Ill.
Robert W. Schrader Appointed Deputy in Wyoming
Photo:
Dupont Photographers, Inc., Washington, D.C.
Effective January 8, 2004, Grand Commander Ronald
A. Seale appointed Robert Wesley Schrader, 33°, as Deputy
of the Supreme Council in Wyoming, succeeding Illustrious Jack
E. Nixson, who retired as SGIG in Wyoming on December 31, 2003.
Deputy Schrader was born on February 3, 1944,
in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He attended college at the University
of Wyoming, earning degrees in Business Administration (1967)
and Law (Juris Doctor, 1978). His other educational pursuits
included a degree in Mortuary Science from the San Francisco
College of Mortuary Science in 1965, designation as a Chartered
Life Underwriter from the American College of Life Underwriters
(1978), and many professional courses at the National Judicial
College, University of Nevada- Reno from 1982 to 1998.
He served in the United States Army from 1967
to 1971, including a tour of duty in Vietnam with the 9th Infantry
Division. After his discharge from the Army, he served in both
the Wyoming Air National Guard and the United States Air Force
Reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel on December 31, 1994.
Deputy Schrader practiced law in Buffalo, Wyoming
(1978- 84), and in Cheyenne, Wyoming (1986-92). From 1984-86,
he served as Insurance Commissioner for the State of Wyoming.
He was an elected Justice of the Peace for Johnson County, Wyoming,
1980-84, and served as a District Court Commissioner (Judge),
1987-2001, for the First Judicial District, Laramie County,
Wyoming. After retiring from the bench in 2001, he began teaching
in the Cheyenne public school system as a substitute teacher.
He has recently taken graduate courses at the University of
Wyoming and has obtained his certification as a secondary school
social studies teacher in Wyoming.
Although his primary occupation has been law related,
he has had a variety of other careers, including being a licensed
embalmer and general manager of Schrader Funeral Home, the family
business, insurance agent, deputy sheriff, and com-mercial pilot.
Deputy Schrader has been active in his community.
He was a member of the board and past president of Attention
Home, a facility for troubled youth; secretary and board member
of the Wyoming Congressional Awards Council; and for the past
46 years, he has served as a volunteer for several Cheyenne
Frontier Days committees and was elected a "HEEL"
in 1975. His present Frontier Day assign-ment is on the Contestants
Committee as a Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA)
timer. He is the post advocate for his VFW post. He has been
an Episcopal Lay Reader for Saint Luke's Episcopal Church in
Buffalo, Wyoming, and Saint Christopher's Episcopal Church in
Cheyenne, Wyoming, and was Rector of Cursillo #18 in Wyoming.
He raises quarter horses and is an active amateur radio operator.
Raised a Mason in Cheyenne Lodge #1 in 1970 by
Junction City Lodge #7, Junction City, Kansas, as a courtesy
to the Grand Lodge of Wyoming, Deputy Schrader had the distinction
of sitting in his own Lodge as a first-time visitor. He served
as Master of Burns Lodge #41 in 1991-92. In 1990 he joined the
Scottish Rite, Valley of Cheyenne, where he has held several
positions including Director of Work, Venerable Master and Wise
Master, and has been a cast member of several Degrees. He is
both a past president and the current president of the Wyoming
Scottish Rite Foundation. He was invested with the KCCH in 1995
and was coroneted as an Inspector General Honorary in 1999.
Deputy Schrader's other Masonic affiliations include
York Rite, Shrine, DeMolay, and Royal Order of Jesters.
Ill. Schrader and his wife, Betty, reside in Cheyenne,
Wyoming. They have two daughters, Chris and Tashana, and four
grandchildren, Cali, Sydne, Tommy, and Joey.
Winner
of Masonic Rifle Announced
 |
On December 27, 2003, the winning name was
drawn for the Masonic Kentucky Longrifle featured on the
cover of the October 2003 Scottish Rite Journal.
