THE RITE RECORDER. The Black Watch Celebration Changing Minds About Masonry Family Day with the Florence Freedom

Transcription

1 THE RITE RECORDER Valley of Cincinnati The Black Watch Celebration Changing Minds About Masonry Family Day with the Florence Freedom May 2012

2 Regarding a Member of Your Organization... This letter to the editor shows how we shape the public s opinion of Freemasonry Editor s note: The following letter was received by . It recognizes the commendable actions of Bro. Jason A. Michaels, a member of the Valley of Cincinnati. THE RITE RECORDER Volume 68 No. 10 Cincinnati Masonic Center 317 East Fifth Street Cincinnati, OH Fax: Web: To whom it may concern, Good day. I realize that this may not ever reach this young man, but I wanted to let you know that my opinions of Freemasonry have recently changed. I was raised in Alabama, and I was brought up in a strict Baptist family. I was always told about the evils of your organization, and I can remember a day at our Sunday service when our pastor asked the Freemasons in our church to repent or leave. To this day, I have always avoided the Freemason groups locally, and kept my closed minded views. Last month, my views were changed quite a bit. I shop at a local Kroger near our home in Loveland, and buy my meat and seafood from there. The manager there has always been friendly to us, and is always willing to assist us in our needs. Over the past couple months, our conversations have grown with him, and one day I was taken back by the fact that he had on a Freemason necklace I just got over the shock of his tattoos! He is always talking about his family, and we have seen his picture in the front of the store a couple of times for the Employee of the Month. After seeing the necklace that day, my husband and I spoke quite a bit about it. It began to really to make me want to find out what exactly I have avoided for so long. Over the next couple weeks, I read a lot online, both for and against Freemasons, only to conclude that there is no way this young man we see every week is a devil worshipper or many of the things I read and have heard. Our conversations with Jason continued, as did my reading about the Freemasons. Well, this past week, my opinions were officially changed. I was making my way through the store when I saw a mom with her kids. One of the kids was severely handicapped and in a wheelchair, and the mother had one of her young kids pushing the cart while she shopped and pushed her handicapped daughter, who was screaming loudly. It was quite clear she was having a terrible day, and the kids I m sure weren t exactly making it any easier from the looks of it. I got to the meat section and began talking with Jason about the day. We both saw the mother and began to talk about it. I am ashamed to say I didn t do a thing to help her, but Jason looked at me and told me he felt for her. I could see the emotion in his eyes. He told me he would be right back, and he asked one of the guys to assist me in my purchase. He made his way over to the mother and he began talking to her. I don t know what he said but she began to smile as he knelt down next to the girl in the wheelchair. He reached up and held her hand, and she began to calm down in her chair. He stood up and began to push the chair for the mother! I was making my way to the register and ran into Jason, who was on his way back to the meat department. I couldn t help but ask him what happened. He said that she had just a couple more things to get, so he offered to help her. I asked him what happened with the girl, and he told me that she just wanted some attention. And he smiled. I couldn t hold back the tears on my way home, and when my husband came home, I told him what happened. We are both just absolutely at a loss for words that we have shunned and avoided these men for so long. I know this is a random for you, but I saw the Cincinnati Masonic Center online and assumed that someone there would like to know that one of your member s actions have changed two people s views of your organization. Thank you for all you men do. I am ashamed it took me so long to open my mind to accept it. Thank you for reading this letter. Sincerely, Diana H. Clark Loveland, OH EDITOR Ben P. Rosenfield, 32 benr@32masons.com BOARD OF TRUSTEES Chairman William M. Judd II, 32 Vice Chairman Dwight D. Wilson, 33 Members at Large Timothy D. Martin, 33 Donald E. Hoffman, 33 Kraig L. Gordon, 32º PRESIDING OFFICERS Gibulum Lodge of Perfection William N. Frank, 32 Dalcho Council, Princes of Jerusalem Richard E. Fey, Jr., 32 Cincinnati Chapter of Rose Croix Ronald W. Zemites, 32 Ohio Consistory M. Todd McIntosh, 32 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Robert W. Dumford, 33 rdumford@32masons.com FRATERNAL SECRETARY Michael A. Himes, 33 mhimes@32masons.com SECRETARY EMERITUS H. Ray Evans, 33 John R. Teller, Jr., 33 TREASURER Jeffrey P. Waltz, 33 THE SUPREME COUNCIL Deputy for the State of Ohio William R. Powers, Jr., 33 Deputy s Representative at Large Charles A. Chip Brigham III, 33 Sovereign Grand Commander John Wm. McNaughton, 33 Active Member at Large Robert O. Ralston, 33, P.S.G.C. Active Member Emeritus Alfred E. Rice, 33

3 Florence Freedom Valley of Cincinnati Family Day June 16, 2012 Bear witness to the carnage as the Florence Freedom puts the hurt on the Washington Wild Things! THE PARTY PATIO Scottish Rite Masons, their families, and invited guests will enjoy concourse-level seating near the action on the field and close to the post-game entertainment! ALL YOU CAN CRAM INTO YOUR BELLY The all-you-can-eat BBQ buffet starts 60 minutes before the first pitch and lasts 30 minutes into the game. It includes BBQ pulled pork, hotdogs, hamburgers, mac and cheese, potato salad, garden salad, coleslaw, green beans, dessert items, and unlimited fountain soda. TICKETING INFORMATION Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis. Order online at or use the order form in this issue of The Rite Recorder. Tickets are $7.50 each (plus a $1.00 handling charge per order) with a limit of four tickets per member. No tickets will be mailed. All tickets will be distributed at a special will call table at the Florence Freedom Ball Park on the day of the game.

