July/August 2009 The North Carolina Mason Page 5
Postal Chess Club
MECHANICSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA —
e Masonic Postal Chess Club has been around
since 1975. ey pair up Master Mason chess
players, beginners and masters, to play chess by
mail. Nowadays, they have added email gaming
to the mix. Dues are just $20 a year.
You can get more information on participat-
ing by contacting club Secretary Dennis Plym-
ette, 304 Longmeadow Street, Mechanicsburg,
PA 17055 or .
— Oregon Masonic News
By Pat Godwin Jr.
DUNN — Newly raised Mason and Palmyra
147 Chaplain Aaron Meredith gave his lodge a
cufflink February 10. e brass cufflink is from
what is believed to be the original Palmyra
Lodge location in Averasboro. It has Masonic
emblems surrounding the square and compasses
in the center and is thought to date from as early
as 1800. e gift was made in honor of Hubert
H. Warren Jr. for his "dedication and tireless
work for the betterment of Masonry." Warren is
a past master of Palmyra Lodge and past district
deputy grand master.
e original Palmyra Lodge was formed in
old Averasboro then called Averysboro, between
Erwin and Chicora Country Club. Palmyra 147
was chartered in 1852, so it is thought the cuf-
flink may have been a family heirloom at the
time. It was found by a friend of Meredith while
on an artifact excursion in old Averasboro. e
friend gave it to Meredith, realizing the signifi-
cance to the lodge he was about to petition.
It is a striking reminder that Masonic history
is imbedded in the formation of our country and
community. It is further a reminder of the im-
portance the Cape Fear River and Averasboro
once held. e river was the interstate highway
of our early history, and Averasboro was the
navigable end of the river. at era ended when
the railroad came through Dunn in the 1880s.
Averasboro dried up to become nonexistent.
You can see this piece of history on display in
Palmyra Lodge.
Pat Godwin is master of Palmyra 147.
Aaron Meredith, left, presents his gift to Palmyra Master Pat Godwin Jr. and Hu-
bert H. Warren Jr.
High Point
On May 17, the Masonic lodges in High
Point held an open house to help celebrate the
town's 150
th
anniversary. High Point 199 (now
extinct) was chartered a few months before the
town was founded. ere are now three lodges
in the town: Numa F. Reid 344, Acacia 674, and
Piedmont 681. — Michael Rinehardt
Cary
e Spring Barbecue at Cary 198 raised more
than $5,000 after selling out the 1,500 pounds
of barbecue they cooked.
Back on April, Cary Lodge members Ted
Long, Sonny Bjork, and Don Ellers went up to
Oxford to repair a grill the lodge donated to one
of the cottages at the Home for Children. e
same guys went back a few weeks later to clean
all the grills on campus.
June 29 was the date of Cary Lodge's most
recent fifth Monday dinner. It was their East-
ern Star's turn to host the regular event. They
were grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. A
major attraction of the day was the testing of
Master Mike Sibley's insistence that home-
made ice cream f rom a hand-cranked f reezer
is superior to that f rom an electric cranking.
The kids they sponsor at the Home for Chil-
dren were also invited. — Trestle Board
Spruce Pines
Vesper 554 recently helped buy uniforms for
youth sports teams in the neighborhood. Lodge
Master Dan McKinney even got his picture in
the Mitchell News Journal giving the check to
the county Parks and Recreation director.
— e Bacon
Wilmington
Orient 395 Master Jimmy Hyatt is having a
past master close lodge at his meetings this year.
He does so as a sign of "respect and honor for
their service."
Orient Lodge presented Julius Townsend
his 50-year service award on behalf of his lodge,
Gardenville-Cache 455 in Missouri.
— Orient Express
Bakersville
Bakersville 357 had their Charity Barbecue
Fundraiser June 13. ey served plates or sand-
wiches. ey even had hot dogs for those who
didn't know how to handle the good stuff.
— Robert Morgan
Jacksonville
Semper Fidelis 680 had a Ladies Night Out
in April. Forty-six folk enjoyed the excursion to
Tony's Restaurant.
Semper Fi's barbecue fundraiser is set for
September 11. ey're serving from 11:00 a.m.
till 6:00 p.m. — Trestle Board
Hookerton
Jerusalem 95 has granted a request from the
town of Hookerton. e southeast corner of the
lodge property will be the home of a new living,
town Christmas tree.
e lodge has elected two new honorary
members, Giles Stroud and omas Mooring.
