December 2006 Trestleboard

St. John’s Lodge No. 9 gives a helping hand to many families in need at this time of year. Through our resources and the dedication of the membership these families receive gifts and holiday meals. Your Lodge makes it so those things that are really important are at the forefront in their lives.

This always makes me think back over the years about what is really important to me. When I was a child I thought the holiday season meant that I would get a few chosen toys, new warm clothes, and holiday cookies. It also meant that I would get dragged out for dinner with the whole extended family. The toys seemed important and the dinner seemed an unwanted chore.

Somehow, however, the toys, cookies, and clothes were never enough to cover the disappointment of a season that never seemed to live up to its hype. Possessions were not the answer to fulfillment and happiness.

The highlights of those years that I remember today are building snow forts in the Christmas tree lot down on the corner and of the dinners at my Great Aunt’s house. I cannot remember one single toy.

Over the years these holiday dinners began to mean more and more. It was a time when the whole family met, perhaps the only time during the year when this would happen. My wife and I would always spend Christmas day at her mom and dad’s until they passed to their reward. We would spend Christmas Eve at my parent’s home until they got too frail. Then I put on the meal for a number of years for twenty some close relatives.

Years rolled on and the numbers of those attending dwindled as the old passed on and the young grew up and moved away. The core of my family remained and remains today. My sister does the holiday meal now and the feeling of contentment when we all meet for this annual meal and are together is beyond price.

As we celebrate the holidays this year, let us give thanks for those things that are really important to each of us – our families, our friends, and our health. Nothing else really matters.

May you and yours have a very happy holiday season.

HEAVENLY QUARRIES GAIN 13 ST. JOHN ’S LABORERS

We will miss these brothers who were called to the Celestial Lodge in 2006:

Jim Ausland, Jack DeBus, Ken Hall, William Hockett, Frank Houghton, Afton King, Stan Kinne, Loren Loesell, Frederick Magnussen, Roy Shaffer, Garth Short, Walter Williams, Frank Young.

“Thy day of toil on earth, my Brother, is over. Thou hast entered upon a greater field of labor and of love.”

CALENDAR

· December 14 ( 7pm ): Officers meeting/practice

· December 16 (meet 8am ): Operation Kid Smile at Fort Lewis (meet at Brockway’s in Puyallup )

· December 20 ( 6:15pm ) 7:30pm : St. John’s 9 (dinner) Stated

· January 11 ( 7pm ): degree

· January 12 ( 6pm ): Districts 4&5 Celebration of Masonry ( Ballard Masonic Center )

· January 17 ( 6:15pm ) 7:30pm : St. John’s 9 (dinner) Stated – Official Visit of the DDGM

· January 20: Leadership Workshop

· January 24 ( 7pm ): Officers meeting/practice/degree

· February 14 ( 5pm ): Board of Trustees

· February 15 ( 7pm ): degree

· February 21 ( 6:15pm ) 7:30pm : St. John’s 9 (dinner) Stated – Youth Groups Night

· February 28 ( 7pm ): Officers meeting

· March 15 ( 7pm ): degree

LODGE ENDS YEAR WITH NEW LINE OF OFFICERS

St. John’s brothers are encouraged to participate in this month’s stated communication as we conclude our year with a kick-off to a “new year.” Members of our new leadership team were installed into their chairs at the December 9 installation of officers. Taking the reigns for the first time as Master of St. John’s , WBro. Charles Tupper will be entering his third year as Master of a lodge. He previously served as Master for two consecutive terms at Thomas M. Reid Lodge No. 225, now consolidated with Occidental Lodge No. 72.

Assisting WBro. Tupper will be Bro. Jim Wold as Senior Warden and Bro. Chris Carney as Junior Warden. VWBro. Jim Russell will be entering his eleventh year as Secretary, while WBro. Ken Lane, Jr. again will serve as Treasurer. Other officers are Bros. Ken Wehl, Senior Deacon; George Rine, Junior Deacon; Nick Mitchell, Senior Steward; David Flood, Junior Steward; Brian Downie, Chaplain; Rick Heston, Marshal; Bert Bertram, Musician; and WBro. Terry Grove, Tyler .

