Worshipful Master David "Dave" Reagan     -     Secretary & Editor John "Corky" Daut
The May 2010 Issue
It’s Happening At Waller Lodge

By Corky

Brother Wes Mersiovsky reported that kitchen project will be finished very soon, the Memorial Garden is finished except for the sprinklers and will be finished soon. The new front door project isl scheduled to be done as a work day on Saturday April 17th. The next Saturday is scheduled for a work day to clean and do touch ups on the building..
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The Secretary gave a report on the financial status of the projects. The kitchen project was $152.27 in the black and the memorial garden was $15.23 in the red. (After the meeting was over, one of the Brothers gave a $100.00 donation for the memorial garden.)

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Senior Warden Bart Harvey announced that the 2010-2011 Waller Lodge officer installation ceremony will be held Monday June 28, 2010. It will be an open meeting with family and friends welcome. Dinner will start at 6:30 PM.

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We had one Master Mason degree this month and would like to welcome Brother Jerry Schiel.as our newest member.

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SICKNESS AND DISTRESS
Please say a prayer for,

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Bro. Wes Mersiovsky reported that his sister is cancer free and now recovering from the treatment.

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Bro. Jimmy Hooper stated that he is going to the hospital for kidney stones.

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Bro. A.J. Ward reported that Greg Williams had received 2 stents and is doing well.

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Bro. Doyle Sitton reported that Bro. Wayne Schultz is under the weather.

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It was reported that Bro. Clem Reynolds’s wife is suffering from 2 cracked vertebra in the neck and will require 24 hour care for a good while. .



The “Masonry At Work Award” Brother Corky’s Night

By John "Corky" Daut

Corky Receiving The Award From W.M. Dave Reagan and DDGM Bob Podvin
On May 3, 2010, Bro. John “Corky” Daut was given the “Masonry At Work” award for his contributions to Freemasonry through his computer and internet accomplishments in reaching to Masons world wide with the “Small Town Texas Masons E-magazine” and the online version of the Waller Masonic Lodge newsletter and creating web sites for many Texas Lodges.

The award was presented by DDGM Right Worshipful Robert Podvin for the Grand Master of Texas, Most Worshipful Orville L. O’Neill.

It was also a proud night for Waller Masonic Lodge when a little over 60 people walked past the new Memorial Garden, through the new front doors, into the completely remodeled and decorated entry hall. Then everyone joined in the newly remodeled kitchen and dining room to share what turned out to be a real feast. Brother “Wes” Mersiovsky and wife Liz and daughters, as the “Chefs”, worked hard and long to prepare the roast pork loin and side dishes. Plus, many of the wives brought home made side dishes and deserts to add to the meal and the kitchen was crowed with volunteers to assist as needed.

Brother “Wes” was beaming a little as he worked, at the many praises overheard about the remodeling work he had done on the building. He has been working for days and even a few nights to get the building ready in time.

Shirley Trapp, Betty Locklear and Nellie Daut Guarding The Desert Table
After the meal, everyone found seats in the Lodge where Worshipful Master David Reagan and our D.D.G.M. Right Worshipful “Bob” Podvin began the award ceremony and presented a beautiful plaque to Corky.

I have to be honest about it, as I heard what an outstanding service I was doing for Freemasonry by producing the “Small Town Texas Masons E-Mag.” I was somewhat embarrassed. All this time I tell people that I do it because I am just having fun with it and I really do enjoy producing the magazine.

But deep down, maybe I really am trying in my way to make a personal contribution to Freemasonry.

In my small way, I am trying to repay the Shriners for the fifteen or so years that one ,my daughter Valerie was treated at the Shrine Hospital in Houston. Sometime after Valerie was born she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, The doctors said she would never be able to walk and probably live a short life in a bed. Cerebral Palsy, wow, never even heard of it, what is it? We quickly found out, if you have it as a new born it’s Cerebral Palsy, but if it happens after you are born you have had a stroke.

After a year or two, my supervisor, a Mason, offered to help us get her admitted to the Shrine Hospital for treatment at no cost.

