missouri freemason magazine - v53n02 - 2008 spring

T H E M I S S O U R I

FREEMASONVolume 53 No. 2 SPRING 2008

©

Official Publication of the Grand Lodge of Missouri A.F.&A.M.

34 SPRING 2008 THE MISSOURI FREEMASON

THE MISSOURI FREEMASONVOL. 53 NO. 2 Official Publication of the Grand Lodge of Missouri SPRING 2008

Published and copyrighted under the direction of the Committee on Masonic Publications

©

CONTENTS35 Grand Master’s Message

36 Your Grand Line for2007 - 2008

39 Polk County CourthouseCornerstone Rededicated

40 Job's Daughter’s

41 Tree Lighting CeremonyHonors Dedicated Masons

42 New Website Is A QuickLink To Missouri LodgeInformation

44 Missouri DeMoly

46 Brad The Soldier's General

51 Missouri Rainbow

53 A Dream Becomes Reality

55 Bringing Laura IngallsWilder to Columbia

56 Masonic Service Awards

59 The Work of our Craft

NO ADMITTANCE! I looked at the imposing sign unceremoniously tapedto a plastic sheet hanging from the ceiling. Knowing the sign applied to meremortals, but certainly not me, I ignored it and confidently walked into thedreaded construction zone. It's amazing what you can get away with when youhave a camera and press credentials.

Immediately, I found myself looking at a black and white checkered floorwith the seal of the Grand Lodge of Missouri in its center. It was all familiar,but only from drawings I had seen. Now, it had come to life.

I walked through the maze of walls,some blank, and some sporting newmurals. Still under construction, thiswas the new Masonic Museum inColumbia, and I got an early peek at it inorder to photograph it for this issue ofthe magazine.

After what has literally been yearsof work from concept to reality, theMasonic Museum has finally openedwith a grand opening ceremony on Feb-ruary 23, 2008 and an opening to thepublic two days later.

If you were at the Grand Lodge building, say, a couple years ago, you prob-ably saw a lot of empty floor space on the main level. That floor space is nowfilled with walls, murals and displays of Masonic memorabilia.

Doug Reece has chronicled the story of getting the museum off the groundin the Masonic Home section of this issue. In addition, Cindee Herrick hashighlighted the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder and there is a biography of Mis-souri Freemason Omar Bradley, both featured in the museum.

I hope you can make plans to come and see this terrific new addition to theMasonic Complex in Columbia. Don't worry; they'veremoved the "NO ADMITTANCE" signs.

FROM THE EDITOR’S KEYBOARD

Steve Harrison, EditorCommittee on Masonic PublicationsM. Robert Berger, Grand MasterBruce R. Austin, Deputy Grand MasterRocky E. Weaver, Senior Grand WardenLarry C. Reynolds, Junior Grand WardenRonald D. Miller, Grand SecretaryE. Otha WingoSteven L. Harrison, Editor, Chairman

EditorSteven L. Harrison P.O. Box 1120Kearney, MO 64060-1120816-628-6562 / Call for [email protected]

The Missouri Freemason (USPS 573-920) is theofficial publication of the Grand Lodge, AncientFree and Accepted Masons of the State of Missouri,and is published four times yearly. Articles to beconsidered for publication should be submitted to

The Missouri Freemason, P.O. Box 1120, Kearney,MO 64060-1120, not later than the first day of themonth preceding publication in February, May,August, and November.

Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressedin this magazine are those of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the opinions or policy of theGrand Lodge A.F.&A.M. of Missouri. The Editorreserves the right due to limitations of space, toaccept, reject, subedit and rearrange materialsubmitted for publication. Pictures submitted forpublication will not be returned. The MissouriFreemason does not accept forms or clippings forpublication. Please do not submit materials in PDFformat.

OFFICE OF PUBLICATIONS: Grand Lodge ofMissouri, 6033 Masonic Drive, Suite B, Columbia,MO 65202-6535. Printed by Tribune Publishing Co.,Columbia, Missouri. Periodicals Postage paid atColumbia, Missouri.

POSTMASTER: Please send Address Forms 3579to Grand Secretary, 6033 Masonic Drive, Suite B,Columbia, MO 65202-6535.

SUBSCRIPTIONS: The Missouri Freemason ismailed to every member of this Masonic Jurisdictionwithout charge. Domestic subscriptions elsewhere are$8.00 annually.

PERMISSION TO REPRINT: All recognizedMasonic publications have permission to reprintoriginal articles from The Missouri Freemasonwith credit to the author and the publication.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS (Important): Whenever amember changes his mailing address withoutnotifying his Lodge Secretary and a mailing of theFreemason magazine occurs, the Post Office chargesthe Grand Lodge 75¢ per undeliverable Freemason.

PLEASE, contact your Lodge Secretary with youraddress change so that the Grand Lodge can then benotified. GRAND LODGE OF MISSOURI

GRAND LODGE OF MISSOURIINTERNET ADDRESSES

E-Mail to the Grand Lodge [email protected]

The Grand Lodge web pagewww.momason.org

Phone: 573-474-8561

Please note the change of address for the Missouri Freemason:

P.O. Box 1120, Kearney, MO64060-1120

Memorabilia and displays have replaced con-struction materials at the brand new MasonicMuseum in Columbia.

THE MISSOURI FREEMASON SPRING 2008 35

Brethren:The holiday season is over, and I

hope each of you had a home full ofjoy and happiness. My wish is foreveryone to have a New Year filledwith many blessings from our Cre-ator.

Many thanks brethren for thewonderful reception you gave me atour area meetings. I had a chance tovisit over 1000 Masonic brothers atthese meetings.

I am receiving much positivefeedback from brothers concerningeach lodge to adopt a mentoring pro-gram. Many lodges across our greatState are implementing, or alreadyhave, a mentoring program. If yourlodge does not have this program,please give it top priority so that ournewly made brothers will have a bet-ter understanding of our fraternity.

We lost the one-on-one teach-ing of Masonry when we didaway with the proficiencyrequirements. The mentor-ing program, to a greatextent, will correct this deficien-cy. Education and ritual must beequally taught if we wish to maintainthe high standards of our fraternity.May your lodge excel in both ritualand education.

The MOCHIP program continuesto be the best program our fraterni-ty has ever implemented. At thiswriting, over 40,000 children acrossMissouri have gone through our pro-gram. We pray that no family will

ever have toresort to the information

that we have provided them. Theinformation on the computer disk

will give the law enforcement theability to Amber Alert the wholenation within a few minutes of anabduction or disappearance of achild. Thank you brothers for makingthis program a success. The MOCHIPprogram is already booked solid wayinto 2008. Our thanks to NickCichielo and his many volunteersthat have spent many hours makingMOCHIP successful.

We have a great event plannedFebruary 23rd. It is the official open-ing of our Museum at the GrandLodge Complex in Columbia, MO.You will be pleased to tour this greatexhibit of Masonry. The museum hasbeen years in planning. Your interestwill not wane as you walk throughthe many exhibits that you will see.We now have a visual record ofmasonry in our state, from the GreenTree Tavern in St. Genevieve to thepresent. If you can't make it to thegrand opening, I urge you to visit it assoon as you can. Thank you for thewarm greetings I am receiving as Itravel across our great state. You haveconfirmed my belief that Freemason-

ry has the best men in the state.You have created memories for

me that will last the rest of mylife.

On the cover (Clockwise from top left): GeorgeWashington laying the cornerstone of the US Capi-tol Building, a replica of the same mural in theGeorge Washington Masonic Memorial, Alexandria,Virginia; Eastern Star stained glass display; Paintingof Harry Truman as Grand Master; Antique Mason-ic apron; Omar Bradley Cover, Life Magazine, April9, 1951; Laura Ingalls Wilder; Lewis and Clark withSacagawea; Leadership display, photos of GrandMasters.

