TUCSON LODGE #4, F. & A. M. 3590 N Country Club Road Tucson, Arizona 85716 520-323-2821 TL4SO@hotmail.com www.tucsonlodge4.homestead.com WILL WILKINSON Senior Warden 981-1200 will4az@gmail.com CRAIG GROSS, P.M., Lodge Secretary - 795-3932 cgross12@cox.net JOHN PROKOP Website Editor - 529-2807 jfprokop@comcast.net VOLUME 136 FEBRUARY 2017 NUMBER 2 From The East NICK ANDRESS Worshipful Master 400-9739 nico7a@gmail.com B rethren, The traditions and life-force of our ancient and noble fraternity are threatened by the wonders we have created as a society, for we have crafted the electronic beasts that distract us with brief snippets of entertainment or information, but very little in the way of wisdom. This beast is further strengthened by the changes in our society as more and more of today s generation turn away from religion, the traditional family construct, and the lessons of intellectuals through the millennia in favor of 5-inch screens, social-media, and the prospect of becoming a Silicon Valley mogul. And, while no one can deny that the technological explosion that has overtaken the world in the past years has provided opportunities in communication unimaginable for the thousands of years of our history, we must also note that there is a disconnect from the institutions of yesterday which has resulted in a wireless isolation of the individual mind. There is a difference between being a component in an electronic society and being and ingredient in the recipe of humanity. A component serves a function until the next signal/stimulus is received, but until then, it lies dormant HANNES MEYER Junior Warden 271-8048 hannes@hannesandjoyce.com Feb 1st Feb 2nd Feb 4th Feb 8th Feb 9th Feb 11th Feb 15th Feb 16th Feb 22nd Feb 23rd Feb 25th Feb 2017 Calendar Stated Meeting Dinner 6pm Stated Meeting 7pm Fellowship Breakfast 7am Degree or Practice 7pm George Washington Degree Tucson Scottish Rite 11am-3pm Degree or Practice 7pm Degree or Practice 7pm Rodeo Parade Deadwood Breakfast 11:30am @ Laverna s Coffee Shop DDGM & Grand Line Meeting Phoenix 10am-1pm Please remember to register for the Stated Dinner by contacting the Secretary at 795-3932 or 323-2821, or by email TL4SO@hotmail.com and has no impact upon its surroundings. The ingredient, however, permeates the whole of the recipe and is consistently present at every stage having a purpose and effect during every stage of interaction. Sadly, as today s generations looks down at screens, scroll through 30-second videos, and gaze into the shockcontent of the internet, less time is spent doing what advanced our society for thousands of years looking up. Whether it was to marvel at the moon and stars, to set the stage for the Apollo missions, to aspire to build monuments that stretched to the heavens, or to conceive of God or the possibility of life beyond this world, it appears that looking up and gazing outward seem to have driven us forward with greater success than staring down. Of course we have numerous and marvelous ways to transmit messages in today s electronic world but what are we saying with these tools? My point is that the coming together in fellowship to share experiences while another looks you in the eye and the communications that occur through body language, a handshake, a comforting pat on the shoulder are valuable resources in the continuing growth of not only our humanity, but also our fraternity. Continued... YOUR 2017 DUES ARE NOW PAYABLE. PLEASE CHECK YOUR WALLET.
The true power of the internet has been in making the unknown more visible and more knowable. This is one lesson that we can surely draw from it as Masons, for if our ranks are to grow and our fraternity is to see a Quadricentennial Anniversary, then we must make ourselves more known and more visible. The ranks of our fraternity are shrinking as other distractions, amusements, and the dissipation of individual character and responsibility replace our traditions. We need to refill those ranks and to do so by attracting men of quality---men who are willing to look-up again. Wear your square and compass proudly upon your breast, stretch for your hand with your Masonic ring upon it, and let your character shine forth in your actions when interacting with your fellow man. Let him know that in looking up he can see something real and become a part of it not simply observe. Use the power of this technological age to share the wisdom, experiences, and knowledge that this fraternity has given you, but always welcome a worthy man to step away from his keyboard to share direct fellowship, conversation, and the opportunity to learn the things that can only be learned within the Lodge room and never the chat-room. Let him know that while the world of the internet can hold fame, infamy, and anonymity depending on how it is used, only Masonry can offer centuries of fellowship and tradition in every handshake and that its connectivity relies