stb-1992-09
MASONS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
by: Thomas W. Jackson
Tom Jackson is the Grand Secretary of the Grand
Lodge of Pennsylvania. In this STB he shares with us
several stories of Masonic involvement. Responding to
the needs of others is a Masonic calling. Its important to
know that the challenges of life are often met, mostly
unrecognized, by Mason's practicing what we have been
taught.
We at MSA are very grateful to Tom Jackson for
sharing these stories with all Masons!
Editor
During the 275-year history of organized Freemasonry, there have been countless stories of
Freemasons' relationship with other Freemasons and Freemasons with others outside the
Craft. Some of these stories have been told,
but the vast majority are forever lost for lack of
documentation. If these stories were known,
they would provide far more credibility to the
brotherhood of Freemasonry than would all of
the attempts we make today to have not only
the general public understand us but also to
have our own Brothers understand us. I relate
here a few.
A Truly Dedicated Mason
For over twelve years I have been listening
to the difficulties in presenting Fifty-Year
Masonic Service Emblems to Brothers who
did not wish to make the effort to travel a few
miles or even a few blocks to receive the
award.
Several years ago I received a request from
a good friend and Brother to present him with
his Fifty-Year Masonic Service Emblem when
he was eligible for one. With permission of the
District Deputy Grand Master for his District,
I readily accepted what I regarded as a rare
privilege and an honor.
In 1991 I had the opportunity to make that
presentation. My friend and Brother boarded a
bus in Sedalia, Missouri (where he now lives)
and travelled to Lebanon, Pennsylvania (the
location of his Lodge) for a meeting in which
he was recognized for his fifty years of service
to our Masonic Fratemity. The next day he
boarded a bus and returned to Missouri.
This in itself is an extremely remarkable
act, far beyond what I have experienced before, by a Brother to receive this award. What
is even more remarkable about the effort,
however, is that this Brother travelled the
distance with his seeing eye dog as his only
companion, for this Brother is legally blind.
It must have been through efforts and interests of men like these that we have the privilege of being Freemasons today.
This Brother is a remarkable man. He is also
a remarkable Freemason. I look forward each
year to meeting with him in Washington, D.C.
at the Allied Masonic Degree meetings which
he never misses.
I cannot help but wonder how much greater
we might be if we had more Brothers as
dedicated to the Craft as is this Brother. He
certainly has my admiration and respect and
deserves the same from all Freemasons.
A Commitment to Masonic Caring
On January 13th of this year, I received a
report from the Chairman of the Visitation
Committee of one of our Lodges. Along with
the report was a letter in which this Brother
wrote: "Enclosed is the report of visitations
for the year 1991. This is the 13th and final
year of my visitations to the ill and shut-ins."
He went on then to discuss the locations in
three States and five counties in the Jurisdiction of Pennsylvania to which he had journeyed in order to visit our Brethren who were
in the hospital. He closed his communication
with "I enjoyed doing visitations--Why--When
I was ill with double pneumonia in January
1947 in the Norfolk Naval Hospital, the first
person to visit me was a Mason from the Cape
Charles, Va. Masonic Lodge. I have never
forgotten that."
I have been receiving these annual reports
from this Brother for a number of years. His
are the only ones which I have received.
We, as Members of the Craft, can sit and
lament the loss of the feeling of Brotherhood
or we can, like this Brother, live Masonic
Brotherhood. There is nothing I could add that
would improve upon what he has done to
maintain the image of our Craft.
Masons At Work In The Community
This past December, a telephone call was
received by my of fice from the Department of
Housing in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A representative of that Department was calling
regarding a lady for whom she was providing
temporary shelter. This lady had been employed as a caretaker for an older and infirm
person. She recently lost her position, and,
although the Department of Housing was
making arrangements to relocate her, she had
no one to assist her and knew no one to ask for
help.
She had told the representative of the Department of Housing that her deceased husband, who had been a Member of a Lodge in
Oklahoma, had told her on a number of occasions that if she ever needed help to call the
Masons. This was the reason for the call coming into my office.
I contacted the District Deputy Grand Master for that District who, in turn, made contact
with the lady who needed help. After talking
with her, he made arrangements with Members of a Subordinate Lodge in the District to
meet on a specific date with pickup trucks and
move her possessions to her new place of
residence, a distance of approximately 60
miles.
The major significance of this action is not
the participation of the Members of the Craft
to help the widow of a Brother. This should
always be the anticipated action. The comment from the lady from the Department of
Housing was significant, however, when she
said to me, "I did not realize that you people
would do that."
Words That Made A Difference
"One Saturday afternoon, after working in
my garden, I went indoors to lie on the bed and
listen to a Penn State football game. The
telephone rang, and the caller was a representative of the Women's Aid Society, calling rom
Texas. She told me that a young lady was on an
airplane scheduled to land at the Philadelphia
airport in one hour. Her sister, who lived in
New Jersey, had been injured in an automobile accident, and she was arriving to take her
home to Texas. She knew no one to contact and
had no way to get to New Jersey. The only
thing she could tell the Women's Aid Society
was that, "her daddy was a Mason."
This lady called the Grand Lodge of Texas
who referred her to my office. One of the
employees who happened to be in the office on
Saturday gave her my home telephone number.
I went to the airport and after a two-hour
search was able to locate the young lady. I
learned from a Brother Mason who was a
security officer how to get to the small town in
New Jersey. On the way there, the young lady
told me that she needed to rent a truck to carry
her sister'sfurniture and clothing to Texas.
They wanted to leave the next day.
I was unable to rent a truck that late at
night, however being close to the Delaware
border I called the Grand Secretary of Delaware at his home. He in turn made arrangements for four Members of one of Delaware's
Lodges to come over Sunday morning, rent a
truck, load it and get the young ladies started
for Texas. I stayed until 3 a.m. helping them
pack their belongings in boxes which I was
able to obtainfrom a local store.
It is not significant that I was involved or,
for that matter, that any single person was
involved in this episode. The individual is not
important.
What is important is our feeling of the need
to respond d ue to a Masonic obligation. What
is important is that five words, "My daddy was
a Mason," given to a non-Masonic organization in Texas precipitated a response that
involvedfour states across a continent. What
is important is that it reveals the continuing
essence of Freemasonry, "The Brotherhood
of Man."
As long as we, as individual Members,feel
the need to respond to this assumed obligation, we carry on the proud tradition credited
to the Craft. We justify our existence. We give
reason for an interest by others. We really
maintain a reason for being. If each Brother
would express and respond to this motivation
to practice this " essence "--what a giant step
for our survival!"
VA Volunteers
If you never have guided the wheelchair
Of a patient down the hall;
Helped a man who has given his country
Of his love, his health, his all
If you never have sat with the ailing,
Seen their pain and sensed their fear,
Then you cannot share in the feelings
Of the VA Volunteer.
Have you paced with the wife of a veteran
And discussed the time of day?
Tried diverting her mind for a moment
As her husband passed away?
Have you offered a shoulder to lean on
and a Kleenex for a tear?
It's all part of the life that's lived daily
By the VA Volunteer.
Sympathetically listening to memories
Of a patient racked with pain;
With a smile, cheerful word, and a handshake
That evokes, "Please come again."
If a patient has said, "Thank you kindly,"
It was music to the ear
And the greatest payment in this world
Of the VA Volunteer.
If each one of us walked down those
hallways
With the volunteer one day,
If each one gave a thought to the veterans
And the price they've had to pay,
Then our blessings we'd know to be
countless,
And we'd spend succeeding years
Giving thanks unto God our Creator
For those faithful volunteers.
By: S. Wicker Nigh
MSA Volunteer
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