trestle board october 2010

8/8/2019 Trestle Board October 2010

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/trestle-board-october-2010 1/8

S S p p e e c c i i a a l l I I n n t t e e r r e e s s t t AAr r t t i i c c l l e e s s : :

•• FFrroomm tthhee EEaasstt.. 11

•• FFrroomm tthhee WWeesstt.. 22

I I n n d d i i v v i i d d u u a a l l H H i i g g h h l l i i g g h h t t s s : :

EEddiittoorr’’ss CCoorrnneerr 22

GGrreeaatteesstt GGiifftt 33

EEdduuccaattiioonn 44

PPooeemm / / HHuummoorr 55

FFaammoouuss MMaassoonn 66

MMoonneeyy MMaatttteerrss 66

CCaalleennddaarr 77

OOffffiicceerrss 88

Brethren:

September was a ho-hum

Month, it seems that I

attempted to accomplish some

worthwhile doings and it all

seemed to sour. I did visit the

Ronald Regan Museum, in Simi

Valley and came away with good

memories of his Presidency.

We will continue to practice for

and complete our proficiencies

for the Incoming Officers of

2011, if I’m not available Joseph

Johnson, PM, will substitute for

me on the ensuing Thursdays.

Hopefully, we will be able toconfer a Third on Justin Myers

this Month, but we require help

for the Second Section.

rom the EastBro. Joseph Romero, Worshipful Master

We have partnered with the

Joshua Tree Elementary School

for their Advanced Students,

and they require an additional

small amount to be able to

complete their goals.

The Lodge will be having a

Pancake Breakfast on Saturday,

October 30, from 8-10 am

please attend this Event. The

donation is $2.00. Also, the

Eastern Star will be serving a

Pork Chop Dinner for our Stated

Meeting.

After reading the result of the

Grand Lodge Communications I

was disappointed to see that

the Resolution to permit EA and

FC attend Lodge stated

meetings did not pass. (In

opinion, Masons again hav

shot themselves in the fooAhem!).

I will be traveling to the G

State of Missouri, one of m

Favorite Presidents and

Masonic Brother Harry S.

Truman, from the Ninth to

Sixteenth of October.

Have a great October,

Fraternally,

Joseph Romero, WM, PM

A newsletter serving the Masonic and affiliated bodies of the high desert

Yucca Valley Lodge #802

Yucca Valley California

October 2010

Trestleboard

Trestleboard - a draftsman’s designing board; that on which a Mason draws his designs for his character and spiritual growth;

that on which the Worshipful Master lays out his designs for the workmen; a Lodge’ s newsletter and calendar of events.

Do you want to get

the Trestleboard

sooner? Sign up for

email delivery and

you’ll get it before

the 1st

! Send an

email to the editor

to sign up.

FFoollllooww uuss oonn FFaacceebbooookk,, wwhheer r ee yyoouu ccaann uuppllooaadd ssttoor r iieess,, pphhoottooss aanndd nneewwss eevveennttss!!

PPlleeaassee sseenndd ssttoor r iieess,, pphhoottooss,, ccoommmmeennttss oor r ccoor r r r eeccttiioonnss ttoo tthhee eeddiittoor r aatt:: TTCCDDoowwddeenn@@r r ooaaddr r uunnnneer r ..ccoomm

OOuurr 5500tthh

YYeeaarr iinn YYuuccccaa VVaalllleeyy

Wor. Joe Romero presents a donation to

the principal of Joshua Tree Elementary

School

2011 Grand Lodge of California Officers

ELECTED OFFICERS William J. Bray III .............................. Grand Master

Frank Loui .............................Deputy Grand Master

John F. Lowe ....................... Senior Grand Warden

John L. Cooper III ..................Junior Grand Warden

Glenn D. Woody ........................... Grand Treasurer

Allan L. Casalou ……...................... Grand Secretary

Paul D. Hennig ................................Grand Lecturer

mailto:[email protected]


















































Yucca Valley Trestleboard of 8

A beautiful system of Morality, veiled in Allegory, illustrated by Symbols

“Perhaps, one day he will stand at the door, knock,and some man will say,“Who comes here?” as

generations before himhave done.”

Normally, I would be writing

about some aspect of Masonry

or my thoughts on the

happening in the Lodge, oreducation, or some other

specifically Masonic topic. This

month is a little different as my

mind is awhirl while my

daughter is experiencing

childbirth.

