The North Carolina Mason

TraveLing The tar heel state News From North CaroliNa's lodges By Ric Carter If your lodge has a newsletter for its members, make sure The North Carolina Mason is on your mailing list. Lodge newsletters are a major source of news for Masons around the state. If you don't have one, think about starting one. Newsletters are a good way to keep your mem- bers active, happy, and informed. May/June 2015 The North Carolina Mason Page 3 see STATE, page 4 South Mills New Lebanon 314 Master Kevin Russell challenged his lodge at the beginning of the year. He promised to add ten dollars to the lodge charity jar each time 30 or more of their mem- bers attended a stated communication. As of April, the lodge was batting 1.000, and Russell is several tenners lighter. New Lebanon Lodge continues to share breakfast at the lodge on the first Saturday of every month. Be there by 8:00 o'clock to enjoy the tasty start to your day. — e Plumb Line Lewisville West Bend 434 this year held its second Rifle Raffle. ey awarded a Henry 30/30 and a Henry .22 Golden Boy. e drawing was set for May 19. — By the Square Statesville e Statesville location for the 26 th Annual Masonic Blood Drive in January brought 164 units. Nearly 400 total units were collected in this year's drive. Statesville 27's new lodge historian, J. P. Am- mons, has "jumped into his role with both feet." He's busy identifying photographs and filling the newly purchased history cabinet with arti- facts and tidbits of history. Statesville 27 held their first Life Saver Day May 7 in cooperation with the Commu- nity Blood Center of the Carolinas and Be the Match. Besides an opportunity to donate blood, cheek swabs to help identify marrow donors were also being offered. On May 26, the lodge was sponsoring a De- Molay Open House at the lodge. Steve Hornka organized dinner and presentations. ey were inviting former DeMolays as well as area Ma- sons. ey are hoping to reestablish the Ma- sonic youth organization for boys in the 30 th Masonic District. Statesville's lodge newsletter is going to an email preferred delivery. ey figure to save about $600 over the year on the electronic deliv- ery over USPS. — e Joppa Informer Southern Pines e Masons of Southern Pines 484 take ad- vantage of town activities to advance their own causes. e town's Springfest, held April 25, is one of the lodge's most lucrative opportunities to fundraise. ousands of pedestrians were milling around uptown, the location of the lodge. e lodge sold snow cones and popcorn at the front door of the lodge. Hundreds of vendors, crafters, and other entertainment attract a large audience. ey are also in the thick of the action for the town's First Fridays. e May through Oc- tober block party gives them more occasions to sell their snacks and raise money for Masonic charities. A renovations committee at Southern Pines Lodge is seeking discussion on possible updates for the lodge building. Among their possibili- ties were converting a storage closet into a sec- retary's office, adding dimmable lighting to the lodge room, reorganizing archives and surplus items, adding ceremonial music capabilities to the lodge room, and improving the atmosphere in the preparation room and lodge room. eir First Saturday Breakfast on March 7 was followed by an Entered Apprentice Degree performed by the costumed 21 st District Colo- nial Degree Team. e lodge's Awards and Past Masters' Night was set for June 1. — e Trestle Board and Gene Maples Charlotte Derita 715 has launched a new newsletter. Jason Callahan is editing. Danny Schuller delivered 23 full piggy banks to the Masonic Home for Children on March 14. On April 17, the lodge was holding a chick- en fry to help the Masonic Homes. ey held it at the Mallard Creek Community House. — Derita Lodge Steele Creek 737, on February 21, was plant- ing two beech trees at the lodge. ey will be dedicated to commemorate Dave Molter's ser- vice to the lodge. Molter had donated trees to the lodge several years ago. — Trestleboard West Gate 738 held their Spring Fish Fry April 17. — Gary Cooke Bakersville e annual Ramp Supper at Bakersville 357 is always much anticipated. It is regarded as "a fun time for renewing old friendships and the vittles can't be beaten." Masons from far and wide attend. is year's was held April 23. — Newsletter Spruce Pine Vesper 554 has voted to cut back to one stat- ed meeting each month — first ursdays. e change is said to not take place until next year. Many are nervous of talking to non-Masons about Freemasonry and the lodge for fear of re- vealing some secret. Lloyd Hise recently gave a program at Vesper Lodge entitled "What Can You Tell Someone About Masonry." It was a lesson which stimulated much interesting and interested discussion at the meeting. — Newsletter Casar May 16 was the day of the Sixth Annual Bike Rally of Casar 579. ey were starting at the Casar Fire Department with a surprise route to be followed. Proceeds of this fundraiser were to go to the Masonic Homes. — Paul Aulbach Hookerton Jerusalem 95 is helping Jeremy Craig Cran- ford get raised on the same month and day as his father Lodge Chaplain Vann Cranford. e ECU student has been being coached in Greenville to keep the May 12 date. — e Jerusalem Journal Lenoir On April 11, Hibriten 262 was having a two- location Master Mason Degree. ey were do- ing the first section at the lodge at 5:00 p.m. and then moving to an outdoor location near Valdese for the second section. — Hibriten Lodge Roxboro Person 113 held its 51 st Annual Fish Fry on May 1. Money raised goes to the Masonic Homes. — Michael Day Greensboro Wilkerson College 760 is presenting a Ma- sonic Symposium and Ritual Competition at the Greensboro Masonic Temple on June 13. Nationally known, featured speakers are Steven