Grand Lodge Gives $4,716 Contribution To Memorial Assn.
T he G r and Lodge of Pennsylvania has given $4,716 to the George _Washington Masonic Natio nal Memonal Association.
The presentation was made prior to the associa tion's an n ual meeting Feb· ruary 22 at Alexandria, Va.
The contribution represents $1 for each initiate into the Fraternity in Pennsylva nia in the preced ing Th !s continuing Grand Lodge contnbut10n IS part of the "Pen nsylva nia Plan ."
Un der th e plan, the Grand Lodge presented about $300,000 to the association nine years ago and since then $1 for each initiate.
I n all , $76,644 was reported contributed to the association this year by all the Grand Lodges. A breakdown of the amount shows:
-$ 19,2 18 for th e endowment fu n d.
-$55,676 for maintenance f u nd .
-$ 1,7 5 0 for landscaping fund.
It took $ 174,000 to operate th e Memorial last year. This included $15,000 fo r a reserve fund to meet fut ure emergencies.
Of the total oper ating cos t last yea r , $54,000 was contributed by Grand Lodges and $ 122,000 was income f r om a $2 .8 million endowment.
Three-month Itinerary of GRAND LODGE OFFICERS
T he sch edule for Grand Lodge O fficers the next three months includes:
June 1 - Grand Lodge _Officers, Committee on Masoruc Homes, Ehzabeth town.
June 2 - Quarterly Communication, Masonic Homes, Elizabeth tow n.
Ju ne 5 - Graduation Exercises, Patton M ason ic School, Elizabethtown.
June 12 - Junior Grand Warden, 50th A_nn iversary, Lawrence Lodge No. 708, Ene.
June 18 - Jun ior Grand Warden, Annu al Awards Banquet, Order of DeMolay Conclave, Erie.
June 19 - Junior Grand Warden, 50th niversary, Oil City Lodge No 710, 011
City
Ju ne 19 - Senior Grand W arden, 50th Anniversary, Penn Lodge No. 709,
June 23 - Deputy Grand Master, Reumon, Scotti sh R ite Bodies, Valley of Coudersport, Coudersport.
June 25 - Gr and Lodge _officers, meeti_ng, Committee on Masomc Homes, Ehzabethtown.
July 9 - Grand Lodge Officers, Council of Deliberation, New Castl e .
July 23 - Grand Lodge _Officers, meeti_ng, Commit tee on Masomc Homes, Elizabethtown.
Augu st 12 - Grand Master, 28th Grand Assembly, Order of t he Rainbow fo r Girls, Penn State, State College.
Augu st 31 - Grand Lodge Officers, meeting, Committee on Masonic Homes, Altoona
Septembe r 1 - Quarterly Communication, Jaffa Mosque, Altoona.
I Bicentennial City Gets Conference
The annual Conference of Grand Masters of Masons in North America usuall y held in the nation's capital, wfli be held in Philade lphia in 1976.
The conference w ill be held in February but as yet no dates have been set. the officers of Grand Lodges are commg to Pennsylvania for the 1976 observance the 200th a nni versa r y of th e DeclaratiOn of Independence. decision_ to bring th e impor ta nt meetmg to Phil adelphia , home of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylva nia , was made· at the conference sessions last February 23-24 in Washington, D .C.
At tha t time a seven-member committee, known as the Permane nt 1976 Committee of Grand Masters of Masons was elected.
It is working under the chairmanship of Bro. Thomas B. Mcintosh, Jr. , M. W. Past Grand Master of Loui s iana.
The COJ?mittee will encourage and report vanous activities being planned by Masonic Jurisdictions for the 1976 national celebration.
10 Boys to Receive
Diplomas at Patton Exercises June 5
Ten seniors will receive diplomas June 5 at commencem e nt exercises of Patton Masonic School in Elizabethtown.