As I write this, my mind is filled

with knowing that a new little

man is entering the world and

entering our lives. Little Lucas

Moore arrived on September23rd after 30 hard hours of

labor. He is a little miracle

coming to our daughter, who is

38 this year and having her first

baby. So, your humble editor is

a grandfather!

Had he survived his heart

attack, my father, Bro. Robert

K. Dowden would have been 86

years old on October 29. He

was called from labor all toosoon in 2004 at the age of 79.

Sadly, he wasn’t there when I

took my degrees in the Blue

Lodge. Both my father and

grandfather were Masons, as is

my uncle, and they passed to

The Editor’s Corner Bro. T.C. Dowden

The Palm Springs Scottish Rite has

a great fund raiser for their

Learning Center (22 students). The

"International Masquerade andBrazilian Show" will take place on

Sat. October 30, 2010, 7 p.m. at the

Palm Springs Convention Center.

Tickets, including hors d’oeuvres,

are $50 per person. Best original

costume wins a free trip to Brazil!

We need full support from our

brethren to meet our goal to keep

me the desire to become a

Mason myself. I saw the

symbols, the rings, Grandma’s

EOS gavel, the bibles with thesquare, compasses and “G”,

and so forth. I used to ask

them what the “G” meant,

but they only said I may

someday learn. I never asked

them what caused them to

knock at the door, but they

did.

I think again about my

grandson. His father is a

good man. His mother (ourdaughter) is a wonderful,

intelligent woman. I have no

doubts that they will raise

him to be the same. But what

will I bring to this little man?

What can I do as a

grandfather? The men that

most influenced me lived

good, upstanding lives, lived

Masonically, and gave me a

good foundation for my own

“building not made of stone”,

my own inner temple. They

did it by displaying for me just

what a man should be.

My work is before me. I held

the future in my hands within

hours of his birth. Silent

I held Lucas close to my

breast, I whispered a pra

to the Great Architect of

Universe to look over him

and guide his parents, m

wife, and myself as he is

raised. I know I will be th

for him in whatever way

I can. I will tell him of th

great men who came befhim. I will continue to liv

my life as an example for

him. I too will share with

him the lessons that will

ultimately be his own

foundation.

And yes, he will see the

symbol on my ring, my fu

Scottish Rite hat, and on

day, my fez. He might as

me about the “G” and whit stands for. Perhaps, on

day he will stand at the d

knock, and some man wi

say, “Who comes here?”

generations before him h

done.

the Learning and Language

Center open.

Please, buy a ticket or, if youprefer, donate to support our

effort.

For reservations and more

information call Henry Kerce at

760 367-1368 or Bill Hawthorne

at 760 865-0918





September was, for me at least

a busy month. I attended theannual outdoor degree in

Prescott Arizona, which was

the first time I witnessed

degree work done in another

jurisdiction. While the work is

very much the same as our

own, it is also very much

different. If you have never

visited a lodge outside this

jurisdiction, I encourage you to

do so, differences in the waythe work is performed and how

business is conducted makes it

a very interesting experience.

I attended the 161st Annual

Communication of the Grand

Lodge, F.& A.M. of California,

where I participated in voting

on 27 legislative items and

changes to our California

Masonic Code, I helped to

elect our new Grand Lodge

Officers, and witnessed their

installation as the final event of

the annual communication.

Over 1400 Master Masons

attended Grand Lodge this

year, including Grand Masters

from at least five other

jurisdictions, Past Grand

Masters, and nearly 1000

Officers of Lodges thru out

California, representing all but

about 40 Lodges in this state.The Annual Communication is

open to all Master Masons, and

if circumstances permit I

believe every mason should

attend whenever possible.

Finally I would like to address

something I see as a problem,

not internal to our lodge. I

recently received an email se

to everyone on the

Trestleboard e-mailing list of

that lodge, which concerned

perceived "problem" that

occurred within a tiled

meeting. Now, I receive a few

different e-mails about the

activities in other Lodges,

which is perfectly acceptable

but Lodge business or the

internal affairs of a lodge,

especially what has occurred

within a tiled meeting, should

not be publicly aired,regardless of the intent behin

the actions. It should be take

to the Master and Officers of

that Lodge so it can be dealt

with properly. Just a

thought.........

Bro. Joe DuPont

rom the WestBro. Joseph DuPont, Sr. Warden

The Greatest Trip by Bro. Harry Tanzer

Brothers,

The Greatest Gift Program for

CA WWII veterans really was

the Greatest Gift and the

Greatest Trip.

