North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/5189
March/April 2009 The North Carolina Mason Page 3
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 newsletters
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 and informed.
Warsaw
Warsaw 677 held their Ladies' Night in De-
cember. Tim Bass, the newest Mason in the
lodge, entertained the forty or so folks who at-
tended with a program of seasonal music.
Hank Gurley was awarded his life member-
ship that night, and James Davis, of Pleasant
Hill 304, was named an honorary member of
Warsaw Lodge. — Warsaw Lodge
Hillsborough
Eagle 19 is holding fellowship breakfasts each
month. Members are urged to join the fun and
bring friends who are not Masons. ey also use
the day for their workdays at the lodge. If you'd
like to join them, they may be found at the lodge
on the Saturday after their stated meetings on
second Tuesdays. ey eat at 8:00 o'clock a.m.
e Hillsborough Tourism Board recently
gave Eagle Lodge a $5,000 grant for their work
restoring their lodge building. ey have done
marvelous work bringing back the former glory
of their nearly 200-year-old building.
ey are now working in the upstairs lodge
room. ey've stripped paint from the windows
and replastered. Repainting of the walls, ceilings,
and trim is being done with paint provided at
cost by a lodge member. Refinishing of the heart
pine floors is next up. — Eagle Lodge
Charlotte
Excelsior 261 recently brought 16 kids from
the Masonic Home for Children to Charlotte
for a visit. ey entertained them with a private
tour of Roush-Fenway Racing headquarters.
— Trestle Board
Charles M. Setzer 693 has started a new drive
to get in touch with inactive members. ey are
aiming at the guys who still pay their dues, but
don't show up at lodge. Alan Mann is spearhead-
ing the operation.
Don't want to buy a new wardrobe with
Masonic emblem stitched on? Setzer Lodge is
letting members bring in clothing they already
have. For five dollars, you get an embroidered
emblem. — Trestleboard
West Gate 738 had their 50
th
Fish Fry sched-
uled for March 20. Profits from their spring
event go to the Masonic Home for Children.
— News from the West
Phalanx 31 held their Awards and Past Mas-
ters' Dinner December 16. ey installed officers
the same night. — Trestleboard
Steele Creek 737 has set its Fish Fry and
Car Show for May 9. ey are hoping for 200
entries in the show. Proceeds will benefit Ma-
sonic charities.
Back in 2005, Steele Creek Lodge devel-
oped a relationship with Bakersville 357. is
summer they plan to help Bakersville with a
charity fundraiser. ey are considering cook-
ing their barbecue in Charlotte and delivering
it to Bakersville. — Trestleboard
Kannapolis
Allen Graham 695 held its 56
th
Annual La-
dies' Night and Awards Banquet on November
22. ere were door prizes for the ladies and
entertainment from the Oasis Gospelaires. Vet-
eran's Emblems for 50 years Masonic member-
ship went to Lawrence Edgerton Barden, Lewis
Nolan Barts, Roy Mansfield Chatham, omas
Edison Harrison, James Wade McCurdy, Alon-
zo Lewis McDaniel Jr., Donald Lee Sechler,
and Robert Doyle Weatherman.
— Randy Crainshaw
Pilot Mountain
e Basket Van sallied forth from Pilot 493
on December 20. ey roved from spot to spot
brightening the day of those widows and home-
bound brothers to whom they gave holiday fruit
baskets. Along the way, Rick Smith gave his
common law copyright local historical tour.
A recent raffle at Pilot Lodge brought in
$500 for the NC Masonic Foundation, $325
for the Masonic Home for Children, and $900
for WhiteStone (MESH).
— e Pilot Mountain Traveler
Fayetteville
Clifford Duell 756 held a Friends and Rusty
Nails Breakfast March 7. ey met at a local caf-
eteria to welcome men who wanted to know more
about the Masons and old friends who have not
attended lodge in a while. — Blue Sheet
Canton
Sonoma 472's Veterans' Appreciation Dinner
went over so well last October; they're reprising
this coming November. Also coming up is a June
Family Cookout and a cookout in May to honor
their Eastern Star.
