The North Carolina Mason

Page 2 The North Carolina Mason March/April 2016 Fort Macon's 32-pounders bristle at the ocean above the degree-ready lodge. ATLANTIC BEACH — More than 80 Masons attended a very spe- cial outdoor degree Saturday, October 8, 2015 here at Fort Macon State Park. Cherry Point 688 raised two new Mas- ter Masons in an early evening ritual performed under open skies in the mid- dle of the pre-Civil War fortification. Craven, Carteret, Onslow, Lenoir, Wayne, Pamlico, and Pitt counties were among those represented by Ma- sons on hand. Supper was served from 5:00 to 6:30 in the afternoon. e degree be- gan at 7:00 o'clock p.m. Everyone en- joyed the good weather and the excel- lent degree work. Fort Macon was completed in late 1834 as part of an effort to answer coastal defense deficiencies in the War of 1812. It was named for North Caro- lina Senator Nathaniel Macon who got the fort funded. A year into the Civil War, Fort Ma- con (then armed with 54 heavy cannon) was taken by Union forces after the fort repulsed Northern gunboats, but suf- fered 560 hits from land-based rifled cannon. It served as a naval coaling sta- tion for the duration of the war, often held only by a caretaker. During Recon- struction, the fort served as a prison. When the military abandoned the fort in the early 1900s, the State of North Carolina bought it as the sec- ond acquisition in the plan to establish a state park system. It was restored by the Civilian Conservation Corps and opened in 1936 as North Carolina's first functioning state park. e fort was again occupied by the US Army during World War II. Fort Macon is North Carolina's sec- ond most visited State Park. Masons use one of state's favorite parks for degree Old Glory has flown over NC's first state park since 1862. STEDMAN — Stedman 730 almost always finishes the night by gathering in a circle around the altar and repeating in unison the Closing Charge. Thirty- six members were there the December night this photo was taken. They average more than 30 per stated meeting. That's right around 25% of their member- ship in attendance at stateds. This number includes men undergoing cancer treatments and a retired NC Highway Patrol trooper in need of a double lung transplant. The administrator from the Falcon Children's Home attended the night of this photo to receive a check from the lodge for more than $2,100 for kids' Christmas gifts. Earlier in the year, they sent MHCO more than $4,000 to the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford. — Thomas Pope Stedman keeps a large active base

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