— e Jerusalem Journal
Warsaw
Since local firefighters and police are usually
working during Warsaw 677 Veteran's Day event,
the lodge decided to have a special appreciation
day for them on June 6. ey had them over for a
pancake breakfast. — Warsaw Lodge
Franklin
Junaluskee 145 held their Annual Fam-
ily Night and Memorial Service May 19. Bob
Kraus conducted the ceremony honoring the
lodge members who died in the past year. ey
also had a program on the George Washington
Masonic National Memorial.
e lodge is selling ten-dollar denim caps
with a lodge logo. Since Lindsey Bell donates
all the caps, that means 100% of receipts go to
the lodge. — Trestleboard
Waynesville
On May 16, Waynesville 259 was hosting a
poorman's supper to celebrate the 100
th
anniver-
sary of the local York Rite chapter.
— Mike Hooper
Kernersville
On June 13, Kernersville 669 held a pancake
and sausage fundraiser.
South Mills
Ben Stallings promised the lodge a fish fry if
they hit an attendance challenge. ey met his
challenge almost immediately when 62 Masons,
including several from just across the state line,
attended a degree. e fish fry was held June 9.
ey are celebrating five initiations and passings.
— e Plumb Line
Ranger
Montgomery 426 hosted its Annual Home-
coming Open House May 30. ey were serv-
ing hickory-smoked, pulled pork barbecue. Chip
Siller and the Wayfaring Strangers played blue-
grass music for the crowd. — Derek Cheek
Shallotte
May 29 was fish f ry time for Shallotte 727.
Money f rom the cooking went to Masonic
charities. — Shallotte Lodge
Bailey
Horace Meacomes has been reviewing Bailey
411's history. He's been reading minutes of the lodge
and has extracted doings of the lodge from April
1916 through December 2008. He's recorded them
all on compact disk for others who want to know the
history. If you've done such a project in your lodge,
please share a copy with the Grand Lodge so that
the information may be shared with others.
Bailey Lodge is installing a memorial plaque
saluting the lodge's past masters. Marshal Brock
Jr. is making a walnut display to hold the name-
plates. Charlie and Tyler Glover are getting the
emblems and nameplates. — Newsletter
Chapel Hill
Mosaic 752 serves supper before every stated
meeting — that's the first Monday night every
month. Supper's at 6:00 p.m., visitors are wel-
come, Mason or not.
Zebulon
e 16
th
Masonic District celebrated Ma-
sonic Night with the Carolina Mudcats when
they played the Chattanooga Lookouts on
July 18. Tickets for Family Night were $25 for
adults and $15 for kids. at included pavilion
seating and all-you-can-eat burgers and dogs
and fries, and Pepsi. — Harvey Evans
Spencer
Spencer 543 did a Port-A-Pit barbecue
May 26. — John Wagoner
Henderson
For more than 15 years now, Henderson 229
has sponsored pre-prom entertainment for the
kids at the Masonic Home for Children. ey
feed them supper and furnish their transporta-
tion to the junior-senior prom at J. F. Webb High
School. is year, they took them and their dates
to Middleburg Steakhouse. — Chris Richardson
STATE, from page 3
OXFORD — After a successful first year, the
Masonic Home for Children at Oxford looks to
build on its success by hosting their Second Annu-
al Board of Directors On-Line Charity Auction.
e 15 members of the Board have collected and
donated a number of unique and valuable items, all
available for you to bid on eBay with all proceeds
benefiting the Masonic Home for Children.
"Our Board sees this as another way to con-
tribute to the Home we care so much about,
while introducing countless people to the cause
of MHCO," said Board Chairman and Grand
Marshal Doug Caudle.
Last year's auction included athletic event
tickets and many Masonic items, some of which
drew the attention of Masons and museums
from around the world. "We shipped a few items
overseas and a museum in Philadelphia bid on
two of our Masonic figurines to complete their
collection," said Development Director Chris
Richardson. Any eBay user may place auction
items on behalf of the Home, using eBay's Giv-
ing Works and Mission Fish, which support
non-profits like MHCO. Non-profits can use
Giving Works free of charge.
Visit starting in Sep-
tember and click on the "Second Annual MHCO
Auction" link. Users can also visit eBay and search
for the Masonic Home for Children Auction.
New items will be added every two days. Some of
this year's items include a pair of ACC men's bas-
Third Christmas
MHCO ornament
OXFORD — e Masonic Home for Chil-
dren is offering a third limited edition Christmas
ornament. is year's ornament features the spir-
itual center of the campus, the York Rite Chapel,
built in 1951. e York Rite Chapel has served
the children of MHCO and the community with
services throughout the year. is gold-flashed
brass ornament pictures a silhouette of the cha-
pel and includes a brief history. Ornaments go
on sale September 15 and will cost ten dollars
plus shipping. Profits benefit the Sallie Mae Li-
gon Archives and Cobb Center Museum, which
houses the history of MHCO. Only 400 orna-
ments will be produced, and orders can be placed
by phone, or email, or purchased at Grand Lodge
session in September. For more information visit
the Home's website at ,
email Tina Gilreath at tgilreath@mhc-oxford.
org, or call 1-919-603-3906.
