Waller Newsletter 0107

I put off writing the newsletter article for the January mailing until now, simply because I was busy with holiday things, added to all the usual necessary things. I was going to devote most of my space in this newsletter to the Christmas party, but because of Kelly Cox’s funeral, I feel I need to write about that. As I read that last sentence, it seems I’m saying its Kelly’s fault that I’m changing my mind.

Not so. What I really mean to infer is our loss is more important than a party, and deserves the bulk of this article. Many of you were at the funeral, and you know Brother Bob Podvin did an excellent job of the service, both the secular and Masonic parts. He served as Pastor in the chapel, and as Master at the graveside. I’ve decided Bob’s new description is Pastor-Master-Past-Master.

I was awed by the number of people who came to the visitation, and to the service, and by the broad range of ages. The chapel at Canon Funeral Home was filled to overflowing, and the four rows saved for masons was not enough by half. The line of cars headed to Field’s Store Cemetery was among the longest I’ve seen. Kelly obviously meant a great deal to a lot of people. It will be a long time before we realize just how much we depended on him, like every time we are scrambling for people to participate in a degree or do the lecture, when we need someone knowledgeable to get the right word while teaching, not to mention supplying the fish and fryers for a dinner. I’m kind of ashamed to say I feel mad at him for going away without having all the conversations we should have had. We’ve all missed out on a lot of good fellowship we could have had. Maybe that’s the lesson in this: don’t pass up the opportunity to learn from those who can teach, or teach those who can learn. Another lesson is from Kelly’s age - 40. We just don’t know when we will be called, so please be prepared. We miss you already, and will for a long, long time.

The Christmas party, in my opinion, was a huge success. 60 to 65 people enjoyed the usual Christmas feast, some games, and Christmas music in the background. I had asked that those attending bring food or toys for donating to the needy, and you responded magnificently. Liz and I took 10 bags of food and 4 toys and $136.00 in cash to W.A.R.M. They were very appreciative, and sent a letter to the lodge and Eastern Star chapter saying so (a woman at church came up to me to say her friend at W.A.R.M. was impressed by what we did. Thank you all). I had suggested our usual meeting night for the party because of how busy December is, and I didn’t want to throw another event at the calendar. I’d like some feedback as to how that worked for you. I’m thinking about a Valentine’s party, and could use some ideas.

In brotherly love, Wes Mersiovsky, Worshipful Master

The Worshipful Master directed the Lodge Deacons to wear less aftershave in the future.

The Candidate who had just been initiated that evening, was ask if he had felt comfortable during the ceremony.

He replied, "I was a bit worried for the first five or ten minutes, but the woman behind me was very helpful in keeping me from staggering!"

On The Painful Process of Becoming a Past Master
By Carl Claudy

Every Brother who plans on working through the Chairs some day should read this story.

The newly elected and installed Master had finished his speech. In it he had promised many things to the lodge, and outlined a beautiful program for the coming year. In conclusion he said: "Thus I hope to make my year a good year. I propose to increase the attendance, better the degree work, have more entertainment, see that instruction is more carefully carried on, do more charity, have better turnouts at such funerals as we may have to hold; in other words, with your assistance, I propose to make this the most attractive lodge in the world."

"Pretty nice speech," said the New Brother, sitting down beside the Old Tiler. "You know, I think I'd like to go in line." "Indeed, it was a very good speech. The boy has the makings of a real Past Master," smiled the Old Tiler. "But about going in line—don't forget the process hurts."

"Hurts? I don't believe I get you exactly."

"Probably not. When you have been longer in the lodge, you will recognize a certain similarity about all speeches from newly elected and installed Masters. They all think the same way. As soon as they get near the east they begin to think what they can do for the lodge and how they can make it better. They make high plans and do a lot of brain work, and then they tell the lodge about it. I wonder it never occurs to any of them how conceited they are when they are first elected." "Conceited? Why, young Jamison isn't conceited; he's a nice, modest chap."

"Sure he is! But he tells you all the things he is going to do, quite forgetting that a long line of predecessors have not succeeded in doing them. They talk that way with the world and the lodge at their feet, and both to be conquered."

"But neither ever is conquered. Every Past Master has done all he knew to make this the best lodge in the world. It's a pretty good lodge at that, but it isn't what it might be—if we were all perfect. As any Master's year slips along and he finds that the attendance isn't much better than it was, and the degree work just as lacking in beauty as it had ever been because this, that, and the other officer, with the best intentions but no equipment, is making a spectacle of himself, he finds that the process of becoming a Past Master hurts, and hurts badly."

