Georgia Lodge Selling Mini Iron Pans As Fundraiser

by Christopher Hodapp

Landrum Lodge 48 in Savannah, Georgia is partnering with the appropriately-named Lodge Cast Iron company to create the first-ever Masonic cast iron mini skillets.

As a fundraiser they are offering this unique set of three miniature cast iron skillets representing the three degrees of Freemasonry: the Entered Apprentice with the square, compass, sun & moon; the Fellowcraft with the square, compass, and two pillars; and the Master Mason with the square, compass, and sprigs of acacia. The set will come in a custom printed cardboard box fit for display. Crafted in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, these naturally seasoned mini pans are the perfect size for serving individual cookies or brownies. Seasoned and ready to use.

Price is US$99.99 for the set. Orders are shipped within 2-business days​

Click here to order.

​

Masons Everywhere Want to Help Ukrainian Brethren

by Christopher Hodapp

Ukrainians woke up last week and found themselves suddenly in the middle of a full-scale invasion against one of the largest military forces in the world. People are fleeing their homes, taking up arms against the invaders, and placing their lives on the line to protect their sovereignty, their homes, and their freedom. Consequently, Masons from around the world have wished to offer their sympathy, prayers and more tangible support like money, medicine and food, especially to Masonic brethren there.

Many Masons may have done some Internet research and discovered that the Grand Lodge of Ukraine (Великої Ложі України) is widely recognized as regular and is in amity with most of the regular grand lodges around the world, including the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the National Grand Lodge of France (GNLF), and forty U.S. grand lodges. Ironically, the Grand Lodge of Russia even got around to recognizing the Grand Lodge of Ukraine four years ago, in 2018. So it's absolutely a lousy (and arguably tasteless) thing to enter something as meaningless as Masonic recognition rules into a discussion of helping fellow human beings in a war. 

Now there are a growing number of grand masters and individual Masons around the world issuing official letters of support for Ukraine and denouncing Russia for its hostile military actions. Masons everywhere are wondering how to help. Individual brethren have suggested GoFundMe campaigns to collect money in order to send to the GL of Ukraine. At the beginning of the week, even the George Washington National Masonic Memorial was bathed in blue and yellow light, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

(Photo: James Cullum from ALXNow website)

It’s frustrating to have to give a bureaucratic explanation to a question about extending aid and charity to Masons in any war-torn nation. However, our members need to remember that all communications at a grand lodge level must be conducted properly by going through our own Grand Lodge Secretaries, and not directly from our members. In fact, the Grand Secretary of the GL of Ukraine has already politely said in a form letter response being circulated online that he and their grand lodge have been overwhelmed by the volume of communications from Masons around the world, and he is unable to reply to them personally. I suspect they've been deluged with messages.

(Just so you know, there was no bank account info attached to the letter, despite him referencing it. Honestly, I suspect the Russians would love to have their bank account information, so it's just as well he didn't include it.)

The Grand Lodge of New York is asking for donations to their Brotherhood Fund, earmarked for Ukraine:

Dear Brethren and Friends,

We at the Grand Lodge of New York are trying to do our part towards answering the call of the distressed in providing a source of much needed help to those adversely affected by these unprovoked acts of violence and war against the good citizens of the Ukraine. These unprecedented assaults and aggression are especially traumatic and harrowing to the population of children and the elderly residing in both the cities and countryside of the Ukraine.

Your Grand Master, Most Worshipful Richard J. Kessler, and the Grand Lodge of New York, in a strong showing of solidarity with our fellow brethren of the Grand Lodge of the Ukraine, we look to the members of our noble Craft to demonstrate their heartfelt compassion and empathy for our fellow human beings during this their hour of darkness. Together, we will emerge from this tragic and dispirited experience united with a renewed zeal of bringing back peace, harmony and brotherhood throughout the world. The essence of True Masonic Brotherhood will be a beacon of hope for all to see and emulate.

In the name of this charitable and humanitarian effort in support of our brothers and their families in the Ukraine, we are grateful to receive your contributions, both large and small, as checks payable to the Masonic Brotherhood Fund earmarked for the Grand Lodge Emergency Relief Fund. Please mail your checks directly to the Masonic Brotherhood Fund, 71 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010-4149. Rest assured that every penny received will be distributed to those in need and absolutely no monies will be deferred to cover expenses and related costs incurred by the Grand Lodge.

