Our Brother Treasurer Past Master Paul

Heavener is the proud father to Samuel

Heavener who has received his Eagle

Scout award at his Court of Honor on

Feb. 24th at the First United Methodist

Church in Punta Gorda. Over 10 years

of Scouting endeavors have culminated

in the attainment of this prestigious

award. The Eagle Scout rank is awarded

to only 4% of all

scouts. The

Heavener’s are

very proud of

him achieving

this high hon-

or. Thank you to

all who donated

to his Eagle

Scout project.

New Entered Apprentice

On March 15th,

2018 Mr. Rog-

er McCullom

was made an

EA. Please

congratulate

him and wel-

come our new-

est Enter Ap-

prentice. We

our excited

about Brother

McCullom being our newest member of

this Lodge and look forward to seeing

him be an active member. He is also

looking forward to moving forward in

the journey of Masonry.

Punta Gorda Lodge No.115

Chartered January 21, 1890

Newsletter Date : April 2018 Volume 128, Issue 4

Trestleboard

Special points of

interest:

• Child ID Festival

• New EA

• Our Youth in Action

• Let there Be Light

• April Birthday’s

Inside this issue:

From the East 2

From the West 2

From the South 2

Secretary's

Desk

3

Chaplin’s

Corner

3

Let there be

Light

4

Surrounding

Area Lodges

5

Our Youth in Action

Child ID Festival This year Child Id was held on March 24th and was host-

ed at Punta Gorda Lodge No.115. There was much prep-

arations that went into executing this joyous event and

making it successful and fun

for all. As always many of the

Brothers, friends and family

contributed in many ways.

Some of them helped in the

operation of processing the

kids, others helped with the

keeping the young ones with

full bellies which hot dogs,

popcorn and cotton candy were provided. They even had

some very entertaining and educational functions that

Continued on page 5

B rothers, I am very excited to say that we have petitions coming in, Brothers

studying their proficiency in every degree, and many candi-dates interested in petitioning the Lodge. It is great to see a busy and productive Lodge full of energy. The officers and I are continuing to keep the Lodge moving forward and would love to hear any of your thoughts or ideas to help make the Lodge continue to get bet-ter. As many of you know Brother Charlie has worked very hard organizing two Child ID events. One was held at Bayfront Hospital in the NICU unit on March 17th. The fol-lowing week we held another

child ID event at our Lodge on March 24th. The total combined count was 72 registered kids thanks to Charlie and the Broth-ers helping him. Thank you very much to the Brothers that showed up. We were hoping to register more kids; however, 72 registrations are surely better than no kids at all. On April 11th the Officers and I are trav-eling to Phoenix Lodge to re-view the proposed legislation for Grand Lodge. Any Master Mason is more than welcome to join us if they wish. I will dis-cuss this legislation at our next stated communication on April 19th. Please try and be present for this meeting so that the Wardens and I can best repre-sent your questions and con-cerns when we attend Grand

Lodge during the end of May. Please continue to check your emails as there is always vital communication and updates concerning the Lodge and its members. I always welcome ideas for meetings, education, outside events or degrees. Sometimes when you are look-ing from the outside looking in, you see things from a different perspective and you see things that we do not notice. I would love some ideas for educational meetings or events. Remember that you are not only helping the Lodge but helping your-selves grow better when be-coming more involved in the Lodge.

Worshipful Master Steve Rizza

prayers and give him a call or if

you have some time to visit him

if your able. We can all appreci-

ate the healing power and com-

fort of knowing our masonic

Brothers care. Our new E.A.

Brother McCullom is going to

progress well, he is excited

about his learning opportunity

I would like to say a thank

you to all the Brothers

that participated in our

annual child ID event.

This event takes a lot of effort

to put on and the lodge is

thankful to Bro. Charlie for

taking the helm on this this

event and making it successful. Please keep Bro.Tryba in your

From the South

in Masonry. Last but not least, I

personally would like to thank

our Bro. Sr. Warden for doing a

great job of taking care of our

grounds and helping with

Bro.Tryba's properties.

