The North Carolina Mason

The Mason NORTH CAROLINA Volume 134 Number 6 November/December 2009 Page 8 The North Carolina Mason November/December 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 Tom Cathey collects DOD recognition. page 3 Masonic news from around the state. page 4 Hickory Lodge entertains their families. see BELL, page 5 pages 8 Masonic history is being honored in Charlotte. Rober t Klein photoillustr ation By Walter Klein CHARLOTTE — New Years Day 2010 will see crowds sur- rounding the American Freedom Bell and the Charlotte Museum of History as they celebrate the famous bell's tenth birthday. Conceived by NC Masons, its cornerstone laid by two grand mas- ters and initiated by former Governor James G. Martin and Char- lotte Mayor John Belk, both Masons, the American Freedom Bell has been the focus of attention by tens of thousands of visitors. at's just the beginning, according to its Netherlands manu- facturer, who predicts a life of 5,000 years of ringing true. e Liberty Bell, today silent in Philadelphia, was rescued by two Charlotte Masons from sure meltdown by British troops during the Revolutionary War. Father and son omas Polk and William Polk, leaders of early Charlotte, secretly transported the first national treasure to an Allentown, Pennsylvania church just before enemy troops approached to melt it into bullets the way By Walter Klein CHARLOTTE — New revelations are spreading the frater- nal fame of the Hezekiah Alexander homesite in Charlotte. As a result, the Charlotte Museum of History now welcomes Masons with an enthusiasm unmatched since its 1774 opening as a combined lodge meeting hall and residence of the 13 members of Charlotte's largest family. Publication of "e Hezekiah Alexander House — a Guide for Freemasons" will herald unprecedented Masonic activity at the Charlotte Museum of History which is charged with protecting the region's oldest building and honoring its rich Masonic History. e illustrated story will have its own website Alexander- Homesite.org with Douglas Spicer of Excelsior 261 as webmaster. It will be available as a hard-copy publication as well. Mary Davis Smart, president of the museum, is inviting all Masons — individually and as lodges — to regularly visit and use the Hezekiah Alexander Homesite, the American Freedom Bell, and the Charlotte Museum of History "in the spirit of the sacred Masonic history of their location" at 3500 Shamrock Drive. Mecklenburg Masonic leaders made history at that stone house the afternoon of September 19, 2004, when they signed their own declaration that forever ended 230 years of bickering over the au- thenticity of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. e argument, begun by no less than omas Jefferson, threw doubt on that document but never on the Masons who signed it. It took all those years for the people to wake up to the fallacy of ques- tioning the honesty of a document while never questioning the honesty of its signers. e North Carolina Grand Lodge formally met within the Hezekiah Alexander house at 4:00 p.m., November 5, 1999, for the purpose of dedicating the site of the American Freedom Bell nearby. Grand masters of both white and black North Caro- lina Masonic orders were present as former Governor James G. Martin led them. Is treasure — Masonic or otherwise — hidden next to the Hez House cornerstone? ermal images were made May 21–23, 2000, by a Kenner, Louisiana, firm which reported a suspected cavity in the southwest corner of the Hez House. e thermal imaging project also revealed two possible blacksmith shops (Hez was a blacksmith), smokehouses, a possible 120-foot tunnel, two outbuildings, a wagon road, possible cistern, carriage turnaround, and unmarked graves. e tunnel was supposedly dug as an escape route, first from Indians — there were 5,000 of them living on the nearby river — and later from the British enemy. What makes the house a national Masonic treasure is the many signs and symbols all over it. It is clear Hez used his house to examine men seeking to meet with brother Masons inside. Example: two balls and a cane. It is now known Hez used his blacksmithing tools to chip out symbols of a trowel, square-and- compasses and all the other Masonic designs today decorating his unique "palace." Charlotte celebrating Masonic history at Alexander House and Freedom Bell Freedom Bell to celebrate tenth birthday Alexander House and CMH link to Masonic ties Sanford Lodge weathers disaster SANFORD — When torrential rains passed through North Carolina November 11, the downpour overwhelmed the drainage of the flat roof on Sanford 151's home. e weight of the water build-up proved more than the support beams could stand and collapsed the roof into the lodge room. Good luck and good planning have taken care of Sanford Lodge. ey carried good insurance (the Grand Lodge program) and have a good Masonic neighbor in town. ey are covered for full replacement of their facility by their insurance. ey are mov- ing their meetings across town to Buffalo 172 until repairs on their lodge are complete. But the message for the rest of us is clear — prepare for the worst so you won't be devastated if it occurs. Duell Lodge gets national recognition WINSTON-SALEM — Fayetteville's Clifford Duell 756 was named a winner of the Masonic Service Association's Mark Twain Masonic Awareness Award this year. e award recog- nizes "demonstrated exemplary work in constructing a positive Masonic identity within the lodge and for the local community." Twenty-four lodges in 17 states were honored in 2009. Grand Master Dan Rice presented the award to Duell Master James Baker at Annual Communication in September. Ric Car ter photo The Calvin Taylor Ride cruises the Blue Ridge for the ninth year CANTON — The Calvin E. Taylor Ride just completed its ninth annual motorcycle ride for the kids. Held in September, the ride memorializes Highway Patrol Trooper Taylor, a Mason, who was killed in the line of duty. In its nine-year history, the ride has brought thousands of dollars to the Masonic Home for Children. They also collect stuffed animals to place in police cars and ambulances for comforting children in distress. They also con- tribute to a scholarship fund named for Taylor. The event is sponsored by the eight lodges in the 40 th Masonic Dis- trict. — Mike Hooper

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