THE PENNSYLVANIA FREEMASON
Issued Every Three Months By The Right Worshipfu l Grand Lodge o The Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction The r eunto Belonging, through its
COMMITIEE ON MASONIC CULTURE- William E. Yeager, Past Grand Master, Chairman; William E Montgomery, G. Edward Elwell, Jr Fro nk R". Leech, Willi a m A. Carpenter, Charles A. Young and Ashby B Paul.
APPROVED AND AUTHORIZED TO BE PRINTED BY CHARLES H NITSC H
Right Worship ful Grand Master
WILLIAM A. CARPENTER, Ed ito r
Mailing Address: The Ma sonic Temple, Broad an d Fil bert Streets, Philadelphia 7, Po
Vol. III February 1956 No. 1
Annual Address Highlights of R W. Past Grand Master Lehr
In his Annual Addr ess as R. W. Grand Master, Brother Ralph M. Lehr cited th e prog· r ess in mem bership (with about 9,000 candida tes initiate d during the past ye ar) to an "all-time hi g h " of approximately 252 ,400 Master Maso n s Refere n ce was made to his having cau sed George M. Leader Governor of the Commonwealth, to be made a Ma son at sight at York, P a , on March 3, 1955. One new Lodge was cons tituted- Penn-Morri s Lodge, No. 778, Morri sville, Pa. , on January 29, 1955.
Bro th e r Lehr s t a te d that two years ago he had outlined an ambitious and cons tructive program, of whi ch some pro jec t s are co mplete, so m e in process, and some not ye t s tarted but with plans in th e making .He bel ieved this " to ha ve been th e busiest t wo years s ince the turn of th e cen tury "
At the Maso ni c Hom es, Eli za bethtown, Pa., des ignated b y Brother Lehr as " the heart of Pennsylva ni a Free maso nr y," wo rk is progressing satisfactorily. Th e utilit y tunnel is nearin g completion ; the work on the new wing of the h ospital is scheduled to be completed in th e near future and imm ediat ely the r eafter, th e renovation of th e old section will be undert aken; and on November 26 , 1955 , the corner· s tone o f the n ew Re creation Building and Lodge Hall was laid With reference to the work at th e Homes, h e r epo rted the gran t of $120 ,500 from the Ford Foundation for use at th e hos pital.
From an admini st rative s tandpoint, amendm e nts to th e Ahiman Rezon were mentioned pro v iding for additional n ecessar y rev enue and for a Childre n 's Service Committee. Re ference was made to th e Pennsylvania Maso n Juv enil e Court Ins titute h eld in Pitts burgh, Novem ber 27, 1955 to D ecemb er 3, 1955 , at which time Brother Ro scoe Pound, Dean Emeritus of Harvard Law Schoo l and note d Mas onic Philosopher, was the closi ng speaker. Broth er Lehr recomm e nd ed that ser ious cons iderati on be given t o a plan for providing alternates for Representatives in Grand Lodge
in order th at a greater proportion of th e L odges ma y at all tim es be prope rl y re prese nte d du rin g the va ri ous Communications
Lodge No. 9 of Philadelp hi a Celebrates 175 th Anniversary
Back in 17 98, Lodge No 9 of Philadelph ia, "con tri buted to Gran d Lodge t en g uineas for bu ildin g a d is pen sary to whi ch th e Lodge was given perpetual r ights to se nd t wo pati ents." And 157 yea r s l ater in what more fitting wa y cou ld this venerable Lodge m ark i t s 175th Anni ve rsary th a n by d o na ting S5,000 t o Grand Lodge t o be used for esta blis hing a genera l di spensary in th e H ospit al at Elizabethtown?
And when the di s pensary is well und er way, Lodge No. 9 has p r omised to contribute ano th er S5,000 for this worthw hil e project, and expec ts to d ona te ann ua ll y approx imat ely $2,00 0 fo r the maintenance of t his dispensary. When Br other T Ha rriso n Gibso n of Lodge No.9 di ed , h e left a Tru st Fund , so me of the proceeds of whic h ar e wisely being used as outlin ed above In th e near future a bro n ze plaque wi ll be unveiled to th e memor y of this de ceased Bro th er Lodge No. 9 was granted its Warrant on July 27, 1780 and on the following August 3rd , its Warrant Office r s were in s talled. Lodge N o.9 wa s one of th e first to have "esta bli s h ed a fund for the r elief of indige nt and dis t ressed Ma so n s . " From th en un t il t oda y this Lodge has " di s pensed c h ari t y libe rall y and ge nerou sy." This i s Masonry at its best Brother Jo e l Carve r wh o prepa r ed the Historical R esume, presented at th e recent celebra ti on , ind ica t es th a t Lodge No. 9 i s on e of th e few ea rl y Lodges wh i ch d id not ha ve "gaps o f fro m t wo t o tw e nty- three yea rs when the y ceased l abor for so me reason or o th er, s howing Lodge No.9 h as a contin u ous r ecord."
