North Carolina Mason
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/6903
Page 4 The North Carolina Mason January/February 2010
BELLS, from page 8
HICKS, from page 1
INSTALLATION, from page 1
DILL, from page 1
Rifle raffle
WASHINGTON — Washington 675 Master
Jack E. Smiley Jr., front right, was a bit red-faced
when the winner of the lodge's raffle drawing
was announced September 19 at the lodge pic-
nic. His son Michael Smiley was the happy re-
cipient. He is seen here, center, getting the rifle
from Secretary Fred M. Mallison Jr., left. No one
was really suspicious of a fix, but they were hap-
py that someone who was clearly qualified to
handle the rifle had won. — Mac Mallison
Rose honored
SELMA — On D-Day plus eight, Kirby
Rose landed on Omaha Beach. At a recent
meeting of Selma 320, Ray Edwards gave Sel-
ma member Rose a vial of sand from Omaha
Beach as a tribute of appreciation for his ser-
vice to our country. — Ray Edwards
1996. He is retired.
He currently is secretary/treasurer of his family
business, Olde Towne Caterers. He is also general
secretary of the New Bern Scottish Rite Bodies.
Dill is past director of acolytes at Christ Epis-
copal Church where he is a lifelong member. He
has also been a tee ball and baseball coach for
Church League teams there.
In Freemasonry, Dill was raised in St. John's 3
September 23, 1981. He served as master of the
lodge in 1989. In the Scottish Rite, Dill is also the
personal representative of the sovereign grand in-
spector general and holds the thirty-third degree.
Dill is a member of many Masonic organiza-
tions. Among them are Sudan Shrine, New Bern
York Rite Bodies, Eastern Star Craven Chapter
129, Nubia Grotto, National Sojourners' Camp
Lejeune Chapter, and Royal Order of Scotland.
In the Grand Lodge, he has been a certified
lecturer since 1995, serving as grand lecturer in
2001. He served on Lodge Service Commission,
Committee on Masonic Jurisprudence, and as
chairman of the Board of Custodians. He is cur-
rently dean of Wilkerson College.
He was appointed to the Grand Lodge line
in 2001 by then Grand Master Jerry R. Tillett.
Dill's interests include Freemasonry, cooking,
photography, and woodworking.
Hicks is a former president of the Craven
County Bar Association, and the North Carolina
Association of County Attorneys. He is a mem-
ber of the International Municipal Lawyers As-
sociation and the North Carolina Municipal At-
torneys Association. He has served on the boards
of many local organizations including the District
United Methodist Church, Friends of the School
of Government, Wachovia Bank, and New Bern
Chamber of Commerce. He is a lecturer on local
government law and nonprofit organizations and
in the East Carolina University School of Medi-
cine's Masters in Public Health program.
R. Sheppard. Other appointive officers who are
not installed were Grand Historian Michael W.
Brantley, Grand Lecturer Howard Kahn, Grand
Orator omas W. Gregory (PGM), and Judge
Advocate James R. Stevens.
e Grand Lodge was opened earlier in the
day by members of St. John's 3 who temporar-
ily took the chairs of office to open and close
the formal communication in the nearby lodge
room. For the most part, they were the officers
who served with Dill during his year as master
of St. John's 3. ose pro tempore officers were:
W. Stanley Kellum as grand master (appointed
Dill to the St. John's Lodge line); John M. Wal-
ston, deputy grand master; Fredrick H. Whitty
III, senior grand warden; Roger C. Mallard, ju-
nior grand warden; Oscar A. Kafer, grand trea-
surer; E. Coy Wetherington, grand secretary;
James A. Wiley, senior grand deacon; S. Craig
Mallard, junior grand deacon; John T. Pugh Jr.,
grand marshal; Douglas L. Soltow, grand stew-
ard; Michael A. Register, grand steward; Wil-
ton M. Saunders Jr., grand tyler; and Warren G.
Taylor, grand chaplain.
On the day before the installation, the Board
of General Purposes met for the last time with
Grand Master Dan Rice. A dinner honoring
the incoming grand master was held at the New
Bern Shrine Club on Friday night. A reception,
catered by the new grand master's mother, fol-
lowed the installation.
Our officers for 2010 are, front from left, Grand Treasurer Clifton W. Everett Jr., Junior Grand Warden Dewey R. Preslar
Jr., Deputy Grand Master Lewis R. Ledford, Grand Master William L. Dill, Senior Grand Warden Robert E. Gresham Jr., and
Grand Secretary T. Walton Clapp III. Back, from left, Junior Grand Deacon Douglas L. Caudle, Grand Steward A. Gene Cobb
Jr., Grand Tyler Johnny C. Surles, Grand Chaplain Dennis R. Sheppard, Senior Grand Deacon Dalton W. Mayo, Grand Stew-
ard Jimmie B. Hicks, and Grand Marshal Bryant D. Webster.
Clockwise from above left: The officers take their oaths. Grand Secretary Clapp
and Bobby Meadows prepare the officer jewels for the ceremony. Meadows spent
the ceremony offstage making sure things ran smoothly. Past Grand Masters Jerry
Tillett and Cliff Everett (Dill's Line father and grandfather) talk before the cer-
emony. Dill talks with PM Stan Kellum during the ceremony. Howard Kahn and
Tony Hawkins just outside the auditorium.
Ric Carter photos
For all those Masons who are North Carolina
State employees, please note that the Masonic
Home for Children at Oxford is now a desig-
nated charity in the State Employees Combined
Campaign program (SECC). It is listed under
Independent Charities – number 3724.
— Randy Ogburn, Piedmont-Pioneer 685
Luckily for Robbins and us, he enjoyed his-
tory and had recently become a Mason, joining
J. J. Crowder 743 in Raleigh. He found all the
paths of the story of the Bell Tower crisscrossed
with the footprints of Masons. He set about
bringing us the memory of the story and fin-
ishing the job begun by our Masonic brothers
of the 1920s — to put bells in the tower where
they belonged.
He has planted the seeds of a grassroots move-
ment among students at NC State. Several stu-
dent Masons are working with him: Sam Frink,
Excelsior 261 (Charlotte), Austin Wood, Bula
409 (Burlington), Richard Pridgen Jr., Golds-
boro 112, and Jeff Horn, and Tyler Stevens of
J. J. Crowder 743 (Raleigh). Students, with the
help of seed money from North Carolina Ma-
sons, have already raised $35,000.
His dream is to get the financing to place the
six largest bells in the tower during rescue reno-
vations of the tower which have already been
approved. ose repairs await the end to a proj-
ects freeze ordered by state government budget
troubles. e smaller bells could be added at a
later date. He also hopes to eventually have the
tower restored to its original design with steps
to the carillon instead of the hollow edifice the
tower is now. e total job will come close to one
million dollars with phase one, the largest bells,
coming in at about $400,000.
"The nature of the tower is that the sweat,
blood, and hard work of our forefathers are
encased in the tower, and it's only fitting that
the alumni, students, and community con-
tribute in the same way to make this special,"
Robbins said.
He has spread his message at meetings of
both our and Prince Hall Grand Lodge's annual
meetings. He has spoken in several lodges and to
newspapers and television stations. His plans al-
ready include another Grand Lodge cornerstone
ceremony, already diagrammed and planned in
his scrapbooks.
e plans are afoot with energetic young
men carrying the message of sacrifice of our
veterans and the tale of Masons bent on memo-
rializing them. Your support will be important.
You can contact these men and play a part in
finishing a dream of our forebears. ey have a
website that offers a chance to learn more and
to help: