The North Carolina Mason

Page 10 The North Carolina Mason March/April 2018 travelinG the tar heel state neWs From our lodGes WHITEVILLE – Masons and other hunters from the 18th district held the district's 6th annual Pheasant Hunt in February at the Honey Hill Hunting Preserve. $5,500 was presented to the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford. CORNELIUS - Brother David Ragan of Williams #176, a Monster Energy NAS- CAR Cup Series winner at Daytona Inter- national Speedway (2011) and Talladega Su- perspeedway (2013), is back this year for a second stint with Front Row Motorsports and team owner Bob Jenkins. His primary sponsor is 1000 Bulbs. NEW LEBANON – Competition for the First Masonic Dis- trict Traveling Gavel heated up in a big way last year – and two lodg- es took top honors in January for taking it home the most times. The lodge that takes the gavel home the most times during the year earns a commemorative plaque and has a $50 donation made in its name to the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford and to Whites- tone. For a visiting lodge to take the gavel home, the Master must be present, at least one principal officer (Junior or Senior Warden; Ju- nior or Senior Deacon) must be present and at least four additional members must also be in attendance. The gavel changed hands nine times last year and travelled about 150 miles. The journey began at Currituck #463 and ended at New Lebanon #314. In fact, New Lebanon #314 kept it the longest, from June 20 – Sept. 12, when Eureka #317 decided to go get the gavel. From Sept. 12 until Jan. 16, 2018, every time Eureka or New Lebanon had a stated meeting, the other came to take the gavel home. Each of those two lodges took the gavel home four times. At the quarterly district meeting in January, both were presented with a plaque. Pictured l-r: Worshipful Master Thomas Hobbs, Eureka #317, District Deputy Grand Lec- turer/Past Master Doug Brickhouse, Eureka #317, WM Jimmy Nash, New Lebanon #314 and PM Calvin Upton, New Lebanon #314.

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