Broth er Ralph M. Le hr , then R. W. Grand Ma s t er, ma de an official visitation and delive r ed an ins piring addr ess at th eir 175th Anniv er sar y Banquet.
The Pennsylvania Mason Juvenile Court Institute
Under the au s pi ces of th e Children 's Ser vice Committee of th e R W. Grand Lodge of Ma so n s of P e nnsylva ni a, th e first sess ion of a juvenile court ins titute ever held was conducted in Pitts burgh at th e Ju venile Court of Allegh e n y County from November 2 7 to Decembe r 3, 19 55 . As the sess ions continue several tim es a yea r it is h oped that the I nstitute, known as th e P e nnsy lvania Mas on Ju veni le Co urt In stitute, may d o for the e motio nall y crippled child , r ega rdl ess of r ace, creed or color, wh a t th e Shriners' Crippled Children' s Hos pitals a lread y do so magnificentl y for the physically c rippl ed child. The Ins titute develoyed in respon se to an urg ent and fundam e nts need t o h elp juvenile court judges-as k ey publi c officials in their communiti es-to be tte r se rve the mor e than 1,000,000 unhappy, bewi ldered, dis turb ed boys and girls who, e ac h year, throng the
j u ve nile co ur ts o f Am erica. Th ese you ng peopl e a re a part- a la rge part- o f o ur great es t n a twn al r eso ur ce for the fu t u re-ou r junior c i t izens. It s the j u venile cour t wh ich is d es gned t o act as a parent wo uld or should, to salvage th em f r om a life o f crime in · their more mature yea rs. It is the ju ve nile co ur t which the public calls upon to correct and to gu ide these t roub led yo un g people into a l ife of us e ful ness and , a t the sam e time , t o prote c t the commun i ty a nd to assure its f utur e T re men do us as is th e c h a llenge as we ll as th e respon si bilit y of the jlll-e nil e co urt judge, n e it her in law sc h oo l n o r in hi s pre v io us
privat e pr act ice is h e like l y to ha ve had any ex pe ri e n ce in wo rkin rr wi th children in trouble before th e law In th e adult fiel d th e pr oced u res are of a trial or adversary na tur e in wh ic h th e j udge ac ts largely as um pire. In the childre n 's field, he is dir ec ted to mak e an inquiry, as a parent would, to find ou t how bes t to cor r ect the indiv idu al child In stead o f ac ti ng as though b lin dfo lded, h e is to p ut into pra c tice th e universal experience of par e nts a nd others that no two chi ldre n a r e alike but that each h as h is own per so nalit y, so th at the proce dur e in a juvenile court mu st be personali zed to be e ffe cti ve
It is in th e Instit ute that a small group of j ud ges come t oge th er to make a cl ini ca l s tud y of a Cou rt wh ich dev otes all its time to c hi l dr en's work. Li vi ng toae the r during the week, the y consu lt with ot h e r and listen to , and consu l t wi th , o ut s t andi ng leaders in relating and in te rlacing fields. St im ulated and inform ed by th ese exceptional opp ortunities and conta cts, they r e turn home , pe rsonall y better abl e to mee t the ir uni que , offi cial r e · spo nsibilities to trouble d c hildren. As the ben efits of th e I nsti tut e spread more and mo r e ove r the cou ntr y, each juvenile co urt may, in effect, become a "hospital," coordina ting an d fo cus ing in a respons ibl e, judi cial way,_ comm unit y r eso urc es for th e emotionall y cn ppled chil d.
Answe rin g the announce men t of th e firs t sess ion of the Penns ylvania Ma so n Ju ve nil e Court In stitu te, more than 100 judges indicated th e ir des ire t o a tt end . Twenty ju dges were selec t ed an d participa t ed, beco min g the first Fellows of th e Ins titute These 20 judges, Pro t es tant, Catholic an d J ew is h, came from 14 diffe r ent sta t es an d were represe ntative of America and of our ocal commun ities, arge a nd s mall.