CLICK HERE TO PAY ONLINE 

In anticipation of your most generous support, please accept the warmest fraternal thanks on behalf of the Grand Master, the officers and members of the Grand Lodge for your kind-spirited gift to the Grand Lodge Emergency Relief Fund. The noted humanitarian and physician, Dr. Albert Schweitzer said it best, “There is no higher religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed.” In memory of the many victims who are injured, maimed or have perished during this calamity, and in cohesion with their families and fellow countrymen, we gratefully bear witness to your genuine and unselfish expression of charity.

In closing, I would like to share a short but true story that is most apropos today as it was when originally told in 1941. During the height of World War II, the Pro Grand Master of Finland, R:.W:.Brother Marcus Tollet, spoke of a little boy at a local seaport in Finland who looking at the various sailing ships noticed one flying a strange flag on its masthead, asked his father, “What flag is that?” He knew the flags of the Scandinavian countries and of all the countries that border on the Baltic, but this was a different flag; and his father replied, “It is the Freemason’s Flag – It is the Stars and Stripes of the American Flag”.

Thank you once again for your thoughtfulness and generosity for our fellow human beings during these trying times.

Fraternally,

Richard T. Schulz
Grand Secretary

Grand Lodge of F & AM Of the State of New York
Masonic Hall - 17th Floor
71 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10010-4149 U.S.A.

Meanwhile, the Grand Lodge of Missouri this afternoon issued the following statement to its members:

 

The Grand Lodge office recieved an email request from the Grand Lodge of the Ukraine this morning.

The Grand Lodge of Missouri considers requests from other jurisdictions for emergency aid and assistance, however, those requests must be recognized by the Masonic Service Association (MSA), that is a part of the Confrence of Grand Masters of North America.

This request has been forwarded to the MSA for their consideration. Understandiably, with the volitity of the situation in the Ukraine, and the posability for fraud, the validity of the request has not yet been established.

THEREFORE, it is the order of the Grand Master that NO Missouri Lodges contribute any lodge funds to this, or any similar request(s), at this time.

If you or your lodge has recieved a similar request for assistance, please forward a copy of this request to the Grand Lodge of Missouri grlodge@momason.org so it may be forwarded to the MSA for their verification.

Once the request for assistance has been verified by the Masonic Service Association, another notice will be sent out through the Missouri portal, permiting donations to the MAS for donation to Ukaine.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Masonic Service Association has NOT issued a Masonic Disaster Relief notice. This is likely because the GL of Ukraine has not formally or informally requested it. (I think we can all probably understand that they are a bit preoccupied right at the moment.)

U.S. Brethren are cautioned NOT to attempt to set up their own independent fundraising plans in the name of their individual lodge or grand lodge, or even just identifying oneself as acting on behalf of other Masons – that is the prerogative of your grand lodge and the MSA. 

Further, the message from the Grand Secretary of Ukraine cites their most pressing need right now to be, not money, but a place to stay outside of the country as Ukrainian refugees continue to pour out across borders, followed by food and medicine.

This story will be updated if there are any substantive changes.

A word about recognition of the Grand Lodge of Ukraine

Masonic diplomacy and governance can be a tricky thing to understand, especially for newer Masons. Many Masons online have expressed dismay when they discover the GL of Ukraine isn't recognized by their own grand lodge. Indeed, in my own situation, the Grand Lodge F&AM of Indiana is one of eleven U.S. grand lodges that does not recognize the Grand Lodge of Ukraine at this time. The reason is simple, and there’s no underlying animosity for it. The Grand Lodge of Ukraine never formally applied to us in Indiana for recognition after it was regularly constituted in September 2005. We were initially informed of their founding by their Grand Secretary at that time, but the Grand Lodge of Indiana has a longstanding waiting period at least five years following the formation of a brand new grand lodge before taking up the matter of its recognition. Waiting periods are designed to make sure a newborn GL isn't contested by others already in amity with us, as well as to let enough time lapse in case of bitterness or ego inflation, since so many spurious GLs come into being under hotheaded situations.

Further, established Masonic protocol expects that the newer grand lodge must formally request recognition of the older established one. But the GL of Ukraine never followed through with us, and we could not unilaterally extend recognition to them without their formal request to do so. It’s unfortunate, as our assembled grand lodge would have doubtless extended mutual recognition to them any time after 2010, had they asked. 

