Seattle Then
and
Now
(now out of current print) will be available for purchase as
well as signing by the authors.
 |
Bonnie Birch is
one of the most versatile accordionists on the Seattle scene.
She has given solo concerts in California, Las Vegas, and
Florida. She regularly appears at Seattle downtown restaurants
like Serafina, the Pink Door, and Il Bacio and at clubs (Seattle
Yacht Club and Seattle Tennis Club). From classical music to
Italian, French, and German music; from jazz standards to
Broadway show tunes - Bonnie can play it all!. |
The ladies are invited to join us for
dinner and to share in the evening’s activities.
The evenings schedule of events is:
6:15 - 7:00 PM - Dinner accompanied by
musical entertainment (downstairs)
7:00 - 7:30 PM - Historical Presentation
(downstairs)
7:40 - 8:00 PM - Pin Awards,
announcements, reports, introductions (upstairs in
Lodge)
7:50 - 8:30 PM - Musical entertainment -
coffee - discussion with Historians (downstairs)
8:00 - 8:45 PM - Lodge
We
particularly want our snow birds and infrequent attendees to be
a part of this. Please call the secretary, VWBro. Jim Russell,
at (206) 623-0261 if you can join us, so that we may know how
many to expect for dinner.
Wednesday July
23rd at 6 pm
JOIN THE MASONIC FLOAT FOR
GREENWOOD-PHINNEY SEAFAIR PARADE
The Greenwood neighborhood is gearing up
to celebrate its 57th annual parade! This is one of Seattle's
biggest neighborhood SEAFAIR parades, and we invite you to join
the fun! Bring your Masonic apron and march with the Occidental
Masonic float. Greenwood Lodge will have a couple of open
convertibles. The Jobies and DeMolay have also been represented
in previous years.
The parade route: runs along Greenwood
Avenue from N. 95th St. to N. 85th St, turns right (west) at
85th and continues to 6th Avenue NW. Pizza and beverages will
be available at Greenwood Masonic Center at the parade’s
conclusion.
TORCHLIGHT PARADE TO INCLUDE ST. JOHN’S
St.
John’s will again sponsor the Grand Lodge float in the 58th
annual Torchlight Parade on Saturday evening, July 26. The
parade will start at 7:30 at Seattle Center and move south on
Fourth Avenue to Second Avenue South and South King Street.
The
Grand Master will be riding on the float, along with other
members of the Concordant Bodies. We still need 4-6 walking
volunteers to help carry the St. John’s banner at the head of
the float. (Three rotating in and out to relieve each other
throughout the procession.) The parade starts at 7:30pm, but
volunteers need to be present by 5pm.
If you can’t make the parade, watch for us live on KIRO-TV!
151ST ANNUAL COMMUNICATION OF
GRAND LODGE
Twenty-two
brothers from St. John’s attended the annual communication of
Grand Lodge in Wenatchee last month. Two resolutions with
slight variations which would have required new Masters to have
passed the lodge officers proficiency program failed. Beginning
in 2011, annual communication will be cut by one day, to meet on
Friday and Saturday. One resolution to increase the number of
Grand Lodge officers who would be allowed to carry the clear
text of our esoteric Work passed by a small majority but failed
to attain the necessary super majority. It will be carried over
to the 152nd annual communication in E. Spokane.
MWBro. Doug
Tucker from the Spokane area was elevated to the Grand East and
RWBro. Gale Kenney of St. John’s and University Lodges was
elected Deputy Grand Master. VWBro. Michael Sanders was elected
to the South as Junior Grand Warden on the third ballot.
At Friday
afternoon’s session, St. John’s was awarded the “best overall”
website for this past year. The Master acknowledged the work
done by our webmaster, WBro. Charles Tupper, at our June stated
communication. On July 1st, our website
www.seattlemasons.org was ranked number 30 in the world for
Craft Masonry in popularity. This number comes from Alexa.com, the Internet
domain ranking service. We lead all sites in Washington,
including the Grand Lodge of Washington (ranked 50th). There
are 3,730 Craft Masonry sites listed in the rankings by
popularity. These numbers fluctuate slightly each day.
ST. JOHN’S
CENTER STAGE FOR OPEN AIR DEGREE
 |
While the basic roles have been assigned,
a number of volunteers are still needed for non-speaking parts
for the August 2nd Open Air degree at Granite
Falls Masonic Park. All St. John’s Master Masons are encouraged
to come out and enjoy the degree and the day. Camping is
available for the weekend, as well as a wonderful time to picnic
and experience the beautiful wilderness area.
On
the first Saturday of every August the Master Mason’s Club of
Snohomish and Island Counties invites a team to confer the
Master Mason degree. The setting is in the natural amphitheater
of the Masonic Park. Worshipful Master Jim Wold proudly
announces that the 44th Annual Open Air Degree will
be hosted by St. John’s Lodge No. 9 on Saturday, August 2nd,
opening the meeting at 10am. Following the degree performed by
the St. John’s team, the Grand Lodge will close in Ample Form.
