North Carolina Mason
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Page 8 The North Carolina Mason January/February 2012 Duplin County Masons celebrate their civic history By Ric Carter KENANSVILLE — On November 18, Masons from local lodges and the Grand Lodge assembled here at St. John's 13 to celebrate. It was one hundred years and one day since a similar crowd gathered in 1911 to dedicate the cornerstone of Duplin County's new courthouse. Senior Grand Warden-elect Dalton W. Mayo, by appoint- ment of Grand Master Lewis Ledford, opened the Grand Lodge and presided over the ceremony of dedication for the corner- stone. More than 50 Masons were in the lodge for the opening and closing of Grand Lodge. Local lodges of our Grand Lodge and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge were there. After the formal- ity, just as was done 100 years earlier, the Masons left the hall and marched in a procession to the courthouse for the public portion of the celebration. The next gathering was in the main courtroom of the court- house. There, various local officers of the lodges, courts, and gov- ernment shared the history of several Duplin County institutions. With the cooperation and participation of local government institutions, St. John's 13 emptied, cataloged, and presented to the crowd a program about the one hundred-year-old historic corner- stone's contents. The masters of the Kenansville lodges, Brian M. Bullard (St. John's 13) and Lafayette Hall (Beulah 110, PHA), welcomed the crowd of more than 150. District Court Judge Paul A. Hardi- son (Mount Horeb 73, PHA) gave the invocation, and Raymond Turner Jr. (Rehobeth 279) led the Pledge of Allegiance. Duplin County Board of Commissioners Chair Frances Parks brought official Duplin County greetings to the gathering. Speakers representing various court institutions then gave see DUPLIN, page 5 In this issue of The NC Mason NORTH CAROLINA The Mason page 1 Grand Lodge installs new officers Clockwise from top: the courtroom in Duplin Coun- ty; opening prayer of dedication; Kenansville masters Hall and Bullard with the new deposit box. page 3 News from the state's lodges GM Gresham installed page 7 Masonic mileposts Duplin celebrates cornerstone page 8 Cornerstone celebrated in Duplin County JAN/FEB 2012 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 OXFORD, NC 27565 PERMIT NO. 56 PAID Ric Car ter photos