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The North Carolina Mason
November/December 2012
Regulations change charity
handling at WhiteStone
which the resident could not otherwise afford.
A few years ago, our Home began accepting
non-Masonic residents. The change brought in
profits to help pay the way for fraternal residents. The number of current residents who are
Masons and Eastern Stars and require financial
assistance is limited only by the amount of charity that is available. The amount of charitable
funds available is limited only by donations to
the Home from fraternal sources. As we bring
in more donations for the cause, the number of
Masons receiving subsidized care at the Home
will increase.
All donations are now being sent to the Masonic and Eastern Star Home Foundation LLC.
Address your gifts to NC MESH Foundation,
LLC, 700 South Holden Road, Greensboro,
NC 27407. Your support of WhiteStone is more
important than ever. Your donations to the new
LLC go only to the support of fraternal residents.
Ric Car ter photo
GREENSBORO ��� A new limited liability
corporation, the North Carolina Masonic and
Eastern Star Home Foundation, has been created by the North Carolina Masonic Foundation to protect charity for our fraternal residents
at WhiteStone, A Masonic and Eastern Star
Community. Federal Fair Housing regulations
forbid the Home���s management from distributing charity based solely on fraternal membership, opening up all residents of the Home to
receiving aid from Masonic charity. All Masonic
charitable donations are now being routed to the
new LLC which will allocate resources to needful fraternal residents.
Five managers, all members of the Masonic
family, will make the decisions on disbursing the
money according to applications received and
resident need. Those ���scholarships��� will help pay
for room and board, medications, medical services, equipment, and related care at WhiteStone
Ben Wallace and Steve Campbell are seen here delivering archives for preservation in the Southern Historical Collection.
Saving our past for our future
Ric Car ter photo
By Steven Campbell
Path of the fellow craft
For well over two centuries, the flame of
Freemasonry has been kept aglow by men dedicated to our tenets. There have been countless
changes in the world, our nation, and the way
we live however, the solid foundation of our fraternity has prevailed. The records of our actions
have been dutifully recorded throughout the decades. In many lodges, fortunately, conscientious
members have preserved their lodge records.
Those archives are the record of local, regional,
and state history. One day, we will all be part of
history, and it is our duty to ensure that those
men who follow us into the ranks of Freemasonry know from whence they came.
To properly maintain ancient lodge minutes,
histories, letters, and other related records call
for special preservation facilities which most
lodges do not possess. Fortunately, in conjunction with the Grand Lodge, a program has been
established with the University of North Carolina���s Southern Historical Collection to archive
and preserve North Carolina lodge records. It
is an ideal arrangement in that this facility has
the proper environment to securely preserve our
records for generations to come. Many of those
records are already available there to Masons
and historians.
In realizing the value of saving our history,
Blackmer Lodge members voted to convey our
original records from 1850���1876 into the care of
this program. Upon the digitizing and printing
of additional Blackmer records it is planned to
place all our 19th and 20th century records into
the care of this program.
As a lodge historian, I encourage lodge officers and members throughout the Tar Heel
State to consider taking advantage of this program and saving your records of the past for the
future. Contact the Grand Lodge office to take
advantage of this program.
Steven Campbell is lodge historian in Blackmer 127.
Grand Master Dewey R. Preslar Jr. plans to visit
about half our districts this year. His meetings start
in early February and will finish at the end of May.
His meetings will be similar to the area meetings
of the past few years. Pre-meeting meals are scheduled for 6:15 p.m. with the tyled meeting starting at
7:00 p.m. District officers and the grand master will
be received with usual honors.
You may make your lodge���s reservation for the
meeting with your district deputy grand master
or host lodge secretary. Please be considerate of
the host lodge. Make your reservations for dinner at least seven days before your scheduled
meeting. It is very frustrating to try to plan for
a meal when reservations have not been made.
Your lodge will be responsible to pay for all
meals reserved. Those who have not made reservations should not expect to eat.
In case of inclement weather, meetings will be
cancelled in accordance with local schools cancellations. If a meeting is cancelled, the host lodge and
district deputy grand master will be notified. Your
lodge may cancel its stated communication to attend your district meeting. Information will also
be posted on the Grand Lodge web site: . This schedule was the schedule as of December 7, 2012. Changes may be necessary. Please consult your lodge for updates.
GM���s district meetings
ELIZABETH CITY ��� Many of the lodges in the northeastern part of the state have enjoyed
a gift from some of the boys at Gatesville 126. Ben Stallings and friends make stairs for the Fellow
Craft lecture.Their set of three, five, and seven steps resemble a ships��� rope ladder, with ropes binding together steps lettered as the better known floor cloths used in the lecture. The makers are
seen here during Grand Master Bob Gresham���s visit to the First Masonic District earlier this year.
They are, from left, Elmer Butts, Gresham, Ben Stallings, and Lilton Umphlett.
Great Landscape for 2013
OXFORD ��� The second Great Landscape
at the Masonic Home for Children is set for
March 16, 2013. With a successful inaugural
event in 2012, the Home is looking for an even
bigger turnout this year. More than 40 helpers
from lodges, family, friends, groups such as the
Girl Scouts, and businesses such as Direct Insurance loaned a hand last year. You should be
part of the fun and satisfaction this year.
They���ll be mulching, weeding, planting, and
pruning. They plan to help ready the campus for
spring with some painting and cleaning. Volunteers are encouraged to visit the campus on this
date equipped with shovels, rakes, and plants
ready to help spruce up the grounds. The goal is
to provide a more beautiful and personal home
and neighborhood for our kids.
