June, 2016 WORSHIPFUL MASTER Brian Canady SENIOR WARDEN Lee Ransdall, PM TRESTLEBOARD BEND LODGE #139 A.F. & A.M. 1036 NE 8th St., Bend, OR 97701 (541) 389-7407 MAILING ADDRESS: Info@BendLodge.org 61246 Ladera Road Bend, OR 97702 JUNIOR WARDEN Matt Alexander TREASURER MASONIC YARD SALE SECRETARY Saturday, June 11th, 9am-1:30pm, Bend Lodge parking lot Lodge surplus items for sale to benefit Bend Lodge John Pinckney, PM Terry Griffith SENIOR DEACON Ryan Duffy JUNIOR DEACON Bend Lodge members are encouraged to bring personal items from home those proceeds go directly to each participating individual member! BBQ and refreshments! Steve Karpstein, PM SENIOR STEWARD JUNIOR STEWARD CHAPLAIN MWB ED BOUSQUET HONORED BY OREGON GRAND LODGE Dave Johnson, PM TYLER Dale Nelson, PM MARSHAL Ed Bousquet, PGM, PM HISTORIAN Dale Claypool FACILITIES MANAGER Jean Stevens TRESTLEBOARD / WEBMASTER Neil Mackey L-to-R: Bend Lodge WM Canady, MWB Ed Bousquet, Bend Lodge SW Lee Ransdall and Bend Lodge JW Matt Alexander At the 166th Oregon Grand Lodge Annual Communication, held June 2nd/3rd at the Red Lion convention center in Jantzen Beach, MWB Ed Bousquet received a surprise honoring for 50 years of dedication and service to the Craft...and WHAT service that has been! His presentation was done by MWB John Turner. MWB Bousquet was elected Junior Grand Warden in 2007, Senior Grand Warden in 2008, Deputy Grand Master in 2009 and he served as Oregon Grand Lodge Grand Master in 2010. He is also a two-time Past Master of Bend Lodge, served as District Deputy from 2004-2006, has served as Bend Lodge Secretary, and is the current Oregon Grand Lodge Secretary. MWB Bousquet is also a member of Amaranth, Scottish Rite, York Rite and the Shrine. In addition, he is a member of the Central Oregon Scottish Rite Club and the Central Oregon Shrine Club. Most hearty congratulations, MWB Bousquet...many thanks for your long and dedicated Masonic service!
Approaching the From the East midpoint of the year, the Lodge is active with much to look forward to. Primary in each of our thoughts should be our responsibility to help bring our newest Brothers through the degrees and into the full light of Masonry in as timely of a fashion as possible. In our Stated Meeting this week (June 9th), we will examine Bros. Brasher and Harris on their proficiencies in the lectures of the Master Mason and Fellowcraft Degrees respectively. At that point we will have two Master Mason degrees and one Entered Apprentice degree to put on as soon as possible. WB Ransdall is working on scheduling the MM degrees and Brother Duffy is working on organizing and scheduling the EA degree. Two of these degrees have been in the works for some time so we will be looking at all options to get them scheduled. As everyone is busy this time of year, please do everything possible to make these obligations a priority on your schedule when contacted by degree coordinators. In addition to the two proficiencies on Thursday, we will have the honor of presenting our Historian, WB Dale Claypool, with his 50-Year pin. I hope you will attend the meeting to honor our venerable Brother for his years of service and commitment to our gentle craft. Staying with the busy week theme, the Masonic Yard Sale takes place this Saturday, June 11 th. We will commence with setup at 8:45am at the conclusion of the Weight Watchers meeting. The sale will run until 1:30pm. Please consider holding your own sale in conjunction with the Lodge sale the bigger we make it the more success all involved will enjoy. We are also making the sale available to unaffiliated private parties who would like to take advantage of our high traffic location. We will promote the event, grill up some hot dogs and hamburgers and have some fun getting rid of clutter while making a few bucks. The money you make on your sale is yours to keep, the proceeds from the sale of Lodge items and donations from other participants will go towards the purchase of 28 new bicycles for our Bikes for Books program. Let s join together to make this a great success! Last week saw the 166 th Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge of Oregon. Annual Communications are always special and this year was no different. One unusual feature of this year s session was the surprise honoring of MWB Ed Bousquet for his 50 years of service to the craft. His presentation was done by MWB John Turner and was fun to watch develop as the dawning realization of what was about to take place came over our Most Worshipful Brother. With Grand Lodge slated to take place in Bend in 2017, we will all have another opportunity to take part without having to travel - so put June 1-2, 2017 on your calendar now! We will have a recap of some of the highlights of this year s session on Thursday. Also take note that our Bikes for Books program with area libraries are underway. We delivered six bicycles to the libraries for display over the course of the summer. The remainder of the bicycles to be awarded are either on our Lodge Hall stage now or on their way. These 28 bikes will be given to area kids in early August. Please remember that wives, family members and significant others are always welcome to join us for our pre-meeting dinner. I encourage you to invite them and have them share in some Masonic fraternity. With that said, I look forward to seeing you on Thursday, June 9th! Fraternally, Brian Canady Master Bend and Redmond Lodges team up for dual Fellowcraft degrees left: Bro. Andrew Wilson (Redmond Lodge right: Bro. Trace Harris (Bend Lodge) On May 6th, a dual Fellowcraft degree was held at Bend Lodge. Members of both lodges participated in conferring the FC degree on Bro. Andrew Wilson from Redmond Lodge, and Bro. Trace Harris from Bend Lodge. Page 2
