Free and Accepted Masons Dover, N. H. September 2017 Organized Under Dispensation December 20, 1889 Chartered May 21, 1890

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1 MOSES PAUL LODGE #96 DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE Free and Accepted Masons Dover, N. H. September 2017 Organized Under Dispensation December 20, 1889 Chartered May 21, 1890

2 September Calendar Event: Square and Compass Date and Time: Wednesday September 6 th, 6:30 pm at our new location in the Strafford Lodge Building, located 610 Sixth Street, Dover NH. Dress Code: Casual Cost: Usually less than $10.00 Description: Fellowship dinner, we will join our brothers at Strafford Lodge for a night of fellowship. Who can attend: EA s and above, and Guests for dinner, Event: Stated Meeting Date and Time: Thursday September 21 st Lodge opens at 7:30 pm at our new location in the Strafford Lodge Building, located 610 Sixth Street, Dover NH. Dress Code: For all jacket and ties and aprons Cost: Donation for collation Description: Monthly business meeting and program Who can attend: EA s and above

3 District 5 Calendar Event: Lodge of Instruction for District 5 Date and Time: Saturday September 30 th at Winnipesaukee Lodge in Alton NH Dinner at 6:00 pm, Lodge opens at 7:00 pm Dress Code: Jacket and tie and aprons Cost: Usually less than $10.00 Description: A Lodge of instruction put on by the Grand lodge of NH. Who can attend: All Master Masons Event: Winnipesaukee Lodge Breakfast Buffet Date and Time: Sunday September 17th 7:30 am-11:00 am at Winnipesaukee Lodge in Alton NH Dress Code: Casual Cost: $10.00 Description: Famous Breakfast Buffet Who can attend: Public event All are welcome! Event: Masters Class for District 5 Date and Time: Tuesday September 26 th at Moses Paul Lodge at their new location in the Strafford Lodge Building, located 610 Sixth Street, Dover NH. Light Refreshments at 6:30 pm, Meeting and Program at 7:00 pm. Dress Code: Casual Cost: Usually less than $10.00 Description: Master s Class Who can attend: All Master Masons Moses Paul Lodge and Strafford Lodge join hands

4 Moses Paul Lodge #96, Dover, NH Officers & Appointments for 2017 Worshipful Master: David Akridge Senior Warden: John T. Pond, Jr Junior Warden: Wor. Robert Corsetti Treasurer: Sanford Salava Deputy Treasurer: Wor. Kristopher G. Furtney Secretary: David Martinelli Deputy Secretary: Representative to Grand Lodge: Richard Lapointe Chaplain Wor. Kristopher G. Furtney Asst. Chaplain Senior Deacon: James E. Lewis Junior Deacon: John T Pond, III Marshall: Wor. Donald Meserve Senior Steward: Junior Steward: Tyler: Richard Lapointe Organist: Lodge Ambassador: Historian: Wor. David Akridge Finance Committee: Jean L. LaBrack Trustees of Charity Fund Wor. James S. Miller 2017 John T. Pond, Jr. 2017, & 2018 Widow s Program Chairman: Vincent R. Puleo John T. Pond, Jr Gates: #1-, Richard Lapointe #2-, #3-Wor. Donald Meserve Representative to Evergreen Place: Kevin M. Schultz Relocation Committee: Chairman: Wor. David Akridge Recorder: John T. Pond, Jr Wor. Kristopher G. Furtney Kevin M. Schultz Robert Steele Sanford Salava Public Affairs Officer: Wor. Kristopher G. Furtney Lodge Care Taker: Richard Lapointe

