The North Carolina Mason

Page 4 The North Carolina Mason November/December 2009 BOTTOM LINE, from page 1 because they had parents die of natural causes seemed to adjust more quickly and were able to accept life at the Orphanage bet- ter. e only time I remember getting upset was when they made me wear a white rose on Mothers Day when my friends wore red roses. My mother was certainly not dead to me, and even to this day, I believe she lives on in my heart and mind. My first anksgiving at Oxford was filled with apprehension and fear. I had been at the Orphanage for about nine months, and it was a huge adjustment and a very tough place to live. e kids were rough, and the faculty and employees of the home were well-seasoned and had 320 children to care for. ere was no time for any individual attention regardless of your circumstance. Each anksgiving at the Orphanage became easier. Eventually Oxford was my home. I was content and peaceful there and learned what I could and could not do. e time between anksgiving and Christmas used to seem like a very long time. Now it is just a blink for me, and it is gone. My first Christmas at Oxford was different. I had never received presents for Christmas, but I had been with my parents and with my brother and two sisters in a family setting. At Oxford, I was in a cottage with 31 other boys my age. I hardly ever saw my sib- lings. I was never really alone. ere was no privacy of any kind, but I was extremely lonely and sad. e death of my mother and the transition to living in an Orphanage had happened in less than five months. My mother had died unexpectedly of a cerebral hemorrhage; she had died in a matter of minutes and had left four children with no one to care for them. At Christmas, the children at the Orphanage always got a pa- per bag with fruit and nuts in it. ere were always oranges, apples, pears, and different kinds of nuts. If we were lucky, we got some hard candy in the bag. If we were really lucky, we got some choco- late or coconut candy. Each cottage always had a Christmas tree, and every child received at least two presents. One of the pres- ents came from the Masons in Little Washington, and the other present came from the Masons in High Point. ese Masons and their families did not know us children and were just told to buy for a child named Jennie Smith who is 8 years old. ere was a boy a year older than me named Laurie DeBose. When Laurie was about twelve years old, he got a ladies' pocket book for Christmas. Everyone wanted to laugh, but Laurie was a tough kid and would have whipped us bad. He later became an All-American foot- ball player for the Orphanage at quarterback and was an amaz- ing athlete. Laurie made out extremely well because our cottage counselor bought the purse from him for what appeared to us orphan boys as a giant sum. I guess he got the last laugh. He is a member of a Masonic Lodge in Wilmington. I was lucky because Bakersville 357 always sent me a present and so did my mother's Sunday School Class from Bakersville Baptist Church. I am still very grateful for everything I received at Christmas. Another year, when I was about eleven, we had a boy named Roger get up in the middle of night and open all the presents un- der the tree regardless of whose names were on them. When the wake up bell rang at six o'clock, we all headed downstairs to open presents. What we found was Roger in a giant pile of Christ- mas paper and toys. He had picked one wallet and had everyones money in that wallet. I am not sure what he was thinking, be- cause he was in big trouble. We had a heck of a time writing our thank you notes to the Masons for the presents, because we did not know what we had received. Every Christmas the Orphanage would play Tennessee Ernie Ford's Christmas music from speakers in the steeple of the chapel. You could hear it playing all over the campus. We had radiator heat from a coal boiler in the basement of each cottage. ose of you that have ever had steam heat from a radiator know that steam heat is not controllable. It is very warm and after a while the radiator controls do not work at all so you burn up. at is what the old Or- phanage cottages were like. We slept with the windows open even in the dead of the winter because you could not cut the heat down. is worked out perfect when there was music in the air. Tennessee Ernie Ford had a voice that seemed to soothe all our emotional is- sues. To this day, I don't think I have ever heard anyone sing Christ- mas songs as well. When I hear any of his songs, my mind always drifts back to Christmas time at Oxford Orphanage. e Orphanage was alive at Christmas. It seemed every year some of the smaller boys received skates for