FROM THE EAST
Ken Lane, Jr.

Hello Brothers!
I hope you are having an enjoyable summer! After last year's long rainy spring and short summer, I've enjoyed the warmth we have experienced thus far. To the Brothers living out of state, you are missing out on one of those beautiful Seattle summers.

I have many thanks to extend for this edition of the Trestleboard.

Our second annual Herb's night was a fun time and a success due in large part to the hard work of our secretary, Jim Russell. If you had a good time, stop and thank him! A short meeting saw Brother Richard Heston prove up on his third degree. We called down the Lodge and our ladies joined us for music, Hawaiian shirts, merriment and a pop quiz! Bros. Herb Gottschalk (the "Herb" in Herb's night), Orrin Niles, George Budlow and Gordon Moe received pins and cards for being 50-year members of Masonry; congratulations! This is truly a milestone for them personally and for our Lodge to have such strong membership support. All had fun. Especially me; in place of my top hat I wore a sombrero!

To the Brothers who took the time to help in the tearing down of our "old" Lodge room and especially our Senior Warden, Brother Jeff Lane, I'd like to say thank you. Thank you for your work in making the remodel of the Quick Room a success. It is a beautiful and a much needed improvement. Brother Jeff Lane had the task of hiring and coordinating the multiple contractors who performed the work. If you have ever been around a construction job, you know how difficult it can be. I'd also like to acknowledge VW Brother Chuck Brockway who assisted in the project, providing support and guidance. Brothers, if you have not been to your Lodge in awhile, come check out the new d�cor! Mark your calendar today and join us for dinner at 6:00pm, September 6th, followed by the stated meeting.

More thanks goes to WBro. Jay Losey and the brethren at Daylight Lodge No. 232. St. John's added two new Brothers to our fold with a joint first degree hosted at Daylight Lodge, who also had a candidate. It was a blend of Daylight showmanship and St. John's traditions combining to welcome these new Brothers. In August, we broke in our new Lodge room with another first degree Welcome new Brothers, David Israel, Teddy Salimbas and John DuWors (brother of our Treasurer Joseph DuWors).

My Brothers, at the start of my term as Master, I challenged each of you to look around your community and see if there is some way Masonry, especially our Lodge, can help. Feel free to contact me or the secretary with any suggestions or thoughts you have. Keep up the good work!

SEPTEMBER 4, 1860: OFFICIAL "BIRTHDAY" OF ST. JOHN'S LODGE NO. 9

In the Beginning.......
In this age wherein we calmly accept miracles of transportation, communication and modern conveniences, we must adjust our thoughts to that time of the 1850's and 1860's when the light by which Masons worked was that of the sun and the moon, of kerosene lamps and candles. Brethren walked miles to attend Lodge or traveled by boat because there were no roads. Lodge attendance was vitally important because it was the best means of keeping informed as to the welfare of one's friends and the progress of the area. Neither telephones nor railroads nor the postal carrier, and certainly not the daily newspaper or television or the Internet had yet come to the small community in Puget Sound. This was a time when fishing and farming were the main occupations of industrious workers, and shipping was in its infancy. This was indeed a time of work, determination, faith and trust.

This was a time when Brothers joined for comradeship, support, and even for self-preservation. Our Lodge, and indeed, all Lodges, were a source of strength and enlightenment. On Saturday, September 16, we will celebrate our 140th anniversary as a Lodge. The evening will feature an outstanding and nationally acclaimed writer, scholar, teacher, commentator, and historical impersonator, Mr. Clay Jenkinson. The social hour will begin at 6:00 o'clock at the Nile Shrine Country Club.

Clay Jenkinson is a nationally acclaimed humanities scholar. His first-person interpretations of historical characters, chiefly Thomas Jefferson, are considered the standard of the art. He is also the host of a nationally syndicated public radio program, The Thomas Jefferson Hour, and the writer and producer of the weekly On Reserve program about great current books. Jenkinson is a public humanities scholar who conducts workshops in the humanities for teachers and other professionals, and a scholar of the Lewis and Clark Expedition who will write and present hundreds of radio minutes in commemoration of the upcoming Lewis & Clark Bicentennial. A North Dakota native who currently lives is Reno, Nevada, Clay Jenkinson travels throughout the nation and the world conducting humanities programs and leading cultural tours, including the Lewis & Clark Trail, historical tours of Jefferson's American West and an October 2000 cultural tour of Greece.

The ladies are invited to share this evening.. If you have not already sent in your reservation, reserving your place and claiming your order for prime rib or salmon, do so today! The enclosed reservation card must be returned by Sept. 6!

Fees to accompany petitions for the degrees will increase by $5 to $150, effective January 1, 2001. This $5 will go toward the Grand Lodge Scholarship Fund

SEPT. 6 MEETING WILL REVIEW ROGERS ACCELERATED READER PROGRAM

Our Grand Master M(W(Brother Richard Mecartea will be attending his home Lodge as we kick off the new season and Masonic year. Worshipful Master Ken Lane, Jr., invites the Brethren to join us for dinner at 6pm and to hear Ms. Debbie McDonald report on the progress of the students at John Rogers Elementary School. St. John's Lodge No. 9 has given financial support to the Accelerated Reader Program for John Rogers students. It has proven to be a great success in improving the reading skills and interest of the students; the Lodge has received grateful acknowledgment from the students, parents and educators for its role in this program

SCHOLARSHIPS MAKE IT HAPPEN!

St. John's Lodge No. 9 annually selects a number of students for financial assistance to attend the college or university of their choice. The following acknowledgment was received from Seattle Pacific University, where eight of this year's twenty students will be attending school: "Scholarship support is vital to Seattle Pacific students. It's no longer possible to fund one's college education through part-time work alone. At minimum wage, today's student would have to work 75 hours a week to make ends meet."
From a modest beginning four years ago, this year's contributions from our Lodge total $15,000.

LOOKING AHEAD
 

Past Masters will be honored and elections for officers held at our October (4th) Stated Communication. Also in October (the 11th), members of St. John's will host the annual oyster dinner at the Masonic Retirement Center. The Past Masters "Secrets of the Chair" will be held Saturday, October 21.

Coming Events
September 6: (6pm) 7:30pm: St. John's 9 (dinner) Stated
September 16: (6pm social hour) 7pm dinner: St. John's Lodge No. 9 140th Anniversary dinner (Nile)
September 20: 7pm: St. John's No. 9 Officers Meeting
October 4: St. John's Lodge No. 9 Past Masters Night and Election of Officers
October 11: Annual St. John's Oyster Dinner at Masonic Retirement Home
October 18: 5pm: St. John's Lodge No. 9 Trustee Meeting
October 18: 7pm: St. John's No. 9 Officers Meeting
October 21: St. John's Secrets of the Chair
November 25: 10am: St. John's Lodge No. 9 Installation of officers
May 5, 2001: 6:30pm: Grand Master Reception for District No. 5 (St. John's host)
 

MASONIC "WORD OF THE DAY"
AMARANTH (A muh ranth) n.: an imaginary flower that does not fade; a flower of the genus Amaranthus; a deep purple with a reddish tinge.

Example: The painting had succeeded so well in capturing the rose that the image had become an immortal amaranth.