O ve r e ight hundred Brethren attended the De?ember and viewed the ma ny re n ovations in th e magmficent dMasomc d 1 h The R w Grand Master was highly honore to receive
Natio nal M emo r ial A ssociation and the R ed Cross o f Consta ntine
T he Ann ua l Election was held, at w h ic h the p resent six Grand L odge officers a nd the Members of the Committee on Mason ic Homes we r e reelected
was forme rly a part of the and Museum was officially named The Benjamin Franklin R oom "
Bro. Ball Serves
His Second Year
As Pa. Grand Master
(Co n ti nued from Page 1) ken Patton Ma son ic In s titution for Boys at E li zabethtown.
In York Rite Ma sonr y, Bro. Ball is a memb e r o f Z erubbabe l Royal Arch Chapter No. 162; Mt. Moriah Council No. 2 ; Pitts burg h Commandery No. 1 a nd Kni g hts of the R ed Cross of Cons tantin e, all of Pit ts burgh.
I n Scottish Rite Ma sonry, h e is a m e mb e r of th e Scottish Rite Bodies in the Valley of Pitts burgh and Valley o f New Castle.
For h is years of M asonic wo rk , Bro. Ball was coro n e ted an honorary Thirtythird D egree Sco tti sh Rite Ma son i n 1964.
H e serve d as P otent ate o f Syria T emple, Pitts bu r g h , in 1957. He a lso is a m emb er of Court No 2, Roya l Order of Je s te r s
Bro. Ball is a m ember o f I s l am Grotto, Pitts burgh, and Fore s t No. 138, T a ll Ce dars of L eba non, M cK eesport.
H e was g raduate d from Fra nklin a n d Marshall College, Lan cas te r , Pa., a nd h as se r ved as a t rustee of the co ll ege the pas t 18 yea r s.
H e is pres ident and b o ard ch airm a n of Ball Ch e mi cal Co.
Bro. Ball a ttend ed H a r vard Gra duate Sc h ool of Bu s in ess Ad minis tration an d h o lds an hon o rar y doc to r o f l aws degree from Thi el Coll ege at Greenville , Pa.
Bro. a nd M r s Ba ll, the f o rm er Fl o re nce H ele n Campbe ll o f Indianapoli s, I nd. , h ave three c hildre n , Hiram P. , Jr., Victoria I. a nd S u sa n C.
A Special Communication of G r and Lodge was held November 28 to dedicate the Lodge Room of
Temple
New Temple Debt-Free
Coraopolis Holds Dedication
The Lod ge Room of Coraopoli s L o dge No. 674 was dedicated a t a Special Commu ni ca tion of G ra nd Lodge.
Bro. Hiram P. Ball, R. W. Grand Maste r dedic a te d th e Lod ge Room Novembe r 28 in the new Masonic Temple in Coraopoli s, Alleghen y County . He was accompanied by a corps of Grand L o d ge Officers.
Coraopoli s Lodge No. 674, w h ich has 460 m emb er s, is in the 47th Ma sonic Di s trict. Bro . R a lph D Horsman retired s up erinte nd ent of sc hools in Mt. Lebanon, P a , is th e Dis trict D eputy Grand Master.
The n ew T emple, w h ich i s at 1142
Mapl e St. Ext., i s an 86 by 42-foot gridbl ock m aso nr y bu ilding.
Bes ides the 60 b y 40-foot L odge
R oom, th e m a in fl oor f eatures a la rge ent rance h a ll , Secre ta r y's office and rest room
The Lodge Room ha s n ew permanent , a udito rium -type seats for m o r e than 80 mem be r s, wit h space ava ilable for an add i t iona l 8 0 sea ts Th e b eau tiful antique Officers ch a irs w e re ob ta ined from the M ason ic Temple in Philade lphia.
A blen d o f blu e i s u sed in a pleas ing mann e r in the Lodge Room for the carp e tin g, c h a i r s and tint of the walls
Th e lower level of the T empl e cons is ts of a Soci a l H a ll , mod e rn sta inle ss stee l kitch en, ceram ic tile r est rooms, storage r oom s a n d a m ech ani cal r oom
Thi s room co nta in s t wo separate hea ting a nd a ir con diti o ning sys te m s , o ne fo r each leve l of the T e mple
A buil t-i n publi c addre ss system se rves the L o d ge Room a nd the So cia l H a ll , wh ic h has banqu e t facilities f o r m o r e th a n 2 00 person s
Off-s tree t parkin g f or about 100 cars is access i ble from either l evel of th e land scap ed prop erty.