This is partially why the MSA was created in the first place. In the advent of a catastrophe, MSA acts as a single voice of North American Freemasons, instead of 51 (or 100) grand lodges and more than a million of us who all think we need to chime in on every given topic these days. If the MSA is contacted by the GL of Ukraine and its board of governors decide to act on their request for donations, those of us in the eleven GLs who don't recognize Ukraine's grand lodge are still able to contribute legitimately as Masons, and in a much greater collective capacity than any GoFundMe page you or I could ever set up.

Digital Order of the Knights Quarantine

by Christopher Hodapp

In much the same way that nature abhors a vacuum, some Masons get the twitches when forced to stay away from degree ceremonies for too long a stretch. And there's a certain breed o' Masonic cat that lives the life of the degree tourist, forever questing in search of the NEXT degree, appendant body, ritual, sooper-secret level, or remotely related pseudo-Masonic group. Otherwise known as the 'dues-card-and-a-pin-I'm-in' crowd. 

Three quarters of the most obscure Masonic organizations you've never heard of were created over the years strictly because the 33rds were letting in too much riff raff. Over the last 150 years or so, grand lodges would rear up, stamp their collective foots down, and declare lots of these distantly related (or sometimes downright troublesome) side groups as being 'non-Masonic,' but that never stopped the indefatigable Masonic tourist locked in an eternal chase to grab the next Golden Bling. Threats of suspension frighten them not when there are more degrees yet to be experienced, more vainglorious titles to be acquired, and more bilious finery in which to be draped, even if only in the secluded, momentary sanctuary of a hotel conference room one day a year. 

Masonic spouses put up with it as long as we don't criticize compulsive shoe shopping.

Well, the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine and national shutdown wouldn't be complete without its own pseudo 'non-Masonic, but sort of Masonic' order all its own. Next Wednesday, April 22nd, at 7PM EDT, the Masonic Lite podcast will conduct its very own non-Masonic, socially distant, digitally conferred non-degree — the Digital Order, Knights Quarantine!

To quote the website:

You are about to take part in a Quest. It is a Quest to fend off the darkness descending on the Land and to find the Mantle of Light and keep our friends and families close to us. You will walk in the footsteps of a young muckraker and his trusty sidekick. You will meet strange and interesting characters along your way. And in the end, you will find the light that will burn brightly and guide us to a....... blah blah blah, yada yada yada...... You get the idea.

This is pure Masonic Lite Podcast stuff, and will be performed LIVE on-line. This "Not-a-Degree", has no official connection whatsoever with Freemasonry, the Illuminati (maybe a little) or any other fraternal order. It's just for fun. No Grand body has authorized this performance, and anyone with $30 (plus the Eventbrite fees) and a sense of humor is qualified to "receive" this "Not-a-Degree".

No Masonic Order (pseudo or otherwise) would be complete without the imaginary confirmation lavished upon it by having its own regalia, and the DOKQ is no exception. In the 21st century, it wouldn't be a proper fraternal organization if John Bridegroom didn't design an appropriate medal for it. 100% of the proceeds (after they pay for the jewels and shipping) will be donated to Meals on Wheels for the relief of hardships brought on by isolation.

In appreciation of your donation you will receive a beautifully crafted Jewel of the "Order", created by John Bridegroom himself, and also an authentic looking receipt suitable for framing, so you can always remember this time you will never get back. 

For more information, check the website HERE. 

Iowa's Masonic Library & Museums' Book Restoration Project

The Grand Lodge of Iowa A.F.&A.M.'s incredible Masonic Library and Museums complex in Cedar Rapids has one of the largest Masonic collections of books and manuscripts in the world. Assistant Librarian Bill Kreuger now reports in the March 2020 issue of the Grand Lodge of Iowa Bulletin that Grand Master William R. Crawford has selected as one of his major fundraising projects the restoration and re-binding of books from their Rare Book collection. 

The first Iowa Masonic Library in Cedar Rapids in 1884

It's depressingly uncommon for a grand lodge to support their own library and museum as enthusiastically as Iowa does, and they have reason to brag. In 1884 Iowa opened the first Masonic library building anywhere in the world in Cedar Rapids. In 1952, the inadequate 19th-century library was demolished, and the current marble, Mid-Century Modern building opened on the same site in 1955. Today, the library houses over 250,000 volumes of both rare and circulating Masonic books. 