She had many years of multiple operations, braces, crutches, special shoes and therapy at no cost to us. Valerie was in special education classes in high school when she ask if she could please take some regular classes and they agreed.

After graduating from high school, she enrolled in North Harris County Junior Collage. After graduating from North Harris County, she enrolled in Sam Houston University in Huntsville where she lived in the dorms and worked on her degree there for 2 years. So, after what the Shriners did for her, I knew that I owed the Shriners and Freemasonry.

Corky Receiving A Very Special
Award From PM Wes Mersiovsky
I was raised as a Master Mason three months before my 65th birthday. I was installed as Worshipful Master of Waller Lodge at 77 years old and started the Masonic magazine at 80. Now at 82 I am still trying to make up for all those lost years.

Come to think of it, maybe I am making a little difference. One of the visiting Brothers told me that he is copying all of the issues and putting them in his Lodge library so the Brothers can read them in the future.

I would like to thank Brothers. Dave Reagan, Bob Podvin, “Wes” Mersiovsky and all the other Brothers, Wives and Visitors who worked and came to make a very special night that I will long remember.

Corky

 

 


Masonic Temple reborn

By Paul Wyche
From the Journal Gazette

Paul Calloway, Scot Deckard, Dennis Weimer and Dave Groholski formed a group to run the Masonic Temple.
Building Management Group fixed up the temple's interior and increased rentals of its facilities, such as the ballroom. Four businessmen want to ensure the Masonic Temple continues to tower over downtown Fort Wayne's skyline.

Just a few months ago, however, the 85-year-old historic landmark was on the verge of languishing. The situation prompted the four professionals to found Building Management Group of Fort Wayne.

David Groholski spearheaded the effort and is a financial adviser, so he laid out a business plan for the edifice, which had operated in the red.

Dennis Weimer and Scot Deckard used their expertise to improve the heating and cooling system and interior of the 10-story building at 216 E. Washington Blvd. Weimer owns Phenix Tubing Corp., and Deckard runs Deckard Mechanical.

Paul Calloway is a medical supply salesman and used his marketing experience to land bookings for the temple, which hosts weddings, receptions, business meetings and similar gatherings.

While their careers vary, their brotherhood is the same – they're all Masons, the world's largest and oldest brotherhood of men. Freemasonry's roots derive from early stonemasons who organized to build temples in the Biblical lands and, later, large churches in Europe.

Building Management's crusade resulted in several improvements at the Masonic Temple, not the least of which are monthly heating costs plummeting to $1,500 from as high as $11,000.

Building Management Group fixed up the temple's interior and increased rentals of its facilities, such as the ballroom.
The temple also has 29 events lined up for this year, most notably a fundraiser in October.

“We're headed in the right direction,” said Groholski, adding that most revenue comes from rentals and membership dues.

“Things were in disarray, but now we're looking to make a profit this year. We just couldn't let things go on the way they were.”

Kurt Begue, commander of the Masons' York Rite branch, said he was amazed at what the Building Management Group accomplished so quickly. The volunteer band urged members of the fraternal organization to raise $50,000 for operation costs and repairs.

“They came in with a solid plan, and they didn't come in saying, 'Here's what we think will work or maybe we can try this or that,' ” he said. “They presented a bulletproof plan that has us on track for the next 20 years.”

Seven years ago, the Masons opened the temple's doors for public use, to the delight of area preservationists. Many areas of the building are available for rent, including the ballroom, which seats more than 200 people.

The decision to host public events was born of necessity – the temple needed money. Membership had declined since the intensely private group's heyday during the 1950s.

The Masonic Temple has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1991. That kind of distinction deserves preserving, Begue said.

“The place looks great,” he said. “With a building this large, you have to keep it maintained or it becomes a massive money pit.”



Asheville's Masonic Lodge undergoes renovations


The Mt. Hermon Masonic Lodge in downtown Asheville undergoing renovations.
Then J.R. Yarnall flipped a light switch, illuminating beautifully-restored hardwood floors, a new multi-color paint job and a lone, gold star painted on the ceiling.

