December, 2013

This month marks the end of 2013 but also the beginning of the 2014 Masonic year.  The new officers were installed on the 11th with a dinner before the ceremony.  The Worshipful Master has a lot of plans and would like to see as many of the brethren who can come out to some of our meetings.  The lodge hosted a Christmas party on Dec. 7 which was well attended with over 60 there.  Santa even showed up with presents for the children.  I have some photos posted below.

 

 

With the success of the family picnic and the Christmas party we will most likely have them again in 2014.  Also, please remember our inspection coming up on the 22nd of January.  We will be conferring the Fellowcraft degree on one of our candidates we have going through now.  On April 5 there will be another Grand Master's one day class, so if you know of a man you think would be interested in becoming a Freemason contact the secretary or have them go to www.freemason.com for further information.  I hope you had a good Christmas and have a happy new year.

 



Election, 2013

Our stated meeting in November was our election of officers.  WM Pat Cloke agreed to serve as Master again to allow the officers behind him to serve in the chairs next up due to the Senior Warden dropping out of the line.  The entire list of officers is listed in the page Officers 2014 at right.  The spaghetti dinner for the family of Brother Doug Brummett was a success and along with donations from some of the other lodges in the district we can help them put a pretty big dent in the debt they have from Doug's funeral.  The lodge will also be contacting Grand Lodge to see if they can help as well.
The lodge had a visit from a couple of ladies that are descendents of Andrew and Granville Jackson, charter members of our lodge.  They are doing some reserch on their family and asked to take a picture of the charter member pictures hanging on the wall outside the lodge room.  One of them said that the picture of Granville may be the only one of him in existence.  I am glad we could help them in their research.
The planning for our Christmas party on December 7 at 6:00 PM is about complete.  The lodge will supply the main course and the brethren are asked to bring a covered dish and dessert, though that is not necessary to attend.  We will have gifts for the children under 12 and other activities for everyone.  Santa is scheduled to visit with us as well.  If you have any questions and to RSVP please call or text Brother Gene Bell at (513) 310-1969.  We hope you can attend.
The Worshipful Master has scheduled the installation of officers for December 11 at 6:30 PM.  We'll have dinner and have the ceremony after.  It is open so bring your family and friends.
We have the good fortune of having the Journeymen Motorcycle Club as our neighbor in Edenton.  Right now they are raising funds to help a child named Ryder McGriff.  He was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor the size of a softball at 5 weeks old.  He has and will continue to face a lot of surgeries and treatment for this condition for quite some time.  The lodge has donated to this cause and would like to encourage anyone who would like to help to attend a fundraiser sponsored by the Journeymen on December 14 at Roberts Arena, 3991 St. Rt. 730, just outside of Wilmington.  It runs fromm 2:00 PM to 12:00 AM.  The cost is $10.00 a person for food, refreshments, raffles, auctions and entertainment.  Donations can also be made to the Wright-Patterson Credit Union in Wilmington to the Ryder McGriff Fund.  Call Haskel Combs Jr. at 937-402-0454 if you want more information.
Our inspection has been set for January 22nd in the Fellowcraft degree.  Dinner will be at 6:00 PM and the degree will start at 7:00 PM.  We have two candidates that have had the EA degree so we have one we can confer the degree on to help us practice for the inspection.

October, 2013

At our stated meeting we had a Master Mason proficiency returned, giving our old lodge a new member.  We also had one of our recent Entered Apprentices in attendance.  It is great to see new candidates with such enthusiasm.  I would like to remind everyont that dues are due at the stated meeting in November, as well as it being election night.  Also, we need to do a couple of degrees yet this year so we have scheduled a Fellowcraft and a Master Mason degree on November 2 starting at 6:00 PM.  Please come out and be with us.  I would also like to remind the brethren of a couple of dates that are coming up.  There will be a spaghetti dinner to benefit the family of Brother Doug Brummett.  This will be on November 9 from 5-8 PM.  There is no charge but a donation will be greatly appreciated.  Spread the word.  We are also going to have a familyChristmas party on December 7 from 5-8 PM.  This will be a potluck dinner with activities for the children.  I hope to see you there.

September, 2013

The weather did not cooperate and we were forced to have our degree indoors this year. We opened lodge at 10:00 AM and conferred the MM degree on one candidate. We broke for lunch after the lecture and enjoyed a lunch of fried crappie and hot dogs, potato salad, green beans and ham and desserts. We had coffee and donuts left over from before the meeting began. We had our stated meeting after lunch. Some things of note: The benefit spaghetti dinner for WBro. Doug Brummett has been moved to Nov. 9 from 5 to 8 PM at the lodge. The WM also scheduled a Christmas party at the lodge on Dec. 7 from 5 to 8 PM. We will also be conferring 2 EA degrees on Oct.12 starting at 7:00 PM.

