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 Texas
Scottish Rite Hospital for Children In Dallas Celebrates
Christmas In July
Every July, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital
for Children, Dallas, Texas, doubles the fun of the winter
holiday season by celebrating "Christmas in July,"
a festive day complete with treats, gifts, games, and
sessions with Santa.
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A Tremendous Holiday
Party In Washington State
Every year, the Spokane Scottish Rite Language
Center employees and Board members have a tremendous holiday
party attended by past, present, and future students of the
RiteCare facility. Brethren and their ladies from all related
Masonic groups enthusiastically pitch in to host 75 or more
students and their parents who are grateful for the party and
the expert therapy their children receive. All have a fine time
celebrating the holidays and anticipating the New Year. Submitted
by Ill. Edwin E. Weber, 33°
Photo: Bro. Tom Rousseau, 32°,
K.C.C.H. Chairman, Shrine Imperial Photographers
Fort
Scott, Kansas, Holds First Holiday Party
Bro. Charles M. "Charlie" Parker, 32°,
also known as the Shrine clown "Buck-e," reports that
the first holiday children's party, hosted in the Ft. Scott
Scottish Rite Temple, was a great success last year. Over 115
children attended an hour-long program that included singing,
dancing, and lunch. In addition, Santa gave each child a treat
bag filled with candy, cookies, and a coloring book. The occasion
was a great way to show off the Temple to the community and
to have a really fun time.
A Common
Cause In The Valley Of Iowa
Masons from all the Masonic Bodies of northwest
Iowa united in a common cause to raise over $5,500 for the relief
of a Spirit Lake, Iowa, family. Several months ago, Riley Jackson,
a four-year-old boy, was severely burned in a household accident.
Sponsoring Riley into the Shrine Burn Center in Cincinnati wasn't
enough for Bro. Frank C. Osdoba, 32°, Valley of Sioux City,
a Knight Templar in Columbian Commandery No. 18, Sioux City,
and Past Master of Twilight Lodge No. 329 in Spirit Lake. Noble
Osdoba convinced the members of Twilight Lodge to adopt Riley
for 2003. Then, through various fund-raising events and appeals
to other Masonic organizations, the Lodge's members were able
to help pay most of the bills resulting from the accident. Of
course, the Shrine treatment was free. In the photo above, representatives
from Twilight Lodge, the Grand Lodge of Iowa, the Sioux City
Valley, Sioux City Knight Templar, and Abu Bekr Shrine in Sioux
City pose with Riley to show unity of spirit and common interest
in the relief of the distressed. Pictured left to right are:
Ill. George J. Harrison, 33°, Secretary, Scottish Rite Bodies
of Sioux City, representing Columbian Commandery No. 18; W.M.
Kenneth L. Olson, 32°, Master, Twilight Lodge No. 329; Noble
Osdoba, Abu Bekr Shrine, Sioux City, holding Riley; M.W. Clifford
C. Godsey, 32°, K.C.C.H., Grand Master, Grand Lodge of Iowa;
and Ill. Donald L. Lawrenson, 33°, Valley of Sioux City.
Ill.
Walter E. Webber, 33°, Elected Grand Commander, N.M.J.
Ill.
Walter E. Webber, 33°, (left) of Yarmouth, Maine, was elected
Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite Supreme Council for the
Northern Masonic Jurisdiction of the United States. He succeeds
Robert O. Ralston of Cincinnati, Ohio, who retired after serving
as the organization's chief executive officer for the past ten
years.
A graduate of Marietta College and Boston University
School of Law, Ill. Webber was the senior director of the Portland
law firm of Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry and will continue
to be "of counsel" to the firm.
Ill. Webber has been active in civic and fraternal
affairs for many years. Within Freemasonry, Grand Commander
Webber was Master of Casco Lodge No. 36, Yarmouth, in 1979,
a District Deputy Grand Master for the Grand Lodge of Maine
in 1980-81, and a member of numerous Grand Lodge committees.
He presided over several groups in the Scottish Rite Valley
of Portland and was recognized for his service by receiving
the 33rd Degree in 1987. He has been an Active Member of the
Supreme Council since 1994 and the Deputy for the state of Maine
since 2001. A year ago he was elected Grand Lieutenant Commander.
The change of command took place in St. Louis
at the annual meeting of the Supreme Council. Replacing Webber
as Deputy for Maine is Ill. Richard H. Winship, 33°, of
Bangor, Maine. Succeeding Webber as Grand Lieutenant Commander
is Judge Lawrence D. Inglis, 33°, of Illinois. Ill. Norman
L. Christensen, 33°, of Wisconsin was elected to the position
of Grand Minister of State.
JROTC
Awards In New Mexico
Bro.
Robert W. Zarn, 32°, Chairman, Education and Americanism
Committee, Orient of New Mexico, presented AFJROTC Cadet T/SGT
Ashley Manzer (photo right), Del Norte High School, Albuquerque,
New Mexico, her JROTC Education and Americanism Award and a
scholarship, with airline ticket, to attend the Freedoms Foundation's
"Spirit of America Youth Leadership Conference," held
at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, July 24-27, 2003. During the
2002-03 academic year, "Land of Enchantment" Scottish
Rite Masons have presented the Supreme Council's Education and
Americanism Awards to 26 worthy JROTC Cadets.
