The North Carolina Mason

T h e m i s s i o n o f fr e e m a s o n r y i n no r T h Ca 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 Dan C. Rice Board Of Publication John O. Newman Jr., Chairman Gary R. Ballance Don E. Bolden omas A. Pope Jr. Hugh K. Terrell Jr. 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 rcarter@grandlodge-nc.org. 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 and number of his lodge. Masonic widows receive e Mason free upon request. Subscriptions are 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 July/August 2009 Ric Car ter photo BOTTOM LINE, from page 1 President John F. Kennedy said, "Change is the law of life. And those that look only to the past and present are certain to miss out on the future." He had no clue at the time he made that statement that a bullet would take his life in just a few months. Life is definitely uncertain, and change is constant. ere have been lots of changes in our Grand Lodge in recent years. e biggest change has been the 2008 vote to recognize the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of North Carolina. With that vote came fear and risk. Some brothers felt sure that it would lead to the destruction of both our grand lodges. Others believed that it was totally wrong, based on the belief that the Prince Hall brothers were clandestine. ey believed this simply because they were told that Prince Hall was clandestine by another brother. Even though some of our brightest legal minds in our Grand Lodge had studied Prince Hall and determined that they were not clandestine. Other folks be- lieved that our Grand Lodge would lose a lot of members rather than sit in a lodge with a brother from Prince Hall. Other brothers feared that rec- ognition would lead to cross visitation and lots of issues. Our delegates at the 2008 Annual Com- munication voted to recognize the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of NC despite the risk, and the next week cross visitation started. ey had to have known that this would certainly create change in NC Masonry both for our Grand Lodge and also for the Prince Hall Grand Lodge. In November 2008, a recognition compact was signed between the two grand lodges at the Old Capitol Building in Raleigh. e issue of visitation did not come up since it had already been started. What many brothers feared the most was beginning to take place. Early on as grand master, I was asked to ad- dress the issue of cross visitation between the two grand lodges. Many brothers believed that they had been purposely misled by the Grand Lodge officers and by the editorials in e NC Mason, regarding whether the vote for recognition in- cluded visitation. I can certainly understand how they could feel that way based on how we at one point said that recognition did not necessarily include visitation. e issue of recognition of the Most Worship- ful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of NC has been a topic discussed by our delegates at the An- nual Communications of our Grand Lodge go- ing back into the 1940s. We have toyed with the idea of recognition of Prince Hall for more than sixty years. How much time and energy has been wasted on this issue? I am glad that we finally had the courage to do what was right, even if it is late in coming. From a personal standpoint, I do not want to ever discriminate against anyone based on how God made them. I will use my discrimination for the people that are mean, viscous, and cruel. After carefully considering how to deal with visitation between our grand lodges, it is my be- lief that a visiting Prince Hall brother should be treated just like a brother from any other grand lodge that we recognize. I came to this con- clusion by seeking wise counsel from brothers whose judgment I trusted, by reading our NC Masonic Code, Constitution and Bylaws and by quiet prayer. As grand master I felt that I should lead NC Masonry where I believed it should go on this issue. I would like to update everyone about what has been going on between the two grand lodg- es. ere has been a lot of cross visitation, and it has gone extremely well. Friendship and long overdue brotherly love have been extended both ways. It has been extremely healthy for both sides to find out that we are all working for the same causes under the direction of an Almighty God who made us all. e Prince Hall Shrine SGD GMsl GS GM DGM GT GC SGS JGW JGS SGW JGD delegates stage altar Officer positions at Grand Lodge Annual Communication By Ric Carter Most Masons don't think too much about Grand Lodge officers until Annual Communi- cation rolls around. Can't tell the players with- out a program? Now you'll be