In the words of one o f th e Fello ws the H ono rabl e Hugh Re id, Judge of the Juve nile and Dom es tic R elatio ns Court of Arlington County, Vir gini a, and th e _Past Grand Maste r of t h e Grand Lodge of V1rgm1a: "This may be mo r e tha n jus t an Ins titute that yo u h ave s tarted. It may be getting the Fraternit y back toward th e ideals of its founding fathers .. "
The P en n syl vania Maso n J uvenile Court I nstitute is a ta n gible way to pro ve tiv e inter es t in co mb a ting th e alarmmg problems of juvenile d elinqu ency and of di stu rbe d you th in our tr oubled times. I t into practice o n th e hi gh es t plai_Ie th e. prmciples of broth erl y love, be n e fittmg childre n re ga rdl ess of race, cr eed or colo r. In so doing, it s treng th e n s public se r vice and de mo cr acy itself. The seco nd sess ion of the Ins ti tute will be held Ma y 6-ll, 1956.
FREEMASON
VOLUME III FEBRUARY • 1956 NUMBER 1
A Message from Our Grand Master
I T IS WITH m in gled emo t ions tha t I address you for the fir s t time as Grand Mas ter. In th e fi rs t p lace, ther e is a d eep feel in g of gratitude t o you, my Brethren, for th is, th e hi gh es t h onor wi thin yo ur po we r to bestow. Since my elec ti on to thi s exal ted office on December 7th, I have r eceived man y co mmunica tions from my Brethren exp re ssing th ei r faith in me. Th is touches me d ee pl y and I am in dee d gr a teful. I am g ra te fu l for th e m a n y ac t s of kindn ess s h o wn me b y my pred ecessor, P as t Grand Mas t er , Brother R alp h M Le hr, whose advice an d cou nse l will se rve me well during m y term of offi ce I am conscious and deepl y concerned wi th the magnitude of th e t ask be fore m e, th e high tru st whi c h th e office imposes, it s great respo n s ib iliti es, an d I ha ve man y misgivings wh e n I r ea lize my own inadequa cy However, th ere is comfort in th e r ea l ization that th e task is not for me alo n e No man can assume h e has the combined knowledge, ta le nts and ab ilities of his associa t es, a nd if he sho uld thi nk so h e s urely wou ld be doomed to fa ilur e. Ther e is an unlimited amou n t o f talent avai labl e t o the Gran d Mas t er and I am comforted in the kn ow ledge th a t thi s tal e nt is hi s fo r the aski ng. Therefor e, wi th your s upport , yo ur advice, your counsel an d, yes , your criti cism mu ch ca n be accomp li s hed. It would be unseemly fo r me t o pred ict what I h ope t o d o. There are, h owever, so m e things of which I would li ke t o sp ea k a nd in these mat t er s yo u ca n be of great help.
I fear we re cite in our ritua ls the beauti ful lessons of Free mas onry ra th er easi ly and gli b ly But do we prac ti ce th ese lessons in our dail y l i ves? Ar e we as tolerant t owa rd our f ellow m en as we are taught t o be?
I ha ve al ways believe d that th e bas ic l esson of Fr eema son r y s th e si mple philo sop h y of teaching m e n h ow t o ge t along with each othe r just a little better. Le t u s be mind f ul of the h er itage o f Freemasonry. It s a pr oud Order and its influence fo r good s hou ld be fe lt eve r ywhere. Le t Freemas onry be deepl y root ed in ou r li ves
We have in o ur Jur isdi c ti on 585 L odges The sma ll es t h as 49 members an d the larges t 2051. Th e average me mb ersh ip is 426. I ha ve found in th e smaller Lodges grea t er oppo rtunit ies for personal inter es t in eac h indi vi dual memb er so th at a new membe r is not lost in th e Lodge .
We have 14 Lodges whose members hip is over 1000 How can a member learn to know hi s brethren intim ately? No t all members, o f cou r se, will asp ire to office. Ye t each broth er mu s t be made t o feel th a t h e is an importan t member of our Fraternity an d to realize th a t h is influence as a Mason mus t be fe lt in and o ut of th e Lodge. Her e the re co mmenders h ave a vi tal duty. Th e mere s ign ing o f a pe tition is not th e e nd of th ei r res p o ns ib ility. They are the fri ends who introd u ced hi m to Freem aso nr y Th ey s hould pave th e wa y for n ew frien dsh ips and a f ulle r unde rs t anding of Fre em aso nry.