GREENSBORO — WhiteStone: A Ma-
sonic & Eastern Star Community has ap-
pointed Stacy Adkins marketing director of the
rapidly growing community for seniors who are
attracted to the fun, active lifestyle that defines
WhiteStone. Jo Frazier, who has been with
WhiteStone since October 2008, will remain
as senior sales counselor for the community.
e community, now open to all seniors (not
just Masonic and Eastern Star members), has a
long-standing reputation for outstanding well-
ness and continuing care since 1912.
Adkins steps into her role during an eventful
time for the community, which is expanding to
include 75 beautiful new apartment residences
and six homes that are pre-selling at a rapid
pace. Construction will begin in late 2009 with
the WhiteStone expansion due to be completed
in late 2010 or early 2011.
"My first priority is to generate awareness of
Jones Masonic
Campus gets a name
By Bryan Lassiter
CEDAR POINT — NC Masonry's newest re-
tirement community has been named. Earlier this
year, the Board of Directors chose the name Shell
Pointe at Jones Masonic Campus as the name of
the new retirement community in Eastern North
Carolina. Many North Carolina Masons have al-
ready inquired about living at Shell Pointe, and at
the time of this writing, we have over 60 in our
Charter Club priority reservation list.
Initial marketing efforts were focused exclu-
sively to Masonic households. In June, we began
spreading the word about our new retirement
community to the general public. While we
have begun to advertise locally, we will continue
to focus on the Masons of North Carolina as our
primary market. To that end, we will be avail-
able to speak at lodges or other appendant bod-
ies as needed. If there are Masons who want to
know more about Shell Pointe at Jones Masonic
Campus, we will be glad to come to where you
are and make a 10 to 15 minute presentation.
We would like for you to know first-hand about
Shell Pointe's aim; the lifestyle and homes of-
fered at Shell Pointe; and the surprisingly afford-
able fees associated with living at this beautiful,
waterfront community. We would love to have
you visit us at the Shell Pointe site in Carteret
County. To schedule a presentation or a visit, call
us at (252) 342-5562 or (877) 303-4562.
Private homes at Shell Pointe will include
apartment homes, plantation villas, and court-
yard cottages. ese are available in a variety of
size and price options. In addition to indepen-
dent living, Shell Pointe will have assisted living
available on site from the first phase of develop-
ment. Come and see why we call Shell Pointe a
jewel in the east.
the beautiful and comfortable homes that are be-
ing built, so potential residents don't miss their
window of opportunity," says Adkins. "is is an
ideal community for seniors who want to be just
as active as in their previous years – only better!"
Adkins brings several years of senior living
expertise to her position at WhiteStone, having
served most recently as marketing director for a
continuing care retirement community in Chapel
Hill. Her appointment indicates WhiteStone's
ongoing commitment to build a staff of educated,
experienced professionals with proven talent in
the senior living industry.
"Stacy takes great satisfaction in helping
people plan for the next step in their lives," says
Executive Director Mark Kolada. "Her passion
is contagious, and we are fortunate to add her to
our team. She brings terrific perspective on what
it takes to build an engaging, enjoyable commu-
nity for seniors."
WhiteStone hires marketing director
Palmyra Lodge given historic artifact
Clyde Lodge reaches out to neighbor kids
CLYDE — In an effort to share Masonry with their community, Clyde 453 recently donated
$500 to Special Needs Programs in each of two local elementary schools. Seen here at a formal
presentation, are, from left, Clyde Lodge Master Geoff Cooper, retired teacher and lodge member
Hugh K. Terrell, Clyde Elementary School Principal Jeff Haynes, Riverbend Elementary School Prin-
cipal Greg Parker, Jack Shuler, and Lodge Treasurer Cecil Medford. — Geoff Cooper
Second annual on-line charity
auction starts September 1
ketball tickets, autographed sports items, Caro-
lina Panthers Suite ticket packages, vintage coin
sets, and antique Masonic memorabilia. Grand
Master Dan Rice is placing two handmade Ma-
sonic quilts on-line for auction.
e auction ends November 1. For more in-
formation call (888) 505-4357 or email crich-
ards@mhc-oxford.org.
WINSTON-SALEM — Old Town 751 was a local sponsor of the Bikes for Books project. e
program rewards elementary students for improving their reading skills and habits. Several kids were
moved from under achievement to excellence during the drive.
Nine bikes were given away in local elementary schools. Principals from Old Town Global Acad-
emy and Gibson School sent letters to the lodge thanking them for the inspiration for the kids.
Staffers at all participating schools praised the program and reported progress in reading skill.
— On the Level at Old Town Lodge
Old Town 751 puts kids on wheels