able to identify those guys opening and closing the meeting. Here's your program. Starting just inside the door is Grand Tyler Steve Lynch (Bula 409) from Burlington. He'll be assisted by volunteer assistant tylers who will be posted outside the several entrances to the meeting room to check at your dues card and listen to a whispered password. At the front of the auditorium, a lodge room will be set on and before a riser. It is of much the same form as your blue lodge, but with a station or two added. Four officers will be on the stage facing the crowd. Front and center on the stage will be Grand Master (GM) Dan C. Rice (Bula 409). Rice and wife Debbie live in Elon. Rice, a alumnus of the Masonic Home for Children, owns Piedmont Truck Tires — a chain of tire dealerships around North Carolina. On his right will be Deputy Grand Master (DGM) William L. Dill (St. John's 3). Dill is a retired school principal who lives in New Bern with his wife Margaret. He is secretary of New Bern's Scottish Rite bodies. On the left side of the stage is Grand Trea- surer (GT) Clifton W. Everett Jr. (Crown Point 708). Everett, who was grand master in 1995, has been grand treasurer since 1996. Everett, a Superior Court judge, lives in Greenville with his wife Mary. At the right on the stage is Grand Secretary (GS) T. Walton Clapp III (Mystic Tie 237) who has served in the office since the retirement of Pete Dudley in 1997. Clapp resides in Raleigh with his wife Betty (a Presbyterian minister) and daughter Anh. Seated at the back of the stage in neat rows are special guests and past grand masters. e special guests include officers from state appen- The players for Annual Communication 2009 dant bodies and officers from other grand lodges and Masonic organizations. e rest of the officers are on the auditori- um floor in front of the stage. Facing the stage, with his back to the delegates, you'll find Se- nior Grand Warden (SGW ) Lewis R. Ledford (Statesville 27). Ledford is superintendent of North Carolina State Parks. He and his wife Susan live in Raleigh. Junior Grand Deacon ( JGD) Dalton W. Mayo (Hiram 98) sits on Ledford's right. Mayo is retired from the faculty of Sampson Commu- nity College. He lives in Clinton. On the south side of the floor, to the delegates' right, is Junior Grand Warden ( JGW ) Robert E. Gresham Jr. (Albemarle 703). Gresham and his wife Carolyn live in Mount Gilead. He was president of Service Distributing Company (SERVCO) before his retirement. At the meeting, Gresham is flanked by the grand stewards. Senior Grand Steward Bryant D. Webster (Nichols-West Asheville 650) is nearest the stage and Junior Grand Steward A. Gene Cobb (Royal White Hart 2) is nearest the delegates. Webster is a lawyer and lives in Black Mountain with his wife ( Janet) and daughter. Cobb is minister at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Sanford where he lives with his wife Brenda. eir children are grown. Senior Grand Deacon (SGD) Dewey R. Preslar Jr. (Andrew Jackson 576) sits before the stage in front of the grand treasurer, to the grand master's right. Preslar and his wife Terrie live in Salisbury. He is a vice president of Food Lion. Another officer in the Grand Lodge line we don't have in the blue lodge progression to master is grand marshal (GMsl). Grand Marshal Douglas L. Caudle (Statesville 27) holds that chair beside Grand Chaplain (GC) Louis A. Sasser (Bula 409). Caudle and his wife Angela live in Taylorsville. He is presi- dent of Piedmont Fiberglass. ere, you have it — the starting line up for the 222 nd Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of North Carolina. Don't get cocky, though. We'll elect new officers at the meeting. ey'll be installed in November and take us all, once again, into a new year. Units in NC have committed to help the Shin- ers' Hospital in Greenville, SC. e Prince Hall Grand Lodge has also been using the Masonic Home for Children's Graphic Arts School for their printing. At the Carolina Pig Jig in Ra- leigh this year, there was at least ten teams from Prince Hall raising money for our home in Ox- ford. ey cooked some good barbecue, too. Brethren, change is hard, and it certainly has its risks, but this change has been very positive. We have lost a few brothers, who just could not accept what was done. I do hope they will recon- sider and come back once they realize that this change will ultimately be positive for Masonry in our state. For every brother we have lost be- cause of the recognition, we have gained several young, smart, and enthusiastic men who wanted no part of any perceived racist organization. e number of good men petitioning our lodges has certainly