I just returned from

Washington DC and the WWII

Memorial. We saw the other

war memorials for Korea andVietnam as well.

I cannot adequately put into

words my gracious feelings

about the trip. In fact, I don’t

think Shakespeare himself

could do it! I cannot fully

express the wonderful feeling

we WWII vets had both during

and after the trip.

We saw all the memorials,

were well fed and well taken

care of each and every minute

of the day. Every cost was

completely covered for us, and

our guardians that

accompanied us watched uslike mother hens – while still

giving us complete freedom to

do as we pleased (this is NOT

very easy to do)!

There is not the slightest

question in my mind that this

trip really was “the Greatest

Gift” and I feel certain every

attendee feels the same way.

For many of us, this will be th

last and greatest gift we will

receive. We will be forever

grateful to all that made it

such a successful undertaking

Each and every person

involved deserves many,many, heartfelt thanks.

Sincerely,

Bro. Harry Tanzer





Masonic Education: The Winding Staircase

The Winding Staircase is a

symbol of ascension. It is

described as consisting of

three, five, and seven steps.The number of steps has

changed over the years.

Sometimes there were only five

and at others seven. Preston

listed thirty-six, dividing them

into one, three, five, seven,

nine and eleven. The Hemming

lectures listed the number at

twenty-five. American

Masonry has kept to fifteen.

Note the connection betweenthis number and the number of

Fellowcrafts in the Third

Degree.

Much of the symbolism of the

Winding Staircase is explained

in the ritual itself. There are

some points to bring out that

may lead one to further

research and insight.

The significance of the number

three has already beenmentioned. We have the three

Degrees, the Three Great

Lights, the three Columns, the

three Officers, the Three Grand

Masters and the three Principle

Tenets of Freemasonry. What

we want to emphasize here is

the Three Theological Virtues:

Faith, Hope, and Charity. These

virtues were considered a

ladder to heaven, anothersymbol of ascent.

The Four Cardinal Virtues

presented in the First Degree

compliment these in the sense

that the Four are symbolically

horizontal (basically dealing

with our actions here on earth)

while the Three are

symbolically vertical (referring

to our method of ascent to

further Light). Our Aprons are

composite examples of theThree and the Four making

Seven.

The Five Steps are also

explained in some detail. A few

points for further consideration

concern the symbolism of the

number five. The geometrical

symbol of five is, of course, the

pentagram. The emblem of

Pythagoras’ fraternity was the

five-pointed star. At each pointof the star was a Greek letter

which all together spelled a

Greek word meaning “health”

(ugitha). The pentagram is a

symbol of the Microcosm that is

Man.

Another avenue to explore is

the ratio of the column height to

diameter. They are

approximately: Tuscan 1/7;

Doric 1/8; Ionic 1/9; Corinthianand Composite 1/10. The Doric,

Ionic and Corinthian were

designed by the Greeks; they

were the original orders of

architecture and differed from

each other. It is also worth

studying which order of

architecture was used to build a

particular type of temple. The

Parthenon on the Acropolis,

dedicated to Athena, is Doric, asis her temple at Delphi. The

Ephesian temple of Diana, a

moon goddess, is Ionic. The

importance of the compass to

the Ionic Order is also worthy of

study.

The Seven Steps symbolize the

Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences.

They are Grammar, Rhetoric,

Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry,

Music, and Astronomy. The

greatest of these is Geometry,Geometry is the first and

noblest of sciences and the

basis upon which the

superstructure of Freemasonry

is erected). These were

formulated as early as 330 CE.

The Christian scholars adopted

them soon afterwards and we

find their full flowering at the

Neo-platonic Cathedral School

of Chartres in 12th CenturyFrance. The interesting work

that came together here was

the union of the philosophies of

Neo-platonism and Christianity.

The study of the Seven Liberal

Arts was considered a means to

the knowledge of God. This

principle was actually

expressed in the construction

of the Gothic Cathedral of

Chartres. We even find for the

first time sculpted

representations of the Seven

Liberal Arts on the West Door

of the Cathedral.

The Masters of Chartres taught

that the proper study of the

Seven Liberal Arts guided the

intellect to approach the

hidden light behind the world.

The invisible underlying

structure of Reality, the Truth,

could be apprehended in this

way. As another matter of

interest, it was in the mid-

thirteenth century that the

humble mason who had

mastered the Seven Liberal Arts

was entitled to the designation

of architect.