They had a blood drive scheduled for Feb-
ruary 6.
Sonoma Lodge holds practices at 7:00 p.m.
every Friday evening. — Valley of the Moon
Raleigh
If you've passed the Shrine food tent at the
North Carolina State Fair any recent October,
you know the voice of Al Almaguer. He sits out
front and sings the praises of their chow. Last
year, the Raleigh News and Observer ran a short
feature on Al's fame and passion. You just know
that Big Al is right when he extols the pleasures
of Amran Shrine's "big ole biscuits." Almaguer is
a member of William T. Bain 231.
— News and Observer
Masters 754's bakeless bake sale, that we told
you about in our last issue, brought in more than
$1,300 for Masonic charities. — e Trowel
In January, William G. Hill 218 (in coop-
eration with Raleigh 500) raised a new mem-
ber. e candidate's best friend, a Prince Hall
Mason, attended the raising with four of his
brothers from Widows Son 4, PHA, in Raleigh.
e friend accepted an invitation to raise Hill
Lodge's newest member. It is thought to be the
first participation of a Prince Hall Mason in our
degree work. As yet another sign that barriers
continue to fall, the lecture of the degree was
delivered by a young black man, a member of
Raleigh 500. — Miles Davis
Winston-Salem
Jim Pittman's widow has donated his books
to Old Town 751 for their library.
e 2008 officer at Old Town Lodge gave
outgoing Master Alan Williard a watch to thank
him for his year of service.
Tom Cain picked up the breakfast tab for
the Old Town team that delivered Christmas
baskets to the lodge's widows back on De-
cember 20.
April 25 is the scheduled celebration date for
the 35
th
anniversary of Old Town Lodge. ey
had a pancake supper scheduled for February 27.
— On the Level at Old Town Lodge
Salisbury
Masons in Rowan County are in the planning
stage, but taking applications, for their Scholar-
ship Foundation. ey hope to award $3,000 to
a college student for the fall.
Fulton 99 recently named Steve Schenk their
Mason of the Year and made Bruce Mason the
recipient of the Wiley G. Morgan Award.
— Master's Journal
is year, Tony Hager becomes the third con-
secutive Hager to lead Andrew Jackson 576. His
son Heath was master in 2008, and son Tony
Hager Jr. was master in 2007.
Heath Hager was also named the lodge's Ma-
son of the Year for 2008. Lonnie Goodman re-
ceived the L. C. Lake Memorial Award. Rayvon
Curran has gotten his Veteran's Emblem for 50
years Masonic membership. — Master's Journal
Franklin
Junaluskee 145 sold 2009 pocket calendars
five dollars each. Proceeds will be used to buy
school items to give away to kids at the Macon
County Fair.
During the holidays, Junaluskee Lodge col-
lected items for the Manna Food Bank.
— Trestleboard
Statesville
Lew Ledford, a member of Statesville 27 and
senior grand warden, was named Tar Heel of
the Week February 8 by the Raleigh News and
Observer. He was saluted for his management
and negotiating style that has brought innova-
tive growth to our State Parks system. Ledford
is director of NC State Parks.
Spruce Pine
Vesper 554 member Ted McEntire was re-
cently elected District Court Judge for Watauga,
Avery, Mitchell, Yancy, and Madison counties.
— e Beacon
Greensboro
Gate City 694 was again gathering items
for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. ey sent
a shipment of personal packages at Christmas.
Another batch was set to mail in March.
Arthur Marshall was elected a life member
on August 26.
Gate City Lodge members attended as a
group two local churches late last year, Westmin-
ster Presbyterian and Life Community Church.
eir November Brunswick Stew fundraiser
brought in $1,313 for WhiteStone. ey also
contributed to Greensboro Beautiful and Mo-
bile Meals for Christmas.
At WhiteStone, they helped decorate and
bought gifts for 18 residents. — Trestleboard
Southport
Pythagoras 249 enjoyed their annual Sweet-
heart Brunch on Valentine's Day — conve-
niently a Saturday morning this year.