Missouri FreemasonDeadlines

Issue DeadlineSummer, 2008 April 1, 2008

Fall, 2008 July, 1, 2008Winter, 2008 October 1, 2008Spring, 2009 January 2, 2009


Grand Master

Bruce Raymond Austin, GrandMaster in 2007 - 2008, was born inEast Prairie, Missouri. He attendedSoutheast Missouri State Universityin Cape Girardeau for two years priorto joining the U.S. Navy, where hebecame a Hospital Corpsman. After-ward, he enrolled in the CincinnatiCollege of Mortuary Science inCincinnati, Ohio, where he obtaineda degree, graduating Magna CumLaude. He married Myrtle (Sisser)Goodin on April 6, 1963. They have3 sons, Stephen, Sam and David.Bruce began farming in 1965 and cur-rently farms over 1,700 acres. RWBAustin was raised in May, 1961 inEast Prairie Lodge #384. His many

Masonic affiliationsinclude: Scottish Rite

Valley of St. Louis.(KCCH, 33°),Charleston Chap-ter #19 RAM,Cape Council

#20, CrypticMasons, Cape

Girardeau Comman-dery #55, Knights Tem-

plar, the Missouri Lodge of Research,Hunt York Rite College #162 of St.Louis, National Sojourners, Heroes of'76, Sword of Bunker Hill, MoolahShrine and many more. He is hon-orary president of the Masonic HomeBoard.

Deputy Grand Master

Right Worshipful Brother RockyEdward Weaver was born in KansasCity, MO. He attended Maple WoodsCommunity College for two yearsand was employed at Ford MotorCompany in Claycomo, Missouri forover 32 years, retiring in 2001. Heand his late wife Judy started a smallembroidery business in 1997, whichhe continues to operate. Rocky lostJudy to a brain tumor in 2001 after 31years of marriage. Rocky has a son,Bradley James. In 2002 he wed JanetBerwald and now has a stepdaughter,Cheryl, and stepson, Alan. RWBWeaver served two years in the Unit-ed States Army, where he attendedAviation Maintenance school and fin-ished first in his class. He enjoys golfand fishing and loves to teach and bepart of a team effort. RWB Weaver isan endowed member of LibertyLodge #31, where he was raised in1983 and served as Master in 1992-93. He served as President of the Lib-erty Masonic Temple Board in 1991.He also has endowed membershipsin Buckner Lodge #501 and KansasCity Lodge #220. His many Masonicaffiliations include: Liberty ChapterNo. 3, Liberty Council No. 50, LibertyCommandery No. 6 (recipient of theLewis and Clark Award), Indepen-dence Chapter No. 12, IndependenceCouncil No. 49, Palestine Comman-dery No. 17, Ascalon Commandery

No. 16, Order of High Priesthood andOrder of the Silver Trowel. RWBRocky served as Right EminentGrand Commander of the GrandCommandery of Knights Templar ofthe State of Missouri in 2000 - 2001.He has numerous other Masonicawards and affiliations.

Senior Grand Warden

Larry C. Reynolds was born inGainesville, Mo and attended publicschools there, graduating HighSchool in 1963. He volunteered forthe Armed Services in 1965 andserved 3 years in the US Army.While in the Army he spent 1 year inViet Nam. He married his wife Bettiein 1966 and they have one Daughter,Deanna. After discharge from thearmy, he was employed by KraftFoods in Springfield, where heretired after over 32 years of service.While with Kraft Foods, he attendedSMSU, majoring in Business Admin-istration. He and Bettie are membersof First Baptist Church in Rogersville,Mo. His Masonic career began inGainesville, Mo, where he was raisedin 1969. He transferred to Hender-son Lodge # 477, in 1971, becomingWorshipful Master in 1985, and againin 2000-01. His hobbies includeReading, Fishing, Hunting, and ridinghis ATV. His many Masonic affilia-tions include: Past Master, MissouriLodge of Research, Scottish Rite, Val-

YOUR GRAND LINE FOR 2007 - 2008


ley of Joplin (KCCH), Abou-Ben-Adhem Shrine, Order Of EasternStar, National Sojourners #63 KansasCity, Mo. and Old Glory Camp,Heroes of 76.

Junior Grand Warden

Right Worshipful Brother Gail S.Turner graduated from Linn Co R-1Public Schools in 1970. He continuedhis education receiving an Associateof Arts degree from HannibalLaGrange College in 1972, a Bachelorof Arts in Political Science from theUniversity of Missouri in 1974, and aMasters of Education in the area ofSecondary Education in 1976 fromthe same institution. His service tothe community includes serving withthe Northcentral YMCA of Brook-field, Brookfield First ChristianChurch, Pershing Memorial Hospital,the City of Brookfield Board ofAdjustment, and the BrookfieldRotary Club. Right Worshipful Broth-er Turner was raised in JacksonLodge #82 in 1978, where he hasserved as Master and Secretary. Hismany Masonic affiliations include:Scottish Rite Valley of Kansas City,Liberty Chapter #3, Liberty Council#50, Ararat Shrine, Royal Order ofScotland, National Sojourners # 63Kansas City, Mo. and Old GloryCamp, Heroes of 76.

Senior Grand Deacon

John William Hess was born inAlbia, Iowa, where he graduatedfrom Albia Community High School.After high school John attended theUniversity of Iowa and received aBachelor of Science Degree fromCreighton University in 1975. TheState of Missouri Family SupportDivision currently employs him as aChild Support Specialist. He is amember of St. James Roman CatholicChurch in Liberty Missouri. He mar-ried Ina Winfrey in August, 2003. Hehas been active with and receivedhonors from the Boy Scouts of Amer-ica. RWB John holds an endowedmembership in Buckner Lodge # 501where he was raised in 1994. Heserved as Master of the Lodge in1996 - 1997 and is also a Past Masterof Kansas City Lodge #220. His manyMasonic affiliations include: LibertyChapter #3, Liberty Council #50, Lib-erty Commandery #6, Order of HighPriesthood, Past Commander' Associ-ation in Missouri, Kansas City Valleyof the Scottish Rite (KCCH), AlliedMasonic Degrees, and CharlemagneChapter of the Knights Masons. Johnis also the recipient of the KnightYork Cross of Honor (KYCH). Johnserved as a member of the Board ofDirectors of the Masonic Home ofMissouri from 1999 - 2003. John is aPast President of the Masonic Chil-drens Foundation and has beeninvolved in the creation of the

MOCHIP, Missouri Child Identifica-tion effort. He is also the currentPresident of the National MasonichipFoundation.

Junior Grand Deacon

Right Worshipful Brother DavidL. Ramsey is a graduate of CentralHigh School in St. Joseph, MO. Heearned a 4-year Apprenticeship, Jour-neyman Electrician Certificate fromthe International Brotherhood ofElectrical Workers, and holds a Bach-elor of Science in Business Adminis-tration from Missouri Western StateCollege. He is General Manager, TriCounty Electric Cooperative, Lancast-er, Missouri. He was raised in March,1991, in Savannah Lodge #71 wherehe served as Worshipful Master in1999-2000. He has held many GrandLodge offices and served on theBoard of Directors of the MasonicHome of Missouri from 2000 - 2004.RWB Ramsey is a member of FirstChristian Church in Savannah. Healso works with other civic organiza-tions including the Regional Home-land Security Oversight Committeeand the Highway 63 Tax Commis-sion. RWB Ramsey and his wifeChristin (Friday) were married in1974 in St. Joseph, MO. They havetwo children, Carra Roth married toRandy Roth, and Timothy Ramseyand one grandson, Jack Roth. Hismany Masonic affiliations include:Scottish Rite Valley of St. Joseph,


(KCCH), Moila Shrine Temple, HighTwelve Club in St. Joseph and theNational Sojourners Chapter #63 inKansas City.