Christmas. Back then skates were fitted over your regular shoes and were adjusted with a skate key. I don't remember anyone skating with two skates for any length of time at the Orphanage. We would take a metal dust pan and attach it to one skate and use the dustpan handle to steer. e main part of the dustpan was the seat. is was a perfect setup for riding down the hilly roads at the Orphanage. In my mind's eye, I can still hear the laughter as we raced down the road with our hineys on those dust pans. Life was sure simple back then, and it did not take anything expensive to make us happy. Money at the orphanage was always in short supply for us or- phans. We saved our allowance and any other cash we could get our hands on to buy presents for our family. In my case, it was for my siblings as we had almost no contact with anyone else. Based on today's standards, our gifts to each other were almost pitiful because we had so little to spend. Just a token present from a fam- ily member meant so much to all of us because it was an expres- sion of true love. Back then, it was truly the thought that counted because our means were so small that our gifts were really insig- nificant. On the other hand, the sacrifice to buy those little things required so much more effort and thought than even buying a car does now. Somehow, we as a society have lost the real meaning of Christmas. I have learned that you cannot buy happiness or anything that will make you happy for any length of time. One of my great disappointments in life was when I bought a Corvette. I had lusted after one since I was about ten years old. I was sure that owning a Corvette would just make me completely. It broke my heart to find out that a Corvette was not the answer for me. I tried finding happiness in several other material things, only to be ultimately disappointed. Christmas was a time of music, good food, and laughter at the Orphanage. I can still remember the smell of an orange when it was freshly peeled. ey have a distinct smell and when you get only one a year it makes them a real treat. Hard candy was some- thing else we got only at Christmas. I try to buy some every year and make it last just like we did when we were in the Orphanage. I loved the smells of the Christmas trees and the sounds of the Christmas music. I remember the sparkle of the tinsel and the big, old colored lights that we used on the trees. Life as an orphan at Oxford Orphanage was pretty good at Christmas. Even the mean old teachers seemed to lighten up some at Christmas. Christmas was also a time when some of the children would get really sad and depressed knowing what they were missing at home. After a couple of years at the Orphanage, I never felt that way because I knew I had no where to go and no one that wanted me. e Orphanage was my home and that's just the way it was. Over the last fifty years since the Masons took me in at Ox- ford Orphanage, I have grown to love both anksgiving and Christmas. Both of these holidays are special times to spend with my family and my perfect grandchildren. I love the smell of food cooking in the oven. I know that sounds silly but in the Orphan- age you never got to smell food cooking. When the turkey is roasting on anksgiving, I always want to be there to enjoy the aroma. Nothing smells better than a cake, pie, or cookies baking. I absolutely love the smell of the holidays. To this day, I always listen to Christmas carols from anks- giving to New Years day. ey are just special. I know the tune and the words to a lot of them. What a blessing to be able to see the Christmas trees. We always ride around through what we call the rich peoples neighborhood and look at all the Christmas trees through the glass doors and windows. en on Christmas Eve, I always sit back and look at our tree and marvel at the beauty of it even if it was a cedar cut off our land. en on Christmas Day, I get to watch my grandchildren open their presents. eir laughter and squeals of joy give me a warm feeling all over. ey get tired and crawl up in my lap in my re- cliner and snuggle against me until they fall asleep. As I watch them sleep and I hold them close to me, I understand just how much God has blessed me. en, I close my eyes and relax, and my mind wanders to the distant past at Oxford Orphanage. In my mind's eye, I see my friend's faces just as they were as children fifty years ago. I hear their laughter and see their smiles. I listen to Tennessee Ernie Ford sing "Silent Night." It still gives me chill bumps to listen to the strength of his voice. e smell of a freshly peeled orange crosses my senses, and I can taste the sweetness of a piece of hard candy. en, with complete excitement, I carefully