The North Carolina Mason

March/April 2015

North Carolina Mason

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The BoTTom Line By Douglas L. Caudle Grand Master An update on good news around the state Great News from WhiteStone For the first time since 2005, WhiteStone, A Masonic and Eastern Star Community is accepting new residents who need financial assistance for their care! Charitable assistance was tem- porarily suspended due to increased cost of care and reduced sup- port from our lodges. Currently, we have 36 fraternally related residents who need approximately one million dollars in annual financial assistance. In 2014, our blue lodges contributed around $256,000 with the balance being funded by the Order of the Eastern Star and our North Carolina Masonic Foundation. Sadly, only 40% of our lodges contributed to the care of our fraternally related residents. is low number may be due to a lack of under- standing of our need at WhiteStone. Last November, we held a combined District Deputy Grand Master/Grand Lecturer Meeting which was hosted by White- Stone. During this meeting, a session was held to identify mis- conceptions about WhiteStone and answer questions about how the Home is operated. We also discussed the Masonic and Eastern Star Home Foun- dation, the limited liability company (LLC) created to channel 100% of donations received to care exclusively for fraternally re- lated residents. Your DDGM was asked to share more detailed information about WhiteStone with you during their official visit. ere are a number of opportunities available to creatively raise funds for our charities. Your Grand Lodge Committee on Special Activities is ready, willing, and able to advise you on how to prop- erly conduct a fundraiser. If additional funds are received, even more fraternally related residents who need financial assistance can be admitted. I have no doubt that when properly informed, our lodges and brothers will increase their support of our wonder- ful Home in Greensboro. Masonic Scholarships You will be receiving a letter from me to support the Charles Cathey Masonic Scholarship fund. is program awards eight $1,000 scholarships annually to deserving high school seniors to attend college. Last year, there were more than 160 applicants from across North Carolina for these eight scholarships. A com- mittee of five had the monumental task of deciding which of these applicants would receive scholarships. With your support, we will be able to increase the number of students we are able to assist with their education. You can contribute by mailing a check in the envelope you will receive, or you may securely donate via the Grand Lodge website under the "Masons in the Community" tab. District Meetings My Brothers, I am humbled by the large attendance at many of my district meetings. Your support and kind words of encourage- ment mean more than I can properly express. Although the travel schedule can be grueling at times, I am immediately boosted by your support and fellowship. I appreciate Brothers Kevin Otis, Chris Richardson, and Mark Kolada from the Masonic Home for Children and WhiteStone for their attendance and sharing stories with you on how your support of our Homes impacts lives on a daily basis. A special thank you to Grand Secretary Walt Clapp for his coordination and participation in these events. Although he has sat in on well over 1,000 of these meetings, he still brings a positive energy and gives wise counsel when asked. During these meetings, we have discussed many topics of con- cern including guarding the West Gate. One of the ways that we can improve our new member retention, eliminate confusion, and reduce the number of rejections is to improve our investigation commit- tees. I have tasked Junior Grand Deacon Mack Sigmon and Junior Grand Steward Larry ompson to create a guideline for investiga- tion committees. is guideline will describe the various questions that you can and should be asking the potential member. Questions that cannot and should not be asked will also be listed. By using this guideline, we will be better enabled to determine if the man will be a good fit for us and just as important if we will be a fit for him. NC Freemasonry Brethren, I have traveled to several other grand jurisdictions over the years. I am proud of the fine work that the Masons in North Carolina are doing. We have many vibrant and working lodges with members who truly live the obligations that they have taken. From the mountains to the coast and everywhere in be- tween, North Carolina Masonry is alive and well! see COURT, page 4 see RESTORE, page 4 The Mason NORTH CAROLINA Official Publication of e Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina Volume 140 Number 2 Oxford, North Carolina March/April 2015 By Ric Carter GRIMESLAND — Back in 2013, we told you about Grimesland 475 starting to restore their historic lodge building. A tornado the previous year had damaged their roof, requiring its replacement. While they were at it, they were inspired to take the lodge back a bit and expose some of its earlier beauty. e exact age of their building is not known, but they moved into the old schoolhouse in about 1895. Few could remember what their home looked like before suspended ceilings and panel- ing were added over the old interior. e exterior, bricked over some years ago, was originally white painted wood. e brick re- mains. But it's the inside that's gotten extensive changes. To get the job done, they appointed a committee with a Ma- son for each job: Benjie Forrest was chairman, Kendall Paramore took on finance questions, Robbie Dail tackled the construction Completing restoration is a new beginning for Grimesland Freemasons and the first NC Supreme Court By Danny Moody If we examine the corner of North Carolina's Capital as well as many other buildings around Raleigh and in fact across the county, we find the corner- stones are in the north east corner of the building. is indicates that these stones were laid by members of the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons. In fact, both the 1833 and the 1933 stones are inscribed that they were laid by the North Carolina Grand Lodge. e corner- stone is the stone on which the entire structure rests. If we think of an institu- tion such as the Supreme Court of North Carolina and look symbolically at the Court as a structure, the cornerstone is the first men who composed the first court. It was these first three judges that made sure the in- stitution was laid on a firm and sound foundation. e first three judges were Chief Justice Louis Taylor, Judge John Hall, and Judge Leonard Henderson. In a careful examination of the lives of these judges, we find the following. All three judges had been Superior Court judges. All three judges had served in the General Assem- bly. All three were members of the Ancient, Free and Accepted Masons of North Carolina. e entire state was relying on these three men to make certain the cornerstone of North Carolina's Temple of Justice was laid sure and firm, to make sure it could withstand the storms that were sure to come, to withstand assaults from all comers, and to last until the end of time. ere is no doubt these three Mason/judges did exactly what was expected of them. Until the adoption of the North Carolina Constitution of 1868, the General Assembly elected the members of the Supreme Court. e members were elected for "terms of good behavior" or what amounted to terms for life. e salary was $2,000 per year with an additional $500 for the chief justice. e bill creating the Court also gave the members authority to select the chief justice. John Louis Taylor was chosen by his brethren to be the first chief justice. is selection was due to his Superior Court com- mission being the oldest. Taylor was born in London in 1769. After the death of his father, his mother sent John Louis here to America where his brother James had settled some time before. Taylor was fortunate to have studied at William and Mary and to receive instruction from the great law teacher George Wythe, who also taught omas Jefferson. Due to financial difficulties, he was forced to leave Wil- liam and Mary. He trav- eled to North Carolina and settled in Fayetteville. He continued reading law on his own and was licensed to practice in 1788 at the age of 19. He represented Fay- etteville in the General As- sembly in 1792 at the age of 23. He moved to New Bern and then in 1811 moved to Raleigh where he built his home, Elmwood. Elmwood still stands and is the second oldest house in Raleigh on its original foundation. Taylor served as chief justice from 1819 until 1829. He was buried on the grounds at Elmwood with full Masonic Rites. Lat- John Louis Taylor John Hall details, and Mike Clark was the fundraiser. On the second floor with its preparation and lodge rooms, walls and ceiling were returned to their historic beadboard and paint- ed white and blue. e suspended ceiling was removed, and the curved ceiling restored thanks to rerouting of ductwork. e attic was insulated to save energy. All the floors upstairs were refinished. e downstairs got big changes, too. e dining room got sheetrock and wainscot. e floors will be taken back to their

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