W he n completed, the T emple was debt-free
Daylight Lodges Seen Possible to Offset Problem of 'Strangers'
(Continued from Page 1)
s i ty L o dge No. 610 in Phil a d elphia, of w hich he is a membe r a nd Pa s t Master, r ece ntl y u nde r a di sp e nsation of the Grand Master held a n af ternoon meeting in the Masonic T emple . He said t h e attend ance was b etter than average Co mmen tin g fu r ther on D aylig h t Lodges, Bro . K e rn said:
" They woul d gi ve tr emen d o u s, ad d ed val ue to Freemasonr y in that the facilities in t h e Maso ni c T emple would be in fu ll u se through out the en tire da y , r at he r tha n ju st part-time at nig ht." Bro. K e rn asks a ll Brethre n intere ste d i n D ayli g ht Lodges to w ri te h im a nd vo ice the i r opini ons . Address letters to Bro. Kern at the Grand M aste r's office, Masonic Temple , One North Broa d Street, Ph iladelph ia, 19107
Be s ure to inc lude your Lodge number, where yo u live a nd yo ur prefere n ce o n th e d ay and hour a Daylig h t L odge s hould meet.
Glory of Life
The glor y of life is to love, not to be loved; to give, not to get ; to se r ve, not to be served
Ac ti on was taken on the two Amendments to th e Ahiman Rezon which had been p resented at the Ju ne Quarte rl y Commun ication The Amendment w hi c h added the G r and Trea surer and th e Grand Secreta r y to the Committee on Maso ni c H o m es was adopted by vo ice vo te The Amendmen t which wo ul d perm it a Lodge to rece ive a p et i t ion for initiation and me.mbershi_P from a pe tit ione r whose residence IS a n yw here in the Cou nty in Lodge is loca ted or in any adJommg Cou nt y w h ose border the otl;er at any point, w itho ut an .mq uir y, was n ot ad opted. TI11S act 1on was by ballot.
Committee Repo rts
Inte resting r eports were presented by the fo llowi ng Comm i ttees a n d Trus tees : By-Laws; Finance; Cu lture; Masonic Homes; Masomc T emples, H alls a nd Lodge R ooms; Thomas Ranke n P atton Mason ic Instituti on for Boys; Temple; a nd 1976 Committee. T hese co mple te rep orts will be included in the 197 0 P roceedings.
A petitio n was received for a warran t f o r a new Lodge to be held at Pleasant H ills i n Allegheny County to b e ca lle d Sou th Gate L odge No 808. I t will be Con stitu ted on March 13, 197 1.
Th e Committee on Fin ance Repor t, as u sual, attracte d much attention. The ap proved Bud ge t R eceipts and E xpen· ditures for 197 1 total $5,397 ,000 The esti mated M ason ic H omes expend i tures include $ 3, 700 000 fo r maintenance and $3 04 ,0 00 for capital improvements. The con t r act covering t he altera tions to the fourt h floor of the H ospital at the M ason ic Homes at Elizabethtown was app ro ve d, w hich will provide space fo r 23 add itio n al G uests. T hese new fac ilit ies s hould b e available by next J une
The pur cha se of a prope rty adjoin in g the Masonic Ho m es was a lso approved Severa l amend m e nt s to the P ension Pl an were approved, and a r oom which
1t is hoped the Lodge Offic ers will make e ve ry effort possible to ha ve their Members, who have been s us pended for non-payment of dues , promp tly restored to membership
A personal contact is often sue· cessful.
Brother R icha rd E. H ickam, M. W. G ra nd Master of the Grand Lodge of I ndiana, spoke for the D isting_uished Gue sts, and stressed the nec7s s1ty for good Leadership at all levels, Masonic Education and Dedica tiO n to the tenets of Freemasonry Grand Lodge was saddened by the recent deaths of Brothers Paul H nus and Frank L. Neff, Past D1stnct D eputy Grand Masters . Grand Lodge closed shortly before 3 :00 p.m.
Annual Grand Communica tion December 28, 1970
Slightly over 230 .attended this Communication in Connt h 1a n Hall. Distinguished Guests were present from North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, New s hire, R hode Island , Delawar.e , Oh to , Louisiana, Maine, Alabama, Ill.m01s, the Grand Chapter, Grand Cou ncil , Grand Commandery, Scottish Rite, Red Cross of Constantine, Shrine, De Molay, and many prominent Masons from our Jurisdiction
On the recommendation of the Committee on Correspondence, fraterna l recoan i tion was extended to the Grand Lodge La Oriental Peninsular in Mexico
The us u al Annual R eports we re presented. They will be i ncluded, in the 1970 P roceedings
Bro . Thomas B. Mcintosh, Jr.', M . W . Gr and Master of Louisiana, and lll. Bro. George A. Newberry, 33 °, Sov· ere ign Grand Commander of Scottish Rite i n the Northern Masomc Jurisdict io n spoke for the Distinguished Guests {n a most interest ing and gracious manner.
