The North Carolina Mason

May/June 2012 TRAVELING THE The North Carolina Mason TAR HEEL STATE NEWS FROM NORTH CAROLINA'S LODGES By Ric Carter their local Macon County Special Olympics. — Trestleboard fundraisers May 5 during the town's Annual Mount Holly Springfest. They bring in some money for charity, and they get to talk to people about Freemasonry and their lodge. — Dewayne Gore Mount Holly 544 was to hold one of their Mount Holly been sponsoring Bikes for Books at a neighbor- ing elementary school. The program encourages kids to read. As soon as the bikes were deliv- ered to the school library April 17, the traffic at the checkout desk in the library began to boom. Terry Wooten is coordinating. In another outreach project, Old Town Lodge For the last several years, Old Town 751 has Winston-Salem is collecting non-perishable food for the World Academy Backpack program. Tom Hauser recently unearthed a supply of pictures of the original Old Town Lodge. The pictures are copies of a pencil drawing of the building loaned to them by Bethania Moravian Church. It served them for several years as they saved for and planned their own building. They are selling them for five dollars. James "Mac" Guill of Old Town Lodge got his Diamond Jubilee for 60 years membership. He is a charter member of the lodge. DDGM John Craven made the presentation. The lodge was holding a pancake supper fundraiser April 27. The Youth Committee of the lodge was sponsoring a steak supper April 15. The supper was just the start with a silent auction and bluegrass music also part of the festivities. — On the Level at Old Town Lodge Salem 289 ran their Adopt-A-Street on March 17. Their territory runs along Miller Street in front of the Masonic Temple there. Members of Salem Lodge were taking in a Dash baseball game April 19. Everyone who went was to get a team cap. It's hard to beat mi- nor league baseball for a nice afternoon. — The Salem Sentinel Stump Sound 733 was hosting a Master of Reliance Degree April 21. They were serving a spaghetti dinner beforehand. — Sean Hughes Sneads Ferry ary 14 Chili Cookoff are in! Emily Russell won the fourth annual event by popular vote with a recipe handed down to her by her grandmother. Twenty people showed up for the Green The results of James B. Green 735's Febru- Raleigh Lodge workday in March. They demolished the old shed and laid the foundation for the new one. They edged the sidewalks and fence, and policed the grounds. They tightened the seats in the lodge and cleaned them. They straightened up the prop and cloak rooms, and they installed hanger pegs in the preparation room. They did a good cleaning and vacuuming of the lodge room and kitchen. That's a productive Saturday! The lodge's spring Annual Chicken Barbe- cue Fundraiser was set for April 18. Six-dollar plates held half a chicken, green beans, pota- toes, and a roll. The lodge adopted two WhiteStone resi- dents and participated in Great Landscape Day at the Home for Children. raiser April 27. Hiram 40 held their barbecue chicken fund- — Page Skelton —The James B. Green Scene ing? You don't have to muss the kitchen. The guys from Masters 754 meet at Golden Corral before each stated meeting. Masters Lodge is holding their Family Pic- nic June 9. Adrian Hatfield will host them at his home where they will play badminton, volley- ball, and croquet. Want to eat together before each lodge meet- — The Trowel of the Year in St. John's 1. He is senior steward in the lodge and one of their most active coaches. On March 24, St. John's Lodge held a Fellow Chuck Baer was named 2011 Master Mason Wilmington Craft Degree with all the stations filled by their lodge coaches. Head Coach Terry Kuhn sat in the East. They passed four during the festivities. A new section in the St. John's newsletter of- The location was the Piggly Wiggly parking lot in Swansboro. The Masonic Home for Children in Oxford was the recipient of the money raised. — Greg Padgett Seaside 429 was having a fish fry March 24. Swansboro Ramping up the fun in Murphy The old train station in Murphy is a great location to reach the community. annual Ramp Fest April 14. As usual, they held it at the historic L&N Railway Depot. A box car at the station served as a stage for two musical acts. For those of you who don't