on nothing but character. Your brother s hand is the most noble of all hand-held devices which never needs an upgrade. -Fraternally, Nick Andress,Worshipful Master SAHUARO HIGH TWELVE #523 Meets every Thursday 8:00AM Village Inn at 6251 N. Oracle Rd. Brethren, From The West The job of Senior Warden requires a lot of planning and sometimes with uncertainty about what will happen even from week to week because we do not have control or knowledge about degree candidates preparation or availability to set up conferrals for degrees. Last month the week after the stated meeting we held two second degree practices on Jan. 11 and 18. WB Hannes Meyer sat in the East for both dates. Practices make a lot of sense to hone and maintain our ritual skills. In the Masonic lodge we all meet on the level. While we all strive to become better men within ourselves internally we live the lesson that we are all equal as Brothers in Freemasonry. We can begin to teach this lesson early in the life to young loved ones using a great book by Dr. Seuss called, The Sneetches and Other Stories, Random House, Inc., New York (1961). In that book Dr. Seuss describes a story about Sneetches who have stars on their bellies, Star- Belly Sneethches, and ones that do not, Plain-Belly Sneetches. One day a technician offers to use a surgical machine to put stars on the Plain-Belly Sneetches. Then when everyone has a star they seem to all be the same. To solve this problem the technician then offers to remove stars from the Star-Belly Sneetches to make them different (in their minds better) again. Finally, one day all the Sneetches learn an important lesson; the same one we teach and practice in Freemasonry. Dr. Seuss describes the Sneetches communal revelation to children this way: The day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches. That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars And whether they had one, or not, upon thars. OLD PUEBLO HIGH TWELVE #773 Meets 2ND & 4TH Fridays 8:00AM Hungry Fox at 4637 E. Broadway The second stated meeting of the year is on February 1, 2017. Degrees, practices or Masonic education offerings will be held on the following three Wednesdays in February depending upon the readiness of our candidates to proceed. I continue to look forward to serving you this year as your Senior Warden. Never hesitate to let me know what I can do to better serve you in the lodge. -William Wilkinson, Senior Warden
From The South Brethren, I just need a generic Thank You card I thought when I stepped into the Walgreens store. The first thing I saw was this long line of cards, all dressed in red or pink. It is about to be Valentine's Day. Just a month ago this aisle had all Christmas cards and decorations. How things changed. I remember before Christmas all the Christmas items were already removed and replaced by Valentine items. The same way I expect this aisle to be cleared before Valentine's Day to make room for the Easter bunnies. After searching I found the Thank You card in a corner among other unsuspicious cards. It seems that we have prescribed expressions of love to a specific season. As Masons we are taught about Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Brotherly Love is not at all a seasonally prescribed thing. It is much more a life attitude. We are living Brotherly Love always and we are not exchanging it with other seasonal sentiments. So when we are going into this time before Valentine s Day and we are scrambling to find the right token of appreciation this year, might we be reminded that the internal trait of Brotherly Love rests as a constant demand within us. Expressing Brotherly Love does not need special gifts or colored tokens. It is the care we have for one another and that does not change over the year. It s Hot in the Kitchen It seems one of our Past Masters went to Heaven and met with St. Peter. He identified himself as a member of the Craft and St. Peter asked, "What Lodge?" Proudly the Master replied, "Simon W Robinson". St. Peter immediately took him to the Masonic Clock Room. Each clock had a Lodge's name on a brass plate and, strangely enough, each clock was at a different time. The Master asked why the clocks were all out of sync. St. Peter informed him that the hands only moved when someone in that Lodge made a mistake in the Ritual. The Past Master then asked where his Lodge's clock was as he couldn't see it. St. Peter replied, "Oh, yours is in the kitchen, of course." "The kitchen?!", asked the Master. "Yes, you see, we needed a new fan." -Hannes Meyer, Junior Warden DEADWOOD LUNCH Past Masters and friends gather on the last Saturday of every month for fellowship at: LAVERNA S COFFEE SHOP, STARTING TIME 11:30 A.M. Deadwood has become a social gathering and tool for the Brothers of our Lodge. The knowledge you pass onto some of our less informed Brethren is priceless. You are the link from the past to the future.