Senior Grand Steward

Jon Blake Broyles grew up inKirksville, Missouri where he attend-ed school, graduating from KirksvilleRIII High School in 1978. He gradu-ated from Northeast Missouri StateUniversity (Truman State University)in 1982 with a B.S. in Mathematicsand Computer Science. He is a mem-ber of the First Christian Church (Dis-ciples of Christ) in Kirksville. He hasserved the church as a Deacon andparent in the LOGOS youth program.He is now a resident of Ballwin, MO.He works in the information technol-ogy field, specializing in IT manage-ment and networking. RWB Broylesmarried Anna Spalding of Kirksvillein 1981. They have three children,Maria, Alexa, and Sara. RWB Broyleswas raised in Adair Lodge #366 in1990. He moved to St. Louis in 1995and became a dual member of RoseHill Lodge #550 (now Polar Star-RoseHill No. 79), where he served as Wor-shipful Master in 1996-1997. He cre-ated the first Grand Lodge InternetWeb Site and served as its Webmas-ter from its inception in 1996 to1999. He is the current Master of theMissouri Lodge of Research. Hismany Masonic affiliations include:Caldwell Chapter No. 53, Kirksville

Council No. 44, Ely CommanderyNo., 22, Scottish Rite Valley of St.Louis (KCCH), Moila Shrine, MoolahShrine and Rose Hill Chapter No.120, Order of the Eastern Star. RWBBroyles is also active with Job'sDaughters and DeMolay.

Junior Grand Steward

RWB Randall M. Berger grew upin St. Louis, Missouri. He graduatedfrom Parkway North High School in1987 and St. Louis College of phar-macy in 1992, with a BS in pharmacy.He is currently employed as a phar-macist at Williams Pharmacy in Uni-versity City, Missouri. BrotherBerger received his BlueLodge Degrees in BenFranklin Lodge #642 in1992, where he served asMaster in 1997. Hismany Masonic affilia-tions include the ScottishRite, Valley of St. Louis(KCCH, 33°), KeystoneChapter RAM, Jeremiah Coun-cil of Cryptic Masons, AlliedMasonic Degrees, and MoolahShrine. He has received the DeMolayHonorary Legion of Honor. In 1998,he became a dual member of RoseHill Lodge No. 550. When it mergedwith Polar Star Lodge, Randy becamethe first Master of Polar Star-Rose HillLodge #79. RWB Berger currentlyresides in Clayton Missouri.

Senior Grand Marshal

David William Haywood wasraised in Webster Groves, Missouriwhere he attended school, graduat-ing in 1969. He was a Boy Scout, andobtained his Eagle Scout award in1965. He married Diane Walleman in1974. He attended Meramec Commu-nity College and the University ofMissouri at St. Louis, earning BA inBiology and a BS in Chemistry. Hecurrently works as a microbiologistfor Sensient Colors, Inc. David andDiane live in Fenton, Missouri andhave one daughter, Alicia. Daveattends Southminster Presbyterian

Church where he is anordained Deacon and

Elder. He was a DeMolayat Rabboni Chapter andserved as Master Coun-cilor of the WebsterGroves chapter in1968. He has received

the Chevalier andLegion of Honor awards

and is currently Dean of theSt. Louis Preceptory. David was

raised in Webster Groves Lodge #84in 1974 and served as WorshipfulMaster in 1986. His many Masonicaffiliations include: Scottish Rite Val-ley of St. Louis (KCCH, 33°), MoolahShrine, Rabboni Royal Arch, Jeremi-ah Council #43, Ascalon Comman-dery #16, Ray Von Denslo Chapter ofthe Allied Masonic Degrees and theYork Rite College.


POLK COUNTY COURTHOUSE CORNERSTONE REDEDICATED

Missouri Freemasons gathered to rededicate the cornerstone of the Polk County Courthouse on October 13, 2007 inBolivar, Missouri. Officers of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, along with other Masonic organizations, originially dedicat-ed the Cornerstone 100 years ago. The rededication of the Cornerstone was the culmination of a celebration held in hon-or of the renovation of the Polk County Courthouse. The Cornerstone originally contained a time capsule whose contentswere put on display.

Speeches from various local and state public servants preceded the event. A parade followed, featuring the Officersof the Grand Lodge of Missouri, led by Most Worshipful Brother Bruce Austin, Grand Master of the State of Missouri.Also in attendance were the Shriners with their band and many Brothers from the area. The Grand Master addressedthe crowd and explained what the Officers were doing as each checked the Cornerstone for square, level, and plumb,and then made offerings of corn, wine and oil into a bowl by the Cornerstone.

Submitted by Brother Bill Hedgcorth, visiting Master Mason from St. John's Lodge No. 1, Portsmouth, Rhode Island.Photos by Joanne Ryan Evans.

Grand Lodge staff members Amy Tripi, Sandy Clark,Adriene Green, Nancy Weiner and Christi Casey presentJohn T. Litzau with the Secretary of the Year Award.Brother Litzau is secretary of Craftsman Lodge #717.

Each year the Grand Master awards the Truman Medal toa distinguished brother for his service to the fraternity.The 2007 recipient was RWB Ronald D. Miller. RWB Roncurrently serves as Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge ofMissouri, a position he has held for nearly a dozen years.MWB Robert Berger is shown introducing RWB Millerafter the award announcement.


SWOPE PARK LODGE #617 INAUGURATES SECOND YOUTH GROUP IN 2007

Swope Park Lodge is sponsoring a Job's Daughter’s Bethel which moved November 4, 2007 from Eureka, Missouri.Bethel #1 is the second youth group formed at Swope Park this year. The Swope Park Squire’s Manor was formed Janu-ary 28, 2007. Wm. F. Kuhn DeMolay Chapter, which also meets at Swope Park, actively supports both new youth groups.The girls were excited to finally have the Bethel organized and running at Swope Park that they had been working onsince early summer 07. The officers of the Bethel are Beca Crocker as Honored Queen, Rhiannon Roberts as SeniorPrincess, Cassandra Henderson as Junior Princess, Samantha Keller as Guide and Victoria O’Dell as Marshall. Our other

officers are Jordan Thornton, Taylor Thornton, Madison Parkinson, TiffanyPerry, and Kaia Outhout. They also have a group called “Jobie-to-Bees”, whoare little girls that are not yet old enough to be Job’s Daughters. They are PollyCowen, Alexis Parkinton and Madison Parkinton.. They have their own meet-ing and are in our beehive. On or after their tenth birthday, they will join theBethel. The girls have been working hard at getting the ritual and the marchesdown. The meetings that we have had the girls did an amazing job at runningtheir meeting.

Many Swope Park Brothers worked to bring the Bethel To Swope Park,including RWB Larry Cameron, WBKen Best and Brother Ed Culver. Pic-tured areWB Best, Swope Park Mas-ter, Lynn Cowen, WB Gary Dryer(Associate Guardian), Bro, Ed Culverand Tonya Culver, Bethel Guardian.Seen in the back are Bro. AlbertBeal, Grand Associate Guardian andGrand Guardian Donna Goede.

MISSOURI LODGE OF RESEARCH

Receive More LightWhat is a Lodge of Research?A Lodge of Research is a group of Freemasons inter-

ested in the history and study of Freemasonry, and whoby their contributions make it possible to publish and dis-tribute the results of their studies and investigations. TheLodge gathers and disseminates, by discussion and/orpublication, information primarily of an historical naturepertaining to the origin and development of Freemasonryand to the members who have contributed to its growthand development.

Is this some new Project?Research Lodges are nothing new in Freemasonry.

The first and oldest Lodge of Masonic Research was orga-nized in London, England. It is commonly referred to asAQC, (Ars Quatuor Coronatorum), or more properly,

Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076. It is the largest Mason-ic Research Lodge in the World. There are several otherLodges of research in England.

The second largest research Lodge is the MissouriLodge of Research, Charted by the Grand Lodge, underdirection of MW Harry S Truman in 1941. In America,research Lodges exist in many Grand Jurisdictions, suchas California, New York, North Carolina, Maine, Idaho,Oklahoma, Georgia, Oregon and Texas. They prove veryhelpful to those interested in knowing more aboutFreemasonry.

Who may join?Any Master Mason in good standing may join the

Missouri Lodge of Research. If living in Missouri he maybecome an Active Member, if in another jurisdiction, hebecomes a Corresponding Member, and if any organiza-tion, library, or lodge desires to join it is considered A Sub-scribing Member.