Junior Warden Sean Williamson

From the East

From the West popcorn. Charlotte County FIRE/E.M.S. also deserves a huge thank you for providing an ambulance; Rescue 32 and Personnel with the assistance from Charlotte County Emer-gency Secretary Marion for making this possible. Brothers and their wives also came out to help. The lodge really came together for the community regardless of one or several kids the event was successful. Lastly, a huge thank you to Code Blue Security for an outstanding job making sure the event was as safe as any-one could ask for. One of their officers also helped with inputting information of the kids. Thank You Brother Charlie for another fine job and Worshipful Steve Rizza for seeing this through! As

for other business, many of you have been made aware of our brother John Tryba’s stroke and the stresses for his family the lodge is working on several ways to help. Brother Finklestein has secured an elec-tric wheel chair from Sarasota and we are looking into assist-ing with a ramp for his home. I have spoken with John and he is so thankful for all the help. He does struggle staying focused in a conversation, but that is expected. A brother has also taken on the task making sure his lawn and property is maintained, mowing and chem-icals at no cost. Brother Tryba’s wife Patti is so overwhelmed with how many phone calls and support the lodge is giving.

I first want to start off with a big thank you to all the broth-ers that came out to help with the child ID. Congratulations to brother Charlie Mooney for all his hard work facilitating and organizing this for the children of our community and their parents. Thanks to the Shriners and brother Paul Cook for the clowns, the kids absolutely loved the balloons. Worshipful, Brother Steve Rizza and special thanks to Charlotte County Public Works Director Travis Mor-tamor for the donation of six-teen (16) cases of water and the use of a dump truck and Back hoe for the touch a truck for the kids. Punta Gorda Rent-All also helped by giving us a 10% discount for the rental of the popcorn machine and

Page 2 Trestleboard

“Be the master of

your own spiritual

temple within.”

Continued on page 9

S ummer is slowly approaching which means the hot weather is on

the way. This also means our northern Brothers will be returning North. We all wish them a safe trip back home and a safe re-turn in the Fall. It's been reported that John Tryba is now in a rehab center and is slowly recovering. He's been through quite an ordeal. Let's all hope and pray that he makes a full recovery. We will be voting on a Brother who

is demitting from Nevada at our next meeting, April 5th. His name is Law-rence (Larry) McClure. With not much more to say, I want to remind those Brothers who have yet to pay their 2018 dues, I would greatly ap-preciate it if you would consider doing it soon. Last year I had to place nine Brothers on N.P.D. (non-payment of dues) This is something I don't enjoy doing, but it's re-quired of me by the

Grand Lodge. In order for these Brother's to become a Member in good stand-ing again, they must pay a $ 250.00 reinstatement fee, also their 2017 dues ($148.30) and their 2018 dues ($148.00) for a total of $546.00. So, it's imper-ative for those of you who have yet to pay, consider doing so soon. With that said, I hope and pray all is well with you. Fraternally, Ron George Secretary

young lad, maybe that was good enough. I have since noted that there were a few more duties and prayers to perform but nothing too trying. I have also gotten involved with new Ma-sons, trying to help them learn their work so they can advance to higher de-grees. Strangely enough, this has answered some of my earlier questions about my duties and qualifica-tions as Chaplin. As a Chaplin, I am expected to lead prayers and help my brothers in time of stress. As a coach I am expected to help brothers learn their work. The common thread

L ast August when I returned home from our sum-mer vacation I

was asked my first day in the lodge if I would sit in the Chaplin’s chair. Well, my first question was: “what does a Chaplin do?” I was told there are a number of prayers that are said during a lodge meeting that I would need to recite. Well, that did-n’t sound too bad and I wanted to be active in the lodge. However, I did wonder what my qualifi-cations were for this posi-tion. Well, I had been an altar boy when I was a

is the word “Help.” This has brought to me the reali-zation that what qualifies me to be Chaplin really qualifies all the brethren — a willingness to help others, which is one of the building blocks of Freema-sonry? So, while I wear the fancy apron and jewel in reality we are all Chap-lin’s and should act ac-cordingly. Your first duty as a fellow Chaplin is to say a prayer for Brother John Tryba’s recovery. ....................So mote it be Fraternally, Chaplin David Naples

Secretary’s Desk

Chaplin’s Corner

Page 3 Volume 128, Issue 4

WITH VISION, ENERGY

AND, ABOVE ALL, A

SENSE OF TOLERANCE,

THE DUKE OF SUSSEX

PLAYED A PIVOTAL

ROLE IN SHAPING

MODERN FREEMASON-

RY

The Duke of Sussex, Grand Master from 1813 to 1843, is a towering figure in the history of English Freema-sonry. Playing a pivotal role in the unification of the Premier and Antient Grand Lodges to form the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813, it’s impossible to overestimate the im-portance of his influence on Freemasonry.

