Post Office Box 821413, Fort Worth, Texas 76182 USA
January, 1999
I hope this letter finds everyone well and full of holiday spirit! The holidays have us all going many different directions. We have gone from the turkey's trot to the "pitter patter" of reindeer and Santa Claus! Before we know it, it will be time to bring in a fresh, new year.
The month of November was very full and exciting. Not only did we have a great stated meeting, but we also had several degrees and a wonderful "Wives' and Widow's Banquet." Many thanks go out to the Terrell family for all the hard work and preparation they put in to the spaghetti dinner. It is always nice to see the wives and widows of Smithfield. The Banquet gives us brethren a chance to show our appreciation and gratitude to our wives and widows for all the support they give us.
Have I mentioned the degree work going on at Smithfield? In the months of November in December, we have had a degree or proficiency every Tuesday and Thursday night. Brethren, if you would like to see or work in a degree, now is the time to come to Smithfield.
I let everyone know at the December Stated Meeting that the Lodge will be dark until Tuesday, January 5. The Tuesday before our Stated Meeting will give us a chance to prepare for the special visit by our District Deputy Grand Master. I know December seems to be a short month, but let's not forget what has happened and what is in store. On December 5, several of us had a great trip to Grand Lodge in Waco. This annual event is always something I look forward to. My favorite memory is the first time I attended. My young looks can be deceiving to some it seems. As Dad and I walked around, several brethren asked Dad if I were really old enough to be a Mason! I guess it's a good thing that Masonry regards men for the internal instead of the external. Brethren, don't forget we are also in the middle of a big fund raiser at Northeast Mall. If you are able to find the time to help, please call Brother Hutcherson who can put you on the schedule. I'd like to see everyone at the January Stated Meeting because I will be scheduling more degrees!
I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday season!
Daryle Hester, W:M:
Brethren,
I hope every one had a good Thanksgiving. For me it was bittersweet. It's only six weeks since my Mother passed away. We had the last big Terrell Thanksgiving before we broke up the contents of the old homestead. All the family and their kids were there.
You might notice a slight difference in the Trestle Board's appearance this month. I am using a different word processing program at home and finally got the Trestle Board converted to use it. I had to miss the November Stated Meeting and spent the evening dodging a cold rain while working on my little pickup truck. I was wet and pretty miserable but I got things fixed up by about 10:30 that evening.
I took a day off from work Friday and went to Waco to attend both days of the Grand Lodge communication. It was very interesting. There was good fellowship anywhere you turned. All you had to do was pick somebody, stick out your hand and introduce yourself. In the conversations that ensued, you met a new Brother and could learn how Masonry works around the state. The business sessions held in the auditorium were a cross between a joint session of Congress, professional wrestling, and a sauna. It was great!
What I meant was that there was a great deal of business conducted and sometimes, as assertive Brothers will do, voices would rise in volume but the harmony of the Grand Lodge was never harmed. The resolutions adopted provide for several changes to Grand Lodge law. First, the annual Grand Lodge communication will once again have a session on Thursday afternoon. The resolution mandated that no business can be conducted during this session, which will be used to conduct the various opening ceremonies and to introduce visiting Brethren. Second, two Grand Master decisions that allow Entered Apprentices and Fellowcrafts to wear aprons to Masonic funerals were codified into Grand Lodge law. Third, the Grand Lodge voted to eliminate the need to have Brethren suspended for non-payment of dues re-investigated. Fourth, the resolution which would have allowed the rapid advancement of E.A.s and F.C.s to Master Mason in a Grand Lodge "festival" setting, replacing memorization proficiency with an educational program failed by a narrow margin. Twelve resolutions were not in proper form and were not considered. In response, the rule requiring the layover of Grand Lodge resolutions was suspended. A resolution was presented and passed that requires the submission of resolutions by May 15th, instead of waiting until September. This will allow the various Grand Lodge committees time to edit the resolutions and work with the submitter to have the resolution in proper form before the September printing date.