The lovely young ‘Jobie-Bees’ Madison Parkin-ton, Polly Cowan and Alexis Parkinton

continues page 52


TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY HONORS DEDICATED MASONS

Larry and Rita Moss were the honorees at the annual Children's Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on November 18th atthe Northland Children's Fountain, 32nd and Burlington, North Kansas City. Larry and Rita had the distinct honor of turningon the Children's Christmas tree lights and received an award for their dedication to children's charity.

The City of North Kansas City, Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department, Uni-versity of Missouri Extension of Clay County and Ernest Shepherd Memorial YouthCenter make the annual event possible.

Every year as the lights are turned on, the Edna Shepherd Youth Develop-ment Award is bestowed upon an individual who has enriched the lives of

Northland youth. Larry and Rita, along with Alpha Lodge #659 and AlphaChapter #507, order of the Eastern Star, established the T.O.S.S. program,which stands for Title One School Support. It includes seven North KansasCity School District elementary schools: Winnwood, Chouteau, Maple-

wood, West Englewood, Topping, Crestview and Gracemoor.A special fundraising project makes the support possible. Larry and Rita

founded this project and members of Alpha Lodge #659 and Alpha Chapter #507 sup-port it. Its purpose is to help children with clothing needs with a 24 hour turn around.

Larry and Rita have worked tirelessly as the "point people" providing basic needssuch as coats, gloves, shoes, socks, hygiene kits and other items for the kids at any of those

schools, as determined by a resource specialist at the school. When a school calls Larry and Ritawith a special request, they take pride in delivering the item within the next twenty-four hours so the child will take the itemhome that day.

On one occasion, after arriving home from out of town at 9:00 p.m., they picked up the message, went to the store, pur-chased the item and delivered it to the home of the specialist that night. Needless to say the school specialist was over-whelmed.

Congratulations to Larry and Rita for their great work in providing basic necessities to children in the Northland school.

STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP


Did you ever find yourself needing specific informa-tion about a Lodge and not knowing where to go orwhom to call? Brother Loran Don Frazier has developeda site on the mofreemason network, which will solvethat little problem. In order to look up any informationon a Lodge, secretary or even regional information, go tothe site at http://www.mofreemason.net.

Brother Don is Senior Deacon at Angerona Lodge#193. He has set up several web pages for Lodges in hisarea, as well as the district page. He has this site set upso you may navigate it by region, but the easiest way toget the information you need is to click on the very topline ("Missouri Lodges Locator - Search Page"), whichwill bring up the search page. Just enter the informa-tion you are looking for... a secretary's name, Lodgename or Lodge number and the site will bring back a listof pages containing that information.

Brother Frazier has included phone numbers as wellas meeting dates and times for each Lodge. The site even

includes a handy link to Mapquest so that the user may copy the Lodge address and paste it into the Mapquest sectionto request a map to an individual Lodge.

"The reason I did this was born out of frustration," said Brother Frazier, "I had a Lodge I wanted to visit that hadonly a PO Box and two phone numbers that were no longer in service. I believe the information on this Web Site is near-ly up-to-date and could be of use to many. I am dedicated to keeping it current and I am willing to add any additionalinformation deemed necessary."

The Grand Lodge discontinued its directory of Lodges in 2004, which makes this site the only up-to-date place tofind this information.

Brother Frazier is asking individual Lodge members, secretaries especially, to review information on their Lodges andsend him updates or corrections as necessary. The quickest way to reach Brother Don is at his email address, [email protected]. He is hoping to receive updates and suggestions for continued development of the site.

NEW WEBSITE IS A QUICKLINK TO MISSOURI LODGE

INFORMATION


The Grand Master of Freemasonry in Missouri, Bruce R. Austin, was the guest of honor for the DeMolay Degrees onNovember 3, 2007. Nine boys experienced the amazing degree work of the Initiatory and DeMolay Degrees. It was aspectacular presentation of the Degrees and there were many compliments on the performance!

After the Degrees, Missouri DeMolay installed the2007-2008 Jurisdictional Officers. Dad Robert Cockerham,Executive Officer of Missouri DeMolay, performed a veryspecial ceremony for MWB Bruce R. Austin to invest himinto the Honorary Legion of Honor and also named him asa Personal Representative for Missouri DeMolay.

In addition, Missouri DeMolay was also honored to haveNiki Lodholz, Grand Worthy Advisor, International Order ofthe Rainbow for Girls in Missouri and Diane Lynch, GrandBethel Honored Queen, Job’s Daughters International in Mis-souri to bring up their Grand Officers for introduction.

I am proud to introduce the 2007-2008 Officers for the

Jurisdiction of Missouri and have noted the Masonic facil-ity where they meet.

STATE SQUIRE OFFICE NAME NAME OF MANOR & MEETING PLACEState Master Squire Liam Huntsucker George Wilkerson Manor – Ararat ShrineState Senior Squire Brandon Steensgaard St. Charles Manor – St Charles LodgeState Junior Squire Zack Deason Mineral Area Manor – Leadwood LodgeState Squire Chaplain Tyler Waldon Swope Park Manor – Swope Park LodgeState Squire Marshal Michael Braun Mineral Area Manor – Leadwood LodgeState Squire Recorder Macio Harris Mochila Manor – St. Joe Scottish RiteState Squire Treasurer Jeremy Trent Mineral Area Manor – Leadwood LodgeSTATE DEMOLAY OFFICER NAME NAME OF CHAPTER & MEETING PLACEState Area Master Councilor – Area 1 Nick Fox Troy Chapter – Troy Masonic LodgeState Area Master Councilor – Area 3 Cole Short Excalibur Chapter – Blue Springs LodgeState Area Master Councilor – Area 4 Billy Rollins Lebanon Chapter – Lebanon LodgeState Area Master Councilor – Area 5 Bobby Williamson Excelsior Chapter – Jackson LodgeState Area Master Councilor – Area 6 Scott Buttrey Mineral Area Chapter – Leadwood LodgeState Area Master Councilor – Area 7 Douglas Stalling Carondelet Chapter – Webster Groves LodgeState Almoner Jamie Phillips St Charles Chapter – St Charles LodgeState Chaplain Dan Best William F Kuhn Chapter – Swope Park LodgeState Marshal Brock Harrison Mineral Area Chapter – Leadwood LodgeState Scribe Brandon Cockerham George L Walters Chapter – Clayton LodgeState Sir Knight Drew Hinkle Excelsior Chapter – Jackson LodgeState Junior Councilor Mike Jones Waynesville Chapter – Waynesville LodgeState Senior Councilor Kris Woods Frank S. Land Chapter – Ararat ShrineState Illustrious Knight Commander Gabe Eggers Excelsior Chapter – Jackson LodgeDeputy State Master Councilor Ryan Cockerham George L Walters Chapter – Clayton LodgeState Master Councilor Justin A. Woods Frank S. Land Chapter – Ararat Shrine


I want to share my goals for the year, as State Master Councilor, and hope that youcan support us on the way to achieving each of them.

Charity! Missouri DeMolay will be giving to and supporting the RiteCare Language Clin-ics. Each chapter has been requested to add a fundraiser to its term planning to help with donations

and also to volunteer time to the clinics. (As of December 15th – over $5,800 has been collected!)

Missouri DeMolay has been #1 in the world in positive growth & membership and we want to make sure that wecontinue the tradition through excellent membership programs and providing incentives to members that participate.The state leadership is also encouraging retention in the chapters by making sure that you have fun events as well asservice and fundraisers.

Continue to improve communication. Promote thewebsite and the e-newsletter. Encourage the Area MasterCouncilors to cooperate with their chapters and to sharethe events they are having with the rest of the state.

Adult recruitment. The Missouri State Officers will benetworking with our various Masonic sponsors to encour-age them to support DeMolay at the chapter level by beingan advisor.

Refocus on the precepts outlined in the ritual. Recallthe importance that the lessons taught in the ritual are foryour every day lives. Excellence in ritual is the exemplifica-tion of showing the world around you that you believe andlive what is being taught.

