W. Master

I want to start this article by thanking M W Robert P. Harry, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Florida, M W Richard Lynn Grand Secretary, and all of the Grand Line Officers and R W Brothers who visited Marion Dunn Lodge March 20, 2008.

These brothers found time in their busy schedules to help us dedicate Marion Dunn Masonic Youth Park.

The dedication was well attended by city, county and state officials. We also got to meet the city workers who are doing a wonderful job maintaining our property. Marion Dunn Lodge thanks each of you for your part in helping us get where we are today.

Thank you to every member of Marion Dunn Lodge for helping to make the idea of a youth park on our property become a reality.

After the dedication Brother Randy Strong and his cooking crew served a wonderful meal. We then assembled in the lodge room where M W Harry presented a 55 year service award to Huge Squitier and 50 year awards to Lester Luffman and Paul Clayton.

Brother Nuby Shealy was escorted the East where he presented his brother R W Benjamin Franklin Shealy a 50 year service award assisted by Brother B.F’s son and granddaughter.

Senior Warden Ken Shaw took over and presented Brother Bring a Friend Night. W Mark Shaffer, R W. Jarvis Johnson, W David McConnell, and W Herb Collins gave short explanations of what being a Mason is about. The program was short and informative. Good job brothers.

Guests and members filled to lodge. With people moving it was impossible to get an exact count. I feel safe in saying that 140 people were on hand. Thank you all. Your support and participation are what makes our lodge great.

On March 26, 2008 W John Story, Paul Ferguson and I attended the funeral of Bro. Russell Bryant Guynn in Fort White. The Masonic Funeral Service was performed by brothers from High Springs Lodge. These brothers provided an excellent service. This was Brother Guynn’s home lodge before he joined Marion Dunn W John Story presented Brother Guynn his 55 year service award in Monroe Hospital March 4.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Easter spent with your family and friends.

The amount of time and work that all of you put into making Marion-Dunn so successful is amazing. I will not try to mention everybody because I would leave someone out. Please except my thanks for all your hard work.

To the Past Masters of Marion-Dunn Lodge thank you for your advice and wise council, please keep it coming.

March is going to be on the same fast pace. Men’s Night we have some business to catch up on.

Family Night will start early with the dedication of our Marion-Dunn Youth Park at 4:30 p.m., followed by another one of Brother Randy Strong’s outstanding dinners.

Our Brother Secretary Paul Ferguson has put a lot of time and effort into this park and dedication and I hope we have a large turnout of our members on hand.

Family night is also Brother Bring A Friend Night. Brother Ken Shaw has a new program put together that sounds very interesting. If you have someone in mind please get their names to the office so we can send a letter inviting your friend.

I want to give special thanks to Brother Donald Boyd for the very interesting program on Brother George Washington at our last Family Night. I had quite a few people ask when Brother Donald is going to do the next presentation. We will all find the subject at the same time. I hope Brother Donald will come up with something.

January has been a very busy month. Our men’s night meeting on Jan. 3 was well attended, and on Jan. 9, the Past Masters of Marion-Dunn Lodge filled the chairs and put on a Master Mason Degree. R+W+ B.F. Shealy delivered the Masonic Education, Brother Leslie Morris delivered the Lecture and W+ Herb Collins delivered the Charge.

The brothers attending this night witnessed one of the best degrees that I have ever had the pleasure of watching. Thank you to all of the brothers who took the time to make this degree happen. I know that our brothers Paul Copenhagen and Louie Wise who were Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason will remember this night the rest of their lives.

Brother Ken Shaw sat in the East Jan. 16 to initiate brothers John Macias and Jason White Entered Apprentices. The officers sat in their regular chairs for this degree with W+ John Story in the west. Brother B.F. delivered the Masonic Education, W+ Ladd Poehlman delivered the Lecture and Bro. Herb delivered the Charge. Congratulations to our new brothers and thank you to all who helped.

On the Jan 17, we had our first Family Night of the year and what a turn out! Ladies, thank you for all the side dishes and desserts. Deputy Grand Master Joe Fleites surprised us with a visit and W+ Story presented five leather aprons.

He also gave us a report on the meeting with the city about the progress of Marion Dunn Masonic Park and I believe we will see some action in the near future.

On Feb. 7, the Grand Master of Connecticut and his entourage will visit for the annual Nutmegger’s Reunion at Marion-Dunn Lodge at 11:00 am. Our own Past Grand Masters from Connecticut have hosted this program for the last several years. They put on a program about the Masonic home in Connecticut and have a nice meal. I hope that some of you will attend this meeting. The Grand Master of Connecticut and his party will join us in lodge for our Men’s Night meeting.

Our District Deputy Grand Master R+W+Bill Furst will be at lodge for his official visit. I hope we have a great turn out to welcome all of these distinguished brothers and guests.

On Friday evening, Jan. 25, I received word that R+W+ B.F. Shealy was in Munroe Regional Hospital after suffering a possible stroke during church services Wednesday evening. Saturday, I visited Brother Shealy and his son, Richard, at the hospital. I know a number of brothers were also planning to visit. Brother Shealy has use of his hands and legs, but has a problem speaking. At this time, Richard does not know when Brother Shealy will be released. Please keep Brother B.F. and his family in your prayers.

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. As for my family, we were once again blessed with the opportunity to all be together under one roof on Christmas day.

And we were all together again on December 29, 2007 when I was installed as Worshipful Master of Marion-Dunn Lodge along with the rest the 2008 line of elected and appointed officers. This was the first time that our daughter Stacy Lynn has been able to join us at lodge; I'm sure that some of you wondered if Sharon and I really had a daughter.