August, 2013

I apologize for not updating this blog in July.  Time got away from me.  There are several new items to report from last month and our meeting last night.  Even though it is normal for attendance to be down during the summer we still had 14 at our August meeting.  First of all, the pancake breakfast at Stonelick Lake was our best one yet.  As soon as the bills are sorted out we will be making a donation of some of the proceeds to the Friends of Stonelick to thank them for allowing our lodge to do these breakfasts and help support their efforts to maintain the campground.  Next, the lodge picnic on August 10 was well attended and should become, hopefully, an annual event.  Thanks go out to Bro. Gene Bell for organizing it and Bro. Jeff Stevens for his assistance and to those who helped and attended.  I have attached a few pictures to give an idea of the good time we had.  There were activities for the children, fellowship for the adults and plenty of good food.

 

Based on the success of the picnic the lodge is going to host a Christmas party at the lodge on December 7.  More details will be forthcoming as the date gets closer.  We voted on two petitions and both were accepted.  Since we have our outdoor raising at our stated meeting in September we have decided to confer the Entered Apprentice degrees on both candidates on October 12th at 7:00 PM.  The night before, on October 11 from 5:00 to 8:00 PM there will be a spaghetti supper at the lodge to raise some money to help pay the funeral costs of WBro. Doug Brummett, who was killed in a car accident recently.  Please spread the word. 

That's all I have for now.  Don't forget that the next stated meeting will be at 10:00 AM with a Master Mason degree and the regular business to follow.  If it rains we will meet at the lodge.  I hope to see you there.

 

 

 

June, 2013

For those that may not have heard W.Bro. Doug Brummett passed away.  His Masonic service was on June 8.  He will be missed by all who knew him.  In other news, the lodge sign by the road deteriorated to the point it was hanging on by one bracket.  A couple of the brethren are working on getting a new one made and hung soon.  On August 3 the lodge will have a pancake breakfast at the campground at Stonelick Lake to try and raise a little money for the lodge and the Friends of Stonelick, who do so much to keep the park, especially the campground, looking nice.  We will meet at around 7:30 AM and start serving at 8:00.  We are also going to have a family cookout at the lodge at 2:00 PM on August 10.  The lodge will cook up some burgers and dogs and ask the members to bring a covered dish and a dessert to share.  We will also supply the drinks.  There will be activities for the kids and adults and the lodge will be open if you would like to look around.  If you would like to attend, please contact Bro. Gene Bell at 513-310-1969 so we can get an accurate count.  He will also answer any questions you might have.
At the meeting the lodge presented Brother John McCollum the first lodge Lifetime Acheivement Award in recognition of his long time support of the lodge.  It was also decided that future awards will be named after WBro. McCollum.  I will post a picture when I can get one.
I hope to see you at the next meeting.

May, 2013

I am sorry for the lack of posts but I have been extra busy lately.  This post will bring you up to date on the happenings in our lodge.  First of all, we have a new Master Mason who attended the recent one day class in Cincinnati.  We have two more candidates going through right now.  It looks like we'll be doing degree work this summer. 
On a sad note, we lost Brother Ernie Brummett on May 13.  He was one of those brethren that made an impression as soon as you met him.  He was also responsible for a lot of work done on the lodge building.  He will be missed by us all.
The lodge had an awards and widow's night on May 4.  Even though we had 4 service awards to give out and another award we were only able to present one.  Worshipful Brother Tom Allen received his 40 year award from Worshipful Master Pat Cloke.



 

The stewards and some officer's wives prepared a delicious meal prior to the ceremony.

 
The Worshipful Master also has some plans for family events this summer so stay tuned for further information.  I hope to see you at the next meeting.

March, 2013

I wasn't able to be at the March meeting so I don't have much to report.  We do have a few candidates going through the degrees right now so check back and I'll post the dates for degree work.  Also, let the secretary know if you plan to go to the Grand Master's reception on May 3.  Reservations need to be in by the stated meeting.  See you at the next meeting.

February, 2013

Our inspection is past now and a big congratulations goes out to each of the officers for making it a success.  The inspecting officer had only complimentary words for the lodge and its officers.  The candidate received a fine Entered Apprentice degree.  At our stated meeting it was reported that we lost one of our Past Masters recently.  W. Bro. Earnie Ross Jr. has received that for which he had so long wrought.  Masonic services were held on February 10.  Our condolences go out to his family.  It was also reported that there will be a Grand Master's one day class this year.  It will be on May 11 at the Masonic Temple in Cincinnati.  And as a heads up the lodge will have its annual Awards and Widow's night on May 4 with dinner at 6:00 PM.  There is also going to be a skit presented by the Scottish Rite on Feb. 21 at 7:00 PM.  Hope to see you next month.

January 2013 meeting

At our January meeting we were visited by three brethren from Marathon lodge.  It was nice to have them visit us this evening.  There were several items of business discussed.  The stairlift was removed due to us not being able to procure an extention for it to reach to the bottom landing.  If you know of a worthy use for it contact one of the lodge officers.  We accepted two new petitions and, if all goes well, we will have a candidate for our inspection on February 11.  We remitted several brothers' dues for various reasons.  Come out and be with your brethren at the inspection and at our stated meetings.  You'll be glad you did.