Iowa's Masonic Library and Museum is also home to several noteworthy specialized collections, including the A.E. Waite Collection of esoteric and occult science, and the Joseph A. Walkes Collection of Prince Hall Masonry. (If you're serious about researching African-American and Prince Hall-derived Freemasonry, Iowa absolutely needs to be on your itinerary. They have numerous volumes that don't exist anywhere else, including many sets of annual proceedings dating into the mid-1800s from the earliest predecessors of what we refer to as 'Prince Hall Masonry' today.)

The basis of Iowa's Library came about in the 1882 after the death of Brother Robert Franklin Bower, who was reputed to have owned one of the largest and most valuable Masonic book collections in the world at the time. Born in Philadelphia, Bower was first made a Mason in 1850 at Madison, Indiana (the Ohio River town that was the location of the founding of the Grand Lodge of Indiana in 1818). He moved to Iowa 20 years later, and he became General Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter of the Royal Arch in 1880. Upon his death, the Grand Lodge of Iowa purchased his vast Masonic book collection from his estate. 

Many of the volumes in Bower's famed collection were quite rare, even for the late 19th century. The passage of 140 years has made them even rarer and more valuable than ever. And more fragile. Between environmental conditions, the original materials, decades of use by researchers, and the ravages of time itself, some of the rarest books have fallen into disrepair.

Recently conserved books include: Benjamin Franklin's American publication of Anderson's Constitutions (1734); an Ahimon Rezon (1817); and an 1840 manuscript by Mormon founder Joseph Smith. 

The books currently being restored include Anderson's Constitutions of Free-Masons (1723), and The Freemasons Monitor (1797). There are also several extremely rare, bound volumes of late-1700s Masonic magazines: Freemasons Magazine (1797-98); Sentimental and Masonic Magazine (1793-94); and American Museum or Universal Magazine (1790).

Conservation of these delicate works is not an inexpensive proposition — the estimated cost of re-binding and repairing a year's volume of the fragile, two century-old bound magazine sets is approximately $500. The restoration and re-binding work is an ongoing project being done by Brother James Twomey, a Mason and proprietor of the Book Restoration Company over in LaFarge, Wisconsin. 

Iowa's vast Masonic Library collection listing can be accessed online HERE.

To donate to Iowa's book restoration project or the Library & Museums, contact Associate Librarian Bill Kreuger at librarian@gl-iowa.org

Tractor Supply Co. Banning Gun Raffles Affects Masonic Fundraising

NOTE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED AT 2AM 9/20/2019 with a response from Tractor Supply Company.

Most states regard charity raffles as forms of gambling, and the U.S. has a patchwork quilt of various rules and regulations regarding their use for fund raising by churches, schools, fraternal groups and other non-profit groups. Because of Freemasonry's strong identification with the moral rectitude of is members, some grand lodges (but not all) over the years regarded raffles and gambling on par with drinking, and prohibited their lodges to engage in any of it. Such strictures were partially why the Shrine was born in the 1870s, to give Freemasons a less prudish outlet for their social activities than the lodges had become. 

Raffles have been a staple of Shriners' fundraising over the years, even though many grand lodges forbid their blue lodges to use them. My own state of Indiana is one such state, and our grand lodge only this year began permitting lodges to use raffles. In fact, we're still hammering out the final paperwork requirements and regulations to inform lodges on the nuts and bolts of running them. Raffles require all sorts of government licenses, permissions, paperwork, and tax forms, and it's not just as simple as printing up tickets, collecting piles of unreported cash, and pulling a lucky name out of a goldfish bowl.

Some of the most common items to raffled all across America by countless charities are firearms - frequently rare, historical, or otherwise collectable rifles and pistols. This is perfectly legal to do, and almost always done in conjunction with a licensed gun shop so that proper background checks are properly performed and state and federal gun laws adhered to. 

So just in time for the Grand Lodge of Indiana to approve raffles, firearms have become a politically toxic hot potato across the country. This story comes out of Texas this week, and it touches on this very topic. It seems that Tractor Supply Company, a major rural retailer of farm and sporting equipment, has made a corporate decision to ban organizations holding raffles of firearms from setting up their charity booths and selling tickets in front of their stores. The decision came from its national office, not a local manager. (See the update at the end of this story - CH)

TSC does sell guns and ammo at its stores, and is a licensed gun retailer. This makes the new policy somewhat inexplicable.