The winner is Brother Keneth K. Kent, 32°, Valley of
San Jose, California. Rising Sun Lodge #85, Athens, Ontario,
developed the fund-raiser to support the Lodge's benevolent
work. The rifle, created by noted gunsmith Bro. Peter A.
Alexander, is elaborately decorated with Masonic symbols
and is valued at $10,000. Congratulations Brother Kent! |
Tri-State
Conferral in Atlanta
Photo: Ill. William I. Marsh,
Valley of Atlanta
The Tri-State Conferral of the Thirty-Third Degree
in Atlanta was even more illustrious this year because of the
visit of several past Sovereign Grand Inspectors General. A
total of eight current and past SGIGs were present during this
year's Conferral. Two newly elected Sovereign Grand Inspectors
General, Leonard E. Buffington of Georgia and Howard E. Kerce
of Mississippi, were present along with Inspectors Robert L.
Goldsmith of Florida and William B. Brunk of North Carolina.
Past SGIGs attending were William M. Hutcheson of Georgia, Julian
W. Fagan of Mississippi, David Kruger of Virginia, and Daniel
Levenduski of Minnesota. Pictured below (l. to r., back row)
are Inspectors Brunk, Buffington, Kerce, and Goldsmith. Pictured
(l. to r., front row) are Kruger, Levenduski, Fagan, and Hutcheson.
Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi have traditionally
held the Tri-State Conferral. This year 67 designates received
their white caps in Atlanta. The cast of officers opening the
Supreme Council were from all three Orients, and the members
of the 33° Degree Team were from the Orient of Georgia.
Lake
Worth Brother Honored by Police Service Award
Officer
Jean-Albert "Johnny" Pun, 32°, an 11-year veteran
of the Delray Beach, Florida, police force, is one of the most
active members of the Valley of Lake Worth, Florida. He was
prominently recognized, with photo, in the nationally syndicated
Parade Sunday news-paper magazine insert, Palm Beach
Post edition, of October 26, 2003. In that article, titled
"Out Of The Night, A Hero Emerges," Bro. Pun was among
10 officers earning an honorable mention trophy and a $1,000
cash award from the 2003 Police Service Awards Program. Parade
magazine and the International Association of Chiefs of Police
have sponsored this program for 22 years.
Officer Pun was singled out for crime prevention,
specifically his service to at-risk youths, most of them teenage
dropouts, at the Delray Beach Youth Vocational Charter School.
At the school, students earn their GED, learn a trade, and gain
the sense of responsibility needed to attend school and hold
down a job. Brother Pun says, "If one kid succeeds, we
can say 'Look at the difference we made in one life.'"
Aside from starting a Youth Automotive Training Center four
years ago and regularly serving as a mentor for several students,
Officer Pun is a dynamic fund-raiser for the school. So far,
he has $500,000 in annual donations and grants to his credit.
Brother Pun's spirit of personal involvement is
also notable in Masonry where he is active in his Lodge as Junior
Deacon and in the Valley of Fort Worth where he has held several
positions and is now Wise Master in the 18°.
Congratulations, Officer and Brother Pun!
House
of the Temple Hosts Civic Group
 |
Jack Evans, District of
Columbia Councilman, addressed the Dupont Circle Citizen's
Association meeting in the House of the Temple on January
5, 2004. |
The Supreme Council hosted the Dupont Circle Citizen's
Association membership meeting at the House of the Temple on
January 5, 2004. About 50 neighborhood residents attended the
meeting at 7:30 PM to hear announcements about community activities.
The principal speaker was Jack Evans, Ward 2 D.C. Councilman.
Dr. S. Brent Morris, 33°, GC, Director of Membership Development,
welcomed the residents on behalf of the Supreme Council and
gave a brief history of the House of the Temple. Following the
meeting, the attendees adjourned to the atrium for a reception
and fellowship. Meet-ings such as this, whether at the House
of the Temple or in Scottish Rite Centers across the Southern
Jurisdiction, are a great way for local Bodies of our Order
to be responsible community members and to share our wonderful
buildings with our neighbors.