(Exc e rpts from addre ss delivered at the A nnu.al C r and Co mmuni cation Dec e mber 27, 1955)
The Freemasons o f Philadelph ia ha ve p le dged th emsel ves to ra ise, b y perso nal s ubscript ion, $500,000 a s th ei r c ont ri b utio n to th e Ho s pi tal Extens io n. To date, Brother Morris Ruberg, Secr e tary o f th e Philadelphi a Commi tt ee, has turned ove r to th e Grand Secretary $440 ,000 against th e $500,000 pledged. For thi s ha ndso me su m of m o n ey we are s incerely g rat eful a nd tru s t that, in the n ear fu ture, the Philadelphia Maso ns will go well ove r th e minimum of $500,000 January 17, 1956 will be th e 250th a nni versary of th e birth of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin beli eved th a t m a n 's g rea tes t se r vice t o m a n was the fr ee and volun t ary co mmun ica ti o n of ideas. Without suc h an exc hange among pe oples th e re co uld be no wisdom, n o fr ee dom, n o unders ta n di ng, no peace. All of his life was l ived in that pattern. Indiv id u a l fr eedo m and equality we r e th e co rn e rs t ones of Frank lin 's Ri ghts of Man. T h e great Mason ic Fraternity cr ed i ts him wi th ha vi ng h e lped it to change it s course from a " club" fo r th e wea lth y to m embership for a ll classes
Th e Freemasons of Pennsylvan ia s h ou ld be justly proud of F ra nklin 's activit y in our Grand Lodge whic h h e served as Grand Mas t er in 1734 In th e Dece mb e r 1955 iss ue o f th e Pennsyl vania Free maso n, o ur Lib rari an a nd Curator, Brot h er William J. P aterson, has writte n an int er es tin g an d factua l a rticl e about this grea t Amer ica n , titled " Benj amin Franklin, The Freemaso n " It i s my suggestion hat each Lodge in our Jurisdi c tion se t aside a m ee ting during the yea•· 1956 in m e mory of Bro th er Benjamin s o that we may pay appt·opriate honor to this gt·eat Mason.
I n m y efforts to fill the office of Grand Mas ter I s hall be most humbl e I know m is takes may be made, but I a ss ur e yo u they wi ll not be er rors of the h ea rt. I take co nsolation fr om a s t a t em en t ma de by Dr. Charles Kette ri ng, the emin ent Vi ce Pres ident and Dir ector of R esearch of General Moto rs Corporation . He sa id "A man will not st umbl e unless he is movin g forward."
On e does n ot need to be a theologian to kno w that th e person wh o would keep sa n e, happ y and balanced und er th e ex tr e me stress of mod ern l iving m us t enjoy a n active partnership with a P ower th a t is higher th an himself" Lo rd in hi s ra ce that we call life; Loacle d with trouble; pock-marke d with strife ; W e ask n o adva ntage; no h ea d s tart; Ju st g ran t u.s the boon of an Educate d H e art."
CHARLES H. NITSCH, Grand Master
Corner-stone Ceremonie s
Conducted at Homes for New
R ec r eation
Building and Lodge Hall
Anothe r me mora ble fo r ward s t ep i n th e development of the Maso n ic H om es a t E iza bethtown took place on Novem ber 26, 1955 wh en R. W. P ast Grand l\1laste r , Brothe r Ralp h M Le h r , ass iste d by other Grand Lodge Offic ers, laid the corne r -ston e of the R ecreation Building and Lodge H al l.
The ente rt ain ment and recreation of our gues t s at E lizabethtown h as always bee n of utm ost imp ortance si n ce the ope ning of the H omes in 1910. When thi s imposing Got hi c structure is ded i cat ed ea rl y nex t yea r the Recrea ti on Buil ding w th i ts au di torium sea ting 500 will adequat e ly prov ide the fac ili ties for th e above purposes fo r bo t h gu ests and empl oye e s, while th e new Lodge H all accommodating 250 will be a va ilab le for the u se of a ll Maso n s thr oughout the jurisd ic tio n for s pec ial Masoni c and com m em orative eve nts
R. W P ast Grand Master Geo rge H. D eike delivered the p ri ncipal ad dr ess in the Grand Lodge H a ll after th e c.orner-s tone had bee n set in place. He trac ed the impo rt a n t s teps in the gro wt h of th e Masonic H omes from i s humb le beginning, not onl y pointing ou t th e ever incr eas ing num ber of beauti ful s tru c tur es but also t he acco mpan y ing steps taken t o in s ur e th e com fo rt, e n j oyme nt a nd sa tis fa c ti on of ou r g u est s
Br oth e r D eik e poi n ted out th e t remendous amount of work r eq u ired to make p oss ibl e t his l a t est add it ion to t h e H omes es p eciall y the vol uminou s st udi es of Brothe r H en r yS Bornem a n form er Gene r al Counsel for Grand Lodge.