The Lodge Internet website continues to draw interest. The site has now been visited over 2,000 times since I installed the counter last April. In contrast, the Grand Lodge website is viewed over 4,000 times per month. While our site is not very large in the grand scheme of things, it is one small candle adding to the light available in the world.
David Terrell
Dear Brethren,
The Grand Lodge provides for two ways to be exempt from dues.
The first is a "Life Membership" which may be granted to a member of the Lodge in recognition of many years of distinguished service. A Lodge can only grant one Life Membership during any consecutive three-year period. Life Members are exempted from paying dues but the Lodge is still responsible for paying the Grand Lodge per capita contribution in behalf of these Brethren.
The second is the "Endowed Membership" which can be purchased by or for an individual Brother for $500. Endowed members are exempt from dues during their life. The Endowment Fund is managed by Grand Lodge to pay a perpetual return to the Lodge each year. The program is a very good idea for younger Masons.
Brethren, it's getting close to the Holidays. I wish all of you and your families a Merry Christmas and a safe New Year.
Rickey Levings
Brother David W. Myers, Treasurer, did not provide an article.
Brethren,
The Holidays have come and gone. I hope that you and yours had a wonderful Holiday season.
Now it is time for us to get to work. The District Deputy Grand Master, Michael Elliot from Fort Worth Lodge #148, will be in attendance at the stated meeting to make his official visit. Make time to attend, and support Brother Daryle.
We will, once again, have the first day of the Stock Show. We will man the Masonic Booth, and need at least nine members to be in attendance during that first Friday. If you have not joined us in this service, please contact Brother Daryle or me. We need you to participate in this endeavor.
The Grand Master's regional conference will be held on January 16, 1999. It will be held at the Masonic Temple downtown. The registration will begin at 7:30 a.m., donuts and coffee will be furnished. The conference will begin at 9:00 a.m. and will be over at 11:00. A lunch will be served after the meeting. We need at least nine officers, or a total of twenty members, present in order to qualify for the attendance award.
We had a good Grand Lodge meeting this year. MWGM Mike Gower is off and running. He was at Riverside Lodge, as they honored Past Masters on December11, 1999. R:W: Michael Nanny was elected to the office of Grand Junior Warden. Brother Richard Opperman lost out to the R:W: Joe Regian, PGM for the position on the Board of Directors at the Home and School. Milton Drumm was elected to the Committee on Work. None of the resolutions dealing with major changes passed. That recommendation dealing with investigations for non-payment of dues was amended and approved. Now, members suspended NPD can pay the last good year, and the present years' dues, and be automatically reinstated without an investigation.
Let me thank those who donated their time to man the door at the mall. This project allowed our Lodge to acquire some money to fund programs at the Lodge. Good work, guys.
Dues are coming in very nicely, but if the time has crept up on you, and you have not sent in your dues, please do so soon. Let's not suspend anyone this year for non-payment of dues.
Last, but not least, we need to know your feelings concerning the Trestle Board. It costs about $115.00 per month to print and mail the paper. Some question its worth. Do you read it? Do you think it is worth the price? Please let us know. We like to send it, but do you like to receive it? Call, write, or tell one of the officers what you think. It is your paper.
Fraternally Yours,
B.R. Campbell, Secretary
January 7 -- Stated Meeting 7:30 PM
January 16 - Grand Master's Conference 9:00AM
March 19 -- Grand Master's Official Visit and Dinner (Brother Terrell has Tickets $10)
The following brethren will observe their Masonic Birthdays in January. They were raised to the sublime Degree of Master Mason during this month.
John D. Barrett 01-28-65 Frankie L. England 01-12-67 Richard P. Franklin, Jr. 01-15-98 John P. Franks 01-24-54 Larry M. Greeney 01-09-68 Harry E. Hampton 01-17-50 Don R. Hawkins PM 01-28-55 James A. Hobbs 01-11-75 James B. Hutcherson PM 01-09-52 Bobbie J. Lambert 01-30-64 Keith R. Lindsay 01-10-53 Joe F. Loudermilk 01-18-72 Wesley O. Mitchell 01-21-95 Joe D. Montoya 01-11-96 Michael W. Morrow 01-25-73 Eddy D. Patterson 01-23-97 Johnny P. Pineda 01-23-74 John M. Powell 01-08-91 James D. Reynolds 01-25-79 Malcolm R. Shepherd, Jr. 01-24-77 Bobby J. Steele 01-22-55 Harold L. Trammell, Jr. 01-25-72 Bobby R. Tyre 01-15-59
Congratulations Brethren!