The Executive Officer & State Master Councilor Confer-ence in Columbia on December 1st was a great start to ouryear. With almost 75 in attendance, the day was filled withinformation for DeMolay, Chapters, Advisors and a funfilled interactive game of Missouri DeMolay Jeopardy.

I had the opportunity to present a 65-year pin forDeMolay to Mr. Arthur Edward Lee who was initiated intoDeMolay on December 16, 1939 into Mother Chapter. He isa resident of the Masonic Home West. He shared several

stories with me about his very fond memories of DeMolay. The Masonic Home was having a family holiday celebrationand it was a great honor to be able to present the pin on the day of his anniversary.

There are some upcoming events that I hope that you can support and attend. On March 15th, I will be holding a fundraiser in Columbia at the Scottish Rite. We will be raising money, not only

for Missouri DeMolay but for the RiteCare Clinics in Missouri. We will be having a Texas Hold’em tournament and onlyfee to play is your donation and, of course, there will be prizes.

On April 5th is the State Officers Reception in Kansas City at Ararat Shrine. This is always one of my favorite eventsof the year because all three Masonic Youth groups are honored.

May 23rd starts our Missouri State Conclave and we invite each and every one of you. You can attend just to enjoywatching the sport competitions or step in as a ritual judge. If you can’t attend and would like to support MissouriDeMolay there is an opportunity to purchase a sponsorship or buy an ad for the yearbook.

If you would like more information on any of these events you can check out our state website atwww.modemolay.org for upcoming events or contact me at [email protected].

Justin A. WoodsState Master CouncilorJurisdiction of Missouri


The two Masonic brothers concluded their meeting,shook hands and parted. They both had their doubts. Tosay this had been one of the most important meetings inWorld War II was no exaggeration. To say it didn't go wellwas no less true. Outside, General Omar Bradley knew hehad not shown the forcefulness of other generals. He felthe had been so unimpressive he was astounded his broth-er had openly confided in him. He had walked in to dis-cuss his command position over the troops in Europe, butwalked out wondering if the president would allow hispromotion to go forward. "I was flabbergasted," he laterwrote, "I left his office in a troubled state of mind.i"

Inside the oval office, President Franklin Rooseveltwas also troubled. He wondered if the quiet, unassumingBradley was up to one of the most horrific jobs ever.iiHowever, it was Bradley's modest and tempered naturethat made him the right fit and won support from bothDwight D. Eisenhower and George C. Marshall. Theyboth assured Roosevelt that Bradley, not the impulsiveGeorge Patton, was the man for the job – And the job wasa big one, commander of the First Army over OperationOverlord. more commonly known as the Battle of Nor-mandy or, simply, D-Day. It was September, 1943. Ninemonths later they would all learn if Marshall and Eisen-hower were right.

John and Bessie Bradley were a hopelessly poor couplewho lived near Clark, Missouri in the late nineteenth cen-tury. John, like his father, had started out life as a farmerbut at nineteen, entered a rural school. Two years later hefound himself qualified to teach and launched his life'sprofession as a schoolteacher. The couple greatly admiredlocal newspaper editor Omar Gray and, when their sonwas born on February 12, 1893, they named him after theeditor. Omar Nelson Bradley's middle name came from alocal doctor.iii

John Bradley was an athletic type who carved his ownbaseball bats and passed his love of the sport on to Omar.In addition to teaching, he set up small libraries in theschools near Clark and taught his son a lifelong love ofreading. When, in 1908, John contracted pneumonia anddied, young Omar was devastated. His mother could notsupport the little farm they owned by herself, so the fam-ily packed up and moved north to the town of Moberly,Missouri. Here, she scratched out a living by taking inborders. Young Omar helped out by delivering the Mober-ly Democrat.

Bradley was a loner in high school, but managed tomaintain excellent grades, and to play on the high-schoolbaseball team. After high school he took a job with theWabash railroad and planned to work until he had enoughmoney to attend the University of Missouri at Columbia.However, a friend suggested he apply for the West PointAcademy, where he could get a college education at nocost. He took the advice, tested into West Point andaltered the course of his life.iv

BRADThe Soldier's GeneralBy Steve Harrison, PM

West Point Lodge #77Highland Falls, NY

West Point CadetCirca 1914

Omar Nelson Bradley, 33° General of the Army, 1950

��


At West point, he distinguished himself in athletics, lettering in both baseball and football. While some cadets strug-gled with the adjustments they had to make in the military academy, Bradley found life at West Point suited his per-sonality. He probably was not as successful as he could have been academically because of the time he devoted to sports.As a result, his military advancement there was slow, and he did not achieve the rank of cadet lieutenant until his finalyear.v Bradley graduated 44th out of 164 in his class. It was not a stellar showing, but what a class it was. The younggraduates of 1915 would go on to become the leaders of World War II. This group became known as "The Class TheStars Fell On." It included some of the great and near great of the Second World War, including Bradley and Dwight D.Eisenhower. Astonishingly, every member of this class who remained in the army for his entire career, 59 in all, becamea general.vi

After graduation, Bradley accepted a series of peacetime assignments while war grew in Europe and civil war ragedin Mexico. When, in May, 1916, Mexican skirmishes boiled over into United States territory, Bradley was sent to Dou-glas, Arizona where American troops played a waiting game. The standoff came at a bad time for Bradley and his fiancée,Mary Elizabeth Quayle, who had been planning a June wedding. Ultimately, the Mexican situation waned and Bradleymarried Mary in Columbia, Missouri on December 28, 1916.

The young couple hopped from assignment to assignment as Bradley served as a military instructor. Bradley des-perately tried to win an assignment overseas during World War I, but it did not happen. Now a captain, he spent thebulk of the conflict with a unit guarding copper mines in Montana. In August 1918, he finally won his coveted assign-ment in Europe, but the great influenza outbreak of that year prevented his unit's deployment. Thoroughly discouraged,he became convinced he would be a military failure.

By 1923, the war was long since over and Bradley had been back at West Point teaching mathematics for over threeyears. Here, he had settled down into the life of a military instructor and Mary was expecting their first child (Elizabeth)in December.vii

Bradley's reasons for joining Freemasonry remain unrecorded. Perhaps other cadets and officers at West Point intro-duced him to the Fraternity. Whatever the reason, he followed in their footsteps and on September 23, 1923, petitionedthe Lodge closest to the Academy, West Point Lodge #877, F & AM.

WB Fred Hittinger, Master of the Lodge at the time, was his first-line signer, along with L. W. Miller. On the peti-tion, filled out in Bradley's own hand, he professed his belief in God, stated his address was West Point, New York andlisted his occupation as, "Officer, United States Army." He was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason on Novem-ber 15, 1923.viii

Aside from teaching math at West Point, Bradley spent his time as a studentof military tactics and history. Inspired by William Tecumseh Sherman, Bradleywas convinced the strategy of plodding trench warfare recently employed in thewar in Europe was ineffective, and that a better way to defeat an enemy wasthrough deep incursions into its territory. His admiration of such military giantsas Sherman, coupled with the experience he gained the following year in theadvanced course at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, shaped his mili-tary career and came to good use later during the invasion of France. Bradleyacknowledged his training at Fort Benning bolstered his confidence more thananything he had learned elsewhere, "the confidence I needed had been restored; I never suffered a faint heart again.ix"

"In 1927, the army appointed Bradley officer in charge of National Guard affairs, becoming the liaison officer betweenthe U.S. Army and the Hawaiian National Guard. Many of the officers stationed there enjoyed life in the tropical par-adise and even requested lengthy extensions. Not Bradley; he felt the position was a dead end and within a year,requested, and received orders to attend the Army Command and General Staff school at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Heviewed this assignment as an honor and thought it would guarantee the rank of colonel prior to retirement.x

In Kansas, Bradley not only furthered his military career, but also his Masonic journey. Here, he joined the ScottishRite Armed Forces Consistory at Fort Leavenworth.xi

A year later, Bradley was at a crossroads. He had completed his studies at Fort Leavenworth. The army offered himthe choice of two positions. The first was treasurer of the Academy at West Point. The second was a position as aninstructor at the infantry school at Fort Benning. Mary much preferred the comforts of West Point. However, Omar pre-ferred the outdoor atmosphere at Benning. He also felt it was a better career move. Later in life he wrote, "We choseBenning, the most fortunate decision of my life."xii

The decision was fortunate because at Benning he served under and gained the confidence of George C. Marshall.Here, he became a member of an informal group of "Marshall Men" and made a favorable impression on him. Bradleylater said no one had influenced him more, personally or professionally, than Marshall even though he admitted neverfeeling entirely comfortable in Marshall's presence.xiii

“Ours is a world of nuclear giantsand ethical infants. We knowmore about war than we knowabout peace, more about killingthan we know about living. Wehave grasped the mystery of theatom and rejected the Sermon onthe Mount." – Omar Bradley


Bradley was recognized as aninnovative officer for, among otherthings, his development of a proto-typic Officer Candidate School at Ft.Benning. He steadily rose throughthe military ranks and held a series ofincreasingly important positions. By1941, the situation in Europe wasgrowing progressively darker. Inpreparation for a possible war,Bradley was temporarily promoted tothe position of Brigadier General,skipping the rank of full colonel andbecoming the first member of thatstellar West Point class of 1915 tobecome a general.

