Trestle Board
2010 A.D., 6010 A.L.

From

The

East

Greetings Brethren!

2010 is a new year with new events and changes to come to make it a great year. Come to our next event and join in the fun.

Fraternally,
Ben Lowery
Worshipful Master

Treasurer’s

Accounting

Your Financial Reports are provided regularly during the stated communications and discussed at that time.  Please join us in Lodge for the latest financial updates.

Secretary’s

Corner

Dues and Per Capita for 2010 are $74. Section II, Article 6, of Ramah Lodge 165 By-Laws states: "These dues are payable on or before the first stated communication in January each year".

Please send your correct phone number and address or changes so that we may update our roster.  And for those with computer savvy, send your current or new e-mail addresses as well.  Much of our information is sent via the internet, which has dramatically cut down our postage expense.

WB Dwain, Secretary

Did you know there is another Ramah Lodge?  It is Roman Eagle Ramah Lodge #70, in Danville, VA (http://www.morgancomm.com/re122/ramah_page.php).  They also meet the 2^nd Mondays at 7:30 PM.  Their charter was established in 1888, and in 1933, they had 38 members.  The reference must come from Judges 19:13, which says, “And he said unto his servant, Come and let us draw near to one of these places; and we will lodge in Gibeah, or in Ramah.” (http://bible.cc/judges/19-13.htm).

Lighter

Side

Of

Freemasonry

The lodge with the highest meeting place on the globe is Roof of the World Lodge No. 1094, of Oroya, Peru. The elevation of the lodge room in the Andes Mountains is 14,167 above see level. The closet competitor in the United States is Corinthian Lodge No. 35 at Leadville, Colorado elevation about 10,200 feet.

MOON LODGES

A century ago thee were more than 3,000 Masonic lodges which can be described as "Moon Lodges"; in 1954 there were fewer than 500. These lodges meet on the day of the full moon for practical reasons; the brethren had light to travel by at night. There may have been some symbolic meaning also. The advent of electricity, street lights, and the automobile made the reason for meeting on such nights antiquated through unique. Many Grand Lodges now require lodges to meet on fixed days of the week.

THE SQUARE AND COMPASS BRAND

Montana's first livestock brand was the square and compass; it is still in use. No one knows when it was first used; but it was before May 25, 1872, when it became necessary to date and register brands then in use. It was first owned by Poindexter T. Orr of Beaverhead County, Montana Territory.

THE LARGEST AND THE SMALLEST MASONS

At the time he was raised in Highland Park Lodge No. 382 in Los Angeles, California, John Aasen was eight and a half feet tall and weighed 536 pounds. Twelve craftsmen were required for certain parts of the ceremony. There were 1500 Masons present to observe the ceremony.

Charles S. Stratton, a midget, was made a famous by P. T. Barnum as "General Tom Thumb". He was first presented to the public in 1842; as the time he was two feet high and weighed 16 pounds. In 1844 he married Lavinia Warren, also a midget. He settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut and was raised in St. John's Lodge No. 3 on October 3, 1862. 

FEMALE TYLER OF A MASONIC LODGE

The first lodge in Kansas was Wyandotte Lodge. It met in the home of the Senior Warden, Matthew R. Walker. Mr. Walker, an Indian, acted as Tyler of the lodge. Later Mrs. Walker became the first Grand Matron of the Eastern Star in Kansas.

Stories

To

Inspire

It was a time not long after Fort Sumter and The War of Northern Aggression was well under way. The Yankees, as they are still wont to do, had promptly flocked to Hilton Head and Tybee Islands, the barrier islands on opposite sides of the mouth of the Savannah River. The Savannah Folks didn't mind much that the Yankees had stolen the good beaches, for the water was still a bit cool for Southern preferences and, besides, they knew the gnats and mosquitoes would teach the Yankees a lesson they'd never forget. So, the Southerners, as Southerners are wont to do sometimes, just waited.
They didn't have to wait very long before the Yankees on Hilton Head sent out a messenger under a white flag.
It seemed that the Yankees had among them a young fellow who had passed through the Fellow Craft Degree before shipping out. The Yanks were just sitting around slapping gnats when it occurred to one of them that, just maybe, there was a nearby lodge that could test him in the Fellow Craft Degree and raise him to that of a Master Mason.
As luck would have it, there was indeed a lodge in Savannah that would soon be having a Masters Degree.
One morning, not too many days later, a detail of Confederate Cavalry slipped across the Savannah River into South Carolina and traveled through Bluffton to the shore opposite Hilton Head Island.
From there they escorted one Fellow Craft Mason and, I believe, a number of Master Masons of the Northern Persuasion, safely through the Confederate Lines and back through about 35 miles of Confederate defenses to Savannah where the candidate and his witnesses were delivered into the lodge.
The records note that this Brother was indeed proficient in the Fellow Craft Degree and he was raised to the Degree of a Master Mason.
That night another detail of Confederate Cavalry, no doubt Brothers to a man, slipped back across the Savannah River and safely escorted their Brothers back to Hilton Head.
Anyway, I have loved this story since the first time I heard it. It clearly demonstrates that, at the darkest period in our nation’s history, when brothers were killing brothers, brothers could still be brothers.

Feedback, contributions and articles are always welcomed and appreciated.

Please

 
Email The Web Master (Jorge L. Mercado)

Masonic Web Sites Of Interest
	The Grand Lodge of Colorado
	Petition For The Degrees of Masonry
	Masonic Renewal Committee of North America
	Masonic Service Association of North America
	The Research Lodge of Colorado

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Copyright 2008. © Ramah Lodge No. 165, A. F. & A. M.; All Rights Reserved.

Special Thank You To: John "Corky" Daut [http://www.mastermason.com/hempstead749/] For Design Guidance