The North Carolina Mason

September/October 2009

North Carolina Mason

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The Mason NORTH CAROLINA Volume 134 Number 5 September/October 2009 Page 8 The North Carolina Mason September/October 2009 In this issue of The NC Mason page 1 The North Carolina Mason The Grand Lodge of North Carolina, AF&AM 600 College Street Oxford, North Carolina 27565 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED NON-PROFIT ORG. AUTO U.S. POSTAGE PAID OXFORD, NC 27565 PERMIT NO. 56 Annual Communication was held in Winston-Salem. page 2 Rice makes Montfort presentations. page 5 Masonic news from around the state. see HERO, page 5 Ric Car ter photo Ric Car ter photo pages 8 Franklin Lodge erects a new building WALLACE – e term "hero" doesn't sit well with Henry Campbell. Allen Dezso would argue that it's a perfect fit. Last January, their predawn meeting in an ice-coated median on Interstate 40 began with a smile and a Masonic handshake. It would end moments later when Campbell saved Dezso's life by shoving him out of the path of a sliding car. Dezso suffered hip and shoulder injuries from the push, but Campbell suffered injuries that kept him comatose in a Wilmington hospital for seven weeks. Campbell, a retired chief arson investigator for the State Bureau of Investigation, has recovered from the damage well enough to receive heroism awards from Grand Mas- ter Dan Rice and from the State Highway Patrol. "I'm no hero," said Campbell, a past master of Wallace 595. "I did what anybody else would have done under the circumstances." Maybe. Maybe not. Campbell was awaiting the arriv- al of a trooper at the scene of an ear- lier wreck near the Duplin-Pender line, and Dezso got the call to re- spond. ey had barely exchanged greetings on opposite sides of the median cables when a pickup hit an icy patch and began skittering over the icy grass in their direction. "Before I could even turn my head, I remember seeing, like, a strobe light – I guess it was the headlights on her pickup – and I re- member hearing, 'Look out!'" Dezso said. "e next thing I knew, I was doing cartwheels on the ground." e driver of the pickup, Dr. Myra Guzman, first hit Dezso's pa- trol car, then the median cables where Campbell was standing. When they sprang in his direction, Campbell was slammed into the side of the firetruck so hard that it dented the driver's-side door in four inches. He said, "I've never felt so much pressure on my body in all my life. I could hear my bones popping and cracking." Campbell then ricocheted back into the cable face-first as Guz- man's truck flipped and landed atop the first wrecked vehicle. By that time, Dezso has risen to his knees, but couldn't see Campbell in the darkness. e driver and passenger involved in the initial crash pointed to Campbell on the roadside, and Dezso, whose walkie-talkie and flashlight were lost as he tumbled head over heels, crawled to the firetruck to radio for help. "He was breathing, but he was having a lot of trouble. He was bleeding out of his mouth and nose, but I didn't know what had happened, and then I saw the damage to the firetruck," said Dezso, who is stationed at Burgaw but remains a member of Lillington 302. "I was concerned about internal injuries. Henry and I had both been tactical EMTs for years, and when the doctor got down there, I BEAUFORT — Franklin 109 set the cornerstone for their new lodge June 5. Grand Master Dan Rice presided over the emergent communication of the Grand Lodge. As is custom, the parts of Grand Lodge officers were taken by local Masons for the occasion. Playing those roles were Deputy Grand Mas- ter Numa Andrew, Se- nior Grand Warden Keith Moore Jr., Ju- nior Grand Warden Steve S p r i n g l e , Grand Trea- surer Dick Farley, Grand Secretary Lee Jones, Se- nior Grand Deacon Ron Balfanz, Ju- nior Grand Deacon Ron Jones, Grand Marshal Asa Buck Jr., Grand Stew- ard Dennis Kyle, Grand Steward Burnie Davis, Grand Chaplain Marion Noe, and Grand Tyler Larry Springle. Among the guests attending were Fourth District Deputy Grand Master Jeff Styron, Deputy Grand Master William L. Dill, Grand Secretary T. Walton Clapp III, Past Grand Master William G. Mathis, Past Grand Master Leonard Y. Safrit, and Past Grand Master Gerry T. Smith. Franklin 109's new building is located at 104 Professional Park Drive in Beaufort. ey meet first and third Mondays. No heroes? Just doing the brotherly thing By omas Pope Franklin Lodge opens new home Mar y B. Safrit photos Officers of Franklin 109 assemble before their rising new building. Grand Master Rice declares the stone prepared. Trooper Deszo and Campbell at the Patrol's recognition. Grand Master Rice thanks Campbell as Thomas Pope looks on. You can't find the secrets of Masonry hidden inside an altar, but you can get the details of Annual Communication on page one of this issue of The NC Mason. Thomas Pope photo

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