There are special days that stand out in my life; as a mason those days are the day I was Raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason, the day I received my leather apron, and the day I was installed as Worshipful Master of Marion-Dunn Lodge.

Brothers, I will do my best to follow in the foot steps of all the good Masters who have preceded me and with your continued support, I believe that we will have another successful and productive year. I want to continue to support our Masonic Home in every way that we are able. Rainbow Girls and DeMolay are active and growing, and my hat goes of to all of my brothers and sisters who give so freely of their time to help our youth. Eastern Star and Amaranth are active and are always ready the open their doors to new members and to give Marion-Dunn lodge a hand when ask.

We have a large and active lodge. With all of us pulling together the amount of good things we can accomplish is unlimited. If you have time on your hands look around and see where you can be more active. Consider joining one of our appending orders: Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shrine, Eastern Star or Amaranth. All of these orders begin with Masons. Our Rainbow girls and DeMolay boys can always use a hand.

We will be having some cleanup days in and around our building, and I urge you to come and help where you can. Again this year we will have Open Books in our lodge where we are all able to study our work. In past years we have gone to visit other lodges in our district as a group and I will try to find time again this year for some lodge visits. I will have the days and times that our district lodges meet posted and hope that some of you find time to go visit our brothers even if we don't have a visit scheduled.

Most of you know that my work schedule is by some standards a little strange. I start work at midnight and work an average 12 hour shift. I work 5 days on have 2 days off, work 5 days on and have 3 days off. With this schedule, my days off will change every week. This causes some confusion even in my own house. But it works out well for me and my coworkers as every so often we get to have weekends off with our families!

I will try keep our brother Secretary up to date on my schedule. I want all of you brothers to be able to reach me when you need to. My cell phone number is 425-1688. This phone is always turned on; if I am sleeping it will go to voice mail. I will return your call as soon as possible, don't worry though, I won't call at 2 AM unless you ask me to.

My Email address is critterdawg@cox.net. I will try to check my messages daily and answer right away.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Worshipful Master in 2008. And remember, it is not the officers but the members of our lodge that makes us all successful.

I can’t believe that it’s been a year now. It seems as if it was only last month that I was installed as Master of Marion-Dunn Lodge. It has been a great year for me, and I believe for the Lodge too. I have learned a lot from all the Brethren. I now know what it means to be a Brother Mason.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of my Officers who supported me in all of my endeavors this year. Without them, I don’t think I could have accomplished anything. You will always have my thanks and always in my prayers.

November was another busy month for Marion-Dunn Lodge. Our Senior Warden Paul Duscher did a great job on the outdoor degree along with Brother Ken Shaw, Junior Warden. Thanks to all the Brethren who showed up to help with loading and transporting and setting up the lodge room and dining area.

And a special thanks once again to Illustrious Brother Hale Stancil for the use of his property for our degree.

Also, in November, Brother Louie Franklin Wise III was passed to the Degree of Fellowcraft. He stood his proficiency by himself and did a great job. Congratulations on being passed and I look forward to your Master Mason Degree.

DeMolay just keeps getting bigger all the time. Philip King was initiated Nov. 6, and Will Parsons was initiated Nov. 26, and we have another new prospect to be initiated in December.

The Rainbow Girls have a new Mother Advisor, Jennifer Rappa, who is taking over for Mom Candy after 7 years. Mom Candy will still be busy with band and other activities for her son and family. I wish her the best. Without Mom Candy, I don’t believe we would have Rainbow. Again, best wishes and God Bless you.

On December 6, we will have election of officer’s and I encourage all members to attend this meeting as this is our most important meeting of the year. On December 12, we will have an Entered Apprentice Degree and all are welcome to attend and welcome this new Brother to our family.

On December 20, Family Night, we will have a wonderful meal provided by our Junior Warden and his kitchen crew, and we are expecting a visit from Santa with good cheer and best wishes for everyone.

Again, I want to thank Marion Dunn Lodge for giving me the opportunity to serve you as Worshipful Master. This has been an experience that I will always be proud of and we always remember as one of the best years of my life.

On October 20 DeMolay began a new era in the 15th Masonic District. We had six young men initiated and I would like to take this opportunity to thank Master Counselor Travis Parker and his degree team for coming and putting on a fantastic degree.

On October 15 the Rainbow Girls initiated three new young ladies. Brittney Ellis sat in the East for this degree and she and her entire degree team did an outstanding job.

Our Lodge approved the lease for the Marion-Dunn Masonic Park and it will be a great partnership with the city. Over seeing this project will be a Lodge committee will consisting of 5 members: R?W? Jarvis Johnson, W? David McConnell, R?H? Greg Wilson, W? Ladd Poehlman and W? John Story. If you have comments or questions concerning the Lodge property, please direct your questions to these individuals.

On October 27, the Grand Master made his official visit to the 15th Masonic District. I congratulate R?W? William J Furse, Jr. for all the hard work he did to make this a success.

November promises to be a busy month for us here at Marion-Dunn Lodge—as usual— and we encourage you to come out and show your support!

On November 3, the annual 15th Masonic District Outdoor Degree will be held. Lodge will open at 3:00 p.m. Brother Senior Warden Paul Duscher has been working hard on putting this together. For lunch we will have chicken and side dishes provided by our Junior Warden Ken Shaw.

Please come out and support these Brothers who are getting raised. There will be seven Brothers going through, three from Marston Lodge and four from Marion Dunn Lodge. Brothers from throughout the District will be sitting in different chairs or have parts in the second sections. Come out and enjoy the degree and show your support.

On Family Night this month will be our annual Thanksgiving Dinner and all are invited to come and enjoy! If any ladies would like to bring a side dish it would be most welcome.