5 MASTER S MESSAGE As we approach our time of coming back into the Light, much has changed. Our Lodge building at 32 Pearl Street is firmly under contract with all contingencies removed. We anticipate a closing on or before September 29, The sale of our Lodge building is certainly bittersweet. However, we will have the ability to maintain a balanced budget and more importantly focus on our Work in Masonry. In many respects while our efforts at packing the Lodge personal property has been sad, I am thankful for the help that so many have provided. We are way ahead of schedule. We are substantially packed, storage has been rented, and movers have been engaged to get us out by 9/20. Amazingly, this event has resulted in some Brethren we have not seen in a while stopping in to lend a hand. We have executed an Interim Rental Agreement and received Dispensation from Most Worshipful Lobdell to meet at 610 Sixth Street, the current location of Strafford Lodge # 29 which I am sure you are all familiar with and have likely visited many times. Our Stated Meetings remain the same day and place. Strafford Lodge #29 will continue to meet on their Stated Dates. I have received a few s and communications asking if this is a merger. It is NOT. We are meeting in the same building. More importantly, Strafford Lodge #29 has truly practiced the tenets of

6 Masonry in their dealing with us and have made the process infinitely easier. I certainly appreciate the efforts of Strafford Lodge # 29 in making us feel welcome in their building. I would hope that each of us will be able to be even more supportive of our respective Lodges now that we are under the same roof. As to the Work of Masonry, we did have a new EA, David Baylor who took his first step in Masonry in conjunction with some other EA candidates at St. John s. We have two EA s who will likely be able to do their Fellow Craft Degree this Fall. Couple with Visitations and Inspections we will once again be busy. t I also want to address a strategic plan for our Lodge. Some issues to consider are how to use or invest the principal that we receive from the building? What income should we use, if any, for normal Lodge operations, recognizing a shrinking demographic? How do we now use some excess funds to become more visible in the community and spread some Light? While many will remember the sale of the Washington Street Temple, the Pearl Street sale is of our own unanimous decision to sell and we will walk away with proceeds from the sale. Whatever we do, we must plan judiciously, to preserve and conservatively grow our fund balance while practicing our Craft. I look forward to the discussion. I hope that as we begin a new chapter in our storied history that we will seize a renewed sense of enthusiasm and let us, together, grow Moses Paul Lodge #96.

7 Greetings Brethren A Word from the West. Brother John T. Pond Jr. As we come out of darkness into light it is a perfect time to reflect on why we became Masons, and to learn more about our great fraternity, and why we have sustained for so long. It is a time to ask yourself am I helping to keep our lodge great for future generations, or have I just let things ride along and hoped that some other brother would answer the call so I would not have too. Ask yourself why did I join in the first place? As Moses Paul Lodge enters a new phase in our life, where we no longer have the burden of debt hanging over our heads, and the opportunity to once again meet in the same building with our Brothers from Strafford Lodge, it is a great time to come and renew your fellowship with your brothers. As you can see our Lodge lost two more brothers over the summer. They will be greatly missed! So, Brothers, I ask you if you can find that few minutes even once a month to come out and support your Lodge? Not to take an office, but to just be there to support the officers who are working so hard to keep yours and my lodge open and ready for the future! I leave you with these words from our opening charge Let all private animosities, if any unhappily exist, give place to affection and brotherly love. May God bless you and your family! See you in Lodge! Fraternally John T. Pond, Jr. bears123@comcast.net

8 Masonic Thoughts WHY WE MEET We meet for the purpose of admitting members to our fellowship, to instruct them in the lessons and principles (of Masonry) and to strengthen each other in adherence thereto, said George W. Speth, in a public lecture in We meet to hand down to succeeding generations the knowledge and practice of certain ceremonies, which we have ourselves inherited from our Masonic ancestors, and the analogues of which can be traced in the remotest antiquity... Lastly we meet to practice our three grand principles of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. THE SQUARE The square as an emblem is geometrical and not mechanical in its origin according to authorities, who trace it back to the ancient Egyptians, who in solemn processions carried the cubit of justice, by which perpendiculars, right angles and squares might be laid our, its form being that of one arm of a square, with the inner end cut to an angle of 45 degrees. "The close analogy between justice and that which is perfectly upright is so obvious as to have become universal. The terms 'an upright man' and a 'just man' are in nearly all languages synonymous, hence the scriptural phrases: 'The way of the just is uprightness; thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just;' 'He that walketh uprightly' and the admonition 'to walk uprightly before God and man.' Besides this, the square was used in Egypt to redetermined the boundaries of each man's possessions when, as frequently happened, the landmarks were swept away by the inundation of the Nile, thus recovering to every man his just rights. The Egyptian land-measure itself was an aroura or a square, containing one hundred cubits. "The square representing the fourth part of a circle, has a direct allusion to division of the ecliptic and celestial equator into four equal parts, indicative of the solstitial and equinoctial points, and the division of the year into four seasons. By it we are also enabled to divide the circle of the horizon into quadrants, and by the aid of the sun in the south to correctly mark out the four cardinal points of the compass. In not only geometry, but astronomy also, the use of the right angle is indispensible.

