Mt. Hood Lodge No. 32 met on February 9th at the Barberton Grange for our Stated Communication on the 1st Degree. Our pillars, recently retrieved from storage, made an impressive sight as Brothers entered the Grange Hall. Once the meal began, the biggest compliment possible was given to OES Henry Wentworth, complete silence. The meal was delicious and the Brothers dug in with gusto! Soon, the brethren were satisfied and the conversation quickly broke out. The hall was filled with fellowship as WB Chad B. of North Bank Lodge No. 182 began his presentation on Euclid, the Father of Geometry. The feedback was positive and the information was interesting. WB Chad explained how Euclid’s axioms (postulates), as outlined in Elements, helped give a common understanding of the basic principles of mathematics.
After the meal, the brethren made their way to the Lodge room, small group conversations all around. An image of Brother Carl H. Claudy was on the projector screen with the following quote, “Freemasonry is ‘veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols’ because these are the surest way by which moral and ethical truths may be taught. It is not only with the brain and with the mind that the initiate must take Freemasonry but also with the heart.”.
The Worshipful Master rapped the gavel and all eyes looked East. He then ordered Brother Sage B. to hand out lengths of ribbon to all in attendance, each about 2″ wide and 3′ long. As the ribbons were distributed, the WM discussed a book he read just after being raised to the Sublime Degree which emphasized the beauty in how we start our meetings. He then asked each Brother in attendance to blindfold themselves with the ribbon, and focus on the words. The Lodge then proceeded to open at a slow and deliberate pace. Impressively, our Senior Deacon did most of his floorwork blindfolded!
Our first order of business was to ballot on Mr. Ian R. for the Degrees of Masonry. With the result Bright in the East, our pro-tem Marshal, VW Gordon J., delivered the Lodge’s response to Mr. Ian who was waiting in the dining hall. It was a very happy and exciting way to start the evening! After doing a bit of what Brother Mark P. would call ‘four S’, our Lodge Secretary read communications from the Masonic Medical Research Institute, thanking us for our Donation of over $900 raised during the 7 Masters Table Lodge.
We then moved on to introductions which included many Brothers from around the District. A special introduction was given to Brother Mark P. at his first official Lodge Meeting, as well as WB Chad B. who not only provided an excellent meal educational piece but sat in as our Junior Warden, and VW Ric B. who was officially introduced as our District Deputy of the Grand Master in District 19 of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Washington.
After Introductions, the Worshipful Master mentioned how great he was in the East, and used a pink flamingo to demonstrate the point. He then pointed out how great Mt. Hood’s Secretary was, who often bore the administrative brunt of the WM’s ‘greatness’. Further mentioned were several more Brothers who contributed greatly to our Lodge emphasizing the point that it’s easy to look ‘great’ when everyone in the Lodge is giving their best. “But”, the WM said with some deliberance, there were a few areas that members should consider working on. First, meeting up with Brothers outside of Lodge and building those deep personal connections. “It’s difficult to whisper good council if you don’t know the problem.” Second, using alcohol at Lodge functions in moderation. Third, to be proud of your membership and promote the Lodge to friends via our website. Fourth, and finally, to get onto the Telegram app and engage in the many conversations happening there.
The evening moved on to reporting and paying several bills, then a reading of Chapter 20 (Conferring of Degrees) Section 10 (Proficiency in the Degrees) from the Constitutions. Often, many different terms are used to describe the process of a candidate showing proof of proficiency; catechism, ‘proving up’, etc. A review of this section gave the Brethren clarification on the issue, and set up the next portion of the meeting, reporting on the status of proficiency.
Brother Connor G. will be proving up at our special meeting on February 23rd which will be held on the Master Mason Degree. Brother Will C. is making steady progress, as is Brother David H. who, noticing something odd, was called to the alter by the WM. After some consideration, it was discovered that Brother David H. was not wearing his name tag! (Most likely because he was never given one.) The WM quickly remedied the situation by presenting Brother David H. with his Mt. Hood name tag. Brother Justin G. is reported to be making excellent progress as a Fellowcraft as well as our newly initiated Brother Mark P. on the Entered Apprentice Degree. After, Brothers offered reports of Joy, Sickness, and Distress. Our thoughts are with WB Ron B. on his recovery and with all Brothers who are working through difficulties.