Finally, you missed lots of beauty of the Suwannee River area, even more fellowship and lots of just good times if you were not with us on the first annual Campathon. Thanks to W? Ladd Poehlman and Senior Deacon Randy Strong for convincing me to go. Make sure to come next year for lots of Masonic good times!

Fraternally,
John Story

I want to extend appreciation to all our Brothers who sent in money for our fund raiser to support the Ladies project for the Masonic Home. It is rewarding to see the list of our Brothers and others who have stepped up to assist our Masonic Home. Not all have responded but their numbers are few. It’s not too late to send your donation. We will accept donations until the Grand Master’s visit Oct. 27. Again, I thank you.

Welcome back to members of Ocala Chapter 29 of Eastern Star who resume work after their summer break. I know they are raring to get going again and they have lots of activities planned, starting with a big fund raiser breakfast on Sept. 22. If you would like a good home cooked breakfast, plan to attend. Tickets are $5 at the Lodge.

Rainbow Girls will install new officers Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. Congratulations to Brittany Ellis on being installed a second time as Worthy Advisor. If you have not attended a Rainbow Girls installation, I encourage you to attend and support all of our young ladies because they support us.

We had our DeMolay training meeting on August 25 with a small, but enthusiastic turnout. We are scheduling another session of the all important training in October because many Brothers who want to help were out of town in August.

Reestablishing DeMolay for this District is a very important endeavor and everyone should be ready to help in any way they can. We are still looking for that one person who is willing to step forward as Chapter Dad. If you feel you would like to accept this or any challenge please let me or the Chairman of the Adult Advisory Council, R+W+ Carl Edgerton, know.

District Deputy Grand Master William R. Furse will make his official visit to Marion Dunn Lodge on Sept. 6. I would like to see all our Brothers come out and support him because he deserves our respect and support and because he supports us! He is doing an outstanding job this year and I promise you, he keeps his program short and to the point.

While traveling with him this year as one of his committeeman, I have learned so much from just watching and listening to what he has to say. Right Worshipful Furse is one of the most understanding and helpful persons I have ever met. Please come out and support him.

A huge personal thank you to Brother Jimmy Lynn, Past Master of Biscayne Bay Lodge No. 124, and to all Brothers who came on August 18 for our workday. We were joined by a very good turn out of men and women from the Ocala Christian Church. The floors look great, the dining room and lobby shine, and we look forward to many more work days to improve our Lodge.

On Family Night in September, we will begin discussions on a long term lease with the City of Ocala on the Lodge property and completion of the park that is contemplated, along with a large sign on 36th Avenue proclaiming “Marion Dunn Masonic Park in cooperation with the City of Ocala.” We need input from you, and, yes, your opinion does matter. We will not be voting on this in September, only discussing the issue that night.

We are tentatively scheduling a Entered Apprentice Degree and a Fellow Craft Degree during September, with the exact dates set later this month and posted on our web site, www.mariondunnlodge.com.

I plan to have our Past Masters Night on Family Night in October and I invite all Past Masters to attend and receive the honors that are due you.

Again thanks for you support for our current fund raiser and your support for all of our endeavors this year. I look forward to seeing you at lodge. Until then, with peace, harmony and brotherly love,

July was another busy month for Marion Dunn Lodge. On July 12 we had another Entered Apprentice Degree, initiating three new brothers: Bob Taylor, Nathan Pyles and Nathaniel Williams. Our Senior Warden, Brother Ken Shaw sat in the East for this degree and did an outstanding job along with his degree team. They are working to be ready for the Annual Outdoor Degree in November.

I would like to thank Most Worshipful Norm Getchell for attending the Low 12 meeting while we presented this degree, so Marion-Dunn would be represented.

On Family Night, we did a presentation to the Flag and I want to thank the Rainbow Girls, Pam Ellis, Laniesha Harris and Elizabeth McConnell for their participation. They did a great job in their floor-work. I also want to thank Senior Warden Paul Duscher, Junior Warden Ken Shaw and Past Master and Marshal Ladd Poehlman for their participation, also doing a great job.

August is going to be another busy month for Marion-Dunn, and we will be have a much needed work-day on August 18. We will strip and re-wax the floors in the dining room, lobby and hall. Past Master Jimmy Lynn has volunteered his time and equipment to accomplish this task. Anyone wishing to help please contact either me or the lodge office to sign up. Any help will be appreciated.

On Family Night this month we will conduct an Apron Presentation for Brothers Tracey Pick, Steven Smith and Edward Comstock who stood their proficiency as Master Masons on July 19. Please come and support these brothers who have worked very hard to accomplish this goal.

On a personal note, I will be doing a lot of traveling with our District Deputy Grand Master William R. (Bill) Furse Jr., visiting lodges throughout the District on his official visits this month, as District Chairman of Youth Activities.

At this time, we do not have any degrees scheduled for this month; however, we are planning a Fellowcraft Degree in September.

Again, I would like to thank everyone for their support this year, and I having the best year of my life! God Bless you and your families, until next month.

This month promises to be another very busy month for Marion Dunn Lodge as was the month of June. On June 13, we did our Past Masters Entered Apprentice Degree for our new Brother Milo Jackson, is a Correctional Officer at Lowell.

WPaul Bartman sat in the East for this degree and did a fantastic job. Other Past-Masters in this degree were W David McConnell as Chaplain, RH Greg Wilson as Senior Deacon, W Russ Poehlman as Junior Deacon and Charge, WLadd Poehlman as Junior Stewart and Lecture, W Lawrence Brent, Jr. as Tyler and RW B. F. Shealy providing Masonic Education.