“A few months ago, this was powder blue carpet that was put down in 1983, and really light, washed out blue walls with plain white trim,” said Yarnall, master of Asheville's Masonic Lodge.

The Mt. Hermon Lodge is undergoing renovations focused on painting walls, redoing trim and ripping up carpet and linoleum to refinish the underlying hard pine floors. But members also hope to remake part of the lodge into a game room and possibly add a small gym.

The renovations to the building, an architectural gem designed by Richard Sharp Smith, who helped plan Biltmore Estate, are costing the lodge somewhere “in the low six figures,” Yarnall said.

To help fund the renovations, the lodge plans to eventually host a series of monthly concerts, a return, Yarnall said, to its early days, when it was open to the public and hosted dances.

“Somewhere in the '20s, we kind of turned in and quit opening the building to the public,” said Yarnall, a construction company owner. “We're really looking to change that now, because it's such a tremendous resource for the community.”

In the coming months and years, Yarnall said the lodge hopes to increase public access through concerts, a possible showing of classic horror films, and through a collaboration with local colleges and community groups to help preserve the building and its contents.

Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College students studying decorative techniques and restoration may help with the renovations, instructor Tim Hanlon said.

“They (the Masons) were hoping we could help them a little with the labor, and maybe help them come up with some color palettes that would be appropriate for the time period and its current use,” Hanlon said.



Masonic Anniversaries
Brother Years
Tom A. Kenney56
Calvin C. Trapp 50
Derwood O. Ralston46
Mark A. Herrington 28
Happy Birthday To
BrotherAge
L.C. White79
Richard E. Patterson68
Leslie Kit Scruggs66
Robert Podvin61
John A. Garrett45



A little boy was waiting for his mother to come out of the grocery Store. As he waited, he was approached by a man who asked, "Son, can you tell me where the Post Office is?"

The little boy replied, "Sure! Just go straight down this street a coupla blocks and turn to your right."

The man thanked the boy kindly and said, "I'm the new pastor in town. I'd like for you to come to church on Sunday. I'll show you how to get to Heaven."

The little boy replied with a chuckle. "Awww, come on...You don't even know the way to the Post Office."

Thanks To brother Calvin Trapp



Are Freemasons Elevated?

From The Palmetto Mason BLOG

I have lately detected a trend, amongst Freemasons, that regards a profane man as an equal to a Freemason. Since non-Freemasons are surely able to read this article, let me pause and discuss what a profane is.

According to one of the definitions of the word, and the one Freemasonry assigns to it, the adjective “profane” means “not admitted into a body of secret knowledge or ritual; uninitiated.” Freemasons will frequently turn this word into a noun, though it is not truly grammatically correct to do so. So, there you have it. A profane person is simply one that has not been initiated into Freemasonry.

I have been taught and I personally feel that Freemasons are elevated, at least in certain ways, above profane men. The profane man is not the equal to a Freemason. This has been the general attitude of modern Freemasonry for hundreds of years. This not to say that Freemasons should treat profane men badly, or look down their noses at them; but Freemasons, amongst themselves, should realize and appreciate their elevated status in society. To do otherwise, in my opinion, is radical thinking...Masonically speaking.

Could it be that this "equality thought" is the root problem for Freemasonry? Have some Freemasons forgotten, or never learned, that they are more elevated (enlightened) and, thus, more elite than their fellow profane man? Has this caused the Fraternity to initiate those that should not have been? Such thinking has caused Freemasons in general; especially those that possibly should not have been initiated in the first place, to cheapen their place in society. Some Freemasons seem to feel that they are just an extension of society rather than an elevation of society.

The rather neat thing about any organization that considers and portrays itself to be elevated or elite is that such an attitude is contagious. Some may misinterpret an elitist attitude as arrogance, however, that does not change the fact those organizations that truly believe they are elite have very little trouble in attracting new members. One only has to look at the military for an example of this. Certain branches and jobs within the military are considered by many to be elite examples of military service. Folks within those branches and jobs believe they are elite and exude confidence. This causes many outsiders, especially those with goal driven personalities, to almost beg for admission. Freemasonry used to be just like this. In some places, it still is. It could be like this everywhere.