Br oth e r De ike commented " I is deeply o be r eg r e tted that Bro th er Borneman did n ot li ve l ong_ eno ugh to enjoy the reali za tion of h is ye ars of e ffor t along th e line s which this ceremon y to-day will exe m p li fy."
Br oth e r D e ike me n ti oned th a t the requi r ed fi na n cing will be "pa id o ut of bequests, gifts a nd fund s in the ha nds of the Grand Lodge. "
" Th e mos t im portant one o f thes e be q ues s alloca ted in con n ection wit h th is n ew b uildin g was th at magnifi ce nt gift fr om Bro th er Wats o n K. Allcott . I n hi s legacy he gave ins tru c tion s that hi s be n efice nt gif t be u sed f or the p urposes for w hi c h t hi s bu ilding i s des ign ed."
" Th e Recrea ti o n Bu ild in g and Lo dge Hall , when complete d will bear th e n a me o f thi s be loved benefac or It wi ll be kn own a nd des ignate d as the Wa t so n K. All cot t M e morial Buildin g "
" Th e n ames of t h e ot h er dono rs w ill be in scr ib ed in s ui tab le e m blems and tablets, ther eby in dicati ng tha all w h o mad e these beque s t s would ha ve a pa r t in a n d be properly h o n ored in thi s M em orial. "
S peaking of th e b uildi ng itself, Brothe r D eike sa id "Alt hou g h in form , material s a n d t ex t ures i t h armon izes wi th the existing ins tituti onal s truc tu re s, it w ill enhance an d enno bl e th ese.
I ts attenu at e d class ic an d emp h atic lines and forms will ad d a new an d ns p ir ing scope to the t otal com pos iti o n. T he n ew gables r eflec t a nd echo th ose of the Grand Lodge H all , bu t their n ew dimens ions add lus ter an d distinction to t h e w h ole."
" The in t ernal funct ional scheme h as been based on the co n ce pt of the eas ies an d most dire ct circu lation to the var ious elements, wi thout the ne cess ity of climbing steps Th e l a test and m os t m ode rn mecha ni cal systems have been p r ovided fo r th e ideal f un ction of th e va r ious co mp one nts as we ll as fo r the grea tes t comfort a n d we ll- bei ng of the occ upants."
"The Lodge H all its elf is founded on the basic pri n ci ples of architec ture a nd geometry
The s impli ci ty of the pyr ami dal and triangular form , east t o west ri s ing in splend id and inspiring proportions; ra ti onal not bombas tic; ex ube ra nt and yet m odes t. I ts loft y interior wi ll achieve monumentalit y b y its esse n ce of si mplic ity, a n d i t s st rong vertica l lines and cedar pan elling.""
"From th e west, th e Lodge H all will see m li ke a t ree of stone and colored glass , rising from th e ground wi th stone tra ce r y tr unks and b ranc h es, its main s tr ucture float ing o ver blue ceram ic tile and glass "
I n closing, Bro th er D eike remar ked that
"All the thinking a nd planning thr ough o ut the yea r s si nce 1910 will be fo u nd inco r pora ted in thi s beautiful ad dition to Grand Lodge H a ll. "
"W h e n com plete d i t will g ive u nbound ed pleas ure and e nt erta i nmen t t o the g u es ts for whose be n efi t it is being e rec ted ."
" I t will become a fi tting m e morial to all those d onors wh ose beq ues ts an d ge n e r os ity have m ade it possible "
" Eac h a nd every m embe r of th e s ubo r dinate Lodges in this Gr and J u r is di c ti on of Pennsy lva ni a w ill tak e great p ride a nd j u s tifiab le pleas ur e in th a whi ch is being d o n e here today a n d in th e building which is to d gn ify t h is beautiful se tt ing and wh ich will add i mmeas urabl y t o it s s urroundings. "
Harrisburg Dedicates Spacious Cathedral and Mason ic Temple
T h e dedica tion of th e new Scottish Rit e Cathedral an d Masonic Tem ple in Harr is burg o n Novembe r 17, 19 55 mar ked th e beginn in g of a new epoch in th e annal s of Free maso nr y in tha t h stor ic part of ou r Commo n wealth. Now for the fi rst time H a rr is burg trul y has a magn ificent Maso n ic Ce nt er w ith th e Sco tti s h R ite Cat hedra l and Maso n ic Temp le a dj oining th e Zembo Mos que. Th e n ew s tructur e s the h o me of the five H ar r is burg Blue Lodges a nd th e York Ri te bodies along with th e Scottish Rite Bodi es in th e Va ll ey of H a rr s b u r g, whi le th e adjacen t M osque ho u ses Zembo Temple and Forest No . 4-3 of the Tall Cedars of Leban on. T hu s a dream of many y ears has fi nally b ecome a real ity .