Also participating in the degree were Brothers Hunter Foster as Junior Warden, Randy Strong as Senior Steward, Paul Ferguson as Secretary and myself sitting in as Senior Warden. Everyone did an outstanding job and if you did not attend, you missed one of the best degrees ever preformed by Marion-Dunn Lodge!

On June 23, we presented a Master Mason Degree for Steven Smith, Edward Comstock and Tracey Martin Pick. Congratulations to these brothers for all their hard work on their catechisms.

I would like to thank all the Brothers and Past Masters who participated in these degrees and a special thanks to Worshipful Brother Leslie Morris from Friendship Lodge who did the Master Mason Lecture. We could not have done it without all of you.

Brother Kenny Jones, our Junior Deacon, had his first meeting of the Widow’s Son Motorcycle Club and is off and running with this project and it promises to be a lot of fun for those of you who have motorcycles and just like to ride. If you want to participate you can contact Brother Jones and let him know and he will be glad to answer any questions you may have.

Congratulations to Brothers Kenneth Love, Richard Jones and Lawrence Brent who received their 50 year pins in the month of June. It is by long term dedication and commitment by brothers like these that make Masonry work. Bro. Jones was in Lodge for the first time in quite some time because of poor health, and we hope he will be able to return many more times.

On Family night, July 19 we have our recognition of the 4th of July with some presentations and a tribute to the Flag. It promises to be interesting and entertaining. I hope to see everyone.

Don’t forget about our Outdoor Degree coming November 3 at Brother Hale Stancil’s farm. Until next month I wish everyone a Happy and Safe 4th of July and remember to drive defensively.

We have come to the halfway point in the year and I would like to thank everyone for making this one of the best years of my life.

If you did not attend our last family night, you missed a very good meeting. We had about 110 Brothers, family and guests for dinner and in the Lodge Room for our Fraternal Affairs Night and Widows Night program.

I would like to thank the Eastern Star ladies and their spouses for a great meal. The presentations by Eastern Star and Amaranth were very impressive. Hosting the meeting was Worthy Matron Virginia Beggs of Ocala Chapter 29, who urged Brothers to expand their search for light in Masonry by joining the Star.

RW Norman Anders, who serves as Worthy Patron of Order of the Amaranth, gave us an equally stirring plea for joining that appendant order to further the case of Freemasonry.

And I’m not forgetting the Rainbow Girls, who served the dinner for us, and then presented a check $200 from the Assembly for the Central Florida Community College Endowed Scholarship Trust Fund, and another $50 check from the Advisory Board for the scholarship fund. Thank you ladies! The craft then presented the Rainbow $200 as a tip collected by passing the hat for their service in the dining room.

We also honored the widows of our departed brothers with a small gift and a certificate and pin for those who had not previously received one.

We are attending Grand Lodge as this Trestleboard is being mailed, and a full report will be made at Men’s Night in June to let everyone know what resulted from this Grand Communication.

To everyone who participated in all of the degree work done in Marion-Dunn Lodge during in the Month of May, I thank you. We did a total of five degrees in May consisting of two Entered Apprentice Degrees, two Fellow Craft Degrees and one Master Mason Degree, and we ended the month with seven new Master Masons.

They represent a variety of occupations, are various ages, but all have a solid interest in Freemasonry, and we welcome them to our Lodge and the Fraternity!

We should be having more degrees coming up in July. So, please — plan on attending. It is helpful not only to the Brothers participating, but helps you to learn and understand the degree work, and the Brothers going through the Degrees appreciate your presence.

Finally . . . coming soon to a cow pasture near you “15th Masonic District Annual Outdoor Degree!” It’s set for November 3, 2007 on brother Hale Stancil’s farm west of Ocala. Plan for it!.

Here we are already in May and things continue to happen for Marion Dunn Lodge. This month will be a very busy month for all.

On Family Night we will have our Widow’s Appreciation Night. Eastern Star Chapter 29 will be prepare the meal that night and help honor our Masonic widows. Thanks to all of them for their help.

Along with our regular meetings, we will present a Fellow Craft degree on May 9, an Entered Apprentice degree on May 23 and a “Short of Time” class on May 26. If you would like to participate in any of these degrees you can contact me at home. We always need Brothers to sit on the sidelines.

The Zone 4 Legislative Meeting for Grand Lodge will be help on May 10 at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center. All legislative items to be presented at grand Lodge will be discussed at this meeting. You are all encouraged to attend.

Speaking of the 178th Annual Grand Lodge, it will be held May 27 through May 30 in Orlando, and your officers will represent the Lodge. Worshipful Bill First of Inglis will be installed as our new District Deputy Grand Master and Worshipful Greg Wilson, Past Master of Marion-Dunn Lodge, will be our new District Instructor. I am looking forward to working with both of them.

On Family Night, the Rainbow Girls plan to be on hand to make a donation to the Marion-Dunn Lodge Endowed Scholarship Fund at CFCC from the money they made at their car wash. They raised over $600.00 for this fund raiser and worked very hard on this project. Congratulations to all the Rainbow Girls on a successful fund raising project. Hopefully we can have another car wash before the end of the year.

On Sunday May 20 at 2:00 p.m., Rainbow Girls will installation new officers. Congratulations to Ms. Brittany Ellis who will be installed as Worthy Advisor.

We were happy to welcome Past Master Les King back for a visit from Cartersville, GA. where he now lives and fellowships with his Brothers. Worshipful Les served the Lodge in 1997.

I would like to thank everyone for helping make this a very successful year so far and look forward to seeing you in lodge.

