Camden Lodge 159

Congratulations to all officers of Camden Lodge 159 on a great inspection.  Maybe I am a little biased, but I think we put on a great degree.  Thank you to our Worshipful Master for all the time he put in to prepare us for this inspection.  I know a lot of us get very nervous during inspection, but as usual, it goes off without a hitch.  There will always be phrases missed and steps out of order, but all-in-all it was a great degree.  I want to thank W.Bro. Mike Stephenson for an awesome Lecture, W.Bro. Dwight Seals on a always well done apron lecture, and of course our charge, given by Bro. Worley was amazing for his first time given in open lodge.

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At the last meeting we discussed ways to get new members to come to lodge meetings.  It happens too often that candidates receive a degree, usually just EA and never return.  I am not sure if it’s not what they thought, or they are overwhelmed with the work that must be done.  I think this is why the One-Day-Class was created.  But even that does not guarantee a return.  I would say that 8 out of 10 from the ODC never return to lodge.  Now a comment was made that “You can lead a horse to water” which is partially true.  Your not going to get a brother who has no interest to come to show up to any function.  But why do they have no interest?  Are we not making our meetings interesting enough?  What is the reason you go to meetings? or, why not?  Any help is appreciated.  One thing that was discussed, that I enjoyed the idea of, one night a month, a meeting for just fellowship.  No open lodge, just guys discussing different topics, like a strictly fellowship night.  Play euchre, order pizza, trade chili recipes, even discuss Freemasonry!  But no ritual, no pressure, just go and enjoy the company of like minded people.  The thought of involving the wives too, how many of your wives would like to be involved in something?  Meet the other wives of Freemasons?  Even invite members from other lodges.  The possibilities are endless, but it has to start somewhere.  What are your ideas?  Ultimately you have to have interest to have purpose, so without your interest it’s just another idea brought up in lodge.  So please, let me know what you think about any of this.

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I would like to congratulate all the newly installed officers of Camden Lodge 159!  The evening was great and full of cheer as the newly elected officers followed their Worshipful Master Elect in being installed.   Pictures were taken, and the ceremony was as always beautiful.  Thank you Jerusalem Commandry for your epic display in the posting of colors.  As soon as I get some free time I will post the new officers list along with photos.

Please read the following article on Freemasons for Dummies, then comment below.  How do you feel about GL having that much control?  Would this be handled differently in Ohio?  What would happen if the Shrine decided to remove the requirement of MM to become a member?

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Everyone please register and head to the forums to post on the topic of the day!  If you are having trouble finding the registration, please click here http://camdenlodge159.org/wp-login.php?action=register

Great meeting last night 159!  We gave our candidate a good degree.  Also kudos to all the officers that moved up for the meeting.  We discussed some ways of getting new members and getting out in the public eye.  One of the suggestions was a Topic of the Day in the forums.  I have since added the forum, so get over there to discuss the TotD!  Also an idea was the ASK12B1 bumper stickers.  I think we need a stack of these in our case for purchase.  We need to do more work to let people know that they need to seek freemasonry, not the other way around.  Open house ideas were also discussed, which I think is a great idea, there are more people than you think that don’t even know they can look in a lodge room.  New membership is what we should strive for, without it the fraternity will eventually die.  So if you have any ideas, please send them to me, info@camdenlodge159.org.

Brethren,

Saturday, August 6th is the annal summer picnic of Camden Lodge. This is the first Saturday of the month. We will begin the evening at 4 PM at the John Schielly Park also know as Camden Waterworks Park. Go north on Main Street to the car wash and turn right and follow it back the drive about a quarter of a mile and you are there. This is a carry in dinner/pot luck dinner with the Lodge supplying the hamburgers, hot dogs, condiments, plates, utensils, buns and pop and water. This event is open to families and friends of Camden Lodge members. W. Bro. Mike Stephenson is bringing his grill for us to use. We will eat at 5 PM or therabouts. If you have some outdoor games you would like to play like corn hole, jarts or some playing cards for euchre please don’t forget to bring them along.