14°
Jewel Available
Wilkins Brothers, Inc., has developed a 14°
jewel with crimson collar embroidered with a green acacia branch
and white five-pointed star. For more information, call 1-800-845-9566
or visit the following web site: www.wilkinsbrothers.com.
Elections
in the Grand National Lodge of Romania
On November 8, 2003, in Bucharest, nearly 600
Brethren, electors, and guests gathered in Romania's majestic
Parliament to elect a new Grand Master for the Grand National
Lodge of Romania (GNLR). Among many other Masonic dignitaries,
the ceremonies were attended by Ill. Constantin Iancu, Sovereign
Grand Commander, Supreme Council, 33°, of Romania; Stefan
Masu, High Priest for the York Rite in Romania; and Ill. Laurent
Sorell, Representative of the Grand Lodge of Texas. An overwhelming
majority of the 459 electors selected Bro. Eugene Ovidiu Chirovici
as Grand Master. At age 39, MW Chirovici is the youngest Grand
Master in Europe and well known for his intellectual skills
and open mind. Among his goals are reviewing the Constitution
and Regulations of GNLR, building a Temple for the GNLR, and
obtaining recognition for the GNLR from the United Grand Lodge
of England.
Submitted by Dorin Baleanu,
30°, Past Master, Europa Unita Lodge, Bucharest
Auction
Benefits Wichita Clinic
On
December 2, 2003, during the holiday banquet and program presented
at the Wichita, Kansas, Scottish Rite Center, Personal Rep-resentative
Larry L. Christie, 33° (pictured left below) presented a
check for $10,000 to Trisha Self, Ph.D. (right), Director of
the Wichita State University (WSU) Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic.
The monies resulted from proceeds raised at the November 2003
Champagne and Chocolate Benefit and Auction held in the Wichita
Center to benefit the WSU clinic's RiteCare program.
The annual holiday event, which included a delicious
dinner and choral selections by the Wichita East High School
Madrigal Singers, was an appropriately joyous setting for the
check presentation. As Ill. Christie noted, "This is a
season of giving, and we are proud of providing the continuing
gift of speech communication to our children." Dr. Self
added, "We are so pleased to be the recipient of the annual
Champagne and Chocolate Benefit, and we promise to continue
to deserve your trust as a RiteCare provider."
Localized programs to benefit the three Kansas
RiteCare Centers (located in the University of Kansas Medical
Center-Kansas City; the University of Kansas-Lawrence; and Wichita
State University-Wichita) will continue to benefit the children
of Kansas.
Brother Decorated by Government
of Japan
Bro.
Charles F. Deignan, 32°, Tokyo S. R. Bodies, was recently
honored by the government of Japan. An official citation read,
in part: "His Majesty the Emperor of Japan presents the
Order of the Rising Sun, with Golden Rays and neck ribbon to
Charles Francis Deignan, a citizen of the United States of America,
for exemplary service while working with the Ministry of Public
Management . . . as the United States Forces Japan Representative
for Radio Spectrum Management." The citation is signed
by Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan. Following the
formal presentation of the award and an audience with His Majesty
the Emperor of Japan, Bro. Deignan was the guest of honor at
a reception attended by 13 former Directors General who had
worked with Bro. Deignan over the past 37 years.
George
Washington University's Scottish Rite Scholars
Visit the House of the Temple
| On January 23, 2004, Ill. Stephen Joel
Trachtenberg, Grand Cross, President of The George Washington
University, joined 31 of his university's Scottish Rite
Scholars to tour the House of the Temple. Above, President
Trachtenberg (center) is greeted by William G. Sizemore,
GC (left), and Sovereign Grand Commander Ronald A. Seale.
Photo: Elizabeth A. Williams, The Scottish Rite Journal |
 |
On January 23, 2004, Grand Commander Ronald A.