know, a ramp is a wild onion which requires tender loving care to prepare. Some say it also requires a strong stomach and lots of breath mints to MURPHY — Cherokee 146 celebrated their Mount Moriah 690 and Statesville 27 held their annual Pancake Jamboree April 20–21. They served supper and breakfast back-to- back at the temple. Statesville 27 has their Homecoming set for — The Joppa Informer Statesville September 18. and Frank Welch got their Diamond Jubilee awards for 60 years Masonic membership on April 17. Henry Young was named a Secre- tary of Distinction. The lodge's first pork cooking of the year was Tabasco 271 members Aaron Jackson Gibsonville port for the Rainbow Girls (one of our Masonic youth groups). The girls were working a car wash near Guilford College May 5. The 23rd fers a section for personal thank yous and salutes to members of the lodge. — Trestle Board Masonic District was urging sup- Greensboro P. P. Turner 746 reported that all the mem- ber bodies of the Greensboro Masonic Temple had announced that they are staying in the Temple. They indicated that the Scottish Rite was interested in selling off some of its owner- ship in the property. — Diana Schreiber Gate City 694 ran their first quarter Adopt- A-Street cleaning March 10. — Gary Ballance — P. P. Turner Lodge survive consumption. The guys in the lodge did all the handling of the dangerous tubers, digging up and clean- ing and trimming pounds of them. They also smoked 25 hams for the supporting portion of the menu and chopped the meat. The Eastern Star baked 42 cakes and served as hostesses. — John Schnelbach Car Show May 5. As with most car shows, they charged entry cars, but spectators got to come in for nothing. They were holding it at Ellington- Brim Chevy lot. Creedmoor 499 was holding its Third Annual Creedmoor — Rick Haskins the May 5 Festival on the Neuse to gather play- ers in their Corn Hole Tournament at Pearson Park. It was $40 per team to play. Cash prizes from $50 to $300 were awarded. They also raf- fled a custom corn hole set. St. John's 4 took advantage of the crowd at Kinston — Lynn Hill a "big success." Another of their fundraisers, their golf tournament at the Brookwood Course, was set for April 28. — Trestle Board Blackmer 127 has changed their meeting time to 7:00 p.m. Don't be late the next time you visit. Old minutes and selected records and papers Mount Gilead of Blackmer Lodge have been collected into a book. The $40 hardbound volume covers the pe- riod 1850–1876. — Blackmer Buzz with a recent breakfast fundraiser. Polk Lodge's Red Cross Blood Drive col- lected 21 units. Polk Lodge named as Secretary of Distinc- James K. Polk 759 raised $1,250 for charity Pineville tion both French Harvey and Randy Richard- son. Johnny McCoy and Roger Burba have late- ly received their Veteran's Emblems for 50 years membership. — Randy Richardson Blue Ridge 435 made a donation this year to Highlands sonic Home for Children. They are collecting school supplies to deliver at the party. Tom Gregory was presenting an educa- Lodge's 12th grandfather clock at Spencer 543. Tickets are ten dollars, and the drawing is June 23. Proceeds will go to Masonic and local charities including the Rowan Masonic Scholarship Fund. Plans are already in the works for Spencer Back to School Party at the Ma- They are raffling a vintage Howard Miller Spencer tional program at Spencer Lodge April 10. They were serving a country style steak din- ner. The ten-dollar plates were feeding the Rowan County Masonic Scholarship Fund as well as the purchasers. — On the Square Phil Hudson were made life members of the lodge in March. Life memberships permanently exempt a particularly hard working and dedicat- ed lodge member from paying lodge dues. Cabarrus Lodge was holding a yard sale in Cabarrus 720 members Billy Raymer and Concord conditioning system At last word, they were in the estimate phase. They were also plan- ning a clean up day March 31. Kernersville 669 is soon replacing their air Kernersville — Masonic Lodge News years ago resulted in a sizable trust account for the lodge. They've given away nearly $100,000 to charity over the last five years from the interest on the account. Temple Lodge is selling lodge polo shirts. A failed building project at Temple 676 a few