roscoe White. Temple Lodge was promoting a March 22 fun shoot fundraiser for Patriot Rovers. e group matches rescued golden retrievers with veterans who need service dogs. ey train and match animals for vets with PTSD or traumat- ic brain injury. Returning this year is an old Temple Lodge favorite: Valentine's Day Dinner. is year it's featured lasagna. Lodge Master Jason Dorn is pledging to do- nate $25 to Masonic charity each time they have 25 members come to a lodge meeting. — Temple Lodge Charles M. Setzer 693 has begun their kitch- en remodeling project. eir February Ladies' Night was a "huge success." ey reported that many of their can- didates were there to help with preparation and clean up. ere must be plenty, Junior War- den Dale Bruck was bragging that in the three months he had been in office, they had examined a candidate at every stated meeting. "By popular demand," their Boston Butt Sale is coming back this year. — Trestleboard Southern Pines As in many towns, Southern Pines has a monthly special event to attract people to their downtown areas. is year, Southern Pines 484 will be participating in their community's First Fridays. ey'll use the opportunity to build some positive community awareness and raise some money for our charities. e evening street celebrations run from May through October. ey'll also be taking part in the town's April 26 Springfest cooking and selling breakfast and lunch items at the lodge. Southern Pines Lodge had their Past Masters' Night November 4. eir scholarship breakfasts on first Saturdays continue. — e Trestle Board Spruce Pine Vesper 554 Master Dan McKinney told the lodge his six goals for 2014. 1. Get attendance to 30 per meeting. 2. Contribute $3,000 to charity. 3. Have a Masonic education program at every stated meeting. 4. Set up a car pool for those who cannot drive to meetings. 5. Contact absentees, first more recent, then older. 6. Have two meetings during the year aimed at encouraging men who have not completed all three degrees. e lodge is also resuming their charity golf tournament this year. It's set for August 23. — Dan Wilson Epsom John Paul Palzatto is the current master of John H. Mills 624, but not the only one on their rolls. Also in their membership are two other sitting masters — Jeremy Vargo (Adoni- ram 149) and Archie Coghill (Henderson 229); as well as 13 th District Deputy Grand Master Randy Kearney. John H. Mills 624 recently gave Opie Fra- zier his Diamond Jubilee honoring his 60 years as a Mason. — Bill Riggan Stanley Bill Cope was named Mason of the Year in Stanley 713. His outstanding dedication to the lodge included serving as secretary for 47 years. — Scott Wyatt Pilot Mountain Bert Meijboom is taking Pilot 493's newslet- ter, e Pilot Mountain Traveler, into its 16 th year. Dyrk Garrison was named Pilot Lodge's Mason of the Year. His "constant presence at all lodge functions, meetings, and assistance pro- vided by him," were cited with the recognition. On December 21, a crew of six Masons vis- ited Tom Kranking at his home. ey brought him a fruit basket and his Veteran's Emblem for his 50 years Masonic membership. Seventeen fruit baskets were delivered to lodge widows and shut-ins during the holidays. — e Pilot Mountain Traveler Raleigh A winter pleasure here every year is James B. Green 735's Chili Cook-Off. e sixth annual was held February 11. Green Lodge is spearheading an April pro- gram to promote awareness of the Masonic Home for Children among Wake County Social Services and religious leaders. — e James B. Green Scene Monroe Truth 749 has had some interesting programs of late. Warren Lunsford was to tell them about his experiences with anti-Masonry and his re- search into Masonry. James Mills is planning an illustrated lec- ture for the fall. Twenty men will play parts in the lecture. ey enjoyed a recent bowling night together at Skyway Lanes. — Masonic Trestle Board Greensboro Gate City 694 was having their Pancake Supper March 15. Seven dollars got you all that you could eat of pancakes, sausage, bis- cuits and gravy. — Gary Ballance Corinthian 542 held their yard cleanup at the Greensboro Masonic Temple in February. It was mostly to trim shrubs and put our pine straw. — Jeff Bullington Fayetteville e 17 th Masonic District is trying to as- semble a district funeral honor guard, a group of men from around the district who will help take care of Masonic funerals throughout the district. — Ken Wical Cumberland County Sheriff Earl "Moose" Butler (Creasy Proctor 679) recently appointed Stedman 730 member Larry Trotter chief jailer. Guys around there jokingly refer to the jail as "e Moose Lodge." — omas Pope AF & AM Masons from around Fayetteville again joined their Brothers from local Prince Hall lodges on January 18 to march in