In 2004, The Grand Lodge of Utah sponsored

the design and production of a Tartan fabric

that would represent Freemasonry in Utah as

well as elsewhere. Scottish Tartan plaids havebeen used for centuries by Scottish clans as a

means of identifying and unifying families

across the country. This tartan was designed

with the family of Freemasonry in mind.

Anne Carroll Gilmour, an internationally known

weaver specializing in traditional Scottish

Tartan weaving, designed the pattern and

submitted it to the Scottish Tartans Authority

in Perthshire, Scotland for registration. The

pattern was deemed unique and the

Registration Certificate issued. A mill nearEdinburgh was then commissioned to weave

the cloth in bulk.

The colors in the cloth were carefully chosen

to represent the various Masonic family

organizations including but not limited to the

Blue Lodge, Scottish Rite, York Rite, Shrine of

North America, Job’s Daughters International,

DeMolay International, Order of the Eastern

Star, Daughters of the Nile and et cetera.

The main field of blue in a prominent pivotal

position represents the dome of the universeas in Blue Lodge Masonry. The dominance of

royal purple in the opposite pivotal field

represents Scottish Rite Masonry, York Rite

Masonry, Job’s Daughters International and

many other Masonic organizations. The

prominent red cross carries with it much

symbolism used throughout Masonry. You will

also see represented the colors of the five

points of the Eastern Star, red, white, blue,

green and gold/yellow as well as related colors

connected with the Social Order of theBeauceants, the White Shrine of Jerusalem,

the Daughter’s of the Nile and many others.

As a Scottish family’s unique tartan represents

that family throughout the world, so too does

the Freemason’s Universal Tartan represent

the family of Freemasonry and its goals to

make this world a better place to live in.

Are You A Man?W. R. Shields

I do not ask, my friend, if you

Were born a Gentile or a Jew,

A Buddhist, or Mohammedian:I only ask, are you a man?

It matters not, my friend, to me

If you are black as black can be,

Or colored red, or brown, or tan:

I ask but this, are you a man?

I care not, brother, whence you came,

Nor do I seek to know your name,

Your race, religion, creed or clan:

I want to know if you’re a man.

I care not if you’re homely quite,

Or handsome as an angle bright,

If you, throughout your little span,

Have only shown yourself a man.

I think that most men think like that:

They hate a weakling, loathe a rat;

They’ve always liked, since time began,

One who is first and last a man.

T T r r eesst t l l eebbooaar r d d S S p poonnssoor r ss

Platinum Sponsors $50.00Gary Mason

Joe DuPont Gold Sponsors $25.00

TC Dowden Joseph Romero

Silver Sponsors $20.00Wayne Stuart

Sponsors $15.00

Freemasons Universal Masonic Tartan

Annual Trestleboard Sponsorships help defray theannual cost of printing and mailing the Trestleboardto those Brothers and friends of the Lodge that arenot adept at electronic publications. If you can

afford to sponsor, please see TC Dowden.





Famous Mason: Arnold Palmer, Golfer, Entrepreneur, Freemason

Arnold Daniel Palmer (born

September 10, 1929) is an

American golfer who is generally

regarded as one of the greatest

players in the history of men's

professional golf. He has won

numerous events on both the

PGA Tour and Champions Tour,

dating back to 1955. Nicknamed

"The King," he is one of golf's

most popular stars and it’s most

important trailblazer because he

was the first star of the sport's

television age, which began in

the 1950s. He is part of "The Big

Three" in golf along with JackNicklaus and Gary Player who are

widely credited with popularizing

and commercializing the sport

around the world.

Palmer won the PGA Tour

Lifetime Achievement Award in

1998, and in 1974 was inducted

into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

In 2004, he competed in The

Masters for the last time,

marking his 50th consecutive

appearance in that event. After

missing the cut at the 2005 U.S.

Senior Open by twenty-one shots

he announced that he would not

enter any more senior majors.

Since 2007, Palmer has served as

the honorary starter for the

Masters. He retired from

tournament golf on October 13,

2006, when he withdrew from

the Champions Tours'

Administaff Small Business

Classic after four holes due to

dissatisfaction with his own play.

He played the remaining holes

but did not keep score.

Palmer's legacy was reaffirmed

by an electrifying moment during

the 2004 Bay Hill Invitational.

Standing over 200 yards from the

water-laden 18th green, Palmer,

who is known for his aggressive

play, lashed his second shot onto

the green with a driver. The shot

thrilled his loyal gallery and

energized the excitable Palmer.

He turned to his grandson and

caddie, Sam Saunders, and gave

him a prolonged shimmy andplayful jeering in celebration of

the moment.