Bradley had little time for per-sonal interests serving as comman-dant at Ft. Benning. On Sundays, hewould take time off to be with Mary.The winters were mild in mid-Geor-gia and gardening, a hobby theyshared, was a near year-round activi-ty. One Sunday, he and Mary were inthe garden pruning flowers when anold friend, Harold R. "Pink" Bull,joined them. "Have you heard,"asked Bull, "The Japanese have justbombed Pearl Harbor." Bradley wasstunned. Within minutes he was inuniform, at headquarters and incharge. He realized there was littlechance of an attack or sabotage inGeorgia. Nonetheless, he immediate-ly executed the region's preparednessprocedure, "Plan White," and withinhours his troops were guarding keyfacilities in the state. He realized,however, more important responsi-bilities were about to come to him.xiv

Bradley was recognized as a toptrainer of infantrymen. As such, he

was put in charge of two of thearmy's most elite units, the 28th and82nd Infantry Divisions. As inWorld War I, he became concernedhe would never see combat. Howev-er, on February 12, 1943, his 50thbirthday, he received the followingtelegram:

"It is only fitting that yourbirthday should precede byonly a few days your trans-fer to command a corps,which comes as a long-delayed acknowledgementof your splendid recordwith the 28th division.Congratulations and bestwishes –George Marshallxv"It was the birthday present he

had been hoping for.A week later, the allied forces

suffered one of their worst setbacksin the war. Three hundred Ameri-cans died, 3,000 were wounded and3,000 were missing or captured at thebattle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia. Itwas Eisenhower's second defeat inrapid succession. Bradley's job wasto be "Eisenhower's eyes and ears"and to help him turn things around.He did just that. Under his direction,Bradley's II Corps learned "to crawl,to walk and then run." By mid-May,1943, thanks in no small part toOmar Bradley, the allied forces hadwon the North African campaign.

Two generals under Eisenhower– Bradley and George Patton – wererecognized as the dominant battle-field commanders of the NorthAfrican fighting and of the marchinto Italy. Patton was at leastBradley's equal as a battlefield strate-gist and tactician, but he was ahuman relations catastrophe.Bradley, on the other hand, under-stood and related to the everydayfoot soldier. The troops responded tothis understanding and turned theirrespect for Bradley into victories.Considered the soldier's general,xvi

they affectionately called him"Brad."xvii

Because of his leadership abili-ties, both Marshall and Eisenhowerwanted Bradley, not Patton, to be the

general in charge of preparing thetroops for the invasion of France.First, they had to convince PresidentFranklin Roosevelt that Bradley wasthe man for the job. After thatuncomfortable meeting with Bradleyin September, 1943, Roosevelt, wasindeed unconvinced. Marshall andEisenhower stood their ground.Operation Overlord had its comman-der – Omar Bradley.

Marshall and Eisenhower wereright. On June 6, 1944, Bradley ledthe American forces onto OmahaBeach. In a day of important deci-sions, only one decision was critical –whether or not to press on or pullback in the face of the German con-flagration. After careful considera-tion, Bradley felt the troops he hadtrained were resolute and deter-mined enough to gain a foothold onthe beach. It didn't come easy, but D-Day was a success. Less than amonth later, the American forceswere well-established in NorthFrance and Operation Overlordbecame Operation Cobra, also underBradley's command.

Inspired by some of the militarytactics he had learned years ago bystudying generals like William T.Sherman, Bradley led his forces outof Normandy and, slowly, eventually,to a victory in Europe.

Omar Bradley postage stamp issuedNovember 10, 1999 at the Fort Leonard

Wood, Missouri, post office.

BradThe Soldier's General


As WWII drew to a close, Bradley requested a transferto the Pacific, but the war ended before new presidentHarry S. Truman could comply. Instead, Truman appoint-ed Bradley Administrator of the Veterans Administration.Bradley was reluctant to accept, but the dutiful generaltook the position and spent the next three years modern-izing the bureaucracy there. From the Veterans Adminis-tration he became Army Chief of Staff and, in 1949, thefirst Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Then, on Sep-tember 22, 1950, congress appointed him General of theArmy, making him one of only nine men to hold the five-star rank in US history.xviii To date, he is the last to do so.

In this capacity, Bradley supported President Trumanwhen the he relieved Douglas MacArthur of his commandin North Korea. MacArthur had pushed for all out war,which many thought would develop into a war with RedChina. Bradley cautioned against this in congressional tes-timony with one of his most famous quotes, "Red China isnot the powerful nation seeking to dominate the world.Frankly, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, thisstrategy would involve us in the wrong war, at the wrongplace, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy."xix

Having already completed the first volume of hismemoirs in 1951, Bradley retired from military life in1953. The next year, he became chairman of the BulovaCorporation's research and development laboratories andthen, five years later, he became chairman of the entirecompany. He held this position until retiring in 1973 atthe age of 80.

In 1965, Mary died of virulent leukemia. The follow-ing year, while on business for Bulova, he met Esther Dora"Kitty" Buhler. They were married in September. Togeth-er he and Kitty established the Omar N. Bradley Library atWest Point in 1974, as well as the Omar N. Bradley Foun-dation.

Omar Bradley was a "true and faithful brother amongus." Over the years, he remained in communication withhis Lodge. On October 22, 1965, he was coroneted a 33rd

The Soldier Without A Smile

Bradley's reserved personality followed him hisentire life. Not only did it influence Franklin Roosevelt'sfirst impression of him, but others also found him to bewithdrawn. He wrote of being a loner in high school andmentioned in his autobiography that even though he hadEisenhower's confidence, he knew Ike thought he had adull personality. While the makeup of a person's per-sonality is a complex issue, Bradley wrote of connectedincidents in his life, which even he thought had a bear-ing on how people perceived him.

Always the athlete, Bradley was an excellent iceskater and enjoyed skating on the lake in Forest Park inMoberly. Late one night in 1909, seventeen-year-oldBradley was skating in relative darkness. The limitedvisibility turned out to be catastrophic. Bradley collidedwith another skater whose head slammed directly intoBradley's face at high speed. The accident was, inBradley's words, "bone smashing." It knocked virtuallyevery one of his teeth loose, caused severe, lifelong gumdamage and turned Bradley's teeth into a jumbled mess.Bradley's family had no money for a dentist. As a resulthe lived with the aftermath of the injury for the remain-der of his life, suffering numerous abscesses and guminfections.

During the year he spent at Fort Leavenworth, theproblems with his mouth became particularly severe.With all due respect to the armed forces, the army of thatday was not exactly known for its world-class dentalcare. The army promptly pulled every one of Bradley'steeth and provided him with a set of dentures, whichmust certainly have been a step or two better than Broth-er George Washington's famous but fictional woodenteeth.