Bro. Hiram P. Ball , R. W Grand Master, briefly commented on the 1970 activities and some of the programs for 19 7 1.
Promptly at High Noon, the Grand Lodge Officers were duly installed.
G rand L odge closed at 1:30 p.m.
A Religious Service was he ld in C.orinth ian H all on the Sunday evemng
before the Annual Communication. Bro. and Re v. D avid J. Wynne, a ?rand Lodge Chaplain, delivered a sermon, preach ing on .Li fe and L ove ." The Scottish R1te ChOir, ?f Valley of Philadelphia, led the smgmg of the hymns.
Bro. and H onorable George A. Goodling a Member of our Shrewsbury Lodge No. 423, and a Member of the H ouse of Representa tive s, recently addressed a L odge in the D istric t of Columb ia. H is address was so well ceived that it has been printed, wtth his approva l, in T he New Age, the publication of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdic t ion and Sh?rt Talk Bulletin of the Masomc Association of the United Sta tes His remarks on "where are we, as Masons, go ing from here?" is mos t thoughtprovoking article, stressmg t he need for Masons to devote themselves "to a life of se r vice and helpf ulness "
Bro George H. Earle, who was Gove rnor of the Commonwealth of Pen ns ylvania from 1935 to 1939,. recently received his Grand Lodge Fifty Year Emblem.
Bro . J ohn H . Ne whard, a of New T emple Lodge No. 720 m Allen town, is one of the oldest in our J urisdict ion H e celebrated h is 104th birthday a n niversary la st Oc to ber 29. We all hope he will enjoy many more b ir thdays.
Bro. Ben jamin Franklin, Past Grand Master, once said, "Speak kind wo rds and you will hear kind echoes."
Fraternally,
Coraopolis Lodge No. 674 in the new Coraopolis Masonic
Camera Capsules of Festive Annual Grand
Scores of Pennsylvania Maso n s attended the Annual Grand Communication in Masonic Temple , Philadelphia. Di stingui shed Brethren from 13 oth er Jurisdictions also took part in the acti v i ties, many of them pictured here.
Highlights included the in s tallation of Bro. Hiram P Ball, a Pitt sburgh indu striali st, as Grand Master of Masons in Pennsyl vania. Other Grand Lodge Officers also w ere in sta lled.
For the fir st tim e in the hi story of Grand Lod ge, the Grand
Master's Banqu et was h eld i n the Ma sonic Temple wi th Di sti n guished Brethren an d their L ad ies in attendance.
A religious service was held in Corinthian Hall Sunday even in g, December 27. Bro. David J W ynn e, a Grand Lodge Chaplain, preached the sermon , " Three Little Words " His theme referred to Light, Life and Love.
The Scottish Rite Choir of the Valley of Philadelphia, und er the direction of Bro. Edward S. Sidd all, offered several hymns. . ,
A 'Young' 98, Bro. Higgins Ends Service to Craft
Bro. Charles Higg ins, the "vo ice" of Freemasonry to tens of thousands of Brethren he instructed in the work for over a half ce n t ur y, has ended his dedicated service to the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.
Now 98 yea rs yo ung but st ill b lessed w ith rema rk able memory a nd keen wit, Bro. Higgins resigned as Grand Tyler effective las t December 28. He h ad ser ved 34 yea r s in that office
1938 he was appointed , h eld 250 books on checkers. h1s fnend ly s1mle had greeted hosts o f Bre thren in t h e Masonic Temple in Philadelphia.
Bro. Higgin s a lso served most of 1 933 as G r and Tyler following hi s appoin tment after a death in that office.
H e was a represe n tative in Grand Lodge for 30 years
A n at ive o f Philadelphia , he has been a Gu es t si nce 1964 in The Masonic Home of Pen nsyl va nia at 3333 North Broad Stree t.
Co untless Brethren have a tte nd ed his school of instruction classes as st ud ents
a n d looked to Bro. Higgins for gLddance and enlighte nme n t in the ritualistic work . Outside the school, h e devoted up until two yea rs ago thousands of "pri va te" hours to counseling Bret hren in t he Craft.
He taug ht the wo r k for 50 yea r s, man y of them as princip a l i nstructor Hi s service in the eso teric work is "wit hout equal," said Bro. Hiram P. Ball , R. W Grand Master.