9 MOSES PAUL LODGE #96 In Memory Of Brother Calvin Adam Mittelsteadt Born February 16, 1932 Hazen, North Dakota Entered Apprentice April 20, 1967 Passed to Fellowcraft May 10, 1967 Raised to Master Mason May 17, 1967 Member Moses Paul Lodge 50 years Called from Labor to Rest June 5, 2017 Worshipful Master William D. Akridge Secretary David W. Martinelli

10 MOSES PAUL LODGE #96 In Memory Of Brother Wayne Melvin Rockey Born April 29, 1938 Harrisburg Pennsylvania Entered Apprentice January 11, 1996 Passed to Fellowcraft June 27, 1996 Raised to Master Mason August 3, 1996 Received Major General John Sullivan Award September 19, 2006 Member Moses Paul Lodge 21 years Called from Labor to Rest July 24, 2017 Worshipful Master William D. Akridge Secretary David W. Martinelli

11 The Next Chapter in the Life of Moses Paul Lodge #96 The Lodge at 32 Pearl Street Worshipful Dave Akridge and Brother John Pond Jr. Senior Warden removes the Moses Paul sign which will be relocated to our new temporary home with our brothers at Strafford Lodge #29 located at 610 Sixth Street in Dover, NH.

12 Strafford Lodge #29 Lodge Hall at 610 Sixth Street in Dover, NH. YOU MUSTN'T QUIT When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When the funds are low and the debts are high And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest! if you must -- but never quit. Life is queer, with it's twists and turns, As every one of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about When he might have won if he'd stuck it out; Stick to your task though the pace seems slow -- You may succeed with one more blow. Success is failure turned inside out -- The silver tint of the clouds of doubt -- And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems afar; So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -- It's when things seem worst that YOU MUSTN'T QUIT.

13 The Trowel DO THE LITTLE THINGS For many years I have observed the earnest and faithful efforts of the officers of lodges as they held meetings for the purpose of suggesting ways to improve attendance and maintain interest. In every instance some outstanding program has been launched, which if carried to completion, always bears fruit which is the result of honest planning. However, it is my conclusion that all we hope for, the molding of Masonic principles into a strong Masonry, must be the result of the doing of little things. Everything else, it seems, is subordinate to the idea of keeping fresh Masonic teachings through the medium of doing. Again and again we refer to the "Old Time Masonry." Yet we know full well that the principles of Masonry are the same today as they were centuries ago. What do we really mean? What is that spirit that we must recapture? Get out the minutes of your lodge and review the history of "those old days." Strike deep into the heart of that history and then report truthfully. What do you find? A Masonic funeral was an occasion at which was reflected the obligation of the living to the dead. Masons left their work and devoted all the time necessary to pay due and proper respect to the departed and to the loved ones. Look at the record of your lodge as it reports visitations to the sick, acts of charity to the unfortunate, comfort to the heartbroken. Review the work of committees, the work of brothers who asked for no titles, no recognition, but only the opportunity to render service. Look over the names of those Masons, those working brothers, and see if they were not the same who were leaders in their communities. Also look at the heritage they left. It was not measured in dollars. It was character. That which we seek is within us. "Old Time Masonry" is not a thing that belongs to the past. It is a Spirit that is the result of Doing Great Little Things