DeMolay
Essay Contest Winner
August
27, 2003, Bro. Rick S. Freedman, 32°, Past Officer of the
Scottish Rite, Valley of Philadelphia, and an Active Member
of DeMolay International, presented Edward R. Kish (seated in
photo left) a check for $1,200 from the Supreme Council, 33°,
S.J. The check is the Grand Prize Award, 11th grade and above
category, of the 2003 Scottish Rite Paul R. Kach, 33°, DeMolay
Prize, Americanism Essay Competition. The winning essay, "A
Patriotism of Peace as Well as a Heroism of War," was
published in the November 2003 Scottish Rite Journal.
A member of Friendship-Bray DeMolay Chapter, Jenkintown, Pennsylvania,
Mr. Kish also won the DeMolay Region 2 cash award of $300 for
this essay. Though sponsored by the Scottish Rite, S.J., this
essay competition is open to DeMolays throughout the United
States.
Ill.
Ernest Borgnine And The Royal Order Of Scotland
Ill.
Ernest Borgnine, 33°, G.C., participated as a Candidate
in the conferring of the two Degrees of The Royal Order of Scotland
on a class held on August 23, 2003, in Ontario, California.
The famous actor is a 50-year member of Abington Lodge No. 48,
Abington, Virginia, and a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies
of Long Beach, California. Pictured right are the officers and
members of the Provincial Grand Lodge Degree Team that participated
in the event. Seated in the front row (l. to r.) are: Bro. Norman
E. Flaherty, 32°; Bro. Edward H. Fowler, Jr., 32°, Provincial
Grand Master; Ill. Borgnine; Ill. Charles S. Iversen, 33°;
and Bro. William H. Hartman. Standing in the back row (l. to
r.) are: Ill. Richard B. Baldwin, 33°; Ill. George R. Adams,
33°; Bro. William M. Kratzenberg, 32°; Ill. John C.
Schleter, 33°; Bro. Arthur E. Buss, 32°, K.C.C.H.; and
Bro. Chris M. Jessen, 32°.
The Provincial Grand Lodge is celebrating the
125th anniversary of its being constituted on May 4, 1878, in
Washington, D.C., by Sir Albert Pike who was the first Provincial
Grand Master of the Order as well as Sovereign Grand Commander
of the Scottish Rite, S.J.(1859-1891). This historic anniversary
was celebrated at the Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., on
October 8, 2003, where a large class of Candidates received
the Degrees and a banquet was attended by many prominent Masons
including The Right Honorable Earl of Elgin and Kincardine,
Deputy Grand Master and Governor of the Order Worldwide, Lady
Elgin, and Sir Archibald M. McGown, Grand Secretary. Also attending
were a number of Grand Masters and the newly elected and installed
Grand Commander of the Supreme Council, S.J., Ill. Ronald A.
Seale, 33°, and his lady, Saundra, together with many of
his officers and their ladies.
Photo: Bro. James R. Paden, 32°
Temple
Hosts Dupont Circle Community Association Tea
About 1,500 guests visited the House of the Temple
during the 36th annual Dupont Circle Community Association House
Tour on October 19, 2003. Brethren were stationed throughout
the Temple to respond to questions, and guests enjoyed a delicious
tea buffet of varied pastries and fresh fruits supplied by local
merchants.
Photos: Ill. Arnold L. Flottman,
33°, Head Guide, House of the Temple
As in some past years, on October 19, 2003, the
Supreme Council opened the House of the Temple as the tea site
for the Dupont Circle Community Association House Tour. About
1,500 persons bought tickets, visited 16 neighborhood houses,
and enjoyed delicious refreshments in the George Washington
Banquet Hall of the House of the Temple. Some of the houses
had been restored to their original period condition, and others
were completely renovated to include contemporary décor.
Proceeds from the tour are used to fund neighborhood improvements.
Two pages of the 47-page tour booklet described the House of
the Temple, and experienced Temple guides were placed throughout
the building to answer questions about the edifice and the Scottish
Rite. During the afternoon, three expert organists (Samuel Baker,
Carol Feather Martin, and Marvin Mills) played in the Temple
Room, offering a recital of classical compositions on the 1983
Schantz organ. The Dupont Circle House Tour was a wonderful
opportunity to showcase the House of the Temple and to inform
the general public about Freemasonry.
D.C.
Librarians Visit Supreme Council
On October 17, a group from
the Library Association of the District of Columbia visited
the Supreme Council's Library and the House of the Temple. Joan
K. Sansbury, Librarian/Curator (back row, fourth from left),
gave them a detailed tour of the Library's several special collections,
including the rare books kept in an archival vault at the Temple.
Everyone enjoyed the visit and agreed that the Supreme Council
Library/Museum was an "undiscovered treasure" they
intend to make more widely known to the general public. Photo:
Ill. Dean R. Alban, 33°
Valley
Of Phoenix Tees Off For RiteCare Program
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The Phoenix Scottish Rite Bodies and their
friends raised nearly $52,000 during their 10th Annual Kilts
for Kids Golf Tournament on October 5, 2003. The event benefited
the Arizona Literacy and Learning Center, a RiteCare Childhood
Language Program clinic, in Phoenix, and has raised nearly
$140,000 in the past four years. More than 260 golfers played
the courses of the legendary Arizona Biltmore Country Club
in central Phoenix and were supported by 55 volunteers,
including 35 members of the Valley of Phoenix and their
wives. |
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