The Ca thedral located in the beauti ful Rive rs ide section of H arrisburg wit h th e R ose Garden to the s outh a nd Italian La ke t o th e north was erected a n d furni s h ed a t a cos t o f approx imate ly 3 1,500,000 The s pacious st ruc ture is approxima tely 340 f ee t l ong a nd 160 fee t w ide on a p lo t 400 by 450 feet. Amp le parking s pac e i s avai la bl e alo n gsi de th e bu ild ing. T wo large Lodge R ooms a nd a Mas onic Sch ool Ro om with t he associa ted Secr etary's offices an d other room s a re loca t ed on t he second floor, wh ile the Scottish R i te A udit ori um seati ng over 1200 with its mam m ot h s t age i s on the fi rst floor, a long w ith th e Scottis h Rite offices, an d an immense Ball R oom in which mo r e than 10 00 ca n be se r ved at one ti me Ample k itche n facilit ies and recreationa l r oom s are al so o n thi s fl oo r.
On the gr oun d floor are located thr ee o th er dining roo ms, with th eir own k itche n. A so other meeting room s are on thi s flo o r as well as the dressing roo ms asso cia t ed with the stage The entire b ui ldi ng is fu ll y air-con di tio n ed Th e ded ication se rv ices a ttr ac ted one o f the largest gr oups of Masonic di gnita rie s eve r assemb ed in this part of t he Countr y Scottish Ri te Offi cia ls fr om both the No rth ern a nd Southern Mas onic J u ri s dict o n s as well as Canada were i n attendance wh ile ou r elective and app oin t ive Grand Lodge Offic ers as well as all our l iv ing P as t Grand Masters we r e prese nt. The Scot tish Rit e Cath e dr al was dedi ca ed by Br ot h er George E. Bushnell, Sovere ign Gra n d Commander o f th e Northern Maso ni c J uris d iction, and hi s Offi cers in a n im pressive ce r emony he ld in t he a udit o rium. Broth ers Scot t S. Leiby, D ep u ty fo r the Di s tr ic t of Pe nn sylvania , R ic h ard A. K e rn an d William E. Yeage r Active Me mbers of th e Su preme Counc il , a ll R. W. P ast Gr and Maste r s, an d Bro th er R alph M. Le hr , R. W. Grand Ma s t e r , t ook a p r ominent pa rt in this ceremony.
The Masonic Te mpl e portion o f th e b uildin g was th en dedicated by ou r R. W. G rand M as te r R al ph M Le hr and th e Gr and Lodge Officers in accordance w ith th e d ign ified ri tua l presc r ibed by th e Ahi man R ezo n i n th e Blu e R oo m wh ic h was fill ed to capacity. After the dedic ato r y ceremon ies in th e af te rno on, dinner was se r ved to c ose to 4000 Mas ons in the M osque, w ith Brothers RalpH M. Lehr and George E. Bus hn e ll de li ver in g the principal addresses. Brother Sco tt S. Leiby ac t ed as t oas tmaste r and greetings fro m the S up r eme Co un ci l of Canada we r e pr ese nt ed by Brother Clare n ce McC. Pitts, Pa s t Sovere ign Grand Commander, an d from th e So uthe rn S u p r eme Co un cil by Broth er Luth er A. Sm ith, Sovereign Gr a n d Commander.
Th e f ormer Scottis h R ite Cathedral at Capital and Third S tre e ts whic h had been the home for th e Sco ttish Ri te bodies for 60 yea r s h as bee n s o ld t o the S tate and will eve n t ua ll y be raz ed as part of t he Capita l Par k Exten s i on Plan. The f or mer Mas oni c Tem ple a t Thi rd and State S tr eets h as been s old t o a syndicate which convert e d i t into a n office building.