Augustus Frederick was born a royal prince on 27 January 1773, the ninth of the 15 children of George III and Queen Charlotte. On 27 November 1801, at the age of 28, he was made Duke of Sussex by the King.

Augustus had a rep-utation for open-mindedness and was considered the most liberal of his siblings, being something of a social reformer. In opposition to the views of some of his older brothers, in particular the Duke of Cumberland, Au-gustus favoured Catholic emancipa-tion. He was, despite

his devout Christianity, a strong supporter of the Jew-ish community, too. He also lent his influence to pro-mote various benevolent schemes and was once re-ferred to as ‘the most charming beggar in Europe’.

Augustus was initiated into the Lodge of Victorious Truth in Berlin in 1798 while studying in Germany. He took rapidly to masonry, eventually occupying the Chair of his German lodge. Back in England, in 1800, Augustus joined his brother George’s Prince of Wales Lodge, now No. 259. The Duke joined the Lodge of Friendship, No. 6, in 1806 and Antiquity, No. 2, in 1808. In 1814, he was in-strumental in the resuscita-tion and, later, amalgama-tion of several lodges to form Royal Alpha Lodge, No. 16 – which was the Grand Master’s personal lodge and remains so to this day.

BRINGING THE LODG-

ES TOGETHER

In 1813, Augustus was elect-ed Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge while his elder brother, the Duke of Kent, became Grand Mas-ter of the Antients, and they became involved in the completion of the negotia-tions for the unification of the two Grand Lodges.

The Articles of Union were finalised at the end of 1813 and on 27 December 1813, the Duke of Kent graciously stood aside for his younger brother to take the reins of the new Grand Lodge. Au-gustus remained Grand Master for 30 years until his death in 1843. He referred to the union of the two Grand Lodges as ‘the happi-est event of my life’.

Augustus was a very hands-on Grand Master, resolving ‘to rule as well as to reign’. He attended meetings of the special Lodge of Recon-ciliation (1813-1816), per-sonally chaired the Board of General Purposes and was involved in the detail of all of the major Board deci-sions. The Union did not proceed quite as smoothly as it might appear from our vantage point, 200 years further on. Indeed, Augus-tus faced significant re-sistance to the changes nec-essary to bring together two proud organisations with similar aims and ceremo-nies, but with important

Let There Be Light– How the Duke of Sussex helped shape modern Freemasonry

Page 4 Trestleboard

differences.

Demonstrating his inde-pendent thinking, he was the first royal to be buried in a public graveyard. After his death on 21 April 1843, and following the instructions recorded in his will, he was laid to rest in Kensal Green Cemetery in North London. Such a humble choice of burial place by a royal prince required the permission of Queen Victoria. He had been the Queen’s favour-ite uncle and gave her away at her wedding to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1840. The Spectator of 29 April 1843 wrote: ‘Her acquiescence in his selec-tion of a place of burial may be received as an indication that she under-stood as well as loved him.’

Did you know?

The Duke was famed for his open-mindedness and liberal attitude, and he supported people of different religions

Did you know?