A new recurring segment in our meetings was then announced, Ritual Rhetoric. Brothers Alex B., Sage B., and Jerramie R. have shown impressive enthusiasm in Degree work and it is expected that many more Brothers will be following their lead. In an effort to assist them, and to provide an opportunity for personal and professional growth, we will be highlighting various principles of interpersonal communication. For our first piece, we discussed Proxemics, which studies the human use of space. Interesting parallels were then presented between the use of space in Degree work, as well as in corporate and personal life.
The Random Act of Kindness (RAK) report was then given by Brother Justin G. who had received the funds back in November. At that time, VW David R. was collecting stuffed animals for ‘Santa’ to hand out over the holidays. Brother Justin G. proceeded to use the funds to purchase several stuffed animals, allowing even more children to enjoy the holiday season! RAK funds for this meeting were distributed earlier. As the ribbons were being handed out, one of them had a smaller red ribbon tied to it to mark the recipient of the funds. Brother Connor G. received said ribbon and was given the evening’s collection. We are looking forward to hearing how these funds will help someone in our community!
Attention was then given to Old Business as the Worshipful Master delicately displayed one of the Lodge’s oldest meeting books. MW Brother Cameron B.’s recently published article on Emeth titled Let’s Discuss Paper, as well as René Magritte’s work The Treachery of Images (above) were used to justify the Worshipful Master’s decision to destroy our old books as they were digitized.
However, instead of simply recycling them, he would be handing each Brother in attendance one page from the book, thereby giving them real ownership of its history, and future. As the WM tore the first page from the book, several audible gasps were heard. The SD stood and suggested we discussed this first, quickly followed by Brother Tim M. sitting as Treasurer, and several other Brothers in attendance. The WM called for a quick vote to ask who in attendance thought it was a good idea to tear out the pages. No hands were raised.
A brief discussion of the issue took place before the WM gave a rap of the gavel, stood, and said, “My Brothers, this request was not meant to trifle with your feelings”. He then haphazardly threw the fake book on the ground and delicately lifted up the real Lodge record books, safely wrapped in paper and string, which he then handed over to the Secretary.
Moving on to New Business, a proposal was made to increase our Lodge Records Digitization Project budget by an additional $1,000 dollars which easily passed. Also, two upcoming events are in the works; Tour of District 18 (April 8th) and Mother’s Day Masterpiece (May 12th). Reach out if you are interested in supporting these events.
In Case You Missed It profiled a meeting with Brother Thorne H. at a recent Saturday University meet up. He is a Medal of Valor recipient and shared many interesting stories of his time in the military. Brother David H. was thanked for supporting a local Cub Scout Pack with music education. North Bank Lodge No. 182 was congratulated for their successful Crab Feed, as well as Washington Lodge No. 4 on their excellent Burns Night event. Finally, Bethel No. 38 was applauded for the recent initiation of five new girls into their youth program.
Good of the order included announcements for many upcoming events, listed below, before moving on to our Fab-bow-lous activity for the evening. Each Brother was instructed to take the ribbon from earlier in the meeting and follow along with a video tutorial of how to tie a bowtie.
During our Table Lodge in December, Brother Jerramie R. purchased a dozen white bow ties for the stewards. Unfortunately, nobody knew how to tie a bow tie except for Brother Tim H. who quickly assisted the Brothers. In order to prevent this in the future, each Brother was going to learn how to tie a bow tie. Below is a ‘how-to’ video if you’re feeling adventurous.
Finally, our District Deputy was brought to the East for his closing comments. Much praise was given to Mt. Hood Lodge No. 32 for its efforts, as well as the District as a whole, and our Jurisdiction. He encouraged Brothers to set goals and achieve them, using personal stories of his own achievements as inspiration. Then, while haven been out of the East for a number of years, proceeded to expertly close Lodge a little after 9 PM with Peace and Harmony prevailing.