Seale personally welcomed 31 of 41 undergraduate and graduate
students from The George Washington University (GWU) to a special
luncheon and guided tour of the House of the Temple in Washington,
D.C. Each student is the recipient of a Scottish Rite scholarship
or fellowship at the University. Dr. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg,
Grand Cross, and several university administrators accompanied
the students.
Noting the significance of where they were meeting,
the George Washington Memorial Banquet Hall, Ill. Seale expressed
his pleasure at continuing the tradition of an annual GWU luncheon
to familiarize the students with Scottish Rite Freemasonry.
Grand Commander Seale noted that relations between our fraternity
and the university have been very strong and productive for
nearly eight decades.
President Trachtenberg similarly greeted the scholars
and pointed out that the Southern Jurisdiction's initial contribution
of $1 million in 1927 to the School of Government has grown
under The George Washington University's stewardship to over
$12 million, thus allowing the funding of more and more scholarships
and fellowships in various fields of study, including government,
public service, and childhood language disorders.
Ill. Trachtenberg also noted that two of the university's
newest buildings have been dedicated in Masonic cornerstone
ceremonies by the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. He
recalled that both GWU and the Craft have roots in the eighteenth-century
philosophy of the Enlightenment with its focus on personal development
through education, the rights of the individual, and the ideal
of a free society.
After the delicious luncheon, the students were
divided into smaller groups in order to tour the House of the
Temple more conveniently. President Trachtenberg, like the students,
was particularly impressed with the new Americanism Museum and
Albert Pike Museum in addition to the building's many other
ceremonial and display areas. The students took special note
of the Hall of Honor and its 1997 portrait of President Trachtenberg.
To arrange your own visit to the House of the Temple, click
here.
Knights
of St. Andrew Tour Alabama Governor's Mansion
During the winter holiday season,
inductees into the Knights of St. Andrew, a new 32° group
in the Valley of Montgomery, Alabama, visited the Governor's
Mansion in Montgomery. Though Governor Bob Riley, KCCH, was
not able to greet the Knights personally, he sent a warm welcome
as they arrived with their ladies for a Christmas candlelight
tour. At the end of the event, Grand Counselor Gregory Alan
Patrick, 32°, and First Knight Vernon M. Scott, 32°
(first and second Knights, left, front row above) presented
a beautiful marble paperweight bearing the 33° symbol to
James T. "Terry" Wofford, 33° (center, top row),
for his role as Personal Representative's Designee and the Knight's
mentor during the organization's first year. Photo: John Anderson,
Anderson Studio, Montgomery, Alabama
The index for the 2003
Scottish Rite Journal is available. It and indexes from
previous years may be ordered for $3.50 each. Please send remittance
payable to the Supreme Council to: Grand Executive Director,
The Supreme Council, 1733 16th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009-3103.
A
Letter from Kuwait
On November 2, 2003, Bro. Jaime
A. Miranda wrote to Ill. Donald E. Lavender, Valley of Des Moines,
regarding Brother Lavender's article "Life's Inventory"
in the October 2003 Scottish Rite Journal. We are pleased
to share Bro. Miranda's inspiring letter. He is the Executive
Officer of a Corps Support Battalion stationed in Kuwait. E-mail
contact is: Jaime.miranda@us.army.mil
"This e-mail is to thank you for your article.
I am a Master Mason from Unión y Amparo Lodge #44, Caguas,
Puerto Rico, but currently deployed to Kuwait as part of Operation
Iraqi Freedom. I guess that today being Sunday, I was feeling
a little depressed because of the long deployment. Then I began
reading the Journal, that my wife sent me, and found
your article which helped me to refocus and continue with the
challenges life has sent me. I am missing my family, and many
projects are awaiting for me back home such as moving from Puerto
Rico to the States and finishing graduate school. But I am here,
far from home, and facing new dangers every day. Your article
made me realize the need to inventory God's blessings in one's
life. Life is a series of mountains and valleys. There are times
when we are at the top of the hill looking down; also, there
are times when we look up from the lowest point of the valley.