C. Bullock and Robert Herd. Other speakers in- clude Mike Daniels, Jonathan Underwood, and Ben Sorensen. — Doug Calhoun Guilford 656 was taking a special collection and making a lodge visit in February. Eagle 19 had a collection jar in place in an ice cream shop in their hometown of Hillsborough. e jar was to collect contributions for the Masonic Home for Children. e jar was one of the items stolen there during a break-in. Guilford Lodge mem- bers were to visit Eagle Lodge to join them for supper and deliver contributions to replace those lost in the robbery. — Michael S. James e 23 rd Masonic District held an Easter Egg Hunt at WhiteStone on March 28. ey invited kids ten and under to enjoy hot dogs and hunt eggs on the grounds around the picnic shelter. — Gina Prevost e district's Arthur Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament was held May 16. It was played at Holly Ridge Golf Links in Archdale. Four man teams got the round and dinner for a $200 entry fee. — Gary Balance Gate City 694 raffled a shotgun in May. ey limited the ten-dollar tickets to 400 sold. e lodge was attending a Grasshoppers mi- nor league baseball game in early spring. As a group, they get a ticket discount and the lodge recognized on the big board in the outfield. Gate City is setting up an information booth downtown for the Greensboro Independence Day celebration. — Gary Ballance Winston-Salem ree lodges here cosponsored a smoked pork butt sale April 25. Salem 289, Keners- ville 669, and Bivouac 503 (PHA) cooked and sold the butts to help the MESH Foundation, the Masonic Home for Children, and Central Children's Home. ey distributed from three locations: New Philadelphia Moravian Church and Bivouac Lodge in Winston-Salem and the lodge in Kernersville. — Rocky Boyles Salem 289 had their Awards Night April 7. Lacy Hair and Ben Johnson got Diamond Jubi- lees for 60 years membership. Gene Hall, Doug Mason, James Church, William Herrin, and Rex Reed received their Veteran's Emblems for 50 years in the lodge. — e Salem Sentinel Over at Old Town 751, the lodge was spon- soring an open house May 5. at was just four days after their Masonic Youth Pancake Sup- per. e Triad Masonic Youth's Golf Tourna- ment was on May 2. — On the Level at Old Town Lodge Raleigh For several years now, a group of Masons in Raleigh have gotten together for lunch ev- ery Friday. ey pick a restaurant and rendez- vous there. Of course, if one of the local lodges is having a fundraiser, they choose that for the social gathering. ey ate barbecue at Cary 198 April 10 and a week later had barbecue again at James B. Green 735. — Chick Rosselli Hiram 40 had its annual chicken barbecue fundraiser April 24. — Tom Imler William G. Hill 218 held their Seventh An- nual Easter Egg Hunt April 4. e kids deco- rated eggs, and hunted the Raleigh Masonic Temple grounds for them. ere were hot dogs and drinks. ey even had a magic show. — Jamie Sanchez Wilmington e currently reorganizing Cape Fear Chap- ter of DeMolay sent nine young men to Jackson- ville in March to be initiated by the DeMolays there. ey'll need six more to get their charter. — Terry Kuhn ere are now three Knights of Solomon lodges in the state: 764 in Charlotte, 766 in Jacksonville, and UD in Holly Springs. ey were holding a joint meeting at Wilmington 319 April 18. All three affinity lodges focus on motorcycle interests. — Edward Gaskins Stedman e charity golf tournament held each year by Stedman 730 is set for June 13. ey're play- ing at Lakewood Country Club. — 17 th Masonic District Candler e lodges of the 39 th Masonic District are teaming up with the Eastern Stars here to raise money for their local hospice. ey held a Chili Cook-off and Silent Auction on March 14. — Terry Gevedon Hominy 491 was holding a Pancake Breakfast Fundraiser on May 2. ey were serving break- fast at the Applebee's on Smokey Park Highway in Asheville. Proceeds were going to e North Carolina Masonic Foundation, MESH Founda- tion, and the Masonic Home for Children. — Chris Manis and Richard Pinkerton Feel good about eating fried chicken CHARLOTTE — The Masonic Chicken Man again delighted passersby at the Derita 715's April 17 Charity Chicken Fry to raise money for our kids at the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford. "I'm not sure how many folks stopped by to get a fried chicken plate and contribute to our charity because of the Masonic Chicken Man, but while standing at the entrance with the costumed Brother Alan Shaw, many cars slowed down and blew their horns and school bus loads of children laughed with glee as they passed by. Some cars even turned around to snap a picture," said Master Donnie Barrier. After having lost its lodge building to a highway project three years ago and now renting a location from another lodge outside its neighborhood, Derita Lodge is pleased to be able to hold its successful charity fundraisers and begin its return to its home com- munity, thanks to the support of Mallard Creek Community House facility's owner, the Mallard Creek Presbyterian Church. — Donnie Barrier Albemarle Albemarle 703 is running a 30/30 gun raffle in August. ey'll be giving away 30 guns in 30 days and are adding a bonus gun on the 31 st day. ey're selling only 1,000 tickets at $30 each — another five dollars adds a chance to win a gun safe. Profits from the raffle go to the Masonic Home for Children and Masonic residents of WhiteStone. — Eric Furr Hillsborough Mosaic 762 members worked with Orange County Habitat for Humanity May 2. They helped with the Hammers and Heart house in Efland. e local Rainbow Girls prepared dinner for Mosaic Lodge at the lodge's April stated meet- ing. e girls also exemplified their "e Pot of Gold" ceremony. — Keith Morgan

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