Bro. Hi ggin s' d evo tion a nd love for Free masonry was kindled than 59 years ago when he b ecame a member of W illi am L. Elkins Lodge No. 646, Philadelph ia. He i s Pa st Master of his Lodge, h aving ser ved in 1920.
Up until recen t months he h oned his fantastic memory even sh a r per by rec iting one of the degre es each night before go ing to b ed
He brou ght hi s shar p memory into use in a nother " love" of h is life playing checkers.
In f act, nobody could best Bro . Higgins whe n it ca me to playing more than o ne oppo ne n t at the same time. H e became a checke rs champ at playing games simultaneously. In the years 19 10-20, he tour ed the state giving exhib iti on s, meeting as many as 105 oppone nts at once.
I n recalling his h eyday as c h eck e r s king, Bro. Higgin s' eyes brightened as he rema r ked:
"You mi gh t t hi nk Freemasonry is hard to learn, b u t it's n o t half as hard as checkers "
T he r e are 2 5 ,000 ways to play t h e ga me, h e sa id. Hi s h ome li brary once
It 's been 25 years since Bro. H igg ins matched moves against an oppo nent. " I just haven ' t had enough time," h e expl ained.
An upholstere r by trad e, he ope rated h is own business in West Philadelphia fo r 66 years.
j Bro. Higgins' Masonic Record indudes se rving in 1934 as Most Puissant Grand Master of the Grand Co unci l of ,Royal and Select Master s of Pe nn sylvania. H e is a Past Hi gh Priest of University C h ap ter No. 256; Past Thrice Illustrious Ma s ter of Joppa Council No. 46 and Past Comma nd er of St. Alban Commandery No. 47.
As a Shriner, Bro. Higgins h as been a membe r of Lu Lu Temple , Philad elp hia, for more than 56 years. He has been a n honorary membe r of Syri a Temple for more than 30 years.
Hospital Bid Goes
To Harrisburg Firm
A Harri sb urg firm has been awarded the contract on the renova tion proje c t w hi ch will provide 23 more hospital beds at the Masonic Homes at Elizab ethtown.
T h e low bid of H B. Alexander & Son, I n c was approved by the Committee o n Masonic Homes at a special meet ing held Nov. 24, 1970 in the Mason ic Temple, P hiladelphia.
The fi r m 's bid was "a t ime and material contract, with a maximum total cos t of $ 165,000."
Six co n tractors s ubmitted b i ds on the pro jec t.
The cost of construction originally had bee n estima ted at $250,000. An additional $50,000 is earmarke d for fu rnish ings and equipment.
The new faciliti es will be on the fourth floor of the Philadelphia Freema sons Memorial Ho spital at the H omes . The floor has not been occup ie d by Guests
Targe t date for completion of the work is June 1
Patton School Earns Accreditation
Patton Maso nic Schoo l at Elizabethtown, for t he first time in its 46-year hi story, h as received acc reditati on for the educa ti onal program it is providing its st ude nt s.
Dr. John W. Kopp , superinte nd en t a t Patton, sa id he has been info rme d of the f avora ble action by the Commission on Secondary Schools of the M iddle States Assoc iatio n of Colleges a nd Secondar y Schools.
The Patto n School, he expl ained, has been put on the commiss ion 's accred it ed membership for ten yea r s, e nding December 31, 1980 . Previously, Patton was a private licensed sch ool by the State D ep artm en t o f Public In struc tion .
D r. Kopp sa id the Patton administration began two years ago to prepare for th e school 's evaluatio n by a v isit ing team of educators.
Commenting on winning accre ditat ion , Dr. Kopp sa id:
Grand Lodge Cites Digest of Decisions On Insurance Sales
G r and Lodge recently has received complaints a b o u t ins urance firms w hich alleged ly have exclus ive policies fo r the be nefit of Masons
Grand Lodge does not sponsor or e ndorse any ins urance company . Before purchasing any policy, i t is advisab le that all Brethren b e s ure to re ad and understand w h a t i s include d in t he policy
Gra n d Lodge does n ot authorize the dis trib u tion of a ny in sura n ce sa les promotional literat ure through Masonic chan nel s
The Dige st of Decisions covers this Masonic Law, as follows: Decision LXV II, Section 3, reads:
"All scheme s in business affairs to attract p a trona ge, or support by the use of Masonic emblems or the p arading of Masonic name s, a re contrary to the teachings of the Craft in this Jurisdiction."
And Deci sion LXVIII, Sect ion 3, reads :
"The names of officers a nd members of Lodges must no b e furnished to canvassers, lecturers, solicitors, etc."