Damascus Lodge No. 199 will, once again, offer
|
the attendees their famous Open Air Saturday Breakfast in Granite Falls prior
to the degree. There will be a fellowship hour and lunch following the
degree.
Directions I-5 North:
Take I-5 North to US-2, toward Wenatchee. Take WA-204 to Lake
Stevens. Turn left on WA-9. Turn right on WA-92 toward Granite
Falls. Once in Granite Falls, turn left at 2nd blinking light -
onto Mt. Loop Hwy. Drive 4.5 miles to campground
|
Michael Rust Memorial
Family Picnic
widows and members
Annual Picnic & Potluck -
Sunday - August 10th, 2008
Hosted by St. John's No. 9
This is
another chance for your family and friends to enjoy the fun
and hospitality of our Masonic Fraternity! Invite
tomorrow’s Mason today!
 |
|
 |
|
We will
furnish steaks, hot dogs (with buns), chips, coffee and a
limited variety of soft drinks.
Please bring one of the following
(suggested by last
name):
A-F
vegetable dish (hot or cold)
G-R
dessert (cookies, cake, pies, etc.
S-Z
salad
If you can’t live with
that, do it your way!
|
 |
|
 |
Bring a
steak knife, special utensils, and any other preferred
beverages.
11:00 am – Select your
table and bring your potluck item to the buffet line. Mix
and mingle. HAVE SOME FUN!
11:00 am – 2:30pm games
- including volleyball, Frisbee, croquet
12:00 pm –
Steaks and hot dogs from the grill. Each Lodge member
should check in with the chef to make any special requests
known. Let the chef know if you want your steak "well
done," "medium," etc.
1:00 pm
- Kids penny scramble and races
1:00 pm - Bingo! Fun,
games & music (Contributions for bingo prizes welcome!!!
3:00 pm
- Clean up. You can stay as long as you wish. Grounds close
at 9pm.
Swimming is allowed only with
adult supervision. NO Life Guard will be on duty.
(
RSVP! We need to know how many will be attending to
make sure we have enough food and games for everyone to
enjoy. email Jim Russell
stjohns9@seattlemasons.org
or call 206 623-0261 by Wednesday, August 6th.
Please bring one inexpensive bingo prize item per family as your
“price of admission” to the picnic
|
Michael
Rust Memorial Picnic August 10
The
word “picnic” is not American in origin although most Americans
believe it is. “Picnic” began life as a 17th-century French
word. A 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Françoise de
Ménage mentions “piquenique” as being of recent
origin and marks the first appearance of the word in print. As
for how the French came by this new term, it was likely invented
by joining the common form of the verb “piquer” (meaning
“to pick” or “peck”) and a nonsense rhyming syllable coined to
fit the first half of this new palate-pleaser.
The first documented appearance of the term outside the French
language occurred in 1748, but it was 1800 or thereabouts before
anyone can prove it made it into the English language. Even
then, it still wasn't in America - it was in England.
Originally, the term described the element of individual
contribution each guest was supposed to make towards the repast,
as everyone who had been invited to social events styled as
“picnics” was expected to turn up bearing a dish to add to the
common feast. This element was picked up in other “picnic”
terms, such as “picnic society,” which described gatherings of
the intelligentsia where everyone was expected to perform or in
some other way contribute to the success of the evening.
Over time, the meaning of the word shifted to emphasize an
outdoor element that had crept into the evolving concept of what
such gatherings were supposed to be. Nowadays one thinks of a
picnic as a casual meal partaken in a pastoral setting, not as a
repast enjoyed either indoors or outdoors but which was
contributed to by everybody. Modern picnics can be provisioned
by only one cook, and no one would think anything of it. What
matters now is the food be eaten outdoors.
By the 19th century, “picnic” had successfully made this
linguistic shift in meaning.
 |
EIGHT CELEBRATE 50 YEARS OF MASONRY |
 |
We are happy
to acknowledge eight of our members who celebrate 50 years of
Masonic brotherhood this year: A. J. Wold, Mordie Eskanazi, Richard
Mecartea, Gilbert Hain, Doug Crosby, Jim Jensen, Raymond Lundy,
and Alfred Anthony. Bros. Nathan Greenbaum and Michael Israel
will reach 60 years in a couple of months. Leading the pace is
Bro. Isaac Alhadeff who joined the Craft 70 years ago!
RECEPTION OF
THE GRAND MASTER
MWBro. Doug
Tucker, Grand Master of Washington Free & Accepted Masons, chose
St. John’s No. 9 to make his first visit to a stated lodge
communication following his election to that Grand office in
June. He was presented at the Altar accompanied by MWBro. Al
Jorgensen. The Master then escorted MWBro. Tucker to the East,
where he was accorded the public Grand Honors and invited to
preside. The Grand Master thanked the Master for his offer and
indicated that he would be pleased for WBro. Wold to continue
with the business at hand. He later addressed the brethren with
a timely message and closed our lodge in Ample form.
|
Free camping
for St. John’s at Masonic Park weekend of July 25-27 ……
at Peterson Area |
HISTORY OF THE MASONIC PARK
The Masonic Park
is the property of the Master Masons Club of Snohomish and Island
Counties. It consists of 245 acres of beautifully wooded land on
rushing Canyon Creek and is located in the foothills of the majestic
Cascade Mountains.