Hello, all.
I would like to let you know how a non-Masonic (but very interested) researcher views these issues:
1. Regarding "one day" or "communicating" without "conferring" -- It is neither historically nor spiritually based (or very useful) to allow the student to be moved through phases of development without true and personal comprehension. If Masonry represents in any way the personal transformation of the student's character, it must be paced on an individual basis. A particular student may be ready and able to master the height and depth of a degree, but certainly not everyone in the same general way.
2. Rather than the (to me) clear issues of racial or gender acceptance, I consider the major issue of Masonry to be the understanding of how the various beliefs and symbols of God can be unified in our understanding. Unfortunately, the rituals can be both disturbing and misleading. It is difficult for an intelligent and thoughtful person to reconcile the apparently antithetical forms found within particular systems. It seems to me that the goal is to understand how God is to be found in all aspects but is not to be limited by any. This has been and continues to be very hard for me.
In some strange way you could say that the very pieces that jar the most are the ones that claim my attention. Without friction there is no purchase, without shadow there is no perspective, and without form there is no reflection.
My opinion, of course.
Ellen P. Rand
I am a collector of Masonic books. In one of the books that I purchased, tucked away in the pages, was a newspaper clipping from the Jacksonville Journal of Jacksonville Illinois, dated March 28, 1924, entitled a REMARKABLE INCIDENT, which they reprinted from the Philadelphia Age magazine, which was a Masonic publication at that time.
The first Masonic funeral that ever occurred in California took place in 1849 and was performed over a brother found in the Bay of San Francisco. An account of the ceremony states that on the body of the deceased was found the silver mark of a Mason, upon which were engraved the initials of his name. A little further investigation showed to the beholder, the most singular exhibition of Masonic emblem's ever drawn by the ingenuity of man upon the human skin.
There is nothing in the history or tradition of Freemasonry equal to it. Beautifully dotted on his left arm, in red ink, which time could not efface, appeared all the entire apprenticeship. There was the holy Bible, square and compass, the 24-inch gauge and common gavel. There were also the mosaic pavement, representing the ground for a King Solomon's Temple, the indented tessle surrounding it, and the blazing star in the center. On his right arm, and artistically executed in the same indelible liquid, were it the emblems pertaining to the fellow-craft degree, the Square, the level and the plumb.
There were also the five columns representing the five orders of architecture, the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian and Composite. In removing the garments from the body, the trowel presented itself, with all the other tools of operative Masonry.
Over the heart was the pot of incense. On other parts of the body were the bee hive, the book of constitutions guarded by the Tyler's sword, the Tyler's sword pointing to a naked heart, the anchor and the hour glass, the scythe, the 47th problem of Euclid, the sun, Moon, stars and comets, the three steps, which are emblematic of the stages of youth, manhood and old age.
Admirably executed was the figure of the weeping virgin reclining upon a broken column, upon which lay the book of constitutions. In her right hand she held the pot of the incense, the Masonic emblem of a pure heart, and in her left hand, a sprig of acacia, an emblem of the immortality of the soul. Immediately beneath her stood the white winged Time with his scythe by his side, which cuts the brittle threat of life, and the hour glass at his feet which is ever reminding us that life is withering away. The withered and attenuated fingers of the destroyer were placed amid the long and flowing ringlets of the disconsolate mourner.
These were striking emblems of mortality blended in the pictorial representation. It was a spectacle such as Mason's never before saw, and in all probabilities such as the fraternity will never witness again. The Brothers name was never ascertained.
Fraternally,
Harvey C. Mayhill, PM,
Anaheim Azure Lodge #207,
Anaheim, California
Send your questions or comments to: David G. Terrell (smithfield455@fwst.net)