Brethren in thi s Jurisdiction who receive s ales promotional literature which imp lies th at Gra nd Lodge e ither h as spon sor ed or e nd orsed any insurance co m pany are asked to se nd s uch in formation to :
The G r a nd Master , Ma so n ic T emple, One Nort h Broad Street, Philad elphi a, Pa 19107.
"Everybody at Pa tton was thrille d to get the ne ws . When you have this approval, you know your st ud ents are getting the prop er wo rk for college entranc e."
Accreditation , Dr. Kopp sa id , not only mean s that Patton is offeri ng an excelle nt cu rric ulum but its teachers ar e ce rtifi ed t o tea ch the ir vario u s s ub jec ts. Patton teach ers, h e expl ained, also are sched uled to serve on evalu at ion teams w hich will visit other schoo ls. While Patton School w ill not come up for evalu ation for a n oth e r ten years it mu s t continu e a prog ram t o accred ita tion.
Dr. Kopp sa id periodic repo rts on enrollment , staffing, curriculum developmen t and p l ans for futu re expans ion of facilities must be sent to t he Comm ission on Seco nd ary Schools.
2 District Deputies
Appointed in East
Two new Di s tric t Deputy Gra nd Master s h ave been ap p ointed by Bro Hiram P. Ball, R. W. G r and Ma ste r. They a r e : Bro. C. Edward Weaver, Past Mas te r of Cre scent Lodge No . 493, Philadelphia, Maso nic Di s trict "H."
Bro. George W. H ad ley, Past Master of P e rkin s Lodge No. 402, Philadelp hia, Maso ni c Di strict "J ."
A t th e same time Bro. Theodore K. Warner, Jr. h as been c rea ted a Pas t Di strict Deputy Grand Mas ter by Bro. Ball.
Bro. Warner, who h as se rved a s District Deputy Grand Master f or Masonic D istrict " J," is a memb e r of the Committee on Masonic Home s
200 Years of Freemasonry
Bro. Walter F. Kuster (extreme right), a member of Was hington Lodge
coveted award.
Pleasant Hills Sets Program To Constitute South Gqte Lodge
South Gate Lodge No. 808 wi ll be co nstituted Marc h 13 at a Special Communication of Grand Lodge in Masonic Ha ll , 455 E. Bruceton Rd. , Pl easa nt Hill s, Allegh e n y Cou nty.
Sou th Gate Lodge was orga ni zed under the direction of Bro. Joh n L. Andrews , Distri c t D ep ut y Grand Master of the 57th Masonic District.
Office rs select o f South Gate Lodge are Bro. H. Raymond Hillga rtne r , a Pas t Mas ter of Geter C. Shidle Lodge No. 650, Wo rshipful Ma ste r; Bro. John J. W ine, form er Member of W illi am D. Mcil roy Lodge No. 758, Senior Warde n ; Bro. James F Casey, f o rme r Senior Wa rde n o f Lodge No. 650, Ju n i6r Warde n ; Bro. Geo rge H. R h odes, fo rmer Me mb er of Lod ge No. 758, Treasurer , a nd Bro H arl ey W. Pra tt , former Memb er of Medina Lo d ge No. 336, Medina, N Y., Secretary.
Bro. C lare D. H illgart ne r was appo in ted Seni or D eacon and Bro Gilbert G. W h itmer Junior Deacon. The Tru s tees a re Bro s Joseph D. Howd ys hell, Arthur S. Kle it z and Robert Novic h.
T he recommender on t he pe tition for the Warrant for South Gate Lod ge was Pleasant Hills Lodge No. 759 . The Stated Meetings o f So ut h Gate Lodge w ill b e held the t hi rd Monday of the mont h
Grand Master Names
Four Floor Officers
Bro. Hitam P. Ball , R. W. Grand Maste r , announced t he appo in tments of four new Gra nd Lodge Officers Decembe r 28 at the A nn ual Gra n d Communicatio n . T hey are:
Bro. Thomas H. Burgess, Past Master a nd Trustee of Azalea Lod ge No. 687, Hazleto n, Luzerne County, Junior G r and Deacon. · Bro. William L. Mullan, Past Master a n d fo rmer Secretary of Q u aker C i ty Lodge No .724, Ph il adelp h ia, G r and Steward . Bro. Paul R. Jenkins, Past Mas ter and Treasurer of George W Guthrie Lod ge No. 691 , P itts burgh, G ra nd Purs ui vant.
Bro. Charlls S . Reyner, Past Di s trict Depu ty G rarul Mas te r of Masonic District 8 and P.as t Master o f Fort Was hington Lo dge No. 308 , For t Wa s hington, Montgorrery Cou n ty, Grand Tyler.