"Most Past Masters are worth a lot more to the lodge as Past Masters than as Masters because of the lessons they learn while Master which they didn't know before. And Jamison has the makings of a fine Past Master; one who will think and work, and be a genuine asset to the lodge."

"But Jamison will improve the degree work — he has a lot of plans—" "He'll try. But, my brother, you can't make men over. All our officers are pretty fixed in their ways. They do the best that is in them to do. They are earnest, lovable, conscientious men. They struggle to learn the work, letter perfect. But God makes some men orators, and to some he gives a sing-song voice which would ruin the most beautiful words in the language; and we have our share of them. Jamison won't be able to change them, hard as he may try."

"Do you think he shouldn't try, then?"

"Heaven forbid! Of course he should try. We should all try. The officers should try, and do try. But if we all succeeded in our straining after perfection, there wouldn't be any fun left in the world at all, or any glory in Masonry. In a perfect world Masonry would have no place. Since Masonry is in existence to make men better, if all men were best it wouldn't be needed.

"No, Brother, it's a good thing for the lodge that Jamison can't make this a perfect lodge of perfect Masons. If he could, we wouldn't have any excuse for being. But if he didn't try, he wouldn't be the good man that he is."

"Well, I am amazed," said the New Brother. "You have such peculiar ideas—"

"I am an old, old tiler," grinned the Old Tiler. "I have watched them go up to the east with high hopes and great plans for years and years. And I have seen them step down at the end of their year, happy to be out of the chair, deeply sorry they couldn't do what they tried to do, disillusioned as to the capacity of one man to change a thousand men, worried that they haven't carried the old lodge farther on the road."

"But years have taught me that it is given to very few of us to set many stones in the structure of Masonry. We are lucky if we set one brick right—if, indeed, we can bring one stone which is good work, true work, square work; to the structure, and receive therefore a Mason's wages, we have done well."

"And that is what Jamison will do. He won't succeed in making fifty more men come to the lodge this year than came last. He won't stage a degree any better than a dozen Masters before him have staged. He won't have any more calls for charity than many have had. He won't have any better candidates or any better taught entered apprentices or fellowcrafts than others have had. He will just go along with the lodge, and guide it and direct it and do the best he can, but, unless he is the one man in a hundred, he won't do any more than all of them who trod that road before him could do."

"Then you think he'll be a failure?"

"Decidedly not! I think he'll be a success. For he will try: try earnestly, try hard, think, labor and struggle with his job. And at the end of a year he will have set one stone in this lodge, at much cost to himself. He will make himself into a good Past Master, a man who knows his lodge, who understands its membership, who is able to think fast and work hard, a man who loves his order and his jewel. The one thing he can do best for this lodge is to make himself into a good Past Master—and if he does that, he will find, in after years, that it paid, even if it did hurt."

"I—I don't know that I want to go in line," said the New Brother, thoughtfully, as he walked away.

The Editor's Corner
by John "Corky" Daut
P.M. Waller Lodge #808 AF & AM A.F.& A.M.

Brother Kelly O'Neil Cox

It is with much sadness that I write, our Brother Kelly O’Neil Cox passed away in the early morning hours of December 25, 2006 with a heart attack. He was interred at the Field’s Store Cemetery Friday the 29th.. Good friend and Brother “Bob” Podvin officiated at both the religious ceremony at the Chapel and Masonic ceremony at the cemetery.

Brother Kelly, almost 41 years old was born January 6, 1966. He was raised as a Master Mason at Waller Masonic Lodge August 27, 2001. He joined Hempstead Lodge as a duel member on December 17, 2002. He studied the work and received an “A” teaching certificate on December 7, 2002. He taught new members their work at both Hempstead and Waller Lodges. He also helped many officers at both Lodges learn their parts. He was usually there for anyone who needed a helping hand between the hunting and fishing trips that he loved.

Brother Kelley was installed as the Worshipful Master at Hempstead for the 2004/05 Masonic year. This year he was the Secretary for Hempstead Lodge and the Senior Warden for Waller Lodge. He was also a member of the Waller Chapter of the Eastern Star.

Brother Kelly was a real stand up Mason who tried to live the oaths he took. He was the only man who was Mason enough to offer an apology for an un-Masonic incident that occurred last December. Thanks again Brother.