He was the first member of the royal family to be buried in a public grave-yard – Kensal Green Cem-etery in London

Traveling Brothers

Page 5 Volume 128, Issue 4

Cape Coral No. 367 244 Santa Barbara Blvd, Cape Coral, FL 33991 2nd and 4th Thursdays 7:30 Englewood No. 360 265 Pine Street Englewood, FL 34223 1st and 3rd Tuesdays 7:30 Lehigh Acres No. 344 1110 Ashlar Ave Lehigh Acres, FL 33936 2nd and 4th Mondays 7:30 Liberty Lodge No. 412 (Daylight) 402 15th Street East Bradenton, Florida 34208

2nd Saturday at 9:00 am at Manatee Masonic Lodge No. 31

Labelle No. 379 180 Jaycee/Lions Dr. Labelle, FL 33935 2nd and 4th Tuesdays 7:30

Manatee No. 31 402 15th Street East Bradenton, Florida 34208

1st & 3rd Monday 7:30 Moore Haven No. 61 2nd Str. Moore Haven, FL 33471 2nd and 4th Thursdays 7:30 Noah No. 357 41 Willis Road North Ft. Myers, FL 33917 2nd and 4th Mondays 7:30 Peace River No. 66 909 North Oak Arcadia, FL 34266 2nd and 4th Tuesdays 7:30 Phoenix No. 346

240 S. Tuttle Ave. Sarasota, Florida 34237 1st & 3rd Tuesdays 7:30

Sarasota Lodge No. 147

2160 Main Street Sarasota, FL

34237

2nd and 4th Tuesday 7:30

Sugarland No. 281 524 E. Sugarland Hwy Clewis-ton, FL 33440 1st and 3rd Thursdays 7:30 Tropical No. 56 10868 Metro Pkwy Ft. Myers, FL 33966 1st and 3rd Tuesdays 7:30 Venice No. 301 118 East Venice Ave, Venice, FL 34284 1st and 3rd Mondays 7:30 West Coast Masonic Lodge No. 409 520 30th Avenue West Bradenton, Florida 34205 2nd & 4th Mondays 7:30

Words: Dr Lawrence Por-ter

many of the children enjoyed. This event had a huge

support from the local community as well, the members

of Punta Gorda Lodge would like to extend some recog-

nition of their support to the Charlotte County Fire De-

partment, Charlotte County Utilities which donated 300

bottles of water. There was also some great

support from their fellow Brothers from the

Shrine Araba that came up from Fort Myers

that provided the Shrine Clowns which were

Child ID Festival

Continued on page 6

April Birthday’s

Page 6 Trestleboard

Punta Gorda 115 wishes our

Brothers A HAPPY Birthday

Important Dates

Stated Meeting April 5th 7:30

Officers Meeting April 9th 7:00

Tall Cedars April 8th 2:00

Legislation Meeting at Phoenix Lodge April 11th at

6:30

Scottish Rite Club April 10th 6:30

Stated Meeting April 19th 7:30

Open Books & Zone School April 21st 9:00-12:00

DID YOU PURCHASE YOUR WINNING TICKET YET?

GRAND

PRIZE

WIN BOTH

Escort 12 gauge nickel

plated

Remington RP9 Black 9MM

See Brother Rick O’Donnell

for ticket sales

John A. Briggs Jr

Michael E. Cullen

Robert W. Dibble

Richard L. Glass

James M. Harrison Jr

Richard R. Kunkel

Herman J. Navon

Alan K. Ogden

Clarence D. Ritchhart Jr

Francesco A. Roncone

Dwight C. Williams

in attendance as

well. Punta Gorda

continues to strive

to service the

community in

making them

stronger and the

continual efforts

of Brotherly love.

Child ID Festival

Proud Supporters of our Lodge

Page 7 Volume 128, Issue 4

Proudly Supporting Punta Gorda 115

Ray & Pat Rubin

We thank you for your support

Los Dos Cristianos Coffee Shop

941 661 1782

1120 Plantation Blvd, North Port, Florida 34289

Los Dos Cristianos is a new

company based in North Port,

Florida.

We formed with one mission in

mind, to help feed/vaccinate the children & families of the Cof-fee producing world by supply-ing top quality coffee.

Our idea - "to sell the fantastic Honduran Coffee and donate proceeds back to the children

and families of Honduras/Latin America that live in such

impoverished environments".

Fresh Roasted in house, we have a

great selection of Hot Brew, Cold/

Iced Brew, Italian Espressos, Cu-

ban Coffee.

Abbes donuts – Muffins from

Manatee Beans & Brews – Pas-

tries from Zoet.

Masons and families get a 10%

discount on Coffee items. Just

show the Square and compass.