14 Something to Think About: It is not what we eat, but what we digest that makes us strong. It is not what we earn, but what we save that makes us rich. It is not what we read, but what we remember that makes us learned. It is not what we profess, but what we practice that makes us Masons! Brother Pete Rasmussen Secretary s Desk Thank you to all who have paid their dues on time! There are still 15 that have not paid to date! Please make every effort to pay these quickly as the Lodge depends on this money to be able to pay the bills. If you can t afford your dues or have other issues preventing you from paying them please contact me or any officer, we may be able to work out a solution. When was the last time you came to a meeting? We as your officers know that your time is valuable and should not be wasted! The meetings are fun and informative. Can t remember the signs or you don t feel you know anyone, don t worry, we are all brothers and will greet you with open arms. This month s education article is The Need for Masonic Education and don t miss the Trowel Article Do the Little Things. Please visit our website for upcoming events. The District 5 Calendar at: %40gmail.com NH Grand Lodge Web site at: Webmaster: dovermasons@nhfreemasons.org Facebook: NOT RECEIVING THE TRESTLE BOARD BY ??? If you would like to get it as soon as it comes out and save the Lodge a stamp send your address to bears123@comcast.net

15 MASONIC EDUCATION: THE NEED FOR MASONIC EDUCATION by Raymond Hollins Ray Hollins has been a Freemason for 50 years, and was formerly both Senior Lecturer at the University of Central England and Principal Examiner in Management subjects for the Chartered Institute of Building. Better be ignorant of a matter, than half know it" - Publilius Syrus 1st. Century BC The making of a Freemason does not consist entirely of his progress through the various Degrees of the Order. Receiving these various degrees is in itself only the "Passport to Knowledge". This can be described as the key to a continuing course of Masonic education. Whilst it may be accepted that it is an innermost desire, followed by obligations that makes one a member of the Craft, yet in a truer form and better sense, a man is never a Freemason until he truthfully and loyally lives up to his obligations. He cannot do that until he understands them, and eventually, following a Masonic program of education, he learns to know their scope and real meaning. This cannot be properly achieved by sitting in Lodge listening to ceremonies or attending a Lodge of Instruction (LOI), where the objective is primarily devoted to improve the performance of the ritualist. The ritual does not make Masons - it only makes members.

16 Ritual is fundamental to the Craft, and its preservation in its purest form is the life's blood of our Fraternity, but it is not to be confused with Masonic education. Freemasonry may well be divided into many phases. Its tenets, history, traditions, landmarks, customs, symbolism and its allegories - even its Constitution and its laws - just to mention a few. If these subjects are studied and mastered they can provide a most interesting course for a Brother seeking the opportunity to gain Masonic knowledge, being quite apart from his rightful ambition to become a good ritualist. An educated Freemason needs to have accomplished both! To suggest that a satisfactory explanation of the Craft is complete with a study of the lectures of each degree is to bury one's head in Masonic sand. A popular expression in the teaching profession proclaims that there can be no dedication without education. The search for knowledge goes on day after day. If we ask whether we need a Masonic education programme, the posture would be one of blank amazement followed by: "Well, we do have a LOI." If we ask the same question to a few of our elderly and fairly senior brethren, whose involvement extends well beyond the Craft, the answer may be "NO" (on the mistaken belief that they have nothing to learn!) But be assured, that if any of the following circumstances apply - then the answer must be "YES": -Attendances have declined at meetings; -Membership has declined due to resignations; -Candidates are non-existent; -Lodge programs are uninspiring, dull and uninteresting; -The Lodge is not considered to be a vital part of the community; -Provincial Grand Lodge activities are sparsely attended; -Prospects for the future survival of the Lodge is bleak. Other factors can be added to this list. Each Lodge will be able to identify and determine where its own weaknesses lie. So we need an educational training program - but how do we go about it?