Bro. Hiram P. Ball, R. W. Grand Mas ter, w ill be the commencement speaker a t th e 11 a.m. exercises in George H. Deike Auditorium at the Maso nic Homes
Members of the graduating class are Charles Brecht, Gregory Clark, Drew Dawso n , Myron Dubee, Jo h n Edye, Leonard Evans , Kenneth Miller, John Peter s, Richard Pipke and Milton Ranck.
The graduates w ill be presented their dip lomas by Bro. Richard A. Rudisill, a t rus tee of the school.
Five of the graduates w ill enter college in the fall. Leo n ard Evans will s tudy at Tyler School of Art of Temple University; Myron Dub ee w ill attend Lackawanna Community College; Gregory Clark w ill major in physical educa· tion at Slippery R ock State College; Drew Dawson in social science s at George Washington Univer sity a nd Jo hn P eters in electri cal engineering at Temple University.
Charles Brecht w ill attend a Philadelphia area institute to continue hi s apprenticeship as a n electrician. John Edye and Kenneth Miller w ill b e employe d a s appre nti ce machinists; Richard Pipke as an appre nti ce electrician and Milton Ranck as an apprentice carpenter.
Library Starter Set
Rare Books Available to Lodges
I n k ee ping with this year's centennial celebratio n of th e Grand Lodge Library , the Grand Master is encouragin g Lodges to establish their own libraries.
Bro. Hiram P. Ball, R. W. Grand Master, is m aking available six Grand Lodge volumes on Fre emasonry a s a s tarte r set for Lodge s inte reste d in begin nin g a library.
The se volumes also a re availab le to Lodges which already have librar ies.
The numb er of starter sets is limited and requests will be filled as rece ived.
The starter set includ es three volumes of "Freemasonry in Pennsylv ania."
Thes e r are and att r active books h ave been compiled from the early records of Lodge No. 2 in Philadelphia. The books cover th e years 1757 to 1855.
Two rare vol umes of "Old Mas o nic Lodges of P en nsylvania (Mode rn s a nd Ancients)" a r e featured in the starter set. Covering the years 1730 t o 179 1 , these books rel ate to Lodges w hich have surre ndered their Warra n ts or affiliated wit h other Grand Lodges They al so co ntain a history of Army Lodges and those that h ave ass is ted in the formation of oth er Grand Lod ges.
Bro. Julius F Sachse , former libr arian and curator of Grand L odge, com-
piled th e two volume s from the records in the archives of Grand Lodge.
The s ixth volume in the starter set is "History of Masonic Knights TempJar of Pennsylvania." This beautiful book , also by Bro. Sachse, is a full account of Templ arism in the s t ate fr om 1797 to 1919.
Lod ges inter ested in receiving a starter se t should app ly through their District D ep uty Grand Master. It is recommended this b e done as soo n as possibl e. T here w ill be no charge excep t shippi ng costs for any of the six volumes. Lodges which app ly for the set also w ill be pl aced on a list to be n otified by Grand Lodge when other duplicate books a r e ava ilable.
State's Oldest Mason Plans 103rd Birthday
Bro George E. Roberts , who was made a Ma son January 11 , 1 892, in T e mple L odge No. 248 in Tunkhannock , is st ill active in Masonry and recently attended his Lodge's banquet. He is th e olde st Maso n in le n gth of ser vice in th e Grand Lod ge a n d w ill celebrate hi s 103rd birthd ay June 16, 1971.
Bro. Hiram P. Ball, R. W. Grand of Masons in Pennsylvania , is ser vmg C.)n the committee. Other members are:
Bro. Charles F. Gos nell, M. W. Past Grand Master, New York.
Bro. Lester S. McElwain, R. W. Deputy Grand Master, California.
Bro. Warren A. McMinimee, M. W. P ast Grand Master, Oregon.
Bro Rob e r t L. Pugh, M. W. Past Grand Master, North Carolina.
Bro. Dwight L. Smith, M. W. Past Master, Grand Secretary, Indtana.