The bee hive is an emblem of industry, and recommends

the practices of that virtue to all created beings…..It

teaches us that as we came into this world rational and

intelligent beings, so we should ever be industrious

ones, never being content while our fellow beings are in

want…..

“Coffee by Masons for Masons”.

PLACE YOUR BUSINESS

AD HERE

Do you have a business?

Would you like to increase your business

with brothers and friends?

Would you like to help support our

Lodge?

If YES, please reach out to us for ad

space details.

puntagorda115@gmail.com

Help support Punta Gorda 115

Your Name Here See our Worshipful Master for details on

reserving ad space

Proud Supporters of our Lodge

Page 8 Volume 128, Issue 4

1940 Tamiami Trail S. Venice, Florida 34293

941-493-3200

www.good-n-green.com

941-203-7219

York Rite Festival

Grand York Rite 4210 W. Oklahoma Ave.

Tampa, Fl. 33616

April 14th, 2018— Chapter & Council

April 21st, 2018— Commandery

Begins at 8:00 am till 4:00 pm

Beverages will be served at 7:00 am

For further info contact Richard Bayly at rbayly2424@gmail.com

PLACE YOUR BUSINESS

AD HERE

Do you have a business?

Would you like to increase your business

with brothers and friends?

Would you like to help support our

Lodge?

If YES, please reach out to us for ad

space details.

puntagorda115@gmail.com

Brothers if you have any

interest in participating in

any of the committees as

a chair person please in-

form the chairman of your

desired interest.

Committee’s and Chairmen

Sickness & Distress

Trestleboard Page 9

Board of Relief Chairman: W. Steve Rizza Charity Chairman: Bro. Rick O’ Donnell Child ID Chairman: Bro. Charlie Mooney Dining & Refreshment Chairman: Bro. Sean Wil-liamson Finance Chairman: Bro. Da-vid Summers Funeral Chairman: P.M. Ernie Rose

Investigation Chairman: Bro. Micky Helbig Lodge Coach: Bro. David Naples Lodge Mentor: Bro. Sean Williamson Masonic Education Chair-man: W. Steve Rizza Petitions Chairman: P.M. Jonas Seda Property/Maintenance Chairman: Bro. Seam Wil-liamson

Sickness/Distress Chairman: Bro. David Naples

Vigilance Chairman: Bro.

Sean Williamson

Brother Jerry Gordin

R∴W∴ Richard Bayly (his sister and wife) Brother John Tryba

From the West

Next, my brothers; make sure you give Brother Junior War-den Sean Williamson a big thank you and job well done for his excellent job sitting in the East for our recent E.A. Degree, it was flawless! I should be giving a quarterly finance report soon as to keep everyone up to date on where we stand, so far everything is looking great and Treasurer Brother Paul Heavener as al-ways is doing an awesome job keeping the books tight and in order! Please make sure you see Secretary Ron George ASAP as we need to stay on top of dues being paid. If any-

one is having trouble with going online please see one of the officers so we can assist in any need. Brother Senior Warden David Summers

Continued from page 2

Punta Gorda No.115 F. & A.M.

P.O. Box 511303

25349 Airport Rd.

Email:

puntagorda115@gmail.com

Website:

www.puntagorda115.webs.com

Stated Meetings:

Every 1st and 3rd Thursday

at 7:30 PM

Dinner Served at 6:30 PM

Punta Gorda Lodge No.115

1884-1885 George Anderson 1889-1892 M.S. Lee 1893 JR Hector 1896 Albert W. Gilchrist 1897-1902 J.M. Samuel 1903 J. Johnson 1904 TJ Purdue 1905 J. Mezell 1906 R. I. Earnest 1907-1908 F.M. Cooper 1909 D.M. McQueen 1910 Arthur C. Jordan 1911-1913 C.W. Shaw 1914 S.E. Johnson 1915-1916 CW Shaw 1917-1918 R.W. Roundtree 1919 T.A. Stevens 1920-1921 J.M. Lipscomb 1922 L.E. Robinson 1923 Albert Hatch 1924 R. Deloach 1925 L.E. Mizey 1926 W.E. Guthrie 1927 Charles Curry 1928-1929 Cleaveland 1930 Henry Payne 1931 Arthur S. Taylor 1932 TJ Briggs 1933 D. F. Gibbons 1934 C. F. Cerny 1935 RJ Hyatt 1936 Arthur B Johnson 1937 W.L. Rose 1938 T. I. Kennedy 1939 M. E. Ingraham 1940 EJ McCann 1941 RB Shepard