As with every true Masonic

Brother, Relief is a principle

Brother Palmer holds as dear

as Brotherhood and Truth. H

served as Honorary NationalChairman of the March of Dim

Birth Defects Foundation for

years. In addition, he played

major role in fundraising for t

Arnold Palmer Hospital for

Children and Women in Orlan

Florida. Not forgetting his

hometown, he is a longtime

member of the Board of

Directors of the Latrobe Area

Hospital and established a maannual fundraising golf event

that institution in 1992. Brot

Arnold Palmer's humanitarian

awards are too numerous to

mention.

Brother Arnold Palmer was

raised in Loyalhanna Lodge N

275, Latrobe, PA in 1958. He

was honored in 1998 by bein

invested with the 33rd Degree

both the Northern and SouthJurisdictions of the Ancient &

Accepted Scottish Rite.

Dear Brothers,

The Lodge Investment Committee is

working to determine an appropriate

investment strategy for Lodge Funds, and

is seeking your preference in determining

how funds should be invested. These will

aide us in choosing the most suitable

investment vehicles to protect Lodge

assets as well as create growth for the

future.

Option 1: Play it Safe; protect Lodge

assets don't worry about growth.

Option 2: Be Conservative; protect Lodge

funds while seeking modest growth.

Option 3: Pursue Growth; use prudent

rules to invest seeking greatest

potential growth.

Please contact a member of the Lodge

Investment Committee or a LodgeOfficer and let them know your

preference.

The Lodge Investment Committee is

also seeking one additional member.

Professional investment experience

and a background in finance would be

beneficial.





Yucca Valley Masonic Center

October 2010Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

Libra Scorpio28 29 30 1 2

Breakfast8-10 AMGalaxy Club 10 A

3 4Oasis of Mara

Stated Meeting29 Palms 7:30 pm

5Hall Association

Building BoardFinance BoardMtg. 6 PM

6 7 Stated Mtg 6 PM

Dinner 6:30Open Mtg 7:30

8 9Galaxy Club

Fashion Show &Salad Lunch11:30 $5.00

10 11 Columbus Day

12 13 142

ndDegree

Proficiency Work – 6:30 PM

15Shrine Club11:00 AMYucca ValleySizzler

16 Officer’s Schoo

of Instruction Yucca Valley

17 18 19 20 21MasonicEducationWorking GroupDinner 6:30 PM

22 23

24 25 263

rdDegree

for Bro. Myers

27

Scottish Rite inPalm Springs

282nd DegreeProficiency Work – 6:30 PM

29 30Int’l Masquerade

and Brazilian Sh

Benefit BreakfaFor Joshua TreeElementary Sch

8-10 AM

31

Halloween

Lodge Calendar OOuurr 5500tthh YYeeaarr iinn YYuuccccaa VVaalllleeyy

Special thanks for excellent service and color prints to:





http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#/pages/Yucca-Valley-CA/Yucca-Valley-Masonic-Lodge-802/387646035017?ref=sgm

Yucca Valley Masonic LodgePO Box 686

Yucca Valley, CA 92286

PHONE:(760) 820-4499

FAX:(760) 820-4499

E-MAIL:

[email protected]

Trestleboard Editor:

T. C. Dowden 418-5236

[email protected]

We’re on the Web! See us at:

www.masons802.org

YUCCA VALLEYMASONIC LODGEPO Box 686

Yucca Valle , CA 92286

Grand Master of the State of

CaliforniaMost Worshipful William J. Bray III

Worshipful Master Joe Romero, P.M. 228-2515Senior Warden Joseph DuPont 367-4373

Junior Warden Vacant

Treasurer Mark Clark 367-7246

Secretary Oscar Rodriguez 449-0147

Chaplain David Glenn 660-5736

Senior Deacon Joseph Johnson PM 365-5764

Junior Deacon Joseph Pennington 362-2785

Marshal Wayne J. Stuart 364-4586

Senior. Steward James N. Henley 366-2527

Junior Steward Brian L. Slack 365-6245

Tyler Vacant

Officer’s Coach Vacant

Inspector 830th Masonic Dist Mert Gayler 347-5555

Telephone Chair

Adriana C. (Tina) Bergamin 365-5523

Lod e Officers 2010

―USPS—Identification Statement‖ Trestleboard - Published monthly by

Yucca Valley Lodge #802 F&AMPO Box 686, Yucca Valley CA 92286

Facebook






http://www.masons802.org/






trestle board october 2010

Documents