In add iti on, Bro. G. Egerton Brown M. W. Grand Master of Quebec a n ex-officio member of the to r epresent Jurisdictions outside the United States.
After naming the committee, the congave it the authority to elect m ember s if it was d eemed Under th is auth ority the committee e lected Bro. Herbert H. Jay n es, M. _W. _Grand Master of Ma ssachusetts, a s It s etghth member.
_To help defray expenses of the comthe Grand Lod ges and Ma sonic Bodtes were requested to contribute one for each member in their Jurisdi ction.
The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania will con tribute $ 2,460.
Ruskin Sets Goal
John Ruskin sa id: "Never omit an ?PPOrtunity of doing a kindness , speakm g a true word or making a friend."
Pennsylvania f9 Share Ideas For '76 Masonic Celebration
Our con cern wit h this eventful year began sh owing itself nearly three years ago w h e n the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania appointed a specia l 1976 Committee. It ha s already don e mu ch t owa rd f ormul ating ou r program.
The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania ha s accepted the c h a llenge. We w ill sh are ideas a nd information a nd cooperate with other Grand Lodges to m ake the 19 76 celebration a success in ever y way.
We no t only have a s pecial 1976 working but, unde r the authonzatwn of Bro. John K. Young , when he was G r a nd Master, a fund was created w ill total $250,000 in 1976. Thts fund will be u sed on b ehalf of the Grand Lodge of Penn sy lvania to (Continued on Page 6 )
opening address in a group discussion at the Conference of Grand Ma s ter s was g ive n by Bro. Hiram P. Ball , R. W. Grand Master. He spoke on " The Masonic Celebra ti on of 200th Anniversa r y of 1776. " Follow ing are ex cerpts from his address: . " We in Pennsylvania are concerned, as throughout the Umted State s 1s con cerned, w ith the form our participation should take in thi s mammoth, national cele bratio n . We s hould ch erish w ith pride the t ha t Freemasonr y was intimatel y mterwoven in the building of the greatest country in the world today. of our country's history , as you know, Is. in Freemasonry. Many of Am enca s early leaders and greatest men were members of the Fraternity. Let _me share a little of w h at we plan to do m Penn sylvania in 1976, a nd why 3 we are concern ed enough to do these t hings.
Bro. Frank W. Bobb, librarian and curator of Grand Lodge, and Miss Judy Mazefsky, assistant to the librarian leafing through one of six rare and attractive Grand Lodge volumes on Freemasonry which available at no cost to Lodges intere s ted in establishing libraries.
'Let Us
Emulate
Chilly winds whipped across historic Valley Forge as more than 2,000 Masons, their families and friends attended the Grand Lodge 's fourth annual wreath laying ceremony at the George Washington at Prayer Statue at Freedoms Foundation
Highlights of this tribute to a great American came w h en
Bro. Hiram P. Ball, R. W. Grand Master , gave the message and , accompanied by Grand Lodge Officers , placed the wreath at the foot of the statue .
The public ceremony last Feb . 14 was conducted under the general chairmanship of Bro . David J . Godschall, District
Deputy Grand Master of the 6th Masonic District .
Taking part in the impressive program were the Harrisburg Scottish Rite Choir, under the direction of Bro. James E . Sawyer, and the Concert Band of Rajah Temple in Reading. The band was under the baton of Bro. William H . Levan .
Other Bodies participating in the processional included Grand Chapter, Grand Council and Grand Commandery; eight Scottish Rite Valleys; four Shrine Temples and representatives
imand Show Concern'
of the Tall Cedars of Lebanon, National Sojourners and the Order of DeMolay .
In his message the Grand Master told the gathering:
"It took one important thing-concern-to bring each of you here before the statue of this great man kneeling in prayer ...
"E very American citizen must begin showing this same concern if our country is to overcome the challenges of war and world tension, hunger, pollution, crime and discontent
" Bro . Washington was concerned with the issues of his day. He committed himself to those things which meant the most, whether it was on the battlefield, in the field of government or in his personal life . . .