While not specifically involved in this story,
this type of rifle is not an unusual fundraising item

One of the first organizations to get the boot was the Masonic lodge in Palestine, Texas, after a single customer complained to the manager. As a result, booths raising thousands of dollars for providing scholarships to kids by multiple groups (not just the Masons) at that one single store were ordered off the property. 

From the Palestine Herald on Thursday:

Charities selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a firearm are no longer welcome in front of Tractor Supply. 

In answer to a customer complaint earlier this month, the store's corporate office banned all raffles awarding firearms as prizes. 

In the wake of several mass shootings in the past several months – two in Texas – that left dozens dead and dozens more wounded, many private businesses have restructured their firearms policies.

Most recently, Walmart, the world's largest retailer, announced they would stop carrying pistol ammunition, and certain long-barrel ammunition commonly associated with assault rifles like AK-47's and AR-15's. 

Many Americans, fed up with seemingly constant reports of mass shootings across the country, are making themselves heard by speaking to, and perhaps pressuring, retail establishments. 

Boycotts, for instance, have been an effective tool of the public for centuries.
“The Tractor Supply manager has always been super nice,” Master Mason James Ashley told the Herald-Press Friday. “I'm sure he was caught between a rock and a hard place when corporate made their ruling.” 

Jennifer Key, a 44-year-old customer service agent said the choice, ultimately, is up to Tractor Supply, not its customers. She said the free-market – whether customers choose to shop at the store – should speak for the public. 

“Frankly, I'm surprised Tractor Supply made that call [to ban firearm raffles],” she said. “But, they're a private company, and it's their call to make.”
Last year, three high school students – one each from Palestine, Westwood, and Neches High Schools – won $1,000 scholarships from Palestine's Masonic Temple, Lodge 31. 

The scholarship money came from raffle tickets sold outside storefronts like Tractor Supply. This year's prize: a Henry Golden Boy .22 caliber rifle.
“It's a trophy rifle, not a so-called assault weapon,” Ashley's father, Tom Ashley, also a Master Mason told the Herald-Press. “Still, someone called in a complaint to their headquarters, and corporate disallowed it.” 

Ashley said the lodge was hoping to increase the award to $1,500 this year. Having lost one of their ticket-selling outlets, however, might put that plan in jeopardy. 

Also on the sidewalk when the Masons were told to leave was Henry Kitchens of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Post 991. The VVA was also raffling off firearms; a .308 rifle, and a 9mm handgun. 

Kitchens, whose organization provided six $1,000 scholarships to local students last year through raffle proceeds, was also told to leave.
“I don't hold anything against Tractor Supply,” Kitchens told the Herald-Press. “They've always been good to us. It's a shame that one person's complaint can disenfranchise everyone else, however.” 

Kitchens and Ashley, who have held similar raffles for years, said they'd feel better if Tractor Supply, like Walmart, had a policy restricting all fund-raising, rather than singling out a few. 

“When Walmart said we could no longer use their storefront, they told us it was for everybody,” Ashley said. “Even the Girl Scouts can't sell cookies there anymore. I can understand that; what's fair for one should be fair for all.”

[snip]

“I personally think that if you don't like the prize for a raffle, then don't buy the ticket,” Temple, 44, told the Herald-Press. “As far as tractor supply saying you can't sell due to the prize being a gun, then I think the rule should apply to all.”

Temple, a field-service technician, said corporations should represent, and stand up for, the wants of the majority of their customers. 

“That is why our country is in the shape it's in now,” he said. “We try to please the few that are screaming loudly, but we don't listen to those who quietly like the way things are, even if they're in the majority." 

Kenneth Rollins, 62, who retired from Walmart earlier this year said, for him, the answer is simple. 

“Tractor Supply just lost a customer,” he said. 

[snip] 

Winners of either contest must pass federal background checks before prizes are awarded. In the event a winner fails the background check, another winner is chosen at random.