This dynamic cycle shapes our lives, but I have found we are
not alone. God is always there. We just need to allow Him in
our hearts."
Brother
Visits from Sweden
Recently, after several e-mail exchanges, the
Executive Secretary of the San Diego Masonic Service Bureau
arranged the visit to San Diego of Brother Matts Stenberg, Master
of Saint Botvig Lodge, Nykoping, Sweden. Unable to find Bro.
Stenberg's Lodge officially listed, the Executive Secretary
asked him to fax his Masonic credentials. These proved he is
with the Svea Provinsialloge of Stockholm in which he holds
the X Degree of the Swedish Masonic system and is thus formally
addressed as "Very Enlightened Brother." Then, the
Grand Secretary, Grand Lodge of Sweden, certified Bro. Stenberg's
membership. The Swedish Grand Lodge's web site at http://www.frimurarorden.se/eng/index.htm
points out the following.
The Swedish Rite is truly progressive and continuous.
Each Degree leads to the next, and each Degree sums up the contents
of the preceding Degrees. The system is grouped into three divisions
as follows:
St. John's (Craft) Degrees
I Apprentice
II Fellow Craft
III Master Mason
St. Andrew's (Scottish) Degrees
IV-V Apprentice-Companion of St. Andrew
VI Master of St. Andrew Chapter Degrees
VII Very Illustrious Brother, Knight of the East
VIII Most Illustrious Brother, Knight of the West
IX Enlightened Brother of St. John's Lodge
X Very Enlightened Brother of St. Andrew's Lodge
XI Most Enlightened Brother, Knight Commander of the Red Cross
There are approximately 60 Freemasons in Sweden
currently holding the XIth Degree. They are present or past
members of the Grand Council or Grand Officers. In 1811, King
Karl established the Royal Order of King Karl XIII. It is a
civil order, conferred by the King only to Freemasons holding
the XIth Degree, and the number is limited to 33. The XIth Degree
is, however, not a Masonic Degree.
 |
Pictured (l. to r.) during
the visit of Swedish Brother Matts Stenberg, X°, to
the Valley of San Diego, are H. Chico Alvarez, 33°,
Executive Secretary of the San Diego Masonic Service Bureau,
Robert E. Winterton, 33°, Personal Representative in
San Diego; Bro. Stenberg, and William A. Biggs, 33°,
Venerable Master. |
Bro. Matts Stenberg, X°, visited Coronado
Lodge #441, as well as the Scottish Rite Valley of San Diego
at their Stated Meetings, respectively of November 4 and 5,
2003. Bro. Stenberg has been serving as Master of his Lodge
for 2 1/2 years and has 3 1/2 more to go since the Master's
term is for six years! As he was so eager to learn about our
Masonic Work during his sojourn, we, in turn, learned much more
from him about Freemasonry on another continent. While Brotherly
Love is not unique to Freemasonry, it certainly is exemplified
and intensified within our ranks and causes true friendship
to exist among those who might have otherwise remained at a
perpetual distance.
Submitted by Ill. H. Chico
Alvarez
Executive Secretary Masonic Service Bureau of San Diego; chicalvarez@cox.net
A Home
Away from Home
On
August 21, 2003, Bro. Clyde A. Barton, KCCH, representing the
American Military Scottish Rite Bodies (AMSRB), Orient of NATO,
presented a check for $500 to Susan Phuong Johnston (l.) and
Kathy Gregory (r.) of the Landstuhl, Germany, Fisher Houses.
These facilities are available for only $10 per night for active
duty, retired, and VA personnel or their families living more
than 40 miles from Landstuhl. The Fisher Houses are "homes
away from home" for families and patients receiving medical
care at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. Since opening
in 2001 and 2002, the two homes have served almost 1,000 families,
90 from Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Supporting the Fisher Houses was a perfect way for AMSRB Brothers
to do something special for service members serving around the
world to protect our precious freedoms.