examine my presents under the tree. I have no clue who the actual person was that sent them to me, but I know they are Masons who somehow care about orphan children. I am startled by my granddaughter waking up in my lap and reality creeps back in. It occurs to me that some of the children who I saw in my dream have passed away, and others are almost sixty years old like me. I take the time to ponder my life and the blessings that I have received along the way. It occurs to me that the Masons of North Carolina and I have had a very long relationship. at relationship has been one of my greatest blessings. I have spent my whole year as grand master talking about Ma- sonic charity. anksgiving is the time to stop and thank God for what he has given each of us. Christmas is the time of giving and sharing with others. I hope that this year you will give to both of our Masonic Homes as God has given to you. May God bless each of you. By Wes King On Saturday, August 15, Hickory 343 held its annual family day. The event was a tre- mendous success bringing together members of the greater-Masonic community as well as non-Masons of the general community for a time of fun, entertainment, and feasting. With such activities as a dunking booth, a bouncing castle, water slides, face painting, and more, there was plenty of entertainment for kids of all ages. is event, organized by the stewards of the lodge, provided an opportunity for the officers and appointees of the lodge to give back to the brethren and their families. Whether through cooking or manning the water slides, everyone from the brothers to stewards to Master Richard Rozzelle took part in the service of this event. Several of the officers said they were practically ecstatic to be able to provide an event of this caliber for the lodge members and their families. ose on hand expressed great gratitude to the work the Masons did. As has become customary at this annual event, there was homemade ice cream — thir- teen gallons of ice cream in more than 15 fla- vors. Junior Warden Lee Spach takes it as a personal challenge to create the best tasting and greatest assortment of flavors for the event. He even takes requests. In addition to the ice cream, many of the lodge's members were re- sponsible for cooking the hamburgers and hot dogs. ey served them with anything anyone could want on them. One of the greatest attractions at this year's event was Becky, of Balloons by Becky. She kept everyone, children and grownups alike, on the edge of their seats, waiting to see what she was next going to sculpt out of latex and air. In speaking with Becky, she said that this event was a very fun event to be a part of and that she had been treated well by everyone there. Becky made animals and other objects out of her balloons — from Spiderman to extravagant hats to a motor- cycle for Master Rozzelle. e lodge has accomplished a great deal this year already and has successfully used opportu- nities like this to improve their fellowship and improve the community's perception of Freema- sonry. More recently, the lodge held a Chicken Pie Sale to benefit the Catawba County First Step Domestic Violence group. e event took place November 7. e lodge has raised over $6,000 this year for charities and will raise more than $4,000 with this event. Wes King is a member of Hickory 343 and a stu- dent at UNC-Wimington. Hickory Masons have summer fun with their families WEAVERVILLE — Vance 293 had their annual awards night and fundraiser barbecue September 19. James B. Robinson received the Willie Lankford Citizenship Award. Family f riend Jeff Revis of Bald Creek 397 made the presentation. e lodge presented service awards including Diamond Jubilee Awards for 60 years member- ship to Willard C. Rice and Charles D. Roberts. e lodge barbecue cooker and shed were dedicated to Dan C. Young and Dan C. Young Jr. for their "contributions to Masonry and the com- munity." A marker to that effect was also placed. More than $1,200 was raised for the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford and WhiteStone (MESH). — Edward Hamlin James B. Robinson, left, gets the Citizenship Award from old friend and Bald Creek's Jeff Revis. Lankford Citizen named Clemmons keeps helping WINSTON-SALEM — One of Masonry's perennial top fundraisers is the golf tournament sponsored by Clemmons 755. At Annual Communication in September, Clemmons Lodge present- ed checks for $5,500 to each of the Masonic Homes to help maintain the Home's missions. Seen here, from left, are Tournament Chairman Larry Holloman, WhiteStone Administrator Mark Kolada, Home for Children Administrator Allen Hughes, and Clemmons Lodge Master Bruce Ayers III. Ric Car ter photo

• Cover