"Let us, my Brethren, emulate him and show concern. Let us give of ourselves as much as he gave of himself. Let us become involved and do something about the challenges our country faces today."
Middletown Observes Centennial
The 100th anniversary of Prince Edwin L odge No. 486 in Middletown was highlighted March 20 whe n the cornerstone was placed and Lodge Room dedicated in its new Masonic T emple.
The ceremon ies were held at a Specia l Communication of Grand Lodge.
Bro. Hira m P. Ball, R W Grand Master , acco mpani ed by Grand Lod ge officers, placed the cornersto ne and dedicated the Lodge Room.
The 400-memb er Prince Edwin L odge is in the 2nd Mason ic Bro. Wallace H. Alexander is the D is trict D ep u ty Grand Ma ster.
I n cong ra tulating the Lodge me mbers. Bro. Ball s aid:
"You are to be commended for yo ur lo yalt y to the Lod ge and t o the p rinciples of o ur Fraternity. These are th e fa c tors tha t s timulate the efforts and sacrifices tha t made your n ew T e mple possible . This is the Maso nic dedicatio n that w ill ena ble you to reach future goal s."
The new Temple on W Emau s Stree t is a tw o-s tory, tan brick venee r Masonry building
Generally, the Lodge Room wa ll s are prefini sh ed plywood w ith T -bar ce ilin g and flu sh li ghting. The fl oor is carpeted wa ll-to-wall.
The first floor Social Room has r est room fac ili ties a nd a kitc he n wit h se r ving counter. Wall s, ce iling and ligh ting a re the sa me as in th e Lodge Room. Wall-to-wa ll carpeting covers th e stage and flo or of the soc ial area.
The bu ilding featur es gas h eating and a ir co nditioning
The parking area, access ible from Nisley Street, hold s about 30 cars.
Hospital Inspection
Tops June Quarterly
The June Quarte rly Communi ca ti on of Grand Lodge will b e h el d W edn esday, June 2 at the Maso nic Hom es nt Eliza b e thtown .
. A pr?gram highlight w ill be a 3 p.m. m sp ect10n o f new facilit ies on the fourth fl oor of th e Philad elphia Freemason s' Memorial Ho spital. The re novation project provides 23 more ho sp ita l bed s at the Homes.
Grand Lodge will open at 7 p m. in Ge orge H D e ike Auditorium
Brethren arrivin g in the morn ing o r ea rl y af ternoon w ill find a m ple eat in g fac ilities in th e E liza b e thtown area .
Speakers' Bureau Being Augmented
By ASHBY B PAUL R. W. Grand Secretary
Qu ar terl y Communication- March 3 , 1971
Despite the in clemen t weath er , the Ma r c h Q ua r terl y Communica tion was well a ttended in Corinthia n Hall in the Maso nic T emple in Philadelphia. Committee and Trustee Reports
The usual r eports were co nc ise and informative. The ever-busy Committee on By-Laws rev iewed the by-laws sub mitte d by 27 Lodge s, mo st of w hich we re approved in whole or in part.
T h e re port of the Committee on nance for th e fir st fiscal quarter indica te d receipts of $ 2,590 ,220 and exp enditures of $2 ,167 ,200. Upon the reco mmend atio n of this committee, resolu t ions a uthorizing the sale of two properties were adopted.
The Committee on Maso ni c Cu lt ure repor ted that th e respon sib ility for publi shing " The Pennsylvan ia Freemason" has been transfer r ed to the Office of the Grand Master. The Speakers' Burea u is be ing a ugmen te d and some of the popular b ookle t s are be ing rewrit ten and, it is hoped , w ill be availab le in the near fut u re
Pennsylvania to Share Ideas For '76 Masonic Celebration
(Continued from P age 3)
he lp defray a part of th e anti cipated ex p e n di tures.
I n addit ion to th is, we h a ve u ndertaken an ex tens ive r e modeling pr ojec t i n o ur Temple so we will be abl e to ha n dl e the great number o f v isitors who will be com ing to Philadelphia in 1976.