Fayette- ville's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Parade. ey met at Phoenix 8 for coffee and doughnuts and to assemble before joining the parade. ey wore black suits or tuxedos. ey report that "it was a very fun and positive event spread a tremendous amount of good will and Brotherhood." — Ken Wical Cleveland Scotch Ireland 154 featured popcorn and parched peanuts at their Halloween party. At their open house during the local Christmas parade, guests got to enjoy candy, hot dogs, hot chocolate, and other goodies. At the lodge's annual Awards Banquet, Matt Hargett was named Mason of the Year. Scotch Ireland's Rifle Raffle made nearly $4,000 for charity. — Newsletter Hillsborough Mosaic 762 held their Sweetheart's Dinner in February. ey served the salmon and roast beef meal at Saint Paul's Lutheran Church and enjoyed a dance afterward. DJ ABC (Mosaic member Aaron Cecil) entertained. Mosaic now meets on third Tuesdays at Ea- gle 19 in Hillsborough. — Mosaic Monitor Princeton St. Patrick's 617 held a barbecued chicken and barbecued pork fundraiser at the lodge on March 1. — David Ellis Smithfield Fellowship 84 had a lengthy to-do list for their scheduled March 15 workday. — Grover Dees HERTFORD — is is a tale of a young man who was a quick study. Perquimans 106 read Matthew Timothy Johnson's petition on October 1, 2013. He's the son of our then outgoing District Deputy Grand Master Phil Johnson, and it was Phil who told the lad that he would love to see him raised before he left office on December 7. It was a pretty tough charge. e petition laid over the necessary time, and the lodge elected him November 5. On Novem- ber 11, we initiated him as an entered appren- tice. Just over a week later, on November 19, he returned his catechism and was passed to the degree of fellow craft. On November 25, we held an emergent for Matthew to return his Second Degree cat- Pictured here are: Junior Deacon David Shaffer, Dannie Gray Jr., Senior Deacon (First Degree) C. W. Overton Jr., DDGM and Senior Deacon (Second and Third Degrees) Phil Johnson, Matthew Johnson, Senior Warden Joe Elliott, Coach and Master Jeff Perry, and District Deputy Grand Lecturer Mickey Spruill. Quick, efficient workman By Paul Gregory echism. We brought him back for an emergent meeting on December 2 and raised him as a Master Mason. Brother Phil (as was appropri- ate) did the raising. The very next night at our regular stated communication, Matthew Timothy Johnson returned his Third Degree catechism. He even gave the closing charge that night when we closed lodge. Now, his Coach was Jeff Perry, and Brother Jeff did an outstanding job, but we must also say that Phil Johnson did a good job in raising his son, both in life and as his brother in the lodge. We think, of course, Brother Phil's wife Mary Katherine should also receive a great deal of the credit. Paul Gregory is secretary of Perquimans 106. Apex Ed Dresp was recently honored by Apex 584 with a plaque officially naming him the lodge's "Chief Cook and Bottle Washer." Gary Shook was presented the Holy Pocket Knife (an inside joke from an earlier degree) for his years of mak- ing and maintaining their website and for his special help with their charity raffles. Apex Lodge will be having a major fundraiser in June. ey have a sponsor who will furnish a speaker, venue, and meal. e money taken in by ticket sales will also be matched. Details should be available soon. Proceeds will be divided be- tween the Masonic Homes. — e Trestleboard Kannapolis Cannon Memorial 626 held their twice-a- year charity breakfast February 22. e all-you- can-eat affair featured scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, country ham, biscuits and gravy, grits, rice, coffee, juice, and soft drinks. — omas VanEtten Hookerton Jerusalem 95 brought in more than $1,400 for the Masonic Homes last year. ey sent 75 percent to the Home for Children and 25 per- cent to the MESH LLC. — e Jerusalem Journal Conover At their annual blood drive, Conover 709 brought in 35 pints on a goal of 37. — Conover Lodge Newsletter Hallsboro e Eighteenth Masonic District was host- ing a Charity Pheasant Hunt February 8. Tick- ets for the Honey Hill Hunting Preserve event were $135 and included breakfast and lunch. — Ken Wical Warsaw Warsaw 677 hosted eight of their widows at the their December Ladies' and Awards Night. — Warsaw Lodge Fair Bluff Chadbourn 190 member Ricky Benton was inducted into the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame May 4. After a long short-track career, the Cerro Gordo race team owner has been competing four years in the NASCAR Camping World Trucks Series. — omas Pope Spencer It is reported that Spencer 543's second barbe- cue chicken dinner for 2013 was a good success. — On the Square

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