17 The answer, as with virtually all management problems, starts at the top - the Master. On his Installation, the Master is charged to manage his Lodge, and he is reminded of this at every meeting, at the opening of his Lodge: "As the sun rises in the East to open and enliven the day, so the W.M is placed in the East to open the Lodge and to employ and instruct the Brethren in Freemasonry" But does he? Every Lodge has members who, with proper encouragement and training, will be willing to take the time necessary to become a Masonic teacher, the Lodge educationalist. LOI Preceptors have proved this. However, to become such an expert requires training. There is no such thing as a born Masonic educationalist. In fact, it is time we started to train the trainers. It is regrettable that little or nothing in this regard is available and in place as part of a proper educational and training policy within our Constitution. One fundamental issue is that it is not essential to any concept of Masonic education that its possessor be a good ritualist. Masonic ritual has its own reward, and many find those rewards great. Our LOIs are full of Brethren who excel at the ritual. But what is a Masonic educational program, how do we introduce it, and where can I find an example? An example is the training and education program of the Masonic Province of Worcestershire, which has one prime aim - to help Masons understand, enjoy and be confident in their masonry, and by this to retain them in the Craft. Over the last ten years the Province has developed a program with an emphasis on helping brethren understand, perform and be comfortable in the various offices and roles in which they will find themselves in their progression towards the chair. Many brethren find ritual and the associated learning difficult and they can often be the most dedicated and committed Masons. But someone who is nervous, uncomfortable and unsure is not going to enjoy his Masonry and is certainly not going to convey any enjoyment to others. Thus seminars have been introduced entitled "Towards the Master's Chair, "The Role and Work of the Junior Officers", "The Director of Ceremonies" as well as training sessions for treasurers, secretaries and almoners. These programs are well attended and very popular. A history of the Craft and the Provincial Grand Lodge of Worcestershire,

18 entitled Freemasonry - Fact not Fiction written by Joe Grainger, is presented to every initiate, and provides the basis for an ongoing program of training and education throughout the Province. Worcestershire is encouraging the establishment of Provincial Lodge of Instruction Festivals to be held annually, where Entered Apprentices, Fellowcrafts and Master Masons and elders in the Craft work together to present an interesting and stimulating evening of Masonic interest. The Guild of Worcestershire Preceptors has been formed consisting of all the Preceptors, present and past of all the Lodges in the Province, as a forum for the members to discuss and disseminate information on good practice within those Lodges. By its nature it focuses on the practicalities of the ceremonies, but is also charged with stimulating a culture of learning and to advance the knowledge of the history, meaning and purpose of Freemasonry. Last year saw the launch of the publication A Daily Advancement in Masonic Knowledge - Fifty Short Talks on the Craft - see The response and sales are now worldwide. As the possessor of an historian in Richard Goddard as Provincial Grand Master, the implementation of these objectives is driven from the highest level. With what is said to be the finest Masonic museum outside of Grand Lodge, the Province regularly arranges guided tours of the museum. The many precious artifacts, jewels and books, are always on show. Visitors are always welcome. Worcestershire Provincial Grand Stewards Lodge No is actively engaged with a series of presentations that are intended to stimulate discussion about the content of our ritual, and a deeper and more fully understood appreciation of Freemasonry. Worcestershire Installed Masters Lodge No is extremely active and provides another forum for a program of continuing Masonic education, being host over the years to a glittering array of speakers and demonstrations. A recent initiative in many Lodges in the Province is to charge a senior member of the Lodge to be what is called a Master of Novices, or the Mentor. His role is to accompany junior brethren when they have to leave the Lodge room for some ceremonies or parts of ceremonies. They talk to them and prepare them for their next ceremony and help them