W e wa n t the public as well as the Bre thre n to share in th is gre a t anniversa r y b y proud ly d isplayin g ou r M ason ic T emp le a nd the h isto ric treasures we h ave ho u sed in i t.
Th e library and mu se um have b een rem odel ed to e nh ance the ir exhi b it s and d isp lays.
T h roug h these priceless ob jects, our vis itors w ill see the pa rt Freema son s played in laying the fo u ndat io n of ou r governm ent and in sec ur in g America's mos t t reas ured possession s -indiv idual free dom a nd politi ca l independe nce.
W e would also like to offer adeq uate sp a ce in our hi storic T e mple for exhib its a nd disp lays from the 13 J uri sdi ction s of the ori ginal states In t h is way, these Jurisdic tions wo uld h ave a n ac-
ti ve part in the Mason ic ' sh ow case' in the Bice n tenn ial City. ·
We pl a n to invite a nd welcome all Ma son s from every Juri sdiction to see o ur b ea utiful Ma sonic Temple an d possibly to use it for the ir specia l Lo dge mee tin gs. To d o thi s, our l aw wo uld h ave to be changed I b elieve it will b e, at leas t f or 1976 ."
Guest Fund Drive Ends at $471,729
Pennsyl vania Mason s con tribute d $471,729.03 to th e 1970 Gues t Fund o f th e Maso n ic Homes at E lizabet hto w n.
The f und drive , which ended Ma rch 15, was $2 0, 555.55 l ess than the record collection of 1969. The Bre thren that yea r contribu ted the a ll-time high o f $ 492 ,284 .58.
Bro. Hiram P Ball, R. W. Grand Mas ter, exp ressed apprecia ti on and person a l thank s to ever y Ma son w ho took p a r t in the 1970 collec tion.
The reno vat io n s to the fourth floor of the h os pita l at t h e Mason ic H o mes at Eliza beth town are progre ss ing o n sch edu le and sh oul d b e completed p rior to the June Quarterly Comm un ication which w ill b e held at the Maso nic Homes. The Gues t Fund i s slightly less than last yea r Beca u se of the h ospita l waiting li st , ap pli ca tions for n on- ambulatory G u ests cannot b e accepted at this time. Grand Lodge was p leased to rece ive a c h eck for $ 10 ,000 fro m Unive r sity Lodge No. 6 10 f or the Masonic H om es ex p ansio n program, and a ch eck for $3,000 fr o m Meridi an Su n Lodge No. 158 for furniture in the new fo ur th flo o r h osp ital rooms
Ten of th e Patton Mason ic Schoo l student s are expected to graduate June 5, and it is h oped to h ave a full e nrollment of 60 s tude nts next fall. Improvements to the Maso nic Temple at One North Broad S tree t are mov in g a head as planned. The Committee on T e mp le expenditures f or the fir st quarter were $8 0 ,435.
Me mbership Statistics
The number of L odges remained at 6 10 in 1970. The pre limin ary m e mb ersh ip stat istics sh ow a net loss for 1970 of 2,616, sligh tl y higher t h a n the previous yea r. While 4,72 1 we r e initi ated , there were 6 ,013 death s, dropp ing the total to 242,404 as of D ecember 27, 1970.
Gra nd Masters' Conference
T h e R. W. G rand Ma ster gave an inte rest ing r eport on the Grand Ma ste rs' Conference held in Was hin gton , D .C. in Feb r u ary. He w as happy to annou nce
th at the 1976 Co nference of Grand Maste rs w ill be held in Philade lphia. A comm ittee of seven, including our Grand Ma ster , was appointed to the Perma nent 1976 Committee of Gra n d Maste rs of Masons. Bro. W. Orville Kimmel, R. W. Deputy Grand Master, reported on the mee ting of th e George Washington Maso nic National Me moria l Association w h ich w a s h e ld in Alexandria , V a. D onatio ns for this Me mor ial made b y the Gra nd Lodges total ed over $76,000. All L o dges are s till requested to donate $1 each year for each new initiate. Bro . John L. M cCa in, R. W. Junior Grand Warden, highlighted the 52nd annual meeting of the Masonic Service Association , p oin tin g out our fin e p a rticip at io n in the H osp ita l Vis itat ion Pr ogram.