— James Robinson
Smithfield
Fellowship 84 was having a Pancake and
Sausage Breakfast March 28. It was a five dollar,
all-you-can-eat Saturday morning extravaganza.
— e Trestleboard
Hookerton
Jerusalem 95 invited interested non-Masons
over for dinner in February. Eight men came by,
and two have asked for petitions already.
e lodge had a clean-up session scheduled
for Saturday, March 7. — e Jerusalem Journal
Lewisville
West Bend 434 is moving back into the me-
dia world. Mitch Monroe has relaunched West
Bend 434 News, their newsletter. Christopher
Petree is putting them on the Internet with a
new web site. — West Bend 434 News
Hickory
Hickory 343 participated in the Brookford
Community Toy Drive again this past holiday
season. ey delivered toys to a dozen needy
families with children. Ten of the families also
got $20 food cards.
Hickory Lodge now has a remodeled library.
ey have also completed their smoking room
which is nicely outfitted with a pool table.
ey had a sweetheart's dinner planned for
February 14 and their Annual Pancake Break-
fast for May 2. — Hickory Lodge
Jacksonville
Semper Fidelis 680 held a Scholarship Visi-
tation in January to support the Onslow County
Masonic Scholarship. ey raised $850.
— Trestle Board
Lowell
Fifth Tuesdays are becoming a special cel-
ebration night at Lowell 590. ey plan to bring
their families and invite lodge widows. ey are
also going to make special efforts to attract long-
absent members back to lodge on those evenings.
e first event was scheduled for March 31.
— Lowell Lodge
Garner
Earl Purser knew he had at least six Masons
who were active members of Ernest Myatt Pres-
byterian Church. He thought it would be fun to
get them together for breakfast once a quarter.
ey had so much fun, they've increased their
meetings to every other month. ey meet at
the Toot and Tell in Garner at 7:30 a.m. on the
second Saturday of every other month starting
in April.
Goldsboro
On January 13, Wayne 112 held its first Blood
Drive in years.ey turned out 34 donors. It was
also the kick off on what is hoped to become a
friendly competition with their neighbor lodge,
Goldsboro 634. Goldsboro Lodge was to hold
their own Blood Drive January 22. ey were
inspired by talk of the huge blood drive spon-
sored by Masons in the western part of the state
each winter. — Bob Franks
Chapel Hill
A recent publication of the Duke Transla-
tional Medicine Institute featured University
408 Master John Sampson on the cover. Samp-
son is a neurosurgeon and faculty member at
Duke University Medical Center. He is also a
member of Mosaic 762.
Spindale
More than 40 Masons, accompanied by an
equal number of family members, attended
Danieltown Baptist Church on November 2.
ey were members of Spindale 673 and other
lodges in the 38 Masonic District. Creighton
Lovelace, the pastor at Danieltown Baptist was
then junior warden at Spindale Lodge. He is
now sitting master.
Spindale Lodge held a Christmas Meal and
Fellowship on December 6. More than 25 at-
tended. — Spindale Skimmings
GREENSBORO — As the holiday season
approached last year, Gate City 694 wanted
to show their support for US troops Iraq and
Afghanistan. They decided to show some ma-
terial tokens to our men and women making
the sacrifices.
e lodge began a drive collecting items from
lodge members. en they expanded their reach
to friends and family. ey even included resi-
dents at WhiteStone (MESH) in their call to.
e drive began in September, and items were
boxed and shipped by November 1. is assured
delivery by Christmas.
Participation was overwhelming. More than
half of the postal charges were contributed by
members after lodge meetings and at the Friday
morning coffee sessions at WhiteStone. Fifty-six
cartons were shipped to 18 military personnel in
Iraq and Afghanistan, both men and women,
enlisted and officers. e packages included per-
sonal items, items to be shared such as food, tea,
and coffee, and even coffee filters. All items were
from an approved list obtained from