19 understand the background and meaning of Masonry. A Seminar is being prepared to deal with the role and duties of such important responsibilities. It is planned to produce a set of three booklets so that every Lodge can introduce a properly structured program of informative training to run in parallel with the traditional LOI activities. This will provide a guide in the form of a series of informative notes about each of the three degrees. This publication will be expanded later to include a guide for every office in the Craft, thus providing the basis for an ongoing program of training and education. In such ways Worcestershire is trying to balance both education and training. In the narrowest sense, training is the preparation for the duties brethren hold or will hold in the Lodge. Education is the broadening of the mind, the stimulation to a deeper understanding of the foundations of the temple Masonry strives to build in all men's hearts. A Little Humor The Worshipful Master of our Lodge found a bottle with a Genie in it. In accordance with custom, the Genie offered to grant him a wish. "OK," said the WM, "I ve always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I hate to fly. So my wish is for you to build a bridge so I can drive to Hawaii." "I can t do that!!!" exclaimed the Genie. "Don t you know that s impossible? No Genie could do that. It s too far, the water is too deep, it s just totally beyond anybody s power. You will have to make another wish." "OK," said the Master. "I wish that at our next Stated Meeting all the old PMs would just get along and not cause any trouble, not have to tell us how they did it their year, not complain about the ritual, not put down the current officers... just sit on the sidelines and behave!" "Hmmmmm," said the Genie. "Do you want that bridge with 2 lanes or 4??"

20 A Masonic Poem 6:30 Degree by Walter K Belt (reprinted from the Eastern Star News, Oct 15, 1940) You may have a skillful Master Who presides with practiced ease, Who arranges clever programs That will entertain and please, One who calls in witty speakers; Who knows his way about; But a lavish Junior Warden Is the boy who brings them out! You may have a good degree team Where each member knows his part. Drilled to function as a unit With especial skill and art, With the finest of equipment, Jewelled crown and sumptuous shroud; But a groaning banquet table Is the bait that draws the crowd! Did I say I was different? If the truth must be confessed, Much as I like work and speeches, I'm as hungry as the rest; And the ones they put in pudding Are my favorite kind of "Plumb"; When the cry is "Come and get it!" Gangway, slowpokes! Here I come.

21 The Old Past Master Speaks THE PLEDGE "Haven't paid your pledge yet? Well, brother, it's not ethical for me to ask why. That's your business. What? Peeved at the Committee? Now, you do amaze me! How do you expect them to build the Temple if you, and twenty thousand like you, don't do what you promised to do? You think they shouldn't 'dun' you for the money? Well, they shouldn't have to! But human beings are prone to forget and put off, and the stone masons who build the Temple have to be paid, and their families have to be fed and they have to eat and they can't wait, I suppose, until you get over your peeve! "There are a lot of brethren, you know, who make pledges to pay a certain amount towards the erection of a new Temple and then don't do it. You can't say they break their promise, because they truly intend to pay 'some day.' But they break the spirit of the promise when they don't pay when they have promised to pay. And they... and you, my brother... have taken an obligation which should prevent you from withholding even the value of a penny, knowingly, from your brother to whom you promised it. "There are all sorts of reasons for not paying! There is your childish reason... being 'peeved!' Any one would think to look at you, that you were truly grown up. Yet you let a grievance against one brother, or one set of brethren on a committee, keep you from

22 fulfilling your obligation to all your brethren in this jurisdiction. If you, as a parent, were peeved with the school board, would you keep your child from school? If you were peeved at the Mayor, would you refuse to allow the fire engines to put out a fire in your home? If you were cross with the boss of your ward would you refuse to let the policeman he had appointed, arrest the burglar trying to steal your goods and chattels? Probably not! Yet here you are, offended at the committee and saying to them, in effect 'because I don't like the way you act, I will refuse to put my stone in the Temple. For all of me, there can be a hole in the wall. Not that I have any grudge against my brethren, or any crossness with the fraternity or any ill-will to Masonry, but the only way I can get even with you, who offend me, is to make it difficult for you to serve my brethren!' "Don't you think that's rather childish? "Now, Brother Jones over there, he has another reason for not paying. He isn't peeved or anything, but he doesn't like the design of the Temple! He says 'you tear it down and build it up over again, and build it long where it is now short and short where it is now long. Put 17 pillars in it instead of seven, or 70, and I'll pay my hundred dollars' or whatever it is he has promised. "Nice, reasonable human being, Jones! But he is logic itself compared to Smith! Smith doesn't pay because he says he has so many other things to pay and 'they won't miss my little pledge.' Imagine Smith, when he makes a note to the bank for his pay roll. Comes around another month and the note falls due. But Smith won't pay... not he! He goes to the bank and say 'I'm sorry, but I have to pay a lot of other things this month. Just tear up the note and forget it, won't you? I have changed my mind about paying the note!' "What? Why yes, it is a parallel case, exactly. Smith gave his word to his brethren that he would pay a certain amount towards the new Temple. The Committee believed him, just as they believed the rest of the Masons who pledged their aid. And because they believed in a Mason's word, they obligated the fraternity to stone masons and electricians, to iron workers and plasterers, to builders and plumbers, to do the work. Just suppose every one of the pledgers refuse because they have other obligations? Where will we find the money to pay our debts? Is Masonry to stand