If the majority of the Craft readopted an elevated or elitist attitude, without being arrogant, and truly believed in that elevated status; then almost all of Freemasonry’s ills could be cured.



The Small Town Texas Masons E-Magazine

Don’t miss reading the monthly Small Town Texas Masons E-Magazine at, http://www.mastermason.com/STTM-Emag/

This Month features the Commerce Lodge No. 439 A. F. & A. M. and George B. Erath A Texas Mason


This Month's Humor

A man walks into the street and manages to get a taxi just going by. He gets in, and the cabbie says, "Perfect timing. You're just like Frank."

Passenger: "Who?"

Cabbie: "Frank Feldman. There's a guy who did everything right. Like my coming along when you needed a cab. It would have happened like that to Frank every single time."

Passenger: "Yeah. But there are always a few clouds over everybody."

Cabbie: "Not Frank. He was a terrific athlete. He could have won the Grand-Slam at tennis. He could golf with the pros. He sang like an opera baritone, danced like a broadway star, and you should have heard him play the piano."

Passenger: "Sounds like he was something really special"

Cabbie: "There's more....... He had a mind like a computer. Could remember everybody's birthday. He knew all about wine, which foods to order and which fork to eat with. He could fix anything. Not like me. I change a fuse, and the whole street blacks out."

Passenger. "Wow, some incredible guy"

Cabbie: "He always knew the quickest way to go in traffic and avoid traffic jams, not like me. I always seem to get stuck in them."

Passenger: "Mmm, there's not many like him around."

Cabbie: "And he knew how to treat a woman and make her feel good. And he'd never answer her back even if she was in the wrong; and his clothing was always immaculate, shoes highly polished too."

Passenger: "An amazing fellow. How did you meet him?"

Cabbie: "Well, I never actually met Frank."

Passenger: "Then how do you know so much about him?

"Cabbie: "I married his dad blame widow."

The Waller Lodge Electronic Newsletter Subscriber's Extra Features


New Zealand Artist The Toast Of Washington

By John Daly-Peoples
From The National Business Review
New Zealand

Peter Waddell, Within These Walls

The Washington DC-based New Zealand artist Peter Waddell has just won the "Excellence in an Artistic Discipline" Award at the 25th Washington DC Mayor's Arts Awards. The prestigious awards are funded by the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities and recognise artistic excellence and service.

Waddell has been based in Washington since 1995. He is currently artist-in-residence at Georgetown's Tudor Place Historic House and Garden and has executed paintings for many collections associated with the city including Mount Vernon, the Octagon in Washington DC as well as Belair Mansion in Bowie, Maryland.

Several of his works are currently included in the exhibition “The Initiated Eye: Secrets, Symbols, Freemasonry, and the Architecture of Washington DC." on view as part of the National Heritage Museum’s exhibition, The exhibition which is on until January next year features 21 oil paintings by Waddell based on the architecture of Washington DC, and the role that the
founding fathers and prominent citizens – many of whom were Freemasons – played in establishing the layout and design of the city. The exhibition is supplemented with approximately forty objects from the National Heritage Museum’s collection.

The White House Historical Association has also commissioned the artist to produce 20 paintings showing interiors and exteriors of the White House in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These paintings will form an exhibition at the White House Visitor's Centre as well as touring presidential libraries when completed.

Among the paintings are three which show the decoration of the public rooms at the White House by Louis Comfort Tiffany for President Arthur in 1882.

New Zealand artist the toast of Washington Pictures can be seen at the National Heritage Museum, Lexington, MA



The Monthly 'Computers For Masons' Series


Understanding Computers - Part 3 of 5

Introduction to Computers

The Processor and Memory: Data Manipulation

In a computer the processor is the center of activity. The processor, as we noted, is also called the central processing unit (CPU). The central processing unit consists of electronic circuits that interpret and execute program instructions, as well as communicate with the input, output, and storage devices.