So that I get enough hamburgers and hot dogs, I would appreciate it if you would reply to me before July, Sunday July 31st with reservations. We won’t turn anyone away, we just want to make sure no one goes away hungry.

Come and enjoy the fellowship of your Lodge, where you will never meet a stranger, just Brethren you haven’t met or seen in a while.

This Camden Lodge members list is strictly voluntary. If you received this message in error or you wish to be removed, please reply to the author only and you will be removed, no questions asked. If you know of a Brother who would like to be added to our list, reply to author with the Brother’s e mail address and it will be added immediately.

May We Meet Upon The _|_ Act By The ! And Part Upon The |_

W. Bro. Dwight D. Seals
Worshipful Master
Camden Lodge #159
Camden, Ohio

You can email Dwight here for information or to tell him how many.

Brethren,

Our last Lodge meeting we had our District Education Officer in attendance for his annual program. During his presentation he mentioned the name of an unusual Lodge named, Arts & Sciences Lodge (Ohio). I thought I would put something together on Lodge names.

Did U Know?

Lodges are named for a number of different reasons. Without a doubt the most common reason would be places or geographic locations. Generally this would be the name of the city or town the Lodge is located in, such as my home Lodge, Camden Lodge, Camden, Ohio. Others would include North Pole Lodge, North Pole, Alaska, Strange Creek Lodge, Strange Creek, West Virginia, and Capitol City Lodge, Columbus, Ohio (the capitol city of the state of Ohio).

The second most popular reason for Lodge names would be Biblical and Masonic. These would include Lodges named Acacia Lodge, West Gate Lodge, East Gate Lodge, South Gate Lodge, Triangle Lodge, St. Johns Lodge, Calvary Lodge, Harmony Lodge, Temperence Lodge, Golden Rule Lodge, Hiram Lodge, Eureka Lodge, Eastern Star Lodge, Meridian Sun Lodge, Doric Lodge, Widow’s Son Lodge, Celestial Lodge and Fellowship Lodge just to mention a few.

Another popular reason for Lodge names would be famous Masons such as Washington Lodge named for our most famous Brother and President George Washington, Bolivar Lodge named after South American Bro. Simon Bolivar and Lafayette Lodge after the famous Frenchman, Marquis De Lafayette. I also know of two Lodges named for non Masons in Jefferson Lodge and Lincoln Lodge. These Lodges were named in honor of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, both well respected men who looked favorably upon our Masonic Fraternity but were not Masons.

Then we have Lodges that are indicitive of specific things such as Emerald Lodge, a Lodge in Ireland. Fourth Estate Lodge, was a Masonic Lodge located in Boston, Massachusetts and comprised entirely of men in the newspaper business – the so-called “fourth estate.” There is Petroleum Lodge, Tulsa, Oklahoma once known as the oil capital of the world. In the year 2000 we saw a few Lodges merge or chartered calling themselves Millennium Lodge. We have quite a few Lodges named University Lodge which are Lodges in cities with major colleges or universities. There is a Solar Lodge which meets on Saturday mornings and a Buckeye Lodge in Ohio (the buckeye state). I’m sure there are numerous other examples of this category as well.

There are other Lodge names that are different but I’m sure have significance such as White Rose Lodge, Sparrow Lodge, and Flat Rock Lodge. There are Lodges that have no name but are referred to only by numbers. I will leave you with these unusual Lodge names: Cotton Gin, Cowanesque, Difficult, Bee House, Drytown (Drytown, California), Cereal, Invisible Friends, Fish House, and Tidal Wave.

All Lodges have their name for a reason. The interesting stories of those names, how they got them, who they were named after or the significance of these names is true history. Many, many Lodges have their own website and generally they will have at least a short history of the Lodge on their home page. if you want some very interseting reading then spend some time googleing or surfing the web and just read the histories of the Lodges. There are some very amazing stories and history lessons in their own right.