Lodge Officers Contact

Punta Gorda Past Masters Page 10

1942 M. C. Giesey 1943Lamson A. Welherley 1944 Leo Wotitzky 1945 F.T. Gardener 1946 Albert S. Cleaveland 1947 C.W. White 1948 Joseph T. Manning 1949 John T. Rose 1950 Harry B. Curran 1951 E.W. Blanton 1952 Joyce L. Hindman 1953 Gerald D. Fetch 1954 JT Lawthorne 1955 A. Smith Sr 1956 George L. Minx 1957 Howard L. Mills 1958 EL Gorson 1959 Hugh C McGibbson 1960 C. T. Daniels 1961 George Bryant Jr 1962 James C. Bailey 1963 Fobian F. Johnson 1964 J.A. Jetson 1965 Emery M Collins 1966 Louis Quinlen 1967 David G. Howie 1968 Walter Monson 1969 John M. Mattews 1970 M. Lee Oldham 1971 Robert Norton 1972 Ray Gugui 1973 Donald P. Baer 1974 Melvin W. Byers 1975 William C. Monson 1976 Oscar P. Sisk 1977 Carl Peden 1978 M. Rich Cunningham

1979 Robert H Russel 1980 Willie Hofer 1981 Charles Lewis Sr 1985 Michael Youseff 1986 Donald R. Allen 1986 Carl Powell 1988 Duane Galbraith 1988 Chris Keuker 1989 Paul Heavener 1989 Wayne Engbrecht 1990 Bernard J. Haines 1991 Raymond Evans 1992 Arthur Shepard 1993 Douglas Jewell 1994 Joseph Lezark 1995 Robert Newell 1996 Donal Sutter 1997 Michael Schneider 1998 John Bittner Jr. 1999 Trent Lewis 2000 Reic McKee 2001 Mike Cullen 2002 Edward Stepp 2003 Thomas Yonts 2004 John Brake 2005 Mackinley Mayes 2006 Ernie Rose 2007 Duncan MacDougall 2008 John Degnan 2009-2010 Richard Bayly 2011 Ernie Rose 2012 Raymond Rubin 2013 Christopher DePass 2014 Glen Purdy 2015 Raymond Rubin 2016 Stefan Antochi 2017 Jonas Seda

Thank you for your

years of service to

the Craft

Worshipful Master: Steve Rizza 941-204-9634

Senior Warden: David Summers 941-457-3536

Junior Warden: Sean Williamson 407-402-4290

Treasurer: P. M. Paul Heavener 941-255-9435

Secretary: Ronald George 941-286-2646

Senior Deacon: Rick Aiken 941-565-5177

Junior Deacon: Robert West 941-661-4222

Chaplin: David Naples 586-530-5862

Senior Stewart: Alex Lukasek 941-769-1069

Marshall: P.M. Jonas Seda 941-373-5950

Richard Bayly P.D.D.G.M. Hank Beaudoin P.D.D.G.M. John Bittner P.M. John Brake P.M. Phillip Burgess Stefan Antochi P.M. Michael Cullen P.M. Jerry Gordin Ronald Hewlette

Willi Hoffer Thomas Howell Hamdy Ibrahim Walter Jones Charles Lewis Jr. P.M. Michael Tirpak Scott Mathias McKinley Mayes P.M. Julio Miranda

Tommy Yonts P.M. Carl Powell P.M. Richard Purington Raymond Rubin P.M. Donald Sutter P.M. Charlie Williford P.D.I. Sean Wilson P.D.D.G.M. Ed Lanham P.D.D.G.M.

Our Perpetual Members

Masonic Websites

http://trowel.com/flamason/

puntagorda115/

http://trowel.com/flamason/

index.html

http://grandlodgefl.com/

https://glfl.circumscribe.net/

http://www.freemasonnetwork.org

Published and Edited by

JOVE Media Solutions