From The East:

Spring has finally arrived. Hope everyone is getting out and enjoying the good weather we are having. This month promises to be another busy month for us. Brother Bring a Friend night will be Family Night this month and our Senior Warden has been busy putting that together for use. If you know someone who would be a good Mason please let either myself, the Senior Warden or Secretary know so we can send him an invitation.

Congratulations to Virginia Beggs and Gus Greene on being installed as Worthy Matron and Worthy Patron of Eastern Star. They had a very good installation on that night. Also, congratulations to Janet Mitchell and Norm Anders who will be installed as Royal Matron and Royal Patron on April 3 at 7:00 pm with refreshments to follow.

Don’t forget about the Rainbow Girl’s car wash on April 14 from 9:00 to 1:00. If you purchased a ticket come by and get your car washed by professionals. There will be hot dogs and cold drinks for sale also. The Eastern Star will be having a fish fry on April 29 starting a 12:00 noon.

I would like to thank Brother Jimmy Dionne and his wife Stacey for the Family Fun Day last month. Their efforts in this area are greatly appreciated. I also thank them for their decorations for family night this year.

Congratulations to all the new Entered Apprentices. We still have another candidate to initiate. We will schedule that degree in April. We are still working on DeMolay at this time.

I am looking forward to Grand Lodge this year and if anyone is planning on going you should make your reservations now while rooms are still available.

From The East:

March has arrived and we continue to move at a fast pace. Last month was a very busy month for Marion Dunn Lodge with the visit of Grand Master Charles Fowler of Connecticut and a visit by the Grand Master of Florida, MWGM Robert Trump.

Most Worshipful Trump attended our family night and presented a 60 year pin and certificate to Worshipful Cecil Ferguson and also presented him a past master apron on behalf of Marion Dunn Lodge. Brother Ferguson was Worshipful Master in the Dunnellon lodge on 2 different occasions.

Worshipful Ladd Poehlman presented our Grand Master a honorary Membership plaque and certificate of appreciated for all the years of faithful service by him. MW Trump was very appreciative and a little loss for words. Brother Ladd did a great presentation.

March promises to be a busy month, we will be doing an Enter Apprentice degree on March 7 at 6:30 pm. We will have five candidates going through for this degree. Marston Lodge No. 49 is planning a Short of Time class for this month and I have notified the District Instructor that Marion-Dunn Lodge will help them out with whatever they need; anyone who wishes to help out with this please let me know. You can contact me at home or at the lodge.

Degree Competition will be held at open books this month and it will be on the Enter apprentice degree, with either first or second section to be presented.

As I announced at last month’s family night, I am currently getting things together to do a Wall of Honor featuring all the Presidents who were members of the Masonic fraternity. Along with photographs of the Presidents, there will be a copy of the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. If you have a suggestion as to where in the Lodge you would like this, please let me know.

It’s time to start thinking about Brother Bring a Friend Night, to be held on family night on April 19. If you know someone you think would make a good mason please invite him that night so we can make him feel welcome. For more details concerning this event you can talk to the Senior Warden.

I am looking forward to seeing everyone in lodge, until then May God Bless and look over our troops and all our families.

This year is starting off to be a very busy one. We had two Master Mason Degrees in January and I want to thank everybody on the degree teams. You did an outstanding job. I also would like to thank R?W? Fred Latsko, Zone 4 Chairman on Work, who came and presented the lecture and charge.

Congratulations to the four brothers who were raised and I look forward to seeing them in lodge.

I would also like to thank W? Greg Wilson on an outstanding apron presentation on family night.

We were the host lodge for the 15^th Masonic District Association meeting and congratulations to W? Russ Sauvageu who was elected president of the 15^th District Association.

Congratulations also to Amber Boyd-Rappa who was installed as Worthy Advisor for the Rainbow Girls on January 27.

Also, M?W? Norm Getchel and John Gonzales did an outstanding job in the Nutmegger reunion of Connecticut sojourners on January 30.

If you have not noticed yet, the city has begun work on the area that was leased to them for a park. It’s starting to look very good. Also, I apologize for our flag not being lowered in a timely manner, but the pulley at the top of the flag pole was broken and it could not be lowered. Our Secretary contacted the city and they came out immediately and replaced it as part of our lease agreement. The city has also been doing a great job of keeping the grass cut around the lodge,

We will have the Grand Master of Connecticut, Most Worshipful Charles Fowler, attending lodge on Men’s Night February 1.

The Grand Master for the State of Florida, Most Worshipful Robert Trump, will be attending on Family Night February 15. He will be here to present a 60 year service pin and certificate to one of our brothers. I encourage everyone to come out and meet our Grand Master.

Junior Warden Ken Shaw and his crew will be making something special for that night. In addition, we will be taking photographs that night for couples or anyone who wishes to have them taken.

Until next month, may God bless you and watch over all of us and our troops.

Marion-Dunn Lodge completed a successful year in 2006, building on a solid foundation for continued growth in the future, retiring Worshipful Master Ladd Poehlman reported to the Craft at Family Night December 21.

He said there were 18 initiated Entered Apprentices, 20 Passed to Fellowcraft, and 16 Raised as Master Masons during the year. Nine others came into the Lodge via affiliation or reinstatement, while we lost two by dimit, and six passed to the Celestial Lodge above. Ten were dropped for non payment of dues.

Eight members purchased Perpetual Memberships during the year, new Lodge officer aprons were donated, much Lodge cleanup and/or repair was donated, as well as more than $5,000 of direct cash donations to the Lodge.

“I am very proud of the work that was been done in 2006. I believe we have a great group of officers for 2007 and they will continue to build our Lodge for the future,” he said.

