Trestle Board. Do You Know? Around the Lodge. From the East. April 2012

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stjohnslodge1@gmail.com Trestle Board St. John s Lodge #1 A.F. & A.M. 4712 Oriole Dr. Wilmington, NC 28403 (910) 392-1706 www.stjohns1nc.

This is to make it more accessible and to allow for a greater number of officers and committee members to add dates to it.

1 Trestle Board St. John s Lodge #1 A.F. & A.M Oriole Dr. Wilmington, NC (910) April 2012 Around the Lodge Let me start with a note of housekeeping; our calendar will now be found on the calendar page of our website and will not be listed in the newsletter any longer. This is to make it more accessible and to allow for a greater number of officers and committee members to add dates to it. If you haven t yet seen the beautiful job that Brother Cleo Hasse has done on the station in the South, make sure to check it out next time you are in the lodge room. He has done a fantastic job beautifying what was formerly a very ordinary section of the room. Make sure to thank him for all of his hard work in using his Godgiven talent to do things for the benefit of all. Check out the before and after pictures on the picture page, even though they don t truly do the job justice. Thank you, Cleo, for all you have done and continue to do for our great lodge. I want to remind all members of St. John s Lodge #1 to remember to pay your dues. This is not directed at anyone in particular except me. I am hoping that by writing a reminder in the newsletter that I will remember to bring my checkbook to the next stated meeting. Brothers, I would like to bring to your attention the amount of sick and distressed we have had among us in the past few months. I would like to welcome our Senior and Junior Wardens back home and back to lodge. Both Harry Turner and Bob Seeling are beloved members of our order and we are blessed to walk with them. I would also like for us to remember the families that have lost loved ones; Bob Snipes mother passed away, Bob Selling s mother has passed, the families of George Jones and James Earl Vann. With 300+ members, there is no way for me to keep up with all of those who need prayer or would benefit from having a brother deliver a hot meal to them. If you know of a member who could use our support please let me know by shooting me an at stjohnslodge1@gmail.com. -Bro. Chuck Baer Do You Know? Question for April: How many children can the Masonic Home for Children at Oxford care for at any one time? Question from February: Who was the only person to serve as Grandmaster of America? Hint: Not George Washington, he turned the position down. Answer from February: Joseph Montfort From the East What can I say? I m so proud to be the Master of St. John s Lodge No. 1. In the month of March we had two every exciting and interesting degrees. Both of which caught the eye of the district and even the Grand Lodge. The first was our Past Master s 3 rd degree held on March 17 th at the Scottish Rite. We had a wonderful breakfast, cooked by Doug Grainger, from 8:00am to 9:00am. The degree started at 9:00am. What is so interesting about this degree is that it was on their stage, in full costume, with all the props and their beautiful backdrops. I personally knew we hit a home run when we had the first practice and you could just see all the Past Master s excitement. That was really my main goal, to give the Past Masters a special day and experience that what would remember for a lifetime. The morning of the degree all the Past Masters kept coming up to me with thank yous and comments of excitement. In the end, the degree was beautiful, fun, and something everyone will remember forever, candidates included. A special thank you to James Watson, PM for sitting in the East for this degree. The second big event was the first ever, I think even statewide, All Coaches Degree. (A 2 nd Degree) This was on March 24 th at the lodge and every chair was filled by a St. John s Coach. First and foremost, how lucky are we that we even have that many coaches to full EVERY spot. Second, it was so much fun and I couldn t think of a better way to honor our coaches than to give them their very own degree. Finally, a very special thank you to Terry Kuhn, CI and Head Coach for sitting in the East for this degree. So if you missed either or both of these degrees, well.you really missed something special. I want to say a job well done to both degree teams. I know you had fun and that was all I wanted. Please consider doing it again next year. On another big note, I want to congratulate Bro Chuck Baer, for being the 2011 Master Mason of the Year for St. John s. His award was presented to him at the February stated meeting and was well deserved. Bro. Bear is our Senior Steward this year as well as one of our main coaches. He is a wonderful husband, great father, and friend to us all. It was because of all his hard work last year, outstanding character, and leadership in and out of the lodge that got him this award. He is one of my role models and we can t thank him enough for all his hard work and devotion to the lodge. Congratulations Chuck. Please remember that our doors are always open and please come and visit with us at St. John s soon. Parker Stevens, Master ( or seapath@gmail.com)

Notes from the South: First, I d like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for my wife and me on the death of my Mother, Henrietta Seeling, who died peacefully in her sleep early on the