This Masonic Did U Know list is strictly voluntary. If you received this message in error or you wish to be removed, please reply to the author only and you will be removed, no questions asked. If you know of a Brother who would like to be added to our list, reply to author with the Brother’s e mail address and it will be added immediately.

May We Meet Upon The _|_ Act By The ! And Part Upon The |_

W. Bro. Dwight D. Seals
Camden Lodge #159
Camden, Ohio

Brethren,

Camden Masonic Lodge #159 Craft Club sponsors an open to the public all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet the third Saturday of every month. That would put it this coming weekend, Saturday, June 18th. Serving is between the hours of 6:30 AM – 11:00 AM, on the second floor over the library at 106 South Main Street, Camden, Ohio. A chair lift is available for access to the second floor if necessary. The menu consists of sausage, eggs, pancakes, biscuits, gravy, coffee and orange juice. Cost of the breakfast is $5.00 for adults and $4.00 for children under 12 years of age. If you are free and can help in the kitchen, we would love to have your company. If you just want to bring the family down for breakfast, we would love your support. Please, come join us this coming Saturday.

I have called for a special meeting of Camden Lodge this Saturday, June 18th during the breakfast hours for the express purpose of taking back the Master Mason proficiency of Bro. Jim Cerda. This will be a very short meeting. Hopefully, we will have enough Brethren in attendance to open Lodge.

Monday, June 20th is a stated meeting of Camden Lodge. This will be our annual Past Masters night. We will open Lodge at 7:00 PM with doors to the Temple opening about 5 PM for coffee, euchre and fellowship. I would very much like to have Past Masters filling all chairs and stations from the opening gavel to the closing gavel for the Fellowcraft Degree that evening. We will have a very short business meeting and move right into the Degree. Our Tyler, W. Bro. Ralph Seals is taking care of the strawberries and ice cream and the progressive line officers will take care of the shortcake. If any Past Master would like to give the FC lecture, please let me know. R.W. Bro. Bryan Worley was going to give the lecture but has a committment he can not get out of o he will not be in attendance. Line officers, please, please, please bring a yellow sheet cake or shortcakes.

W.M. – Dwight- Business / W. Br. Tom Gault – Degree
S.W. – W. Bro. Norm Lincoln
J.W. – W. Bro. Ray Murphy
Chaplain – W. Bro. Ray Jones
Secretary – W. Bro. Jack Cassidy
Treasurer – W. Bro. Jim Douglass
S.D. – W. Bro. Mike Stephenson
J.D. – W. Bro. Wayne Cooper
S.S. – W. Bro. Lloyd Cross
J.S. – W. Bro. Bob Worley Sr.
Tyler – W. Bro. Ralph Seals
FC Lecture – ???
FC Charge – W. Bro. Ray Jones
“G” Lecture – W. Bro. Jack Cassidy

Come and enjoy the fellowship of your Lodge, where you will never meet a stranger, just Brethren you haven’t met or seen in a while.

This Camden Lodge members list is strictly voluntary. If you received this message in error or you wish to be removed, please reply to the author only and you will be removed, no questions asked. If you know of a Brother who would like to be added to our list, reply to author with the Brother’s e mail address and it will be added immediately.

May We Meet Upon The _|_ Act By The ! And Part Upon The |_

W. Bro. Dwight D. Seals
Worshipful Master
Camden Lodge #159
Camden, Ohio

Brethren,

This story was written in 2009 and sent to me in 2010 by W. Bro. Ed Halpaus. It makes some really great points and raises some questions, at least for me. Did the Lodge try to contact the suspended Brother anytime during his 30 years of suspension for non payment of dues? I will leave you with this thought. You joined the Masonic Fraternity for a reason. If you want to go to Lodge then go, don’t keep making excuses. This story puts into perspective the old adage of “don’t put off untill tomorrow what you want to do today, because you never know what tomorrow may bring.” If you have a good Masonic story to tell, don’t be afraid to send it to me.