increased. Many of our lodges are on fire with degree work and enthusiasm. Many brothers who have actively been in- volved with cross visitation have told me how thrilled they were after the visit. ey found they had much more in common than they ever be- lieved they would find. ey had universally lost all fear from the unknown about Prince Hall and were pumped up about working with their newly found Prince Hall brothers to make this world a better place for all of us. Brethren, there is room in this world for as many good Masons as we can find. I hope to see you all at the Annual Com- munication. ELIZABETH CITY — Eureka 317 recent- ly raffled a Masonic Quilt that was created, de- signed, and constructed by Marie Miller whose husband is of Eureka Lodge Senior Warden Paul Miller. Once the piecing was completed, it was quilted by Anita Beard. e quilt was nearly eight months in the making. e idea was inspired after Paul saw the quilt raffled at Annual Communication last year — it brought in more than $1,000 for WhiteStone (MESH). ey thought the idea would work in the Eastern part of the state to raise money for the Masonic Home for Children also. ey were right. Approximately 600 raffle tickets were sold, and more than $1,500 was raised for the Home. Eureka Lodge has donated more than $3,000 this year to Masonic charities. When the drawing was held at Eureka Lodge's May 16 Ladies' Night, Francis Pugh of Currituck 463 was the happy winner. — Paul Miller GM Dan Rice poses with the raffled quilt and its creators Anita Beard and Marie Miller. Eureka Masons raffle quilt CHARLOTTE — "A man is known by his deeds and actions." at was the message then Grand Master Bud McCall shared in 1986 with Masons around North Carolina. He lived his life by that creed. Walter Franklin McCall died at his home July 6 after a ten-year battle with cancer and more recently leukemia. He was 80 years old. Anyone who shook Bud's hand knew he was and lover of the outdoors. He was a lifelong, avid hunter, fisherman, and gardener. McCall is survived by Martha, his wife of 60 years, two daughters, six grandchildren, and one great grandchild. He was born in the omas- boro community outside Charlotte February 29, 1929, the ninth of eleven children of William and Lille McCall. He was initiated in Joppa 530 in 1962 and appointed to the Grand Lodge line in 1980 by Jacob C. Goodman. He served as grand master in 1986. McCall was co-founder of McCall Brothers Well Drilling Service. Bud's good deeds and actions will be missed by all. Past Grand Master McCall dead at 80 In looking at the November/December is- sue of e North Carolina Mason, I was struck by a conspicuous contrast: In the photo of the Prince Hall Masons assembled for their annual Grand Lodge meeting, every man in the assem- bly is wearing a white shirt, dark jacket, dark tie, apron, jewels, and white gloves. In a correspond- ing photo in the September/October NC Ma- son of the attendees at our Grand Lodge meet- ing, the uniform of the day seems to be jeans or slacks, and open-neck shirt I have attended grand lodge in Florida and Utah, and the attendees all "dressed proper," or didn't gain admittance. Perhaps one reason that we are having reten- tion problems in the North Carolina lodges is that we are portraying membership in Freema- sonry as equal to being in the Elks, Moose, or Odd Fellows. If we as Freemasons do not per- ceive ourselves as being more than just a "secre- tive good-old-boys-club," we will not "walk and act as such" in our daily lives. I suggest that our Prince Hall brethren have shown an example in dress code that we could well learn from. Henry M. Bruce is a member of Mocksville 134. A sign of respect By Henry M. Bruce AF & AM Masons visit Prince Hall degree DURHAM — On March 14 more than a dozen AF & AM Masons visited A.S. Hunter 825 (PHA) here for their annual raisingings. Members of Mosaic 762, Cary 198, and P. P. Turner 746 joined ap- proximately 150 Masons from around the country for the all-day degree. Many enjoyed hospitality at a local hotel the previous night. Eight new Masons were raised. Sections of the third degree were divided around a luncheon. Prince Hall dignitaries from South Carolina, Georgia, Colorado, Virginia, and Maryland came to participate in the widely admired work of the lodge. Several AF & AM mem- bers took part in the second section of the degree taking the parts of fellow craft. It was likely the first NC Prince Hall Master Mason Degree witnessed by our members. All were duly impressed with the high quality of the work and the power of the historic nature of the visit. — Ric Carter Ric Car ter photo

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