As a result of the skating injury and becoming tooth-less at the young age of 35, Bradley rarely smiled. Aboutthe best he could manage was a tight, pursed-lip grin, afact which is borne out in photographs throughout hislife. The story of Omar Bradley's life reveals a serious,career-driven, no-nonsense soldier and people certainlyperceived him as such. However, extreme perceptionsthat he was withdrawn and diffident may be due to hisskating accident as a youth.

Robert G. Swansonpresents Omar N.

Bradley his 50-yearservice award during a

1974 Ceremony inBradley's honor.


Degree, Inspector General Honorary and Honorary Member of the Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite, Southern Juris-diction. In 1974, he traveled back to West Point where his Lodge presented him his 50-year award and certificate. Thethen-current master of the Lodge, Robert G. Swanson, presented his certificate. WB Fred Hittinger, who had been Mas-ter of the Lodge when Bradley joined, signed his petition and raised him, presented his pin. The Lodge records docu-ment the ceremony as follows:

"Bro. Bradley stated that he was proud and honored to be associated with Masonry and that he alwaystried to live according to its teachings.After the presentations concluded, Bro. Bradley took the time from his busy schedule to spend a fewminutes reminiscing with some of the Lodge's more senior members about their baseball playing days,after which the General had to leave to return to California where he presently resides."

Bradley received countless awards and honors in his life. On April 8, 1981 the eighty-eight year-old soldier traveledto New York to accept the prestigious Gold Medal Award from the National Institute of Social Sciences. Only minutesafter accepting the award, a blood clot in his brain took his life while Kitty and dozens of guests watched helplessly.xx

Bradley's body was flown back to Washington, DC on Air Force One. He was buried with full military honors at Arling-ton National Cemetery, next to Mary. Kitty, who died in 2004, is buried there as well.

The most recognized of all his achievements is his victorious leadership on the beach at Normandy. However, manyhistorians believe his support of Truman and strong advice against a full-scale war in Korea to be of even greater signif-icance, as it was a major factor in the United States' avoiding a direct conflict with Red China. He may have failed toimpress Roosevelt when he met with him in 1941, but his accomplishments speak for themselves.

i Bradley, Omar Nelson and Blair, Clay, A General's Life, Simon and Schuster, 1983, p. 211.ii Elizabeth Bradley Dorsey, Bradley's daughter, America's 5-Star Heroes, ©1998, A&E Television Networksiii Bradley, Omar Nelson and Blair, Clay, A General's Life, Simon and Schuster, 1983, p. 17 - 18.iv http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/WW2Timeline/bradley3.htmlv http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/omarnels.htmvi http://www.kkpnyc.com/westpoint/westpoint_history.html; http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/Bradley/Bradley.htmvii In 1918, the Bradleys had a stillborn boy (http://www.rootsweb.com/~morandol/brad.htm)viii Petition for Initiation, Omar Nelson Bradley, September 20, 1923, courtesy West Point Lodge #877, Highland Falls, NY. Forthe record, Bradley was initiated October 18, 1923 and passed November 1, 1923. His investigating committee consisted ofBrothers Robert Donaldson, H. Koehler and Richard M. Levy. Petition and other referenced Lodge materials were providedthrough the considerable effort of RWB Irving Breitbart, Secretary, West Point Lodge #877.ix http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/brochures/Bradley/Bradley.htmx Bradley, Omar Nelson and Blair, Clay, A General's Life, Simon and Schuster, 1983, p. 59.xi Stephenson, James H., President, Omar Bradley Memorial Class of the Scottish Rite, 1983, personal correspondence to WestPoint Lodge #877, February 5, 1983.xii Bradley, Omar Nelson and Blair, Clay, A General's Life, Simon and Schuster, 1983, p. 62.xiii Bradley, Omar Nelson, A Soldier's Story, Henry Holt and Company, 1951, p. 20.xiv Bradley, Omar Nelson and Blair, Clay, A General's Life, Simon and Schuster, 1983, p. 102 – 103.xv Bradley, Omar Nelson and Blair, Clay, A General's Life, Simon and Schuster, 1983, p. 142.xvi By some accounts, he was called "the GI General."xvii America's 5-Star Heroes, ©1998, A&E Television Networksxviii Brother Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army; Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower, General of the Army; Brother George C.Marshall, General of the Army; Chester Nimitz, Fleet Admiral; William "Bull" Halsey, Jr., Fleet Admiral; Brother Omar N.Bradley, General of the Army; Brother Henry H. "Hap" Arnold, General of the Air Force; William D. Leahy, Fleet Admiral; Broth-er Ernest J. King, Fleet Admiral; Brother John J. "Blackjack" Pershing and Brother George Washington held the rank of Generalof the Armies of the United States (Washington posthumously), which some consider to be higher than the five-star rank.xix Testimony before the Senate Committees on Armed Services and Foreign Relations, May 15, 1951. Military Situation in theFar East, hearings, 82d Congress, 1st session, part 2, p. 732 (1951). Years later, President John F. Kennedy used this same quoteto characterize the Vietnam War, and several, including presidential candidate John Kerry have used it to describe the Iraq War.xx Bradley, Omar Nelson and Blair, Clay, A General's Life, Simon and Schuster, 1983, p. 670.


Everyday Heroes: Happy New Year! I’ve reached the halfway point of

my “Grand” Term and I’m learning SO MUCH! Here’sjust one example…

I learned at Grand Lodge a sure way to get every-one’s attention (whether they are awake or not): Lowerthe microphone down to your height. For those that areattentive, they jump out of their seat because of thenoise AND for those who may be dozing…well, let’s justsay they are sure to wake up! Sorry, guys!

Let’s see – how about some updates? In July we hadour Grand Officers’ and Mother Advisor retreat in Rolla,Missouri. We played get-to-know-you games, participat-ed in a membership presentation, and heard some ofSupreme Assembly’s future plans. There was a jewelryshow and great food. We were reminded to be wise:personally and on the Internet – good to refer to often!And then, we were back on the road for the MasonicYouth Day in Columbia, Missouri. Hot doesn’t evenbegin to describe the weather – but I think everyoneenjoyed themselves anyway! Thanks guys!

I reported last time on my first visit to Columbia andnow I’ve had my reception in St. Louis and a visit toRepublic. Even with the price of gas, attendance is out-standing – thanks to the Masons who gladly step for-ward to help with chairs, tables, running errands andmore! The ladies hostessing these events have gone“beyond the call” to make certain everyone has a fantas-tic time. YOU should come to one and see for yourselfhow well everything goes! Check our up-to-date calendarat www.moiorg.org!! You won’t regret being a “new” faceat anything we do!

Every issue of our newsletter, “Sharing RainbowTreasures,” is FULL of information – especially Assem-bly activities. In addition to reports about Grand Assem-bly, July’s Installations, the retreat and GWA visits, hereare a few Assembly’s events:

Wentzville Assembly is home to this year’s MissouriDeMolay State Sweetheart – Chelsea Thomason.Wentzville helps with MOCHIP events and has more onits calendar. At the Moolah Shrine Youth Ball in Sep-tember Kristin Thomason was crowned Moolah Queen– yes, that’s Chelsea’s sister! “Make a Wish Foundation”is their service project. Harrisonville’s new WorthyAdvisor has Elvis as her “symbol” with her theme: “Rain-bow Rocks.” They are trying to bring awareness to theneed for organ donations! They’ve scooped ice creamwith Service Assembly at the annual Santa-Cali-Gon

Days and held a “Rainbow Rush” membership event.Lee’s Summit Assembly has welcomed new membersand had a very special new friend visit – ChristinaVidrich, a Rainbow Girl in Brazil. She came to a Sep-tember meeting with information AND an accentdescribed as “simply delightful.”

North Kansas City Assembly had a Founder’s DayPicnic, attended a T-Bones game and wandered aroundthe Liberty Corn Maze. NKC is always on the go…It hasnew members and is making plans to support SynergyHouse. In addition to scooping ice cream, ServiceAssembly serves Lodge dinners and has a Worthy Advi-sor in college! She's ON THE ROAD to fulfill her oblig-ation. It also has new members! St. Joseph-HarmonyAssembly still chugs along. It has adopted a foster fam-ily (in keeping with the State Dean and my State ServiceProject) and had a movie night. The members helpedwith a MOCHIP event and held an “Open House” formembership–there was even a Sponsoring Orders Hon-or Night recently – are you near there? Did you go?

