June Bus Trip to Washington Masonic Memorial, Spotlight on Indiana

The Grand Lodge of Indiana F. & A. M. and Indiana Freemasonry will be featured throughout the month of June 2008 at the George Washington Masonic Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia. Deputy Grand Master Jeffery Zaring, Grand Lodge officers and their ladies will travel to the Memorial on June 5 and return June 8, 2008. On June 7, the Grand Lodge Officers will convene a session of Grand Lodge and confer a 50-year Award of Gold in the 18th century Replica Lodge Room.

The Grand Lodge has arranged for a bus to take the officers, spouses and other Indiana Freemasons who would like to attend. There will be room on the bus for approximately 15 additional couples, or 30 seats. The price for transportation to and from the Memorial includes a VIP Tour of the Memorial and a tour of Mount Vernon. Those in attendance will also have free time to visit Washington. The Grand Lodge is working on a preferred rate at a local hotel. If you have an interest in trip, call Grand Secretary Max L. Carpenter at (317) 634-7904 or email him at grsec@ingl.org.

Each month, the Memorial highlights a different grand lodge with a special exhibit. Indiana’s will tell the story of the founding of our Grand Lodge, with photos of noted Hoosier Masons, and the famous 1948 visit of President Harry S Truman to Beech Grove Lodge. We have a special reason to be proud of the part Indiana continues to play in the Memorial – our own Most Worshipful Brother Michael D. Brumback, Past Grand Master, is the President of the Memorial Association.

The George Washington Masonic Memorial was originally conceived in 1910 to protect the many artifacts belonging to the President, General and Freemason owned by Virginia’s Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, of which Washington was the first official Master. Built between 1923 and 1932, the Memorial today is supported by 51 grand lodges and the appendant bodies in the United States. The building contains two large lodge rooms, as well as the newly refurbished Replica Lodge Room – designed to preserve furniture and artifacts from the earliest days of Alexandria-Washington lodge and representing its lodge room as it was in 1788. The Museum contains the largest collection of Washington’s personal items outside of his home at Mount Vernon.

Indiana Freemasons are encouraged to visit the Memorial any time, but especially during June of this year. Lodges are especially urged to sponsor trips throughout the month, and even to come and confer degrees. (Contact Grand Secretary Max Carpenter if your lodge wants dispensation to do this.)

The Memorial is open daily from 10 am until 4 pm, except major holidays, and guided tours of the tower are available throughout the day. For more information about scheduling a visit to the Memorial, contact George D. Seghers, Executive Director at 703-683-2007, or see the website at http://www.gwmemorial.org

For brethren outside of Indiana, the states featured in 2008 are:

January - The Grand Lodge of Ohio
February - The Grand Lodge of Tennessee
March - The Grand Lodge of Louisiana
April - The Grand Lodge of Nevada
May - The Grand Lodge of Massachusetts
June - The Grand Lodge of Indiana
July - The Grand Lodge of Mississippi
August - The Grand Lodge of Illinois
September - The Grand Lodge of Alabama
October - The Grand Lodge of Maine
November - The Grand Lodge of Missouri
December - The Grand Lodge of Washington