THIS MONTH (JUNE) IN MASONIC HISTORY June 9 June 11 June 13 June 16 June 20 June 23 On this date in 1849, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Delaware was established On this date in 1986, the United Grand Lodge of England required the removal of references to the On this date (or June 12) in 1889, the Grand Lodge of North Dakota was organized On this date in 1821, the Grand Lodge of Alabama was formed On this date in 1812, the Grand Lodge of Louisiana was formed On this date in 1881, Albert G. Mackey, Masonic author and Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite, Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S., died. On this date in 1780, Wolfgang Goethe was initiated in Amalia Lodge in Weimar On this date in 1717, what is referred to as the premiere Grand Lodge was formed in London, at the Goose and Gridiron Ale-house This date is the first entry, for 1731, of a Lodge meeting in the colonies that became the United States, in an account book of St. John's Lodge in Philadelphia June 24 On this date in 1734, Benjamin Franklin became Grand Master of what would be known as the "Moderns" Grand Lodge in Pennsylvania. On this date in 1791, the African Grand Lodge of North America was organized in Boston. It later became the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. On this date in 1797, the second Grand Lodge for African Americans was founded in Philadelphia June 27 June 28 On this date (or June 25) in 1791, the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island was organized On this date in 1901, Warren G. Harding (U.S. President 1921-1923) received his 1st degree in Marion MONTHLY EVENTS AT BEND LODGE 2 ND THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH (except for August): STATED MEETING, 7pm 4 TH THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH (except for August): LODGE TRAINING, 7pm Topic varies from month-to-month From the South Greetings Brethren, It is hard to believe that we are halfway through our Masonic year already. I am grateful for the support and assistance that the officer line has received this year. We could not exist without the participation of our members, our family and our friends! We are staying busy at the lodge and the end of May brought house-cleaning in preparation for this month s Yard Sale on June 11th! I am looking forward to seeing you all for dinner and the Stated Meeting on June 9th! Thank you, Matt Alexander Junior Warden Page 3
From the West June, and the summer pleasures that mark the next three months Our WM, JW, and I just returned from Grand Lodge. Very interesting happenings our Lodge received a prestigious award, some landmark legislation was passed, and a good time was had by all. If you have not attended a Grand Lodge, you need to make sure you attend next year s annual meeting. There will be no excuse for not going as it is in Bend. Make sure you attend our Stated Meeting on June 9 th for all the highlights of this year s GL. We are still trying to schedule several degrees. It seems timing and availability are issues but we are still working hard to get these scheduled. Our beginnings: No one knows exactly when Freemasonry began. The first written reference to Masonry as an organization appeared in 1356 when a Code of Mason Regulations was formally drawn up at the Guildhall in London, England. In 1376, we find information about the London Masons' Company and it is interesting to note its early evolution. According to Grand Lodge, it leased in 1463, some land and buildings for 99 years, and the buildings were converted into the first Masons' Hall. (In the 99th year, it purchased this property outright); in 1472 the company was given a Grant of Arms with the motto "God Is Our Guide," later changed to "In the Lord is all our trust." The Arms, but slightly changed, remain part of the Arms of the United Grand Lodge of England today. The Regius Manuscript is the first known document about Free Masonry. It was first cataloged as "A Manuscript of Moral Duties." It was written about 1390 A.D. and was evidently copied from an older document. It was written in Middle English making it difficult for the non-linguist to decipher. Over the years, several linguists have translated it into modern English. It is said that Athelstan (895-939 AD) was from 925-939, virtually King of all England, according to the Regius Manuscript, called the Masons to meet, and then he gave them "modernized" charges and sent them forth to carry them out. James Anderson said this took place at York, England, in 926. Coil notes that the two earliest documents (the Regius and Cooke) do not mention York, and he believes the date would be closer to 932. Perhaps the best-known portion of the Regius is found in lines 61 to 66, which read: The Craft came into England, as I now say. In the time of good King Athelsant's day, He made them both hall and likewise bower And high Temples of great honor. To dusport him in both day and night, And to worship his god with God with all his might. Source: The Masonic Trowel Remember, Officers meeting the 6 th with Lodge on June 9 th... dinner a 6:00 followed by our meeting at 7:00. See you in Lodge Wm. Lee Ransdall, PM Senior Warden Lodge Etiquette: Walking between the Altar and the Worshipful Master As a courtesy to the Master, it is necessary that the three Great Lights, which shine their eternal light and wisdom upon the Master to help him govern the lodge, should never be in shadow, not even for a millisecond, during the processes of an initiation or degree work. Source: Masonic Lodge of Etiquette Page 4
JUNE, 2016 EVENTS THURSDAY, JUNE 9 TH @ 7:30 pm, BEND LODGE: Master Mason proficiency for Bro. Trace Harris Fellowcraft proficiency for Bro. Scott Brasher SATURDAY, JUNE 11 TH, 9:30-1:30, BEND LODGE Masonic Yard Sale BBQ! CHECK THE TICKER ON THE LODGE WEBSITE FOR LAST-MINUTE ADDITIONS, CANCELLATIONS OR OTHER INFORMATION UPCOMING 2016 EVENTS MASONIC FAMILY BBQ / FIREWORKS: Monday, July 4 th, afternoon/evening MALHEUR CAVE DEGREE: Friday through Sunday, August 26-28 th BASIC SCHOOL OF INSTRUCTION: Date / time to be determined in October VETERAN S DINNER: Date / time to be announced A small Lodge had had a string of bad luck. It was preparing to initiate a candidate on a steamy evening in June and it s air conditioner had stopped working. After sweating their way through part of the work, the Master had asked the candidate what he most desired. The candidate replied, "a beer". At this juncture the WM., being startled, whispered "light " to the candidate. "OK," the candidate replied, "a lite beer." Page 5