Page 4 The North Carolina Mason September/October 2017
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ird class postage paid at Oxford, NC 27565.
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Grand Master
A. Gene Cobb Jr.
Board Of Publication
Bill Faison (Chairman)
R. Kevin Combs
W.E. Warnock
John R. Beamon III
John S. Dodd
Editor
Beth Grace
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From the editor's desk
Grand Master A. Gene Cobb Jr. .............................. gcobb@glnc.us
Deputy Grand Master Speed Hallman ...............shallman@glnc.us
Senior Grand Warden D. M. "Mack" Sigmon. ... msigmon@glnc.us
Junior Grand Warden Shaun Bradshaw ........... sbradshaw@glnc.us
Grand Treasurer Lewis R. Ledford (PGM) ......... lledford@glnc.us
Grand Secretary T. Walton Clapp III .....................wclapp@glnc.us
Senior Grand Deacon R. David Wicker Jr. .......... dwicker@glnc.us
Junior Grand Deacon Larry B. ompson Jr. ...lthompson@glnc.us
Grand Marshal Kevan D. Frazier. ..........................kfrazier@glnc.us
Grand Steward Donald E. Kehler ......................... dkehler@glnc.us
Grand Steward Robert W. Rideout ...................... rrideout@glnc.us
Grand Tyler William B. Bruton .......................grand.tyler@glnc.us
Grand Chaplain Mark M. N. Vickers ....... grand.chaplain@glnc.us
Grand Historian Steven A. Campbell ..campmckay1358@gmail.com
Grand Lecturer Hugh L. McLaurin III ................... mac542@live.com
NORTH CAROLINA
The Mason
By Beth Grace
Editor
I
've heard it said that the measure of a
man is the company he keeps. Take Ed
McBride, for instance.
Ed, at 95, has kept the best of company
for decades among the
brethren of Kilwinning
#64 in Wadesboro.
You can tell. Not by
the work these men
did to physically move
their historic lodge three
blocks back in the 1950s.
Not by the lodge room,
kept in pristine condi-
tion by dozens of loving,
work-worn hands. And
not by the strong bond
these men so clearly
share as Freemasons.
No. You can tell by the
way the faces of the brethren of Kilwinning
#64 light up when Ed walks into the room.
No, wait – the way they lit up BEFORE he
even arrived, when word that he might be
coming to lodge that night circulated.
Ed and his son, Tommy, recently made a
surprise visit to the lodge at the request of
Deputy Grand Master
Speed Hallman, who
has been helping a
small band of would-
be authors and one
amazing photographer
compile a coffee table
book looking at some
of North Carolina's
most historic lodges.
e book will
feature about 20
lodges, and will be
released by the North
Carolina Masonic
Foundation next year
as a fundraiser for the
Historic Lodge Pres-
ervation Fund. If it's
well-received, it could
be the first of a series
of such books.
DGM Hallman
asked Ed to visit for a
while before the meeting one recent night, to
talk about his own history in an historic lodge.
Ed also got the chance to pin a 50-year service
pin on his son's lapel.
His memory has dimmed a bit over the
years, but he remembers everything about
his lodge. He was there in November 1951
when the building that houses the lodge was
moved a couple of blocks to its present site. He
remembers clearly that he was the very first
brother raised after the building was moved.
It is brothers such as Ed McBride who have
inspired the upcoming historic lodges book.
e lodges are beautiful and worthy of note;
but so are the men who built and cared for
them.
He has not forgotten his role in creating
a museum on the first floor that chronicles
the history of the lodge, its brethren, and the
building's own interesting history.
Ed is a hero within these walls – and within
Anson County, where the lifelong sign-painter
is known for his generosity of spirit and his
ready wit. ere's not a soul in this county who
can't spot an Ed McBride sign from a mile
away. His style is singular – and beautiful.
Two of his hand-
painted signs on
canvas decorate the
lodge – one iden-
tifying Kilwinning
#64 and the other
honoring the Order
of the Eastern Star's
Wadesboro Chapter
#52.
But ego plays no
role in all of this. To
hear him talk, he's just
another brother.
"I have loved being
a part of this lodge,"
he says. "I have always
been true and worked
hard to do what I was
supposed to do.
"Well," he adds
quickly, with a smile
and a twinkle. "I have
tried. I have tried."
Painting signs of a life
dedicated to Masonry
Beth Grace photo
Eddie McBride, right, and his son Tommy.