Happy New Year! I am looking forward to this year as Worshipful Master and want to thank the Craft for allowing me the opportunity to serve. This is the biggest honor of my life. For Christmas, my wife got me my first cell phone. She told me that as Worshipful Master I needed one. So if anyone needs to call me my cell phone number is 502-5591.

Last year ended with a bang, as we did four different degrees in the month of December and we are starting out this year the same way. We will present a Master Mason Degree on Friday, January 12 at 6:30 p.m. for our four Fellowcraft Brothers who have worked very hard since being initiated in September. Anyone wishing to participate in this degree, let either me or the Senior Warden know.

I want to congratulate all of the elected and appointed officers for this year. I know we will have a great year because I know I can count on you for your help and support.

Last month I received my newsletter from the Masonic Home with a wish list which included a mechanical bed. I would like to see our Lodge purchase one of these beds this year, and I know we can raise the money if we put our minds to it. One way will be with commemorative Lodge lapel pins again this year as a fund raiser. If you have additional ideas on fund raising — or on any other item for the Lodge — please feel free to let me know.

On Family Night we will be presenting Masonic White Aprons and Bibles to our Brothers who did their Master Mason proficiency in December. Congratulation to all of you: we are proud of the work you have accomplished! I know our Junior Warden will be having a great meal because he has been looking forward to cooking this meal since he was the Junior Steward!

I am looking forward to seeing all of you in lodge. May God always be watching over you.

As I write my final Trestleboard article, there is something that came to my mind.

R . . .Root ourselves in Masonry and Think of ourselves as a seed that was planted as an Entered Apprentice took root and grew into a Master Mason.

S . . . Serve our Fraternity and our community by giving our time and dedication to serving others.

T . . .Thank the Grand Architect of the Universe for all our many Blessings and thank our more knowledgeable Brothers for their wise council and strong leadership.

Brothers if we all practice these few principals, we can all REST assured that our Fraternity will always remain strong and honorable and so will we as Brother Masons.

I want to Thank all of you for the privilege and honor of serving you as Worshipful Master for 2006. My Wife and I would like to extend Best Wishes to each and everyone of you for this Holiday Season.

I apologize for not having an article that is knowledgeable or informative of anything that pertains to Masonry in general. I just came off from a ten day vacation with Brother Treasurer, Brother Junior Deacon and Brother Brad Strong in the mountains of Tennessee, and it was wonderful.

Brother Randy and I passed a lodge in Fall Branch, TN. and noticed the door open then turned around and went back and introduced ourselves as Brothers of Marion Dunn Lodge in Ocala, FL. We were welcomed with open arms and visited with three Brothers who were just finishing the lecture for the Master Mason Degree that they had given the day before.

They were kind enough to show us their lodge which was upstairs and I have to say that it was very quaint and reminded me of some of our lodges in our district. One of the Brothers took us to the basement and showed us a timber of white poplar that was 60 feet long, 24 inches tall and 18 inches thick that was hand hewn in the late 1800’s and was the main beam supporting their two story lodge. It was a wonderful experience visiting with those Brothers who had no idea who we were until we shook hands with them. After spending about 45 minutes visiting, just before we left, the Past Master and current Secretary made the comment that he felt closer to us as Brothers than any individual off the street from his hometown.

Brothers, that is something to make us all proud of, that we can visit lodges that aren’t even open for business and still be welcomed with open arms. Brother Treasurer and Brother Brad Strong passed by the oldest lodge in the United States, which happens to be in Jonesborough, TN, but were unable to visit.

The Autumn leaves were beautiful, weather was crazy... beautiful sunny days, windy cold nights, freezing frosty mornings and towards the end were those “Smokey Mountain Rains.”

Brothers we are looking forward to a great November and I look forward to seeing you in Lodge.

Isn’t the fall time of the year great? Unfortunately for us we don’t get much color change in our leaves, but we will get some cooler temperatures and less humidity and I’m ready for that.

It also brings Halloween and lots of other fun filled activities such as our family night Halloween theme and this year our Past Masters recognition night on the same evening.

We are foprtunate to have about 20 Past Masters who still live in the immediate Ocala area. So Past Masters, put on a good costume, come eat hearty, have some good laughs and allow us to pay respect to you for the years of service and dedication that you have given to Marion Dunn Lodge.

There’s no reason we can’t have fun and show our gratitude in one fun filled evening. So come on out and lets “GIT ‘ER DONE”!

Membership is the life blood of every lodge and we all know that through out the year we lose some brothers for non payment of dues, moving and transferring memberships and sadly passing to the Celestial Lodge above.

Receiving new petitions, initiating new E.A.’s and raising new Master Masons is a MUST. However over the years we have initiated E.A.’s and for some reason or another they never progressed. Whether it be lack of interest, relocating or work schedules that prevents their progress, we still lost a potential member.

This is where it becomes a problem that has it’s differences. Should we take advantage of our short of time degrees and advance some of these men to Master Masons, or should we let them fall by the wayside. Some say it cheapens Masonry, some say it makes for stupid Masons, some say it makes wholesale Brothers, ......who’s right...... who’s wrong?

Everyone has his own opinion and rightfully so. But I have to say that some of our most enthusiastic and attentive Brothers came in the form of a one day or short of time degree. So if a man wants to become a Brother Mason among us, but his personal life has time restrictions on it, what do we do? Let him fall by the wayside or keep our membership up by utilizing the short of time program?

It becomes a “Damn If You Do.... Damn If You Don’t” situation. All I say Brothers, is no matter what your own personal feelings are regarding this situation we never know that the man that might need to use the short of time program just might be the one that would make one of the best Worshipful Masters this Lodge ever had.