2 Notes from the South: First, I d like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers for my wife and me on the death of my Mother, Henrietta Seeling, who died peacefully in her sleep early on the morning of March 20 th at the age of 96 at the Masonic Village in Elizabethtown, PA.. Your expressions of concern, support, and sympathy are appreciated. Second, I d like to up-date everyone on the 2012 status of our Twelve Months of Caring and Sharing for the Oxford Home for Children and MESH (Masonic and Eastern Star Home in Greensboro). Through the first three months of 2012, we have collected $ Our goal is to raise $2, for the year and contribute $ to each charity. I know the value of having a MESH facility available for Masons and Eastern Star members as my mother, a Worthy Matron for the Glenside, PA ES Chapter in went to live at the Elizabethtown, PA Masonic Retirement Village in 2005 first in an independent living apartment and then in assisted living. I always knew she was living in a safe and caring community with wonderful staff help and like minded fraternal friends as neighbors. I wish this type of venue for NC Masons and Easter Star sisters, perhaps even you in the future, at our Greensboro facility. Won t you help us meet our goal for our two charities and help a fellow Masonic body member enjoy a caring lifestyle community? The honor of serving on the Canvas Committee Terry Kuhn, CI I would like to take a few moments to write about how honored I have always felt about serving on the Canvas Committee. At a time when our new brother is about to be raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason he is in critical need of our help. At a time when he can neither protect nor fend for himself he is in need of our help to carry him through the last important steps of his dark and perilous path. I well remember the feeling of being borne by brothers unseen, the feeling of helplessness and, at the same time, complete trust. Now, from the other side, I remember many nights in lodge with my sleeves rolled up with my fellow brethren sharing in this great experience. Yet there is always a shortage of brothers willing to come out to the third degree, or to find any excuse not to be on the Canvas Committee. This isn t a Saint John s phenomenon; I have travelled to other lodges and seen the same thing. Sometimes the lodge itself contributes to this. Through a genuine interest in getting our younger Masons involved in the degree work they are given roles that conflict with them being on the Canvas Committee. However, this situation often leads to injured or elderly brothers being asked to serve on a few occasions I ve even worked alongside visiting Worshipful Masters. So, I would like to use this brief column as a clarion call to my fellow young brothers. Let us always be ready and willing to step up for this necessary duty. There will be ample opportunity to have speaking roles in the degrees, when we can pass the baton to the new generation of young Masons. And we will be able to look them in the eye and tell them with pride how honored we were to serve as a Canvas Committee member for their Third Degree. Kuhn s Koaches Korner It has been a busy first quarter so far. We just raised three of our brothers at the full costume Past Masters Degree held at the Scottish Rite Temple; Ryan Feinberg, Michael Whitwam and James Tyler. Congratulations to all. Currently Steve Efstathiadis, Chris Jones, Bradley Workman and Holt Moore are working on the First Degree. Wayne Chestnut is done with his second and awaiting the next Third Degree ceremony. By the time you read this we should have passed our four Entered Apprentices to Fellow Crafts at the degree on March 22 nd. This degree is special to your coaching staff as it will be put on by current and former coaches. We are also gaining a new Entered Apprentice through a courtesy degree at Wilmington 319. We are fortunate as a lodge that we have so many brothers who want to be a part of the coaching process. Your Saint John s Coaches are: Terry Kuhn, Chuck Baer, Robert Parker, Craig Blasingame, Frank Barfoot, Ben Sorensen and our two newest coaching recruits: Daniel Payne and Jim Brandt. -Terry Kuhn, CI, Head Coach, SD

3 Masonic Spotlight Reflections I ve been a Master Mason now for nearly 25 years and have thoroughly enjoyed it. My Dad was a Mason and so was his Dad. As a boy, I would see my Dad come in from work 2-3 times a month and get cleaned up to go to a Lodge meeting. I never knew much about what Masons did, but believed it to be a good organization. I started noticing that the letters DDGL were behind my Dad s name on some of his mail. After asking, he told me that the letters stood for District Deputy Grand Lecturer. Didn t know much about that either, but it sounded good. Never thought he would be much of a lecturer, but came to find out that he had been giving the lectures in his lodge for many years. I was 37 when I joined St. Johns Lodge and was totally surprised to experience the EA Degree. That really gave me a sense of how old this organization is. My coaches had a hard time teaching me the catechisms because I had a thick skull. I was definitely not the model student. I guess that s because I like to understand what I m saying and catechisms were difficult for me to understand. Next thing I knew, W. Bro. Mervin Hogg talked me into taking a chair in the lodge. Soon afterward, I started coaching candidates and found that I could relate pretty well with them, and as I coached, I became more proficient myself. I joined the Eastern Star about 24 years ago and have met some of the nicest folks in the world there. I served as their District Deputy Grand Patron and have been Worthy Patron four times. I highly recommend the Eastern Star to the Master Masons. I ve been Master of the Lodge three times now and enjoyed each time. I became DDGL like my Dad and held Schools of Instruction and made Official Visits like he did. I still know many of the brethren from other lodges that I met back then. Now, one of the most enjoyable things I get out of Masonry is watching someone I coached perform well in the ritual, or deliver a lecture that I taught them. It makes my buttons pop when I see that. In 2012, my family and I may be moving to the farmhouse where I grew up near Pinehurst. I ll be sleeping in Mom and Dad s bedroom. They are both gone now and I miss them greatly. Thanks Dad for your influence on me to become a Mason. And thanks to St. Johns Lodge, the oldest and best Lodge in the State. Officers: keep up the good work. May God Bless you all. Bob Snipes, PM, CL, PDDGL