14°
Ring Home at Last
When
Robert J. Kitchen, 32°, Valley of Hibbing, Minnesota, received
a telephone call from Gary Wieck of Clear Lake, Iowa, he thought
Wieck was a telemarketer and almost hung up. Now, he is glad
he didn't. Gary had found a 14° ring in four feet of water
along the shore of Lake of the Woods, Sioux Narrows, Ontario,
Canada. He and his wife, Marie, enjoy traveling in their motor
home and using metal detectors to search for hidden treasures
along beaches and in shallow waters. They were fascinated by
the ring and, seeing Bro. Kitchen's name engraved on it, they
searched the Internet to find him. Bro. Kitchen received the
ring in 1953 when he joined the Rite, but then lost it in 1971
during a vacation trip to Canada. He had been playing water
tag with his family at a Rod and Reel Resort on the east shore
of Lake of the Woods. You can imagine his delight when he opened
a package from Gary Wieck and found his 14° ring lost for
32 years!
Historic
Night in Alexandria, Virginia
November
17, 2003, was a historic night in Alexandria-Washington Lodge
#22, Alexandria, Virginia, meeting in the George Washington
Masonic National Memorial in Alexandria. Brother Andrew Hammer
(center in photo below) became the first fifth-generation Mason
in two century-old Masonic family traditions. In addition to
many family members who greeted him after his initiation, Bro.
Hammer was accompanied by Bro. Richard A. Klein, 32°, his
father-in-law (l.), and Bro. Walter J. Klein, KCCH, Richard's
father (r.). Both are members of the Valley of Charlotte, North
Carolina. Marking the historic significance of the occasion,
Entered Apprentice Hammer received a list of 50 Masonic relatives,
past and present. They include Antonio Guerrero Paynado, past
SGC, Dominican Republic; Frank Goodman, former National President,
National Sojourners, Inc.; and Moses Jaffa, many years ago a
long-time member of the same Alexandria-Washington Lodge #22.
John
J. Rhodes, GC, 1916-2003
In
remembering Ill. John J. Rhodes, GC, who died on August 24,
2003, it is hard not to be reminded of the great statue on the
Greek island of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of the ancient
world. The towering Colossus of Rhodes, finished in 282 B.C.,
served as a warning light for ancient mariners approaching the
coast. Similarly, Ill. Rhodes, outstanding Freemason and U.S.
Congressman from Arizona, provided light to this world. His
departure capped a career in which he was the confidant of Presidents
and the voice of the people of Arizona. Few men have written
their lives in letters as large.
Ill. John J. Rhodes was born in Council Grove,
Kansas, on September 18, 1916. He graduated from Kansas State
University and Harvard Law School before serving in the United
States Army Air Corps during World War II. After the war, Major
Rhodes and his bride, Betty, settled in Mesa, Arizona, where
they raised four children and nurtured many grandchildren and
great-grandchildren.
Bro. Rhodes was raised in Oriental Lodge #20,
Mesa, Arizona, in 1950, and became a 32° Scottish Rite Mason
in the Valley of Phoenix in 1954. Honored with the 33° in
1961, he was elected by the Supreme Council to our Order's highest
rank, the Grand Cross, in 1977. His other Masonic memberships
included the York Rite, Royal Arch Masons, Cryptic Masons, Knights
Templar, and DeMolay where he was a DeMolay Legion of Honor
member in Arizona and served on the Arizona DeMolay Foundation.
In 1952, Ill. Rhodes began his very successful
political career when he ran for Congress and became the first
Republican elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona
history. In 1982, he retired from Congress after being re-elected
15 consecutive times. Perhaps his most significant accomplishment
was his sponsorship of the Central Arizona Project, which, by
bringing water to Arizona, is still the key to state's growth
and prosperity. In Congress, he served on the powerful House
Appropriations Committee and was Chairman of the Republican
Policy Committee and Chairman of the Platform Committee at the
1972 Republican National Convention. Elected House Republican
Leader in 1973, he served in that capacity during the historic
hearings to impeach President Richard M. Nixon.