I’m not saying that we should start running a herd of men through accelerated classes, but I do feel that if a man is on a borderline of dropping out in his E.A. or Fellowcraft Degree because of personal time restrictions we should deeply consider the use of the short of time program to keep membership from going into a decline.

As many of you that have really time consuming jobs and other personal activities, know that time is consumed like a pack of hungry lions on a dead gazelle. It goes so fast it’s almost like it was never even there.

That’s where it seems my time has gone for the past few months. I do want to Thank each and every Brother that has been there and offered his valuable time to help with degree work, lodge maintenance, donations and any other things that are so vital to our great fraternity.

I would like any Brother that hasn’t done so yet to give special Thanks to our Secretary and Treasurer for the outstanding jobs they have done for us thus far along with the rest of our current officers.

Brothers, these Brothers are the future of our lodge and we need our future to keep shining bright.

So a “Thank You” a “Hand Shake” and a “Pat On The Back” will make these Brothers day brighter as well as keeping our “Lodge Shining Bright”!

I know this article isn’t as humorous as the one about the old mule that froze to death in a hot barn when he thought the popcorn falling from the silo was snow, or catching pictures of a mouse with a picture of cheese, but sometimes we all get mentally worn out and that’s about where I’m at right now, but wait til I tell you about the time I buried plywood in the ground along with some cans of paint and an old jigsaw. Bet you can’t guess what happened! Hang on to your seats for the outcome of this one.

As we all know, wealth comes in a variety of ways. A person may have wealth in the form of having a lot of money, one may have a wealth of knowledge, a wealth of opportunity, a wealth of friends, it could go on and on. The flip side of this is poverty. Some people may be poor, as in hardly enough money to exist. Some may make poor decisions, have poor attitudes, make poor choices in life, and this also could go on and on.

This is a little story about my childhood, when my Mom and Dad struggled hard raising five kids on very little money. The kind of situation many of you can relate to . . .

We had to move back up to Michigan when I was in the third grade, as Dad had to take on a job there because he couldn’t get work here. Well, after relocating up there we were living on an old farm and I remember having a huge garden that I loved working in and raising all those good vegetables and fruits.

We had gotten some baby pigs to raise, that was meant later to slaughter, but my brothers and I had different ideas about that. We wound up making pets out of everyone of them and gave each of them a name. I don’t remember now what really did happen to all those little rascals, if they wound up being ham and pork chops or if they lived happily ever after!?

Anyway; farm houses always have problems with mice, especially in the winter months when they come in seeking warm and dry climate. Well that old house was no exception. One night while we were eating supper my sister saw a mouse run across the kitchen floor and go behind the refrigerator. A couple of nights later we saw another one run down the hallway and go under a bedroom door. That freaked out my sisters and of course they didn’t want to sleep in their room because of a mouse running in there.

So Dad being the wise master of the house, decided to get some mouse traps and set them strategically in various areas of the house. Here’s where the problem kicks in . . .when he went to the refrigerator to get a slice of cheese for bait, Mom got upset and informed him that the cheese was more important for us to eat as grilled cheese sandwiches, and boy did we eat a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup when we were growing up.

So Dad being the genius that he is, was reading a Life magazine one night and came across an ad for Kraft American Cheese. So the light went off in his head and he got the idea of cutting out a picture of a piece of cheese and putting it in the mouse trap for bait. Well he told me to go get the traps and bring them to him and I asked him “do you think that will work?” He says to me “mice are stupid little rodents, they don’t know the difference.” So he baited the traps with the pieces of paper and set them out again. A couple of hours had gone by when SNAP one of the traps went off. Dad jumped up from his chair and excitedly hollers at me and said “see I told you they were stupid.” So I ran out in the kitchen with him and when he pulled the trap from behind the refrigerator there was a picture of a mouse in it. I guess they weren’t so stupid after all.

I know this doesn’t have anything to do with Masonry but I sure had fun writing it. Hope you enjoyed it too.

July, 2006

My Brothers, as many of you know, it’s part of my job to write educational and informative articles in our new Trestleboard format, which I don’t mind doing.

However I do miss writing some of those off the wall and sometimes ridiculous stories that have absolutely no Masonic meaning whatsoever.

I’m kind of leaning towards the last half of this year to mix it up a little bit. What do you think?

Anyway, this one is more on the serious side for some of you that might not keep up with the history of Freemasonry. This is a little information which I’ve read and compiled and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Did you know that Tectonic Art is the science of building temples and other important buildings and working in stone in accordance with the “Ancient usages and established customs” of Operative Mason. And that between 1710 to 1730 Operative Lodges ceased to be active when Speculative Masons gained control and formed the first Grand Lodge in 1717, when a group of Speculative Masons from four London lodges met in that city and organized the premier Grand Lodge of Free Masonry in the world for the purpose of governing the lodges in that city.

Modern Masonry is called “Speculative” to distinguish it as a system of speculative or contemplative science from an operative art. It is another name for Freemasonry in it’s modern acceptance. It is the scientific application and religious consecration of the rules and principles, the language, the implements, and materials of Operative Masonry; It is a system of ethics.

My Brothers, no one really knows where Masonry originated, it is believed to have it’s roots beyond historical record and like religion, to have evolved - possibly by way of the Egyptian Mysteries - down to modern times through various organizations. It is believed however that many of our symbols came from various organizations dating back to Medieval times. Pretty interesting... Don’t you think? Rrrrrrriiiiiiiiinnnnnnggggg...Rrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnnggggg.

Do yourselves a little favor; come to Lodge: visit our newly painted and rearranged Library and become more educated in our great Fraternity.

My Brothers all... sometimes in the hustle and bustle of every day life we find it hard to take time to slow down and enjoy the beauty around us.