4 Masonic Education Of all American Masons, George Washington certainly stands out as the gauge by which other American Masons are measured; he is referred to as the perfect ashlar on the George Washington Masonic Memorial s website dedicated to his memory and history. He is reputed to have a spotless record as a Freemason, and legend goes that he was offered the position of Grand Master of All Masons for the United States, and turned it down. In actions such as these, we find George Washington to be a model brother. However, when we as North Carolina Masons look at his memory, or we as the brethren of St. John s No. 1, we think of this great man as being far removed from the history of our lodge. What you may not know is that he is very closely connected with St. John s No. 1 indirectly. His Masonic career started as well in what is now a shroud of mystery; in Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, the minutes show very plainly when Bro. Washington was initiated, passed, and raised. However, the Worshipful Master s name has been struck from these minutes (a facsimile of the page in framed on the wall in our library). Was this Worshipful Master guilty of un-masonic conduct? Was he a Tory? We will never know, unfortunately, but we do know that Washington was raised on August 4, (Historical timeline: St. John s was chartered in 1755, and Benjamin Smith became a brother in 1798.) Who presided over the lodge that night has now been lost in antiquity. It was during the Revolutionary War that Benjamin Smith and George Washington became acquainted; Bro. Smith served Washington's aide-de-camp. Later, Washington visited Wilmington, staying at Benjamin Smith's Belvedere plantation, located in what is today Navassa in Benjamin Smith saw him off to New Bern, where many memorable words were exchanged between the members of St. John's Lodge No.2 (now No. 3) and Washington himself. There is no record of Washington's meetings with the brothers of St. John's No.1, but it is conceivable that it was Washington himself who influenced Benjamin Smith to petition for the degrees. However, it was to the brethren in North Carolina whom Washington addressed, saying, "My best ambition having ever aimed at the unbiased approbation of my fellow-citizens, it is peculiarly pleasing to find my conduct so affectionately approved by a fraternity whose association is founded in justice and benevolence." It is equally amazing for our brethren today to think that Washington might have been the impetus for Benjamin Smith to enter our fraternity; or to realize that though we may today measure ourselves by Washington's standard, he measured himself by the standards of his contemporary brethren. -Brother Ben Sorenson, JS

5 All the participants of the 3 rd degree at the Scottish Rite WM Parker Stevens and Bro. Sorenson getting into costume The coaches degree. We passed Efstathios Efstathiadis, Holt Moore, Chris Jones, and Bradley Workman Getting some last minute practice before examination. (L to R) Chris Jones, Bradley Workman, Daniel Payne, Holt Moore The Junior Warden s station before Cleo Hasse The Junior Warden s station after Cleo Hasse

6 Public Displays of Brotherly Love and Affection Send your messages to: TO ALL PM s Thank you all for your support and friendship. You have paved a very smooth road for me to travel. James Watson, PM Thank you so much for sitting in the East for our PM s Degree. You did a wonderful job and you left an exciting mark in the Masonic paths of those candidates. Congratulations to our newest Master Masons Jason Harris Congratulations to all our new Master Masons and Fellowcrafts! You all are certainly raising the bar! Ben Sorensen Chuck Baer Congrats on your 2011 Master Mason of the Year Award. You deserve it and so much more. Thanks. Terry Kuhn, CI and All Coaches Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU. You all did a great job with the All Coaches Degree. It was a lot of fun and I can t tell you all how proud I am of your efforts as a coach. To all St. John s Brothers Proud to be a St. Johns Brother Jason Harris Ben Sorensen Love the Masonic Education. Keep it up. James Watsons, PM Congrats on being elected as the Worthy Patron for AREME this year. They are in good hands. Chuck Baer Thank you for getting the Trestle Board back on its feet again! It is a real pleasure to work with you and to read the articles. Ben Sorenson

HUNTER S PARADISE LODGE #85

HUNTER S PARADISE LODGE #85 November 017 Greetings from the East Worshipful Master, From the East: Worshipful Master, Sickness and Distress From Z Secretary s Desk: PM George Mather From the West, Senior