4 THE SPRING 2012 REUNION AND The Valley of Cincinnati hosted two historic weeks of fellowship with the members of the Black Watch Masonic Degree Team from Scotland. Their stay was packed with enjoyable outings and unforgettable Masonic events. Wor. Bro. Colin Adam, Bro. Duncan Graham, Wor. Bro. John Lawlor, Bro. Patrick Rattray, Wor. Bro. Fred Robb, Bro. Jim Sandilands, Bro. Peter Snaddon, Wor. Bro. Robert Stewart, and Wor. Bro. David Thomson delighted packed houses with two exemplifications of the Scottish Master Mason degree one in Portsmouth and one in Cincinnati. Their work was unique, inspiring, and beautiful. The Scotsmen also witnessed the three degrees of Freemasonry, conferred according to the ritual of the Grand Lodge of Ohio. N.C. Harmony No. 2, McMillan No. 141, Kilwinning No. 356, Cincinnati-Lafayette No. 483, and Caliburn No. 785 joined forces to put on an E.A. degree. Washington No. 17 and Oakley No. 668 each put on a Fellowcraft degree. Clermont Social No. 29 and Avon-Miami No. 542 each put on a Master Mason degree. The Valley of Cincinnati welcomed a capacity crowd for the Scottish Master Mason degree on April 20, Few opens seats remained in the Scottish Rite Auditorium at the Cincinnati Masonic Center, which seats 800 comfortably. More than 700 dinners were served that night. The entire two-week celebration reached its crescendo on April 21 with the Spring 2012 Reunion and Black Watch Class. The Valley fielded 100 petitions for the event and provided a truly enjoyable experience for everyone aye, we kept the l The members of the Black Watch Masonic Degree Team are pictured with [1] N.C. Ha an E.A. degree); [2] Washington No. 17; [3] Oakley No. 668; [4] Clermont Social No. 2 But wait! There s more. Lots more. Our Brethren from Scotland also took a tour of Sh enjoyed the Valley of Cincinnati s For Freedom vignette, gave on interview to radio s week! The second week saw the members of the Black Watch playing golf, getting ta hosting a bagpiping class (led by Bro. Peter Snaddon, a Scottish national treasure), s

5 D BLACK WATCH CELEBRATION 2 5 lads busy! armony No. 2, McMillan No. 141, Kilwinning No. 356, Cincinnati-Lafayette No. 483, and Caliburn No. 785 (they teamed up for 29; and [5] Avon-Miami No hriners Hospitals for Children Cincinnati, took in their first baseball game (the Reds won because the Black Watch was there), station Q102, showed up to a shooting range in a stretch limousine, and had a great time at a picnic. And that was just the first attoos, participating in an English Festive Board, touring the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum, attending a Scotch tasting, sampling White Castle in the wee hours of the morning, and taking part in plenty of other events that they ll never forget.

6 [1] David Thomson meets one of Cincinnati s finest, and Duncan Graham loves every minute of it. [2] The Royal Highlanders present the Black Watch with a commemorative banner. [3] The Festive Board included special guest John C. McDougall (second from left), Master Blender and Master Distiller of Scotch whisky. [4] The Black Watch at the ballgame. [5] Radio station Q102 interviewed the Scotsmen. [6] The lads looking sharp for a Masonic event.

7 FAMILY DAY AT THE FLORENCE FREEDOM GAME June 16, 2012 Deadline for ticket orders is June 3, TICKETS WILL NOT BE MAILED. ALL TICKETS WILL BE AT WILL CALL AT THE BALL PARK. Tickets for the game are $7.50 each plus a $1.00 handling fee for the first ticket only. Limit four tickets per member. c Please send one ticket ($8.50 total for one ticket only) c Please send tickets (limit four tickets per member) ($8.50 for the first ticket, $7.50 for each additional ticket) Total amount enclosed: $ Print Name: Member Number: COMING ATTRACTIONS MAY 10 Annual Meeting The annual meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium at the Cincinnati Masonic Center. JUNE 16 Family Day Catch a Florence Freedom game with your family and friends! Details are published in this issue of The Rite Recorder. JUNE 25 OCD Golf Outing The annual outing will be held at Eaglesticks Golf Club, 2655 Maysville Pike, Zanesville, OH. SEPTEMBER 10 Scottish Rite Valley of Cincinnati Foundation Golf Classic The outing will be held at Wetherington Golf & Country Club, 7337 Country Club Ln., West Chester, OH. Telephone Number: Make your check payable to the Valley of Cincinnati. Mail it with this form to AASR Family Day, 317 E. Fifth St., Cincinnati, OH SEPTEMBER 13 Fall Kickoff The kickoff event will serve as the premiere of the 24º film, featuring the Valley of Cincinnati. The September stated meeting will also be held, followed by a reception in Club 32. Featuring Dr. George M. Vredeveld Wednesday, May 9, 2012 Complimentary breakfast is served at 7:45 a.m. Dr. Vredeveld s discussion starts at 8:10 a.m.; Q&A follows The program concludes by 9:00 a.m. Cincinnati Masonic Center 317 East Fifth Street Cincinnati, OH The program is open to the public. There are no admission fees. Please register for the event online at or by calling the Cincinnati Masonic Center at George M. Vredeveld, Ph.D., is the Alpaugh Professor of Economics at the University of Cincinnati and director of its Economics Center for Education & Research. He will discuss Cincinnati s economy in the decade to come.

8 Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite 317 East Fifth Street Cincinnati, OH ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID CINCINNATI, OH PERMIT NO Ian P. Rodway, M.D. BOARD CERTIFIED ORTHOPAEDIC SPINE SURGEON Beacon Spine Center Dr. Rodway is proud to be a Scottish Rite Mason in the Valley of Cincinnati. Three generations of legal service for Masons and Masonry 1136 Saint Gregory St., Ste. 100 Cincinnati, Ohio