This Month's Humor

Odd

Many years ago a farmer couple gave birth to a son. They named him "Odd."

When Odd began going to school all of his classmates teased him because of his name. He finally graduated and got a factory job, and once again all of his co-workers would poke fun at his name. Finally, he got married and lived and worked a farm, since he could not take being around people teasing him about his name.

When he became 50 years old, he told his wife that he was fed up from going through life with his name. He told her when he died that would end it. No one would ever make fun of him again.

He requested that his wife not put his name on his headstone, only the date he was born and the date he died.

About 20 years later the poor farmer died.

His wife wanted to honor his wishes and purchased his headstone with no name engraved; just the date he was born and the date he died.

Today when mourners visit the cemetery they walk by and look at his headstone and see there is no name on the headstone and they always say, "Isn't that Odd?"

G.A.O.T.U.
By William K. Bissey, MPS Member of North Park Lodge No. 646 and Dual member of St. Johns No. 20

G. A. O. T. U. means the Great Architect of the Universe. In some Masonic jurisdictions the abbreviation is considered to mean Grand Architect. Also, sometimes the abbreviation includes at the beginning a capital T meaning The. The abbreviation can also mean Grand or Great Artificer of the Universe. According to the Mentor's Manual published by Grand Lodge, "In any event, these are titles under which Freemasonry refers to Deity."

G. A. O. T. U. has been used by members of religious groups to attack Freemasonry. Some of these critics have claimed that this is a false god worshipped at our altar, Other critics claim that G. A. O. T. U. "makes God seem like an abstract being."

The question then becomes how did G. A. O. T. U. enter into Freemasonry? Our search starts with the Compass. The Indiana Monitor states in the section on the Master Mason Degree that "The Compass is peculiarly dedicated to this degree."

What is a compass? One of the definitions of a compass in The Oxford English Dictionary is: "An instrument for taking measurements and describing circles." The Oxford English Dictionary cites an example of this usage of a compass from Milton's Paradise Lost, vii 224: "In His hand He took the golden Compasses prepared...to circumscribe This Universe." The capitalized pronouns refer to the Deity. An even earlier work, Dante's (1265-1321) Divine Comedy, has the following "He that with turning compass drew the world's confines." He again refers to the Deity.

A 13th century painting (the artist in not mentioned in the reference book) in the Austrian National Library shows the Deity as The Great Architect of the Universe circumscribing Heaven and Earth. Another painting depicting the Deity using a compass is by William Blake (1757-1827), an English poet and Artist. Blake's painting is titled The Ancient of Days whose subject matter is the Deity using a compass.

By itself the compass has been used as an allegorical tool by which the Deity created the Universe.

As a compass is a measuring device it is logical to assume that the instrument would be used by the Operative Masons in the era of Cathedral building. In the Middle Ages the terms Master Mason and Architect were used interchangeably. Architect is defined in The Oxford English Dictionary as " A master builder." This definition also infers that a Master Mason would also be a craftsman or artificer.

This leads back to The Oxford English Dictionary which defines an artificer as "One who makes by art of skill; especially a craftsman." The definition also refers "...to the Artificer of the Universe; meaning the Creator." The dictionary cites two further usage of artificer in this manner. One is from Person's Creed of 1659 "The Great Artificer of the World." The second is from Wordsworth's Excursion, vi 551: "By the Great Artificer endued With no Inferior power."

But exactly how did G. A. O. T. U. come to be used in Freemasonry?

Wallace McLeod, an eminent Canadian Masonic scholar discusses T. G. A. O. T. U. in his book The Grand Design. McLeod states the phrase entered Freemasonry in the first book of Constitutions of 1723 of the first or Premier Grand Lodge in London. The Constitutions were written by the Rev. James Anderson who was minister of a Scottish Presbyterian Church in Swallow Street in London from 1710 to 1734. Rev. Anderson was a graduate of Marischal College which is a part of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

In the seventeenth century, when Anderson was probably studying at the University of Aberdeen, the role of education in Scottish universities was to train their students to become ministers. This meant the students learned the Bible and their theology "according to the reasoned theology of Calvin's Institutes."