- A. B. P
From Our Grand Secretary's Office
OUR DECEMB ER COMMUNICATIONS
Amendments to Ahi man Rezon Adop t e d
What may well have been a re co r d for attendance at Grand Lodge was se t on D ece mbe r 7, last, when almos t a th ousand membe r s, r eprese nt ing 488 of o ur 585 L odges, we r e present.
Th ese fi gures a re not s ur pris in g whe n t is r emember e d tha t act ion was to be had u pon the propo sed Amendme nt t o Ar ti cle X, Section 1, Item 7 of the A hi man R ezo n , which pr ovi ded for the rais ing of Grand Lodge Dues fr om S2 .00 t o $4 .00, a nd of the Maso ni c H omes In itiation Fees fr om $40.00 to $60.00.
I n r es ponse t o a request s igned by fi f t ee n Represe nta tives the ballot was take n b y Lodges Almos t 15,000 v ote s were ca s t , a pp roxima tely 65 pe r ce nt o f w hi ch we r e in favor of th e adopti on of th e Amendm e nt.
Acti on up o n the pr opose d Ame ndmen t to Article X III add ing a new Sect ion, numb ered 42, p r ovid in g fo r the ap poin tment of a Chi ldr e n 's Service Commi tt ee, and defining its duti es, was also by Lodges Th e Ame ndment was ado pte d by a vo te of approxi ma tely four t o one.
ANNUAL ELEC TION
Th e following Bre t hr e n we r e e lec ted to se r ve Grand Lodg e for the pr ese nt Mas o n ic Year:
R. W Grand Ma ste r
BROTHER CHARLES H. NI TSCH
R W. Depnty Grand 1\l!astcr BROTHER SANFORD M CHILCOTE
R. W Senio r Grand Warde n BROTHER MAX F. BA Lc m l
R. W. J unior Grand Warden BROTHE R W. LER OY M cK INLEY
R. W. Grand Tr easu rer BROTHER LOUIS BACHARAC H R. W Grand Secretary BROTHE R GEORGE A. A VERY COMM ITTEE ON MASON IC HOMES
Br othe r Scott C. Rea
Br other R ober t E. Woodsid e J r.
Br other ScottS. Lei by, R.W.P.G.M.
Br other C. H owa rd Witmer
Brothe r W illiam E. Yeage r , R .W. P .G .M.
Br other Fran cis H. Mills
Brother E llis E. S tern
T h e Grand Offi ce r s were duly ins tall e d a t th e Annu a Grand Commu nication , h el d D ece m ber 27, 1955.
G ifts and B eq u es t s
At the Quarterl y Commun ica tion th e R W. Grand Maste r, Br ot h er R al ph M. Le hr , ann ou n ced that Grand Lodge, durin g the fi sca yea r end ing Nove m ber 15, 1955, h ad receive d g f t s and beq u es t s am ou nting to 8179,877.39
At the Ann ua l Grand Communi ca ti on h e informed the Br ethre n that Brother George H. D eike, R. W. Past Grand M as ter, fo r th e s ix th successive year, h ad pre se nted Gra n d Lodge wi th a gift o f $5,00 0 .00 . Brot h er Dei ke s g ifts,
tota ling S30, 000. 00, a r e to be appl ie d to th e cos t of th e erec ti on of th e R ec r ea tiona l Bu ilding a the Mason ic H omes at E liza bethtown.
Th e Co mmittee on Financ e Th e Committee on Finance p r esent ed the budget f o r 1956 w h ic h was un a nimou s ly approve d. It all ocated $1,130,000.00 for the operation of th e Maso nic H omes at Eli zabe thtown ($ 1,080,000.00 for m ainte nance and $5 0 , 000.0 0 fo r capita l expend itu res), a nd $592, 186.49 fo r th e op e ra tion o f G r a nd Lodge, a total of $1,722,186 .49 . Inc lu ded in th e budge t was an it e m o f $ 10 ,000.0 0 for the Ch ildren 's Service Committee. T hi s was increase d t o S35, 000.00 by a resolution prese nted by the Comm ittee on Finance, and una ni mous ly a ppro ved by Grand Lodge, at the Annual Gra nd Commun ica ti o n.
Thi s a pp ropria ti o n is t o be u sed t o d efra y the expe nse of the Penn sy lva n ia Masonic J u ve nil e Court I n s ti t utes, the repor t o f the first of whi ch, h el d n Pi ttsb ur gh , Novem be r 28 to De cem be r 3, 1955, ma y be r ea d elsew h e r e in this iss ue of th e " P e nn sylvania Freemason."