Charlotte The brand name cotton shirts have a square and compasses of the left breast and the lodge name on the sleeve. A portion of the $37 cost goes to Masonic charity. Custom lapel pins will soon be available also. to St. Andrew 702 at 4630 Tuckasegee Road in Charlotte. The arrangement is called temporary. — Derita Lodge Heroes Day April 14. They held a long lunch barbecue to say thank you to local emergency personnel (police, fire, medics, and deputies). In addition, they honored veterans of our armed services. They held it at their lodge. Jim Ringley cranked up his Pig-Zilla to prepare the chow. Kitchen renovations at Excelsior were near Excelsior 261 hosted a Public Safety and May for the benefit of the Masonic Homes. They were selling in the lodge parking lot. — Newsletter Derita 715 has moved their meeting place — Trestle Board Page 3 complete when last we heard. They've done much of the work themselves with crews of five to ten Masons at a time working. They are now largely at the punch card list phase of finishing construction. things around the lodge. They've replaced many of the member aprons and the candidate uni- forms. There's a new visitor register, and the sec- retary's office is sporting a new laptop and wire- less Internet. A two-rail fence had been installed in the back parking lot. Mint Hill Lodge held their Spring Fish Mint Hill 742 is updating and improving Fry March 17. Proceeds were for the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford. The lodge was picking up the tab for their May 3 steak dinner before stated meeting. — Mint Hill Lodge Sausage Breakfast March 31. They said it was the most successful breakfast they've held. They use it to raise money for their scholarships. They an- nually award scholarships to a college bound se- nior from Smithfield Selma High, South John- ston High, and West Johnston High schools. Service awards recently earned by Fellow- ship members included a Diamond Jubilee for 60 years membership to William I. Talton and a Veteran's Emblem to John E. Cayton for his 50 years membership. Fellowship 84 had their annual Pancake and Smithfield — The Trestleboard solidation has had Gastonia 369 incorporate Hol- land Memorial 668. They were merged May 1. Gastonia Lodge has recently become acquaint- ed with the Gaston County Women's Shelter. Cathy Cloninger presented the lodge a program about the organization in March. Since then, one member donated a Boston butt from the lodge's re- cent fundraiser to the shelter. They are also talking about having lodge workday for them. King Solomon 704 teamed with Gastonia 369 to participate in the April 27–28 local Re- lay for Life. Gastonia Lodge voted to contribute $200 to the cause. Gastonia 369 earned nearly $1,000 selling There's one less lodge in Gastonia now. A con- Gastonia and smoking Boston butts. They offered delivery. Gastonia Lodge held their Charity Break- fast April 21. They declare it the "best breakfast in town." monthly Ladies' Night Out. They visit local res- taurants as a group. In April they went to Haka- ta, and in May they were going to Pezzutis. Semper Fi Lodge is again participating in both Relay for Life and Special Olympics this year. They fix lunches for both coaches and ath- letes at the Onslow County Special Olympics. — Trestle Board Semper Fidelis 680 continues to enjoy their Jacksonville flag fly" these days. Lodge clothing is available. There's a barbecue apron ($12) and a cap ($15) which are decorated with a square and compass- es and name of the lodge embroidered on them. Profits from sales go to charities. Allen Graham 695 members can "let their Kannapolis local Relay for Life, fighting cancer and its ef- fects. The Relay was being held at A. L. Brown High School on April 20. Lodge members were urged to donate or join the team. Terry Cox, of Guilford Lodge in Greensboro, Cannon Memorial 626 was taking part in the presented his popular program, "The Secrets of Masonry Examined," at Cannon Memorial Lodge March 27. — Thomas Van Etten Kedron 387 was planning their Past Masters' Banquet for May 17. Hendersonville — Spence Campbell see STATE, page 4 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. — Doug Osborne — Randy C. Crainshaw — Trestle Board

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