Jean Calvin (1509-1564) was a French reformer of the Church who, at the age of twenty-six, first published his classic work of theology, The Institutes of Christian Religion. In this work, which formed the basis of theology for Presbyterian and Reformed Churches, Calvin repeatedly calls the Deity "the Architect of the Universe" and refers to His works in nature as "Architecture of the Universe" ten times. Calvin also refers to the Deity as the Great Architect or Architect of the Universe in his Commentary on Psalm 19.

In literature, art, and theology the Deity has been referred to as an Artificer and Architect. Thus, in using G. A. O. T. U. Freemasonry has continued a long tradition of using an allegorical name for the Deity.

The Famous Masons Series

Arthur Morton Godfrey

August 31, 1903 - March 16, 1983

American variety show host, Arthur Godfrey, ranks as one of the important stars of the early years of American television.

A radio announcer and entertainer for WFBR in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1930, he became an announcer for NBC in Washington, D.C. from 1930 to 1934 before joining CBS Radio in 1945 as host of Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. He then hosted Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts on CBS television from 1948 to 1958 while also hosting Arthur Godfrey and His Friends from 1949 to 1959. He returned to national radio as host of Arthur Godfrey Time from 1960 to 1972. Godfrey also starred in the films Four For Texas (1963), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966) and Where Angels Go... Trouble Follows (1968).

Politically conservative, he became a vocal environmentalist in later years as a member of the ASCAP, the National Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere, and the Citizen's Advisory Committee on Environmental Quality.

Raised: 1937
Acacia Lodge No. 18, Washington, DC

Harold Lincoln Gray

January 20, 1894 - May 10, 1968

Creator of Little Orphan Annie which first appeared on August 5, 1924, in the New York Daily News and later in the Chicago Tribune. At its height it was syndicated in some 250 newspapers. Gray continued to write and draw the comic strip up until his death in 1968.

Initiated: October 16, 1646
Lombard Lodge No. 1098, Lombard, Illinois

Oliver Norvell "Babe" Hardy

January 18, 1892 - August 7, 1957

A cabaret and vaudeville singer, Oliver Norvell "Babe" Hardy made his first movie, "Outwitting Dad", in 1914. In 1917 he played a bit part in "Lucky Dog", starring his future comedy partner Stan Laurel, although it was not until 1927, in "Sugar Daddies" (1927), that they formed their onscreen partnership that was to last until Utopia in 1951. Hardy's screen character was noted for his genteel pomposity, his tie twiddle, and long suffering look while dealing with Stan's character's well-meaning but ultimately frustrating actions on screen. Oliver Hardy's ashes were interred in the Masonic Garden of Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood.

Initiated: ?
Solomon Lodge No. 20. Jacksonville, Florida

I recently discovered an excellent source of cartoons that were printed in newspapers during the 1900's, 1910's and 1920's. I thought we might enjoy seeing the "funnies" our grandparents enjoyed.

A HINT WILL SUFFICE
By Leo J. Ghirardi, Doric Lodge No. 205, Louisiana

My word processor refers to a hint: a noun, a slight indirect point.

I am now an aging Master Mason who has often been asked by younger men how I spend MY retirement time, which I take as an open invitation for me to speak about life as a Mason. Our policy of never asking a man to petition our Fraternity can easily be sidestepped using this simple approach leading a man in conversation by answering his questions on the time honored qualities of Freemasonry.

Through studying the history of Freemasonry, one can learn much about the impact it has had on society and on the individual over the centuries. It is a subject that needs to be implanted in the minds of those whom we hope to attract to our Lodges. When talking to a potential candidate, we should always make it clear that we never act involved in the political affairs or religious beliefs of our members. We can say with pride that we are a democratic organization that strives to make a good man a better man. And I know that a good man who holds the torch of our Fraternity with dignity and pride will come out a winner throughout his many stations in life.

No matter how hard we work to attract new brethren, I feel that a contributing factor in the decline of new members is due to the existing membership who sadly have fallen away and no longer attend Lodge. We have no way of knowing how the uninvolved Mason is perceived by young men who might desire membership. We all agree that we must never be guilty of asking a man to embrace Masonry just for the sake of having a large membership. The good men we need must be of the caliber that will guarantee our Fraternity true longevity flourishing long into the twenty-first century and beyond.

I recall the words of the late President Kennedy who said, "ask not what your country can do for vou, but ask what you can do for your country." That statement holds true for Freemasonry today more than ever.