23 discredited before the world because one brother has a childish peeve, another doesn't like the design of the Temple, a third finds it inconvenient? "My brother, a pledge to pay money, on which other men act, should be as sacred as a secured obligation to a bank. The Temple is being built by Masons, for Masons. It is to be a testimonial to all the world that here is a seat of truth, of light, of freedom of thought, of reverence for God, of brotherly love, of comforting philosophy... of Masonry. If what we teach sinks into our hearts, there will be no unpaid pledges. "Luckily for us all, the great, great majority of Masons do as they agree. They pay what they promise. They stand behind their word. That is how the Temple is built... how all Masonic Temples are built. That is how all temples of any kind are built, whether they be of stone, for Masons, or in the heart, for God. "Most Masons mean what they say when they kneel before the altar and pledge their lives to brotherhood. They do so without any evasion in their minds or hearts. Most Masons when they pledge their money to a Masonic cause, pledge it without evasions on their mind or heart. Most men, thank God, are honest, and a very large number of honest men are honest Masons and... what are you doing? Oh, I see you have your check book and your fountain pen. I trust, my brother, that nothing I have said has offended you! I wouldn't make you mad with yourself because you haven't paid, for anything. All I tried to do was to transfer that peeve from the Committee to the chap who didn't play fair, but who, I see, is now going to play fair! Yes, I see; the check is for double your pledge. I think, if you take it over and show it to Jones and then to Smith, and tell them all I said, you will feel better and they will feel worse... why, certainly, my brother, I am proud to shake the hand of any of my brethren, especially when I find them as real underneath as you. What? Oh, don't mention it!

24 IN MEN HEARTS "Where is the most beautiful Masonic temple in the world?" asked the New Brother of the Old Tiler. "Wouldn't the answer depend on one's conception of beauty? retorted the Old Tiler. "I might think, and you another, while an architect or an artist might choose still another." "Well, which one do you choose?" persisted the New Brother. "I don't!" answered the Old Tiler. "The House of the Temple in Washington is impressive; Detroit has a wonderful temple; Philadelphia's temple is massive and beautiful, the Albert Pike memorial in Little Rock is considered fine. I cannot choose." "You think it is one of these?" "No, I am simply trying to oblige," laughed the Old Tiler. "I know three temples which impressed me more than any of these." "I asked because I am taking a winter vacation. I'd like to see the wonderful temples Masonry has erected. Tell me where your three are located!" "One temple that to me is great in beauty is in a town of about 2,000 people in the Middle West. The lodge room is over a country store. The floor is bare of carpet. The chairs are plain wood. The heating plant is one large stove; it is the Junior Deacons' business to feed it during the meetings. The walls are stained, the lamps are kerosene, there is no organ or piano and the ribbons in the lodge jewels are frayed. Not very up-to-date, the members of this lodge.