They���ll be serving volunteers breakfast from
8:00���9:00 a. m., and lunch will be on at 12:30.
Call or email to register yourself or your
group to give the Home a half-day of your time
and work. You can contact the Home at (888)
505-4357, or (919) 693-5111, or by visiting the
Home���s website , or
emailing Chris Richardson at . You���ll be glad you did.
January 30...............26.................... Winston 167............................34 Miller St, Winston Salem
February 6..............15.......................Hiram 40.....................................1520 Caswell St, Raleigh
February 7..............13.................. Henderson 229.............................401 Brodie Rd, Henderson
February 11............29................... Kilwinning 64................................. S. Greene St, Wadesboro
February 12............21....................Carthage 181............................... 302 Saunders St, Carthage
February 27............17.......................Phoenix 8..................................221 Mason St, Fayetteville
February 28............19..................... Mosaic 762........................... 1211 Franklin St, Chapel Hill
March 5..................35................... Cleveland 202.............................. 1456 E. Marion St, Shelby
March 6..................31................... East Gate 692............... 500 N. Sharon Amity Rd, Charlotte
March 7..................34.................... Catawba 248...............................200 N. College St, Newton
March 19.................6...................... Grifton 243.....................................108 Gordon St, Grifton
March 20.................9.................... Corinthan 230............. 1700 S. Winstead Ave, Rocky Mount
March 21................11.................. Mill Creek 125.......................513 Raleigh St, Newton Grove
April 8....................41................. Robbinsville 672.................................Church St, Robbinsville
April 9....................37...................... Vesper 554..................................637 Oak Ave, Spruce Pine
April 10..................39................. Mt. Hermon 118..................................80 Broadway, Asheville
April 11..................33.......................Snow 363........................................240 Temple Dr, Boone
April 15...................5............... American George 17.....................205 College St, Murfreesboro
April 16...................1.......................Eureka 317.................. 218 S. Hughes Blvd, Elizabeth City
April 17...................3......................Atlantic 294..........................Court House Sq, Swanquarter
April 22...................4..................... Newport 706............................. 235 Howard Blvd, Newport
April 23..................12.................Federal Point 753................... 5th and Harper, Carolina Beach
April 24..................18.................. Chadbourn 190.............. 417 E Strawberry Blvd, Chadbourn
May 13...................23...................Greensboro 76........................426 W. Market St, Greensboro
May 14...................25.......................Elkin 454..........................................114 Market St, Elkin
May 15...................28.............. Andrew Jackson 576.........................401 N. Fulton St, Salisbury
A Ghost���s Displeasure
By Steve Campbell
For more than two years of the Civil War, the
Gray Ghost (Col. John Singleton Mosby) led
an independent command known as Mosby���s
Rangers. Though never numbering more than
a few hundred, this partisan unit controlled an
area in Northern Virginia known as Mosby���s
Confederacy. So harried were Federal commanders with his exploits, thousands of US
troops were required in the region ��� troops
needed in Grant���s push on Richmond.
In September 1864, while operating near the
small town of Front Royal, Virginia, six of Mosby���s Rangers were captured by Federal cavalry.
In retaliation of a recent Federal officer���s death,
four of the Rangers were shot and two were
hung, one with a placard pinned to his body:
���Such is the fate of Mosby���s men.���
In November at the village of Rectortown,
a lottery was held amongst Federal prisoners
that had been captured by Mosby���s command.
Those selected in the lottery would be executed in retaliation of Mosby���s men who had
been killed in Front Royal. A hat was passed
with slips of paper. When a drummer boy drew
a ���winning slip��� Colonel Mosby excused him,
and another Federal prisoner was selected. The
prisoners were marched through Ashby���s Gap
(present day US Route 50) closer to Federal
Headquarters. Whilst on this march, another
unit of Mosby���s command under Capt. Richard Montjoy passed. Seeing Capt. Montjoy���s
Masonic pin, two of the prisoners offered the
Masonic distress sign. Their Masonic Brother
excused these two prisoners and replaced them
with two prisoners his unit had captured. When
the ���Gray Ghost��� learned of this substitution he
admonished his popular Captain, ���Remember,
Captain, in the future that this Command is
not a Masonic Lodge.��� In the rain soaked night,
four of the seven prisoners escaped the fate of
the lottery. The retaliations ceased, and in six
months the war would be over.
As for Capt. Montjoy���s fate, he would be
killed in action later that month, fondly remembered by both Masons and non-Masons. The
���Gray Ghost��� lived until 1916, after an illustrious career as a barrister, US Counsel to Hong
Kong, and Department of Justice attorney prosecuting ruthless land barons of the Old West.
Steve Campbell, a member of Blackmer 127, first
published this story in Blackmer Buzz.
Prepare a legacy
By Jim Hyde
ROBBINSVILLE ��� My oldest grandson
Drake (age six) just came to me with a not-yet
dated ���MADE A MASON��� token he found on
my dresser. He wanted to know what it was for.
When I tried to explain (how do you explain
Masonry to a six-year-old?) he asked if he could
have the token.
When I told him I would give it to him
when he was 18, he smiled real big and said,
���OK, can I show it to my daddy?��� taking off
back down the hallway.
I guess I need to put that particular token in
the safe along with the two rings already there
for him and his brother.
Does this qualify as asking for a petition ���
LOL? Hopefully, in 12 years I can remind him
of this incident in a tyled setting.
Jim Hyde is a member of Robbinsville 672.
The
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