Did U Know?

MY DAD, MY BROTHER

By Ken Baril

My Dad, Joseph Baril, was born in Joliet, Canada, on Feb. 5, 1885. When he was five years of age, his family moved to Holyoke, MA. He continued to live there and was educated in their public school system. When he was 22 years old, he moved to New Haven, CT. and lived there for the remaining portion of his life.

His Masonic career began when he petitioned Adelphi Lodge No. 63, A. F. & A. M. located in New Haven. He was initiated on January 6, 1925, passed to the Degree of Fellow Craft on January 13, 1925, and was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on February 24, 1925. He was very active in that Lodge until he developed glaucoma. At that time, medical knowledge regarding this disease was not as advanced as it is today and because of the ignorance of how to treat this condition, my Dad became blind.

Throughout his years in darkness, he always maintained his sense of humor. In 1929, when the depression hit this country, my Dad did not have the financial resources to continue to pay his Lodge dues. Unfortunately, he was not alone. Because of this situation, he was dropped for non-payment of dues. He was a Mason not in good standing until 1962 when I decided to make the necessary arrangements to have him re-instated. This was my Christmas present to him: his paid up dues card. He was ecstatic. The years came and went, and as many times I had asked him to accompany me to my Lodge, he always said that he would be embarrassed because he could not work his way in. I assured him that it would not be necessary for him to be upset, as I would assist him in remembering the necessary criteria for him to enter. Time seemed to fly by, and then one evening, while I was preparing to go to Lodge, the phone rang and my Mom said that Dad would like to go to Lodge with me. I was extremely happy and proud, because I could finally sit in Lodge with my Dad. I rushed to finish getting dressed and drove to where they lived, which was only a few blocks away. As I walked into the living room, there he was. His suit, which still appeared to be stylish, although he had it since the early thirties, his white shirt, and his ever present, bowtie. My Dad hated conventional ties.

I assisted him out to the car, and helped him into the front seat. He seemed to be a bit more relaxed and as we rode and he turned to me and said, “You know, son, this is quite an honor for me to sit in Lodge with you this evening.” That is when my eyes began to tear. I said, “Thanks, Dad, I appreciate that. Your Brothers in Lodge will be very happy to see you, many for the first time.”

We arrived at Lodge, about forty-five minutes before we opened and I parked the car. We only had to walk a very short distance until we arrived at the flight of five steps that led into the lobby. I had to hold onto him firmly as he was weak and had a problem with his balance. I began to help him up the stairs and when we got to the fourth step, I could feel his body slowly becoming limp. I gently sat him down leaning him against the railing, and I began loosening his tie and collar button. He had a slight smile on his face as he leaned against me with his hand extended for that final, friendly, and brotherly grip, whereby one Mason may know another, in the darkness as well as in the light. One of my Brothers called for an ambulance. By the time the ambulance arrived, my Dad was already on his way to that Celestial Lodge on High. My Dad, my Brother, died in my arms.

I know my Dad loved me; he told me so, many, many, times. He also told me death is just another door to life.

He told me not to grieve when the time comes, but to go on, and that in me he lives, and in the dark twists of night where dreams make all things possible, I see him.

I never did get to sit in Lodge with my Dad, but I know that in the Celestial Grand Lodge Records, his name will appear, and it will show that my Dad, my Brother, Joe Baril, did attend Lodge that night. I will uphold my Dad’s name with dignity and honor. His blood runs deep within me. I can do no less!

This Masonic Did U Know list is strictly voluntary. If you received this message in error or you wish to be removed, please reply to the author only and you will be removed, no questions asked. If you know of a Brother who would like to be added to our list, reply to author with the Brother’s e mail address and it will be added immediately.

May We Meet Upon The _|_ Act By The ! And Part Upon The |_

W. Bro. Dwight D. Seals
Camden Lodge #159
Camden, Ohio