25 "But this lodge made a boy of twenty-two a Master Mason just before he went to France in the first world war. After Soissons he lay all night on the field with a shattered leg and an arm so badly mangled that later they cut it off. While he lay there he heard familiar words from the familiar burial service of a Mason; 'this evergreen, which once marked the temporary resting place of the illustrious dead is an emblem of our faith in the immortality of the soul.' "The wounded boy called for help. Came crawling to him was a man slightly wounded, who had said the service over the remains of a comrade. At the risk of his life he hauled the wounded boy to safety. That wounded boy came back to this little country lodge to tell his brethren of what Masonry means in men's hearts when they carry it into the battlefield. As I listened the plain board walls fell away, the deal floor became tessellated marble, the low stained ceiling became a vaulted archway and the Great Architect Himself entered the East Gate. "Another beautiful temple I only heard of. Civil engineers were building a railroad in the Andes. One of their laborers, a Mason, had fever and had to be sent home. This party of five sat out under the trees and the stars and talked on the square. Each of them gave a month's salary to the sick laborer. He had a wife and two babies in Denver, the wife trying to live in spite of the dread disease Denver's high altitude cures. Our ancient brethren met under the stars, where their 'covering was no less than the clouded canopy or starry-decked heaven.' But none of these ever held a more beautiful lodge than those five young men, filled with Masonic charity, giving each more than he could afford for a day laborer in hard luck, because he was a Mason. "My third most beautiful temple was made of many little tents. There were children in them; children large and small, and there was no distinction between them of race, creed, color. All a child had to be was poor to have two weeks in the open. Nor was this a lodge charity; it was the work of a Masonic club, and run by individual contributions. As I looked I heard the organ peal as I have never heard it in many temples of stone. "As a teacher said, 'for where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.' Where three, five, seven or more Master Masons gather in the name of Masonry, there is the

26 temple. It is right and wise that we build great temples of stone and carving; which give testimony to all the world that here men gather in brotherhood. Masonic structures play a great part and we could spare them ill. But the greatest Masonic temples are builded in men's hearts. "If you would visit beautiful temples in your travels. seek less for mighty building and more for a house not made with hands. 'Masonry builds her temples in the hearts of men' and in men's hearts shall you seek for, and find, those most beautiful." The Old Tiler ceased and looked off into space as if he saw a vision. The New Brother looked at the Old Tiler. "I do not need to travel far to see one of the most beautiful temples," he said. A Masonic Thought Brotherly love is not a tangible commodity. We cannot touch it or weigh it, smell it of taste it. Yet it is a reality; it can be creative, it can be fostered, it can be made a dynamic power. The Master who has it in his Lodge and his brethren will find that Lodge and brethren give it back to him. The Master too worried over the cares of his office to express friendliness need never wonder why his Lodge seems too cold to his effort. Carl H. Claudy

27 SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHERS Ernest Clark II Randolph Dumont Blake Erickson Kristopher Furtney Robert Johnson Robert Lapointe Richard Laughton Jr. Michael Mawson Donald Meserve Austin Nickerson Jr. Walter Wilson Jr. Brothers Fred and Barney enjoy their Lodge! How about you?

28 Moses Paul Lodge #96 Living Past Masters Gerald E. Brown Ronald C. Bartlett Donald S. Meserve Raymond E. Allen William H. Carswell, II 1976, 77, 78 David R. Spiller..1984, 85 Edwin F. Mitchell, Jr Anthony Zizos. 1989, 90 James S. Miller , 98, 01, 02, 03, 04 John F. Torr.1993, 94, 99, 00 Stephen E Wawrzkiewicz Robert H. Stewart Jay A. Edgerly 1997 William C. Hill, HPM.2003 Michael J. Mawson George M. McGee III Christopher Piehler 2007, 2008 Robert D. Berry Kristopher G. Furtney 2010, 2011 Vincent R. Puleo , 2013 Robert J. Corsetti , 2015 William D. Akridge ,

29 Masonic Journey Poem by Simon Pierce I entered as an Apprentice; A Fellow I became; Raised to Master Mason; A better man is my aim. With a lambskin apron in my dresser drawer; My wife hopes I ll start cooking; But I know that on yonder shore; There s a journey I m someday booking.