Not long before his death, Ill. Rhodes was presented
the first Congressional Distinguished Service Award by House
Speaker Dennis Hastert. It was a tribute to a leader, statesman,
and Mason. A web site (www.johnrhodesmemories.org)
records many tributes to Ill. Rhodes and is a moving memorial
to the man, but the true monument to this most outstanding Brother
and American is the state of Arizona itself, a place where the
light of this modern Colossus of Rhodes shone the brightest.
Submitted by Bro. William
Herbert "Skip" Boyer, KCCH, Phoenix, Arizona, S. R.
Bodies
Special
Feature to Highlight News from the North
The two Scottish Rite jurisdictions in the United
States have made arrangements to exchange items of current interest.
The Scottish Rite Journal will carry a page of news from the
Northern Masonic Jurisdiction four times a year. Through a reciprocal
arrangement, news from the Southern Jurisdiction will appear
quarterly in The Northern Light, the publication of the Northern
Jurisdiction.
Both Sovereign Grand Commanders met recently to
discuss ways that the two jurisdictions can work together. Grand
Commander Walter E. Webber, 33°, hosted Grand Commander
Ronald A. Seale, 33°, during a visit to the Northern Jurisdiction
headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts, in early January.
Com-mander Webber will be visiting the House of the Temple soon.
The idea for exchanging information through the
jurisdictional magazines was one of the suggestions discussed
during the conversations.
The Northern Jurisdiction covers 15 Northeastern
and Midwestern states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massa-chusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Delaware, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. There
are many similarities in the structure, but there are also a
number of differences, which will be explained in future issues.
Notes
from
A Publication
of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction
Battling Dyslexia
Ten years ago, the Scottish Rite Supreme Council for the Northern
Masonic Juris-diction adopted a new charitable program to provide
one-on-one tutoring for dyslexic children. The program was patterned
after the RiteCare Childhood Language Program clinics sponsored
by the Southern Jurisdiction.
The Northern Jurisdiction has concentrated only
on dyslexia. The tutoring takes place at learning facilities,
called 32° Masonic Learning Centers for Children, which
are situated for the most part in Masonic buildings. Currently
there are 46 centers.
Using the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching, the centers are
providing instruction to more than 1,500 students afflicted
with dyslexia.
Blaze Destroys Masonic Hall
in Maine
A
devastating fire at the Bangor, Maine, Masonic Hall took with
it, not only 135 years of history, but also the meeting place
for two Lodges, a Scottish Rite Valley, a DeMolay Chapter, an
Eastern Star Chapter, York Rite Bodies, a 32° Masonic Learning
Center for Children, and several businesses.
The five-story downtown structure caught fire
during the early evening of January 15, and continued to blaze
for two days in sub-zero weather. Several historic artifacts,
including officers' jewels crafted by Paul Revere, the original
charter printed on lambskin, and a portrait of George Washington
were lost forever.
The various Masonic organizations have found temporary
quarters in the vicinity, while a donation of space by a law
firm has been offered to the learning center.
New Web Site
After months in the planning, the Northern Jurisdiction has
launched a new Web page. Visitors will find the appearance much
more vibrant than the original site and will easily be able
to obtain information, including current news and events, an
updated list of Valley degree dates, history of the jurisdiction,
contacts, and important information on its several charities.
The site can be reached at: www.supremecouncil.org.
Boston Marathon
For the second straight year, the 32° Masonic Learning Centers
for Children, Inc., will be represented in the prestigious Boston
Marathon, the oldest annual marathon in the world. Normally,
in order to enter the event a runner must meet strict qualifying
times. For certain charities, however, entries are provided
for the purpose of fund-raising. Following last year's format
the learning centers program was given ten slots to fill. Each
runner has pledged to raise at least $5,000 for the centers.
Of the ten runners this year, three are veterans of the 2003
run. The race will be held on Patriots' Day, April 19, a Massachusetts
holiday.