Special Communications
So uth Gate L odge No. 808 was const it uted Ma rch 13 at Plea sant Hills, bringing our total Lodges up to 611.
The n ew Lodge Room of Prince E dwin Lodge No. 486 a t Middletown was d ed icated March 20 . The n ew Lodge Room of G eo rge Wagn er Lodge No. 639 at S t. Mary s was dedicated Ap ril 10.
The d edi cation of th e new L od ge Room of Moo sic L odge No. 664 a t Moosic is scheduled May 29.
Lodge No. 3 in Philadelphia h eld an inter es tin g meeting r ecently commemorating 43 year s of servi ce b y ,B ro. J. Lybrant Tomlin, and 40 yea rs of service as secre tary by Bro. Heroe r t D. Lo uderback. Both brothers are continuing their excellent servi ce to their Lodge.
Bro. Fr a nkli n L. White, a member o f Tyrian Lodge No 362 in E rie, rece ived his G r a nd Lo dge Fifty Yea r Em ble m. He exp ressed hi s gr atitude with these tho ughtful word s: "Be ing a Ma son ha s b een th e greate st priv ilege of my life. The b rot h ers I h av e met th rough ou t the wo rld h ave been ou ts tanding in the ir communities.
l f eve r y man throu gh ou t the world was a Mason and lived b y the teachings and pr inc iples adv oca ted by Free maso nry, the pove rty, jealous ies a nd wars we a re experiencing wo uld n ot ex ist." 7
on Sons
Father Confers Degrees
Not many fathers have experie n ced the grea t privilege and j oy that has been Bro. D avid R. H oover 's, District D e puty Grand Mas ter of the 34th M aso nic District.
He has conferred the three degrees in Freemasonry on hi s only two sons in the Lod ge of which he was Warra nt Master. In Mount Zion Lodge No . 774 in McConnells burg , Bro. Hoover conferred the E ntered Apprentice D egr ee on his sons D av id R . H oover II , 24 , and Step h e n Michael H oover, 21, on Nov. 9, 1970.
T he y rece ived the Fellow Craft Degree last Feb. 8 and the Master Maso n D egree March 15
82 Field Agents Make VA Hospital Visitations
T h e call for continu ed sup port a nd inc reased contribu tion s to the H ospital Vi s ita tion P rogram was mad e at the 52nd annual m ee ting of the Masonic Servi ce A ssoc iation.
T he session was held Febru ary 22 at th e Shore h am Hotel in Wa shington , D .C.
Presentl y, 82 field agents are in active service in the visitation p rogram at Veterans Admini st rat ion Ho spital s through out the country. Many volunteers, including D e Mol ay boys, al so se rve in the program.
Ninety h ospi tals are visit e d on a regula r b as is.
The Grand Lodge of Penn sylva ni a began part icipation in the program in 1968 in the P hilad e lphia area.
Bro. R. E. Minnich Named District Deputy of Ninth
Bro . Rollin E. Min nich , Jr. of Laurys Sta tion , Le high County , h as bee n n amed Di strict D ep ut y Grand Master of the 9th Mason ic District.
His appo intme n t wa s anno unced by Bro. Hi ram P. Ball , R W Gra nd Master.
Bro. Minnich is a membe r a nd Past Master of Ch ap man Lodge No. 637 in N o rt h a mpton The 9th M aso nic Di stric t takes in pa rt s of Northampton and Buck s Counties.
Edwin Lodge hi ghlighted .its tOOth anniversary by placing corners tone and ded1c a tm g Lodge Room m Its new Maso mc Temple in Middletown.