It is the central processing unit that actually transforms data into information. Data is the raw material to be processed by a computer. Such material can be letters, numbers, or facts like grades in a class, baseball batting averages, or light and dark areas in a photograph. Processed data becomes information, data that is organized, meaningful, and useful. In school, for instance, an instructor could enter various student grades (data), which can be processed to produce final grades and perhaps a class average (information). Data that is perhaps uninteresting on its own may become very interesting once it is converted to information. The raw facts (data) about your finances, such as a paycheck or a donation to charity or a medical bill may not be captivating individually, but together, these and other acts can be processed to produce the refund or amount you owe on your income tax return (information).

Computer memory, also known as primary storage, is closely associated with the central processing unit but separate from it. Memory holds the data after it is input to the system and before it is processed; also, memory holds the data after it has been processed but before it has been released to the output device. In addition, memory holds the programs (computer instructions) needed by the central processing unit.

Output: What Comes Out

Figure 3: Monitor
Output, the result produced by the central processing unit, is a computer's whole reason for being. Output is usable information; that is, raw input data that has been processed by the computer into information. The most common forms of output are words, numbers, and graphics. Word output, for example, may be the letters and memos prepared by office people using word processing software. Other workers may be more interested in numbers, such as those found in formulas, schedules, and budgets. In many cases numbers can be understood more easily when output in the form of charts and graphics.

Figure 4: Printer
The most common output devices are computer screens (Figure 3)and printers (Figure 4). Screens can vary in their forms of display, producing text, numbers, symbols, art, photographs, and even video-in full color. Printers produce printed reports as instructed by a computer program, often in full color.

You can produce output from a computer in other ways, including film and voice output. We will examine all output methods in detail in a later chapter.

Secondary Storage

Secondary storage provides additional storage separate from memory. Secondary storage has several advantages. For instance, it would be unwise for a college registrar to try to keep the grades of all the students in the college in the computer's memory; if this were done, the computer would probably not have room to store anything else. Also, memory holds data and programs only temporarily. Secondary storage is needed for large volumes of data and also for data that must persist after the computer is turned off.
Figure 6: Hard Disk Pack
Figure 6: Hard Disk Pack
The two most common secondary storage mediums are magnetic disk and magnetic tape. A magnetic disk can be a diskette or a hard disk. A diskette is usually 3-1/2 inches in diameter (in some rare cases older disks are 5-1/4 inches). A diskette is removable so you can take your data with you. Hard disks, shown in Figure 5, have more storage capacity than diskettes and also offer faster access to the data they hold. Hard disks are often contained in disk packs shown in Figure 6 that is built into the computer so your data stays with the computer. Disk data is read by disk drives. Personal computer disk drives read diskettes; most personal computers also have hard disk drives. Modern personal computers are starting to come with removable storage media, like Zip disks. These disks are slightly larger than a diskette and can be inserted and removed like a diskette, but hold much more data than a diskette and are faster for the CPU to access than a diskette. Most modern computers also come with a CD-ROM drive. A CD is an optical disk, it uses a laser beam to read the disk. CD's are removable and store large volumes of data relatively inexpensively. Some CD drives are read only memory (ROM), which means that your computer can read programs from CD's, but you can not save data to the CD yourself. Recently CD-RW drives and disks have become widely available that allow you to create your own CDs by "writing" data such as music and photos to the CD. Magnetic tape, which comes on a reel or cartridge shown in Figure 7,

Figure 7: Magnetic Tape
Figure 7: Magnetic Tape
is similar to tape that is played on a tape recorder. Magnetic tape reels are mounted on tape drives when the data on them needs to be read by the computer system or when new data is to be written on the tape. Magnetic tape is usually used for creating backup copies of large volumes of data because tape is very inexpensive compared to disks and CDs.

We will study storage media in a later part of the course. The Complete Hardware System

The hardware devices attached to the computer are called peripheral equipment. Peripheral equipment includes all input, output, and secondary storage devices. In the case of personal computers, some of the input, output, and storage devices are built into the same physical unit. In many personal computers, the CPU and disk drive are all contained in the same housing; the keyboard, mouse, and screen are separate.