So does it become difficult to put our minds in a state as to relax and group our thoughts, and have something creative or educational to write in these Trestleboard articles. That’s where I’m at right now!

But I did find this prayer while reading in a piece of literature that I thought would be worth while to write for the enjoyment for the Brothers that will read it. So here it goes . . .

O, Sovereign and Most Worshipful of all Masters, who, in Thy infinite love and wisdom, hast devised our Order as a means to draw Thy children nearer Thee, and hast so ordained its officers that they are emblems of Thy sevenfold power;

Be Thou unto us an Outer Guard, and defend us from the perils that beset us when we turn from that which is without to that which is within;

Be Thou unto us an Inner Guard, and preserve our souls that desire to pass within the portal of Thy holy mysteries;

Be unto us the Younger Deacon, and teach our wayward feet the truth in certain steps upon the path that leads to Thee: Be Thou also the Elder Deacon, and guide us up the steep and winding stairway to Thy throne;

Be unto us the Lesser Warden, and in the meridian sunlight of our understanding speak to us in sacraments that shall declare the splendors of Thy unmanifested light;

Be Thou also unto us the Greater Warden, and in the awful hour of disappearing light, when vision fails and thought has no more strength, Be with us still, revealing to us, as we may bear them, the hidden mysteries of Thy shadow;

And so, through light and darkness, raise us, Great Master, til we are made one with Thee, in the unspeakable glory of Thy presence in the East.

Needless to say I am extremely proud of what a great Lodge we are. At our last Open Books, we competed in Ritual Competition at zone level and scored the highest score in the State!!

Yes, that’s right the highest score in the State. According to R+W+ Tommy Howard, we had 985 points out of a possible 1,000. That means only 3 mistakes were called against us at 5 points each and now we’ll compete at Grand Lodge at State Level. Isn’t that GREAT!

If I was a peacock, my tail feathers would be in full bloom. Brothers this is fantastic!

When things like this happen it only makes me hope that some of our distant Brothers will see the light, and come to realize that we are trying harder to make our Fraternity better by being enthusiastic about being a Mason.

The time has come for all of us to bond together and begin to move forward, embracing the fact that we have a lot of work to do. And, by working together we will succeed.

We all know that at one time we had a thought or dream that we wanted to become a Mason. It might have been because our Dad, Grandfather, uncle, neighbor, best friend, etc. was a Mason and there was something about that particular individual that got our curiosity aroused as to what makes them seem to be tighter knit and better men.

A lot of men followed that dream and became Masons, bonded closely with other Brothers and became better men by staying active within our great organization. Some sit back and say, “I have good memories of when I became a Mason, but never gave it much time to improve myself or to bond with other great Brothers.”

Well it’s time for those Brothers to dream again, become active and find out just how much self improvement you can gain by truly being a Mason.

As a man once wrote “when memories exceed dreams, the end is getting near.” Brothers, DREAM BIG AND FILL YOUR LIFE WITH GREAT JOY AND FRATERNAL SPIRIT! GET INVOLVED!

‘Til Next Time... May the blessings of Heaven rest upon each and everyone of you!

The other day I was reading some literature that was given to me by a very respected Brother. It had some very interesting and enlightening subject matter that caught my attention. There were some interesting questions and kind of disturbing answers, such as...

What is happening within Freemasonry???

This question has no right or wrong answers because it is like an opinion and everyone will have a different perception or observation about it. Such as... do newer Masons really understand the true meaning of our fraternity or is Masonry any longer regarded as an elite organization.

How does the general public perceive Freemasonry???

Most people are impressed by what they see and hear more so than by what they read. Here are a couple of examples that I think we have all heard. Are Masons really a Fraternity?, a religious organization?, an alternative religion?, or you have to have a lot of money or be a stuffy shirt kind of person to be a Mason.

We all know that these are all perceived and false accusations by those who are unknowing.

To sum it up, we aren't visible in the daily activities of our community. Our identity is frequently misunderstood by the press and religious critics. Consequently we have lost our significance within the context of our community. So what do we do????? We try to make the public aware that Masonry begins on a grassroots level that we are not any better than anyone else. Masons are men who build community through tight knit brotherhood and base their lives on a principle lifestyle that is deeply rooted in a system of values.

Masons are individuals who respect a quality of life which is uniquely fulfilling. Freemasons want to attract fellow men who are seeking enrichment in mind, body and spirit through participation in a brotherhood committed to good works and personal growth.

Brothers, lets all work hard together and keep Freemasonry strong even if the ignorance of some try to knock it down!!!

I'll see you in the Lodge

Fraternally

W:. Ladd Poehlman

Well Brothers, another year has past and we’re looking forward to a new and fantastic upcoming year!

I would like to thank each and every Brother for all of their support during my advancement through the chairs as an upcoming officer. Each year has been a challenge and yet very rewarding only with the help of all my Brothers. I would like to thank all of you who attended our last meeting on December 1 and elected our new officers for 2006.

My special thanks to you for advancing me to the honored position of Worshipful Master and I will do my very best to uphold the position with honor and integrity. I’m looking forward to working with the new officers elected for the new year 2006 who are:

I would like to invite everyone to the installation of all the new officers on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005. Dinner is at 6:30 p.m. Brother H. L. Perkins is going to be grilling something beyond our expectations and we all know that his cooking is so good that it’ll make ‘ya sass yer grandmaw!’ EmmmmmmEm!!!! So you don’t want to miss it!

Brothers, I can’t stress enough how important it is for each of you to attend Lodge and help support the great fraternity that you chose to be a part of. It takes all of us to work together and make this a great success. So I’m looking forward to seeing all of you at installation and in lodge for the upcoming year of 2006.