These types of raffles and other fundraising booths have been a staple of community life for decades. But national corporations are increasingly dictating to local stores draconian policies that frequently conflict with the values of the majority of their customer base. The globalization of instantaneous "outrages" via cell phone and overnight boycotts have all run roughshod over what used to be small town decisions by individual businesses that historically supported their local charities. The WalMart situation of banning ALL fundraising from their properties instead of dealing with the headaches stoked by the perennially indignant has robbed communities of important connections with their customers and neighbors. These corporate policies only serve to further isolate them from the very people they expect to actually spend money in their stores. That means local charitable groups like Masonic lodges are being driven farther off of the radar screens of their own neighborhoods as they fall victim to "activists" on the other side of the country.

And that can't be good.

 Read the full story HERE.

---

UPDATE:

I spent Friday unsuccessfully attempting to negotiate Tractor Supply Company's website and various telephone trees at their customer service center in an attempt to get official clarification from them, or an official response other than what the local newspaper in Texas reported. Fortunately, Mackenzie Goldman, a Public Relations Specialist at TSC in Brentwood, Tennessee saw this post late Friday and reached out to me with the following message: 

"I came across your blog post regarding Tractor Supply on the Freemasons for Dummies website and wanted to reach out.

"Tractor Supply strives to be active members of the communities in which we call home, and we seek to support causes that are central to the mission and purpose of our business as a rural lifestyle retailer. We respect America’s fundamental freedoms and take individual rights very seriously. Our primary focus for fundraising is for FFA and 4-H youth programs. Other fundraising decisions are made on a local store-by-store basis taking into consideration factors unique to each situation. Tractor Supply is making donations to the local Palestine, TX chapters of the referenced organizations to support their college scholarship programs.

"Thank you for the opportunity to respond."

So it sounds as though there is wiggle room for local managers at TSC stores. 


(Please don't turn the comments to this story into inflammatory pro-gun/anti-gun diatribes. This is a hot-button issue for many people on both sides - but gun sales are still quite legal in the U.S. and will be for the foreseeable future. Please keep the discussion about how these types of bans could affect Masonic lodges who have historically held these raffle charity events.)

Texas Lodge Receives $20K Grant From Local Philanthropy

Young County Lodge No. 485 in Graham, Texas has received a $20,000 matching grant for lodge improvements from a local philanthropy. So how did the lodge manage to convince the board of the Bertha Foundation to make that kind of commitment to the Freemasons? By showing how they had been a part of the local community since its very beginnings. And with a personal connection to the Fund's namesake.

From the Grand Lodge of Texas website:

The importance of the Masonic presence is an obvious one when one looks at what Graham is today. It is diverse in all its parts. There are many churches, of many faiths, as well as an economy that includes work in agriculture, oil and gas, government, as well as investment and finance. It is the county seat and the hub of Young County. How can so many parts ever stand as one and grow strong? Because of Masonry, and its moral doctrines and teachings, is how this happened. YCL485 was instrumental in building the character of both men and community. Where else could men meet and share common ideas and not dwell on their differences?

Where else but the lodge could men of varied religious and economic backgrounds share their vision of what kind of future they could build… together? On the wall in the lodge room of YCL485 are the names and the pictures of those great men. Together they are the roots of our community, of whoms ideals, and those of the Masonic lodge, continue to affect the direction of this city and county yet today.

This is what was explained to the Bertha Foundation when YCL485 asked for their help. Our grant request told the story of the men who came together in the lodge by horseback on moonlight nights to share friendship and tend to the work of Masons. Tolerance turned differences to strength and these men became builders of something of the Great Architect’s design. Together they came, and together they built as only Masons can. The Bertha Foundation was impressed but needed something to tie the family directly to the lodge and not just stories told around the lodge hall. That is when the Templar Sword appeared.

One of the grandsons of one of our founding families brought the sword to a private meeting asking for some information on it. This gentleman was the one upon whom the decision would rest as to our grant being awarded or denied. He handed over the sword and asked, “ what is this?”. A Templar sword, part of the Commandery portion of the York Rite, an organization of which only Masons may gain membership he was told. He asked that the sword be drawn from its sheath so that the named engraved upon it could be seen. “H. Bruce Street”, the husband of Bertha Street, in whom’s honor the foundation had been formed , was the inscription. It was at that point that our grant moved forward and was later awarded by the Bertha Foundation board on September 22nd , 2011. The sword was donated by the family for display in our lodge library.