WBro. Bill Collison was elected to complete another four-year term as Trustee, and re-joins WBros. Charles Brockway, Hans Wehl, and Jeff Lane . WBro. Mark Campbell also serves on the Board of Trustees as the Immediate Past Master.

Join the holiday spirit and fun as we open a new year at St. John’s . We will share some Christmas cheer with song and stories.

Please make your 6:15pm dinner reservations with the secretary at stjohns9@seattlemasons.org or 206 623-0261 by Friday (December 15) prior to the meeting. Invite a brother to accompany you to lodge.

Members of St. John’s again provided food and clothing for families at Thanksgiving, and will distribute food, clothing and toys for the children at Christmas. Families given assistance at Thanksgiving were in the Seattle area. For Christmas, we add many families living at Fort Lewis , whose loved ones are serving our country in Iraq . WBro. Hans Wehl will play Santa Claus for the third year, mixing in a little of his own Jewish culture with the spirit of Christmas. Those wishing to assist should call VWBro. Brockway 253 686-2309.

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for January 12, 2007 which is the date for our Celebration of Masonry in Districts 4 & 5, with our special guest MWB Charles McQuery, our Grand Master. The event will be held at the Ballard Masonic Center starting at 6pm . This promises to be a great evening of food, fun, and fellowship as well as some great entertainment. Some tickets are still available at $50; as last year, the net proceeds to be donated to the Seattle Youth Symphony to support their educational programs.

We received this note from the wife of one of our brothers: “Today, during the snow and ice, Brad Greco, of Esoterica Lodge, picked me up in his 4-wheel drive to get me to work and home again. He also got me to the post office and bank.

“But mainly, I thought you might want to know what a good guy he was today. Last night he towed a jack-knifed semi truck and trailer out of a ditch, and got it going so it didn't have to wait 7 hours for a tow truck. Today he towed 2 more cars that were stuck on side streets to get them going.

The “Pineapple Express” storm of November 6, 2006 has created extreme havoc to your Masonic Park in Granite Falls , Washington . The park, which is located 4.5 miles east of Granite Falls , has the beautiful Canyon Creek as a center point. This usually mild mannered stream became a raging torrent of water that destroyed many of the areas throughout the park. The most extensive damage occurred to the open air amphitheater, in which all stations of the lodge used in the open air degree were washed away leaving a mire of mud.

Some of the culverts under the roads connecting the different camping areas of the park are gone completely and others have been damaged extensively, but are repairable. Several of the shelters on the creek have been undermined by the high water.

The rebuilding of the Masonic Park will take an unprecedented outpouring of volunteer labor, along with some financial assistance.

Our point of contact are Park Managers Fred and Paula Turner, who can be reached at (360) 691-6641. The mailing address is P.O. Box 1379 Granite Falls , Washington 98252 or email them at turnermasprk@msn.com

Here is a brief over-view of the year 2006 for St. John’s Lodge. We held twelve stated meetings during the year with the average attendance 33.5 members and 8 visitors. A special program of interest was offered prior to each meeting. We conferred thirteen degrees during the year, raised three as Master Masons. We had five affiliations and one demit from membership. We will end the year with 293 members. One candidate is waiting to be initiated, three brothers are waiting for their FCº, two waiting for their MMº. A few others have apparently lost interest.

The average age of the lodge members is 67.4 years. The average age of the active members is 60. The average age of the three principal officers is 44.7; of the appointed officers is 45.9.

Leadership training workshops are being conducted throughout the state, with the next workshop scheduled to be held in Everett on January 20. The Grand Lodge Leadership Training Committee is charged with the responsibility of creating and presenting a course of instruction to assist the Masons of Washington in developing the needed skill set to become effective lodge leaders.

The workshops are a great forum to provide good and wholesome instruction. The cost of these workshops is $10, which includes materials and lunch.