In larger computer systems, however, the input, processing, output, and storage functions may be in separate rooms, separate buildings, or even separate countries. For example, data may be input on terminals at a branch bank and then transmitted to the central processing unit at the headquarters bank. The information produced by the central processing unit may then be transmitted to the international offices, where it is printed out. Meanwhile, disks with stored data may be kept in bank headquarters and duplicate data kept on disk or tape in a warehouse across town for safekeeping.

Although the equipment may vary widely, from the simplest computer to the most powerful, by and large the four elements of a computer system remain the same: input, processing, output, and storage. Now let us look at the way computers have been traditionally classified.

Continued Next Month



Winds Wallop Historic Sites In Edenton NC

By Connie Sage
The Virginian-Pilot

Winds estimated at 60 to 70 mph tore through town early Friday, damaging three historic buildings and ripping apart tents of some of the more than 1,000 bicyclists visiting for the weekend. No injuries were reported.

The bicyclists, from New Jersey to Texas, are in town for the three-day Cycle North Carolina Spring Ride, which ends Monday. Most were camped throughout town, including many along the waterfront when the storm came through about 3:30 a.m.

A pine tree in the middle of Colonial Waterfront Park on Edenton Bay split in two, barely missing two tents. "The wind started blowing and my tent started shaking," said Bonnie Shocky of Burnsville NC. The tree fell two feet from her, she said.

Her friend Darla Tiben-Rivera of Fayetteville NC said she thought a tornado was coming through as one side of her tent rolled over on top of her. "I was basically upside down when I got out," she said. Bill Sammler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wakefield VA said it was not a tornado. Damage was caused by the thunderstorm's straight-line winds, also known as a downburst. The high winds probably didn't last for more than 30 seconds to a minute, he said. "It doesn't take long for a gust of wind to have significant impact."

Worst hit was the John R Page Masonic Lodge, the only remaining fraternal lodge among a halfdozen built by blacks here between 1885 and 1927. The wind "basically blew it off its foundation," said Reid Thomas, a restoration specialist with the North Carolina State Historic Preservation office in Greenville. An engineer told Thomas the structure, which is still in use, might be able to be saved.

Town Manager Anne-Marie Knighton said she has asked the Museum of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City to help with recovery efforts if historic documents and furniture were damaged.

Part of one of four chimneys at the 1782 Barker House collapsed, said Robbie Laughton, director of the Edenton Parks and Recreation Department. The roof and facade of an 1894 building housing the Chowan Herald newspaper on Broad Street was damaged. A large tree also fell across Broad Street, missing bicyclists who were in tents on the grounds of the historic Cupola House,” he said.




A Little Military Humor

The New Economy Assault Vehicles Lack Some Safety Features



Did U Know? General John Hunt Morgan

By W. Bro. Dwight D. Seals

General John Hunt Morgan was born in Huntsville, Alabama on June 1, 1825. When Morgan first joined the Confederate Army he served under General Simon B. Buckner, and was promoted to Colonel of the second Kentucky cavalry on April 4, 1862. He was promoted to Brigadier General on December 11, 1862. He became known as one of the most legendary Confederate commanders, known for his various raiding parties. General Morgan was a picture perfect cavalry fighter, much like JEB Stuart. Morgan was a perfect Southern gentlemen even during battle. Even though Morgan didn't have much formal military training he possessed an instinctive talent that made up for his lack of training.

He was a fearless leader and he quickly earned the respect of his men. General Morgan operated mainly in the Western theater under Major General Joseph Wheeler. He was famous for his raids into Tennessee and Kentucky. In July of 1862 General Morgan and his men began raids in Kentucky that lasted three weeks while being chased by Federal troops, but were never captured. In July of 1863 General Morgan and his men took part in their final raid, during a twenty-four day ride into Southern Indiana and Ohio, which ended when General Morgan was captured. Morgan was sent to the Ohio Penitentiary, where he escaped. General John Hunt Morgan was shot and killed in a surprise attack by Federal cavalry at Greeneville, Tennessee on September 3, 1864. General Morgan is buried in Lexington Cemetery in Lexington, Kentucky.