Gaslight Theatre Adventure! After the sell out for the Christmas show, we will be making another pilgrimage to the Gaslight Theatre. This time it is the swashbuckling adventure "Curse of the Pirates Gold". I have 28 tickets for the Saturday, April 29th show. Our tickets are for the 6 PM show and are in the same area as where we were last time. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children will be sold on a first come first serve basis. For questions or reservations, please drop me a note at psimpson130@gmail.com. Paul Simpson, PM Bring family, friends, and anyone interested to our fellowship breakfast on Sat Feb 4th. NAME MASONIC BIRTHDAYS RAISED DAY YEARS ERDMAN JR, LESLIE CARL 1983 3 34 PHILLIPS, RAYMOND A 1968 7 49 HAMMONDS, GREGORY 2016 10 1 MURILLO, STEPHEN MATTHEW 2009 11 8 SEDLMAYR, FLOYD WILLIAM 1964 12 53 GILLILAND, MARK JOSEPH 2013 13 4 CONRAD, ROBERT CHARLES 1978 15 39 VAUGHN, RICHARD DWAYNE 2014 15 3 FULTZ, BRUCE EDWARD 2004 18 13 WARREN, CURTIS LEE 1976 18 41 PARKER, GEORGE CHARLES 2014 19 3 PROKOP, JOHN RUSSELL 1994 19 23 WHITE, JERRY EDDVILLE 1977 19 40 HUMMON, GUY ALBERT 1956 20 61 DERDERIAN, PAUL 1996 21 21 HARBERT, JACK WRAY 2006 22 11 ADAMS, THOMAS AUSTIN 1955 23 62 GULOTTA, LEONARD JOSEPH 1981 25 36 WILSON, ALLAN DEANE 1948 25 69 HAYNIE, THOMAS JAY 2014 26 3 VANDERKOLK, KENT ALLEN 1985 27 32 ANDRESS, NICHOLAS ANTHONY 2012 29 5 REMEMBER TO BRING YOUR BIRTHDAY CARD IN FOR COMPLIMENTARY STATED MEETING DINNER. Weekly specials, Gene s Grits (subject to Gene s Schedule), eggs to order, pancakes, potatoes, biscuits & gravy, and bacon. 7:00 am till 11:00 am
TUCSON LODGE MASONIC FAMILY SCHEDULES Arizona Chapter #2, OES, First & Third Tuesdays... 7:30PM Saguaro Chapter #48 OES, Second & Fourth Mondays... 7:00PM Olana Temple #131, Daughters of the Nile, Third Mondays.... 7:00PM Oasis Court #75, Ladies Oriental Shrine, First Mondays... 7:00PM Bethel #25, Job s Daughters, First & Third Saturdays... 10:00AM Assembly #2, Rainbow Girls, Second & Fourth Tuesdays... 7:00PM For use of the Lodge Building call 795-3932 or send an email to lgross100@cox.net
2017 LODGE OFFICERS Worshipful Master... Nick Andress (Stacey)... (520) 400-9739... nico7a@gmail.com Senior Warden... Will Wilkinson (Laurie)... (520) 981-1200... will4az@gmail.com Junior Warden... Hannes Meyer, PM (Joyce)... (520) 271-8048... hannes@hannesandjoyce.com Treasurer... Gordon Beatty (Teresa)... (520) 731-1174... beattytg@centurylink.net Secretary... Craig Gross, PM (Lynda)... (520) 795-3932... cgross12@cox.net Secretary Emeritus... Bob Conrad, PGM (Jackie)... (520) 748-8627... bjcon1@juno.com Senior Deacon... Marty Jones, PM (Leanne)... (520) 360-7740... emptyjones@aol.com Junior Deacon... Nick Posuniak (Tracy)... (505) 573-2633... nposuniak@gmail.com Senior Steward... Greg Hammonds (Denys)... (719) 330-0997... southernrockysf@yahoo.com Junior Steward... Glen Sampson (Danielle)... (520) 965-4797... gsampson79@gmail.com Marshal... Robert Ribbeck (Mercedes)... (520) 505-9156... bullfrog918@hotmail.com Chaplain... Leigh Creighton, PM (Nancy)... (520) 360-9798...ljcr8n@gmail.com Tyler... Ronald Hill, PM (Linda)... (520) 990-4111... rhill517@concast.net Ritual Advisor... Paul Simpson, PM (Cathy)... (520) 572-7152.... psimpson130@gmail.com Trustee 2017... Marty Jones, PM (Leanne)... (520) 360-7740... emptyjones@aol.com Trustee 2017... Ronald Hill, PM (Linda)... (520) 990-4111... rhill517@concast.net Trustee 2017... Vince Santos, PM (Doreen)... (520) 370-3519... vmsantos@comcast.net Trustee 2018... Gene Wickey (Gloria)... (714) 313-7000... geno1945@aol.com Trustee 2019... Jon Schmidt, PM(Shari)... (520) 465-5485... willowbe99@gmail.com Website Editor... John Prokop (Sharlot)... (520) 529-2807... jfprokop@comcast.net Widow s Assistance... Paul Simpson, PM (Cathy)... (520) 572-7152.... psimpson130@gmail.com Newsletter Editor... Nick Posuniak (Tracy)... (505) 573-2633... nposuniak@gmail.com TUCSON LODGE NO. 4, F. & A. M. 3590 N COUNTRY CLUB ROAD TUCSON, ARIZONA 85716 Ph: 323-2821 Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID TUCSON, ARIZONA PERMIT NO. 400