Masons, both young and old can still benefit from the "Old Tiler Talks" stories that started in 1921. It's funny how these stories (lessons) that taught our Masonic grandfathers, are just as significant today as they were 80 years ago. The book with with 70 of the "Old Tiler Talks" stories and 2 other Carl Claudy Masonic books may still be purchased from Temple Books

Foolish Questions
By Carl Claudy

From the Old Tiler's Talk - by Carl H. Claudy, The Temple Publishers

"Jones is a nut!" remarked the New Brother to the Old Tiler. "I went with him yesterday to look up an applicant for membership. I didn't know much about such things, so I let him do the talking. And the questions that man asked!"

"What did he want to know?"

"First, he wanted to know what kind of job the applicant held, how long he had been there, where he had worked before, was he satisfied, did he like his boss, how much he made and whether he saved any of it or spent it all!"

"Quite right, too," commented the Old Tiler.

"He wanted to know if the applicant was a solid citizen, able to pay his dues and unlikely to become a charge on the lodge. Chap who holds a job today and leaves it tomorrow for another is apt to be an applicant for charity."

"But that's one of the things a lodge is for- charity," said the New Brother.

"To its members who are in need, yes," answered the Old Tiler. "But no lodge willingly takes in members who may need charity. Masonry is not a crutch for the indigent. It is a staff for those who go lame in life's, journey, but when a man starts out lame he has to get crutches from some other institution."

"He asked, 'Why do you want to become a Mason?' that seemed to me an impertinence. A man's reasons for wanting to join Masonry are no business of ours."

"Is that so!" answered the Old Tiler. "Son, you know so many things that are not so! I have been on the petitions of a great many men and that is always my first question. I have heard many answers. Some men want to join because their fathers were Masons. Some think it will help them in life. Some frankly say they want to make friends so they can be successful. Others think that Masonry will help them in their religion. Still others want to be Masons because they want to belong to a secret society."

"But why is that our business?"

"A man who wants to join a fraternity because his father belonged, is good material," answered the Old Tiler. "He wants to imitate his father. As his father was a Mason it is probable that he was a good man. If the applicant desires to imitate a good man, and thinks we can help him, his motives are worthy. The man who wants to become a Mason to stiffen his religious belief is not a good candidate. Masonry demands no religion of its applicants, merely a belief in Deity. A man with religious convictions which are slipping and looks for something to prop them up, should go elsewhere than the Masonic Altar. Asking nothing but a belief in God, we have a right to demand that that belief be strong, well-grounded, unshakable, and beyond question.

"The man who says he wants to join the Masonic order because he wants to belong to a secret society doesn't get asked any more questions! He is through right there. Masonry is no haven for curiosity seekers. The chap who thinks Masonry will make him friends who will help him in his business gets nowhere with a good committee. Masonry is not a business club. Imagine a man going to a minister and saying: 'I want to join your church so I can sell lawn mowers to your members.' Would the minister want him? Masonry is not a church, but it is holy to Masons. Masonry is a bright and shining light in a man's heart which must not be sullies by profane motives. To attempt to use Masonry for business is like using the Bible to sit on- diverting from the proper purpose that which should be held sacred.

"The man who answers that question by saying, 'I have always heard of Masons as men who receive help in being good men; I would like to have the privilege of becoming a member,' is approaching the matter in the right spirit. Masonry doesn't hunt the man, the man must hunt the lodge. And he must hunt with a pure motive, or cannot join any good lodge, with a good committee. The motive is vitally important. We want to know if he can afford $50 for a fee and $5 a year for dues. If they have to rob their children to join we have no use for them. We want to know if a man stands well with his fellows outside the lodge; if so he is apt to stand well with them inside. If he has few friends and those of doubtful character, the chances are he is not good timber for us. "Masonry is what we make it. Every good man who comes into a lodge helps the fraternity. Every insincere man, every scoffer, every dishonest man who gets into lodge, injures the fraternity. Masonry can accomplish good in the hearts of men only as it is better than they are. When it becomes less good than the average man, the average man will not want to join, and Masonry's power will be gone.

"The price of liberty, so we are told, is eternal vigilance. The price of quality in a lodge is eternal care by the investigation committee. An important job, it should be approached with the idea that the future of the lodge and of Masonry to some extent rests on the man making the investigation.

"Hm. Thanks. See you later.

"You're welcome- but what is your hurry?"

"Got to find Jones and tell him I'm the nut. Then ask the Master to let me go with him again and see if I can't see something else in his questions besides foolishness!" answered the New Brother.

See You Next Month

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