In July 1863, Confederate raiders rode into Versailles, Indiana, capturing the local militia and stealing the county treasury. The next day, General John Morgan, learned that his men had also made off with the jewels of the local Masonic Lodge. They were returned the following day to the Lodge.

Brother John Hunt Morgan was a member of Daviess Lodge #22, Lexington, Kentucky.



Here are some of the "funnies" our grandparents enjoyed.


The Toonerville Trolley



The Old Tiler Talks

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


Why do Masons spend their money so foolishly?" asked the New Brother.

"A fool and his money are soon parted," answered the Old Tiler.

"Do you think Masons are fools?"

"Certainly not. I was just agreeing that if Masons spend money foolishly they are foolish. What variety of foolish spending is teasing you?"

"Oh, a lot! We spend five dollars to send a funeral wreath to every brother's funeral, and three dollars for flowers every time one is sick, and four dollars for fruit when one goes to a hospital. We decorate the lodge room when we have an entertainment. We spend money for food for men who are well fed at home. We hire entertainers for a blowout! My idea would be to put all that money in an educational fund or a charity fund or . . ."

"By any chance," interrupted the Old Tiler, "are you delivering a lecture? I want to talk, too!"

"I want you to talk. Tell me that I am right and that we do spend our money foolishly!''

"I can't do that," answered the Old Tiler. "But perhaps I can show you something on our side. You object to five dollar funeral wreaths to deceased brethren, and would rather see the money put in charity. Do you think we send the wreath to the dead man? With it we offer consolation to the family! We show that his brethren care that he has died and that the world may see that we hold our deceased brother in honor. If we are careless when grief comes to the loved ones of those we love, the world will hold it against us, and our influence be lessened.

"We send flowers to the sick and fruit to the hospital, that the ill brother may have the cheering comfort of knowing that in his hour of need his brethren forget him not. Is it, then, more charitable to feed a hungry body than a hungry heart? Have you ever been ill in it hospital? Did no one remember you with a card, a flower, a basket of fruit? If you were unremembered, you passed a sad hour in the thought that no one cared. If friends brought their friendship to you when you needed it you were helped to recover. If we do not cheer a worthy brother, for what does our brotherhood stand?

"Of course we decorate a lodge room for an entertainment! In your home are there but bare walls, without pictures, carpets or furniture? Do you give to the poor all you make over a bare subsistence? Do the poor spend only for food? In a poor man's home you will find a flower, a book, a picture. Beauty is as much a need as bread. Cows chew cuds contentedly, but man must chew the cud of life with a spiritual as well as a physical outlook. The lodge room is our home. We decorate it for entertainment that all may remember their Masonic home as beautiful with pleasures taken together.

"Refreshment, whether sandwiches and coffee or a vocal or instrumental solo, refreshes mind and body. The solo we hear alone gives us not half the pleasure which comes from listening in company. The few cents per capita we spend for refreshment is no more wasted than were the twenty cents you paid for your cigar or the fifteen cents for your shoe shine!

"Suppose the world spent only for food, clothes and charity? The poor would become rich; ambition, thrift, independence arid manhood would become extinct. If there were no music, painting, love of flowers, beautiful buildings in the world, where would our hearts reach when they seek something they know is just beyond? We do not see God in the ham sandwich as in the beautiful notes of music. I'll agree He is everywhere, but if we find Him easiest through our appreciation of the lovely, rather than the mundane things of life.

"Would you cease printing Bibles that more hungry people be fed? You argue that money not spent for charity is ill spent, but charity is but a part of Masonry. Masonry teaches men to help themselves, to think-, to aid their fellows, not only by gifts, but by encouragement, cheer, help, aid, the kindly word. When we express them in the flower, the basket of fruit, the song or refreshment, we spend our money wisely.

"Truly the fool and his money are soon parted, but the fool parts with his for foolishness. We part with ours for value received, to carry Masonic cheer to the hearts of our brethren." "You are right, as you always are," agreed the New Brother. "By the way, you are chairman of the committee on hospitals, are you not? Stick that in your pocket and make the next bunch of flowers or basket of fruit twice as big."

That with which the New Brother soothed his conscience crinkled as it was folded.


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