This beautiful
park was donated by Jacob Anthes, Mathias and Johanna Quist, the
Soundview Pulp Company, and the Des Moines Timber Company in four
separate bequests between 1932 and 1948. It was donated for the
purpose of constructing a park for Master Masons and their families.
The Park has been
developed entirely by donations of time, effort, money, and
materials from many devoted brethren and many of the surrounding
lodges, including St. John’s.
Membership in the
Master Masons Club is maintained by an annual fee to all Master
Masons belonging to a lodge in Snohomish and Island Counties and is
the primary source of revenue for maintenance of the Park.
In recent years,
the use of the Park has been extended to other Master Masons
belonging to lodges outside of Snohomish and Island Counties, who
wish to maintain an annual associate membership for the same fee per
year.
Planned
development of the Park, inaugurated several years ago to protect
this tremendous resource, has made possible the development of
timbered portions and the expansion and beautification of picnic and
camping areas.
It has a water
system and electric power. Provisions for future development of the
Park have been made by the adoption of a Memorial Trust Fund from
life memberships that will one day provide income for the perpetual
maintenance of the Park. Donations to this fund can be made directly
to the Master Masons Club or at the entry gate.
Ease
on Down, Ease on Down the Road
If
you haven’t attended lodge for some time and don't remember how to
get into a lodge, the monthly ritual practice is where you need to
go. This practice is open to all Master Masons. On the 2nd
Monday of each month at 7:00pm, WBro. Charles Tupper holds a ritual
practice in the Lodge room - casual dress. Personal attention is given to any
“Rusty Mason” who attends. If you are that “Rusty Mason,” when you
leave you will have relearned the necessary work to sit in Lodge on
any degree. It can’t get any easier than this!
|
 |
NEWS FROM OUR
BROTHERS
|
|
We have received a
note from Bro. Mark Koenig, who lets us know that he and his wife
Erica will be moving back to the Northwest from Silver Spring,
Maryland to Corvallis, Oregon to work for the Oregon State
University Foundation. Bro. Jason Leehan is “hiding” in Auburn
while cramming for his bar exams until late August.
Brett Sandstrom and his wife Darcy have
added a new baby boy to the family. Brett is Junior Warden of
Burlington-United Lodge No.
93.
MASON LITTLE
LEAGUERS CHAMPIONS
Our
Little League Majors baseball team ended its season with a
win of the championship game. The Masons team again has made us
proud to be their sponsors in another successful season. Besides
the championship trophy, Masons team member Jacob Hostetler received
the Sportsman Award for 2008 at the ceremony and everyone enjoyed
the finale with hamburgers and hot dogs.
|
Practice for the Open Air MM
degree will be held Saturday, July 19 at Greenwood after
lunch following the Ride the Duck event. Also a practice
will be held at 10am on Saturday, July 26 at the Masonic
Park. |
TYLER’S SWORD
 |
WBro.
Tupper presented a beautiful Excalibur Tyler’s sword to the
lodge, which he purchased at the Wenatchee annual
communication of Grand Lodge.
This
46-inch sword contains a great many of the symbols used in
the craft, particularly the compasses and set square, the
plumb line and the setting maul, the sacred book and the eye
of the Supreme Being, and the five-pointed star inscribed in
the capital "G" of the Great Architect. |
MASONIC
EDUCATION
At our June stated communication, the Master
called upon WBro. Charles Tupper to address the brethren on the
subject of the sanctity of the Lodge Ballot. He told us that as we
affix our signatures to a petitioner’s request to join our lodge, we
are Guardians of the Craft. In practice, the petitioner should be
well known to the first line signer. Perhaps he is less known by
the 2nd and 3rd signers, but they should be
confident that he will be a credit to the lodge. The Master then
assigns a committee of three to investigate and learn more about the
petitioner. These are Keepers of the Door. They look with a
critical eye to the integrity of the applicant. In this lodge, we
also run a police report on each candidate as a further examination
of his background. When we as brethren are then asked to ballot
upon the petitioner, we should be well confident that the positive
report by the examination committee and the signers of the petition
have our best interests at heart. Only when we personally know that
the petitioner will bring discredit upon our lodge and our
fraternity should we feel the need to cast a black cube.
|
Two
members of St. John’s sit on the Board of Directors of the
Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras (SYSO). They are MWBro.
Sat Tashiro and VWBro. Jim Maher. |
Michael Rust
Memorial Picnic
In honor of our
late Worshipful Brother Michael Rust, who loved picnics and good
food and a favorite beverage or two, we have dedicated our annual
St. John’s picnics to his name. Please join us Sunday, August 10.
RSVP please!!
Home
Worshipful Master:
(425)
357-6867
Senior Warden:
(206) 732-1234
Junior Warden:
(206) 390-2173
Secretary:
(206) 623-0261
Webmaster:
(206) 406-8670