Fo ur resol uti ons a tt ached t o th e r e port of th e Committee on Fin a n ce were un a n imo u s ly ado p te d.
Th e first of th ese amend ed a resolution ado pted by Grand Lodge on Septem ber 5, 1955, an d es ta blis hed t h e pro cedu re to be followed in th e alloca ti on of ce r tai n portion s o f th e De ce ased Gue s ts' Con trib ut ion
Acco unt of the Maso n ic Homes a t El izabe thtown t o th e ma in te na nce of th e H omes.
Th e seco nd pro vided th a t an y excess in th e pr oceeds fr om the liquidatio n of th e Fu nds all ocat ed to the e re cti on of the Lodge Hall and Rec re a t io nal Bu ild ing a t Elizal;et htown may be allo cated t o the recon diti o ning of the ut ili t ies and th e erec tion of the Hospita l Ex te ns ion, prov id ed that a ny con di t ion a tt ac h ed t o sa id Fu nds shall be compl ied wit h. The th ird res ol u on authorized a nd e mpowered the Tru s tees of T itl e to the Mason ic Tem ple a nd Ot her Real Es tate of the Gra n d Lodge to lease a ny part or parts of t he Bulle ti n An nex upon te r ms approved 'by the Comm it tee o n F inance and th e Gran d Master. Th e fina re s o utio n pla ced the dis bu rseme nt of th e in come of the He n ry C an d Anna C. Ell is T r us t Fund in th e hands of a Commi tt ee con sist in g of the Gra nd Offi cers .
Ame ndm en s to lly -L aws
Th e Co mmi ttee on By-Laws p r esen ted a report a t bo t h th e Q ua rt erl y and the Annual Com mun ica ti o n s By favorab le ac ti on upon the r eco mmenda ti ons contained i n th ese reports Gra nd Lodge approve d Amendm ents to t h e By-Laws o f a t o al o f 483 Lodges. T he se Amendmen ts had been adopted b y th e Lodges, wi th the p er m iss ion of the R. W. Gra nd Maste r, i n anti cipation o f the ado ption of the Amendment to Article X, Section 1, Item 7, of the Ahima n Rezo n.
Recognition of Norwa y Through t h e unanim ou s adop tion of a resolution p r esen ted by the Committ ee on Cor res pondence, Grand Lodg e extended frat e rnal recogni ti on to th e Gra nd Lodge of No r way
New Di s trict Deputy G r and Mas ers
The R. W. Grand Mast er, Br o th e r Cha rle s H. Ni t sch , has ap p oin ted the fo ll owing n ew Dis t r ict D e p u t y Grand Mas t ers : District DALBERT A. BAUER-Lodge No 292 Dis trict GGEORGE C. FLANNIG AN-Lodge No. 436 D istrict /W ILLIAM H. VAN VooRHEEs-Lodge No. 528 District 10-
MYRON P WEHR-Lodge No 561 District 22J osEPH W. LI NCOLN-Lodge No 334 District 24THEODORE OTTO HELBERG-Lodge No 392 Distr ict 35WILMER Sc HE LL-Lodge No. 462 District 520wEN R. H ARTMAN-Lod ge No. 521
The Pennsylvania F r ee mason T h e report of th e Committee on Masonic Cu lt ure disclosed the fa ct that th e circ ulation o f the " P ennsylvania Free maso n " i s no w in excess of 90 000 .
G r and Mas t e rs Addr ess Grand Lo d ge
At t h e ann ual Gra nd Com mun ica ti on Broth e r R alph M. Leh r , r etiring R W Grand Mas ter and Bro her Cha rles H N itsch , ne wly i n s talled R W. Gra nd Mas ter , each deli ve r ed his Grand Mas ter's Address Bo th have been printed a nd forward ed to th e Lodges
GEORGE A. A vERY, Grand Secretary
Grand Chapter Officers E l ec ted and In stalled
At the Q uarte rl y Communication o f the Grand Holy Roya l Ar ch Ch a pte r of P e nnsylva ni a, he ld December 8, 1955, a t the Masoni c Temple, Phi ad elphia th e following Companion s were e lected and ins talled for the ensu ng Ma s on ic year:
Most Excellent Gra.nd H ig h Priest CHARLES E. TuLL
Most Excellent Grand King WALTER D FERREE
Mo st Excellent Grand Scribe J oHN R. AsHER
Most Excellent Grand Tre asu rer FRANK R. LEECH, M.E.P.G.H.P Most Excellent Grand Secret ary JOHN C. F K ITSE LMAN