Mexico has a new Mother Advisor and had a verysuccessful rummage sale. It's members rode a float inthe town’s annual Soybean Festival. Have you seen peo-ple at four-way stops collecting money? Well, Mexicotried this and raised $200 for the State Service project.Cool! Its members have many ideas for Christmas funand have several raffles going on. Liberty has Pledgesand Sparkles running rampant and Rainbow Girls serv-ing ALL OVER! At Grand Assembly, they were proud tohave Amanda Ogan selected as the recipient of theGrand Master’s Youth Award AND their Assembly cho-sen as Missouri’s Assembly of the Year! Congrats to all!They sent a squad of girls to Supreme Assembly’s retreatto help play BUNKO and have attended many (FIVE?!)MOCHIP events already. They helped in the kid’s areafor the Race for a Cure and helped with kids’ crafts at theDown’s Buddy Walk. Also, they marched in the localFall Festival Parade passing out 350 Rainbow flyers!

Pulaski County participated in its local Relay for Liferaising $2,000. The members also raised money to buya relay radio for the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Depart-ment! They trick-or-treated for UNICEF and paintedpumpkins for the Life Care Center in Waynesville. Likemany Assemblies, they do a great Bible Ceremony whenasked! Republic Assembly also was in its local Relay forLife. Its members had a Taco Stand at their local fall fes-tival and did a Tiny Tots contest there. They wore outtheir Mother Advisor at their annual cookout and sleep-over at her house! Lamar Assembly is home of Melissa


Felkner, the State Dean, and she is on the road trying tokeep up with me! Lamar attended the retreat and GWAvisits while staying active with local Masonic and EasternStar activities. Ashland Assembly celebrated Founder’sDay with a picnic, rode in a convertible in the RodeoParade and donated new school supplies to the local Fos-ter Care facility. Its Advisory Board fixed the girls a mys-tery Halloween dinner! Oh my! St. Charles Assembly soldsoda at the Festival of Little Hills and had a pumpkin par-ty.

Marlborough Assembly in Grandview continues toplan and hold Rainbow Roundup membership events –another comes this Spring. Its members have initiatedfour girls and had a slumber party with midnight swim-ming. Pledges and Sparkles are invited often to events.They participated in a local scarecrow contest for the fifthyear and, for the first time, trick-or-treated for the Grand-view Assistance Program collecting nearly 80 canned andnon-perishable items. Springfield Assembly could benicknamed “Pledges on the Grow” because little girls are

everywhere. They have tremendous family support andcan’t wait to be Rainbow Girls. They made bracelets forthe kids at Cox South Hospital and made Thank You plusChristmas Cards for military troops. They made contain-ers to collect pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House and arecollecting newspapers for the Humane Society.

Whew! And not every Assembly has reported inrecently!

Zero or Hero? There are plenty of heroes making cer-tain things keep happening at Missouri’s Rainbow Assem-blies…and ensuring service gets to those who need it.You know don’t you?: Zeros hide behind taking actionwhile Heroes take responsibility for making certain actiongets taken!

Happy 2008! Remember: Hero status is waiting forYOU…if you only show love and compassion to a child!

Niki Lodholz, Grand Worthy AdvisorState of MissouriInternational Order of Rainbow for Girls

from page 40

What does it cost to become a member?There is no initiation fee. The fee to join as a member

in the Missouri Lodge of Research is $15.00. ($20 for inter-national members) This fee is the same for the yearlydues. If you desire to become a lifetime member the priceis $300.00. Membership in the Lodge of Research requiresyou to receive the annual book published by the Lodgealong with any other membership publications.

What are these funds used for?They are used for administrative costs, the

printing of Masonic Literature, printing of themembership books and funding approvedgrants to Masonic Researchers. You mayapply for these grants through the Secretary’sOffice located at 6033 Masonic Drive, Ste. B,Columbia, MO 65202-6535 or e-mail yourrequest for information at [email protected].

There are no salaries given, however, the Sec-retary/Treasurer is voted an honorarium. Every pennyof our funds is used for Masonic purposes and the enlight-enment of the members.

How often does the Lodge of Research Meet?The Missouri Lodge of Research meets two times a

year. The first meeting is during the York Rite Session inMay. The regular yearly meeting and installation is heldduring the Annual Session of the Masonic Grand Lodge ofMissouri. Otherwise, the Lodge is subject to the call of theMaster and may meet at any place within the State of Mis-souri.

What does a member receive for his dues?The Missouri Lodge of Research publishes at least one

bound volume of research annually. Among its most out-standing volumes are Freemasonry and the AmericanIndian, The Masonic Essays of H.L. Haywood, Anti-Masonry, House Divided, the four volumes of 10,000Famous Freemasons, Freemasonry in the AmericanCourts, The Masonic World of Ray V. Denslow, and DidYou Know?

How may I acquire membership in the Mis-souri Lodge of Research?

Send in an application, which is providedfor you, or send your name, Masonic Lodgemembership and full address to: Ronald D.Miller, Lodge of Research Sec/Treas., 6033Masonic Dr., Suite B. Columbia, MO 65202.You can request an application or more infor-mation by calling the Grand Lodge office at

573-474-8561.

How may I apply for a research grant from theMissouri Lodge of Research?

Write a letter of intent to the Secretary, giving an out-line of your intended research topic and the amount offunds that you seek. Accompany this with a letter fromyour Lodge supporting your request. Grant requests maybe submitted at any time. They are considered forapproval just prior to the Annual Meeting and the resultsare announced at that time.

Are past publications of Missouri Lodge of Researchstill available?

Yes, although not all of them. You can contact theLodge of Research Secretary and request to purchase apast publication. Availability and prices of the books willvary.


A very wise man once said,“Whatever the mind of man can con-ceive and believe; he can achieve.”That wise philosopher was NapoleonHill. He concluded his lecture to sev-eral sales people by saying that allgreat accomplishments started with asingle idea in someone’s mind.

A museum is a collection of greataccomplishments by men andwomen, which are the result of anidea which was acted upon. Regard-less of whether those results areinventions, philosophies, careeraccomplishments, etc; the executionof action upon those ideas hasimpacted the way we conduct oureveryday activities. A Masonic muse-um is no different. It is a collection ofgreat accomplishments by men andwomen who acted upon their ideasfor a cause under the umbrella ofFreemasonry in Missouri. Theiractions upon their ideas have result-ed in the Masonic Home of Missouri,in great leadership roles such as Har-ry Truman and General OmarBradley, in founding and promotingAppendant bodies such as LauraIngles Wilder’s efforts with the Orderof the Eastern Star, and the list goeson. Our Masonic Library and Muse-um has endeavored to capture thoseideals which, through history, haveinfluenced the basics of Freemasonryin Missouri through the theme of theMuseum “Reflected Values: BrotherlyLove, Relief and Truth.”

Several years ago a brother of thisgrand jurisdiction planted a seed inthe form of a substantial donation tobegin a museum. Several Grand Mas-ters nourished and watered that seedthrough resolutions and proposingby-law changes and the legislationnecessary for that seed to grow. Likeany good Masonic building, the foun-dation had to be laid straight and

true before the building could beerected on top of the foundation.Three years ago that foundation wasfinished and having the proper cor-nerstone in place the structure beganto take shape. Policies were writtenand by-laws amended to allow thestructure to frame the original idea.

In the movie National Treasure,Ben asks Riley what you have justshort of fanaticism. His answer waspassion. The committee was blessedin finding a curator with the type ofpassion we desired and needed;hence we welcomed Cindee Herrickto the staff, not only as the curatorbut as the project manager as well.Cindee’s passion for the museum pro-vided the necessary reinforcementthe structure needed in order to meetthe standards the brethren deservedand desired.

The largest and most difficultdecision the committee had to makewas what type of museum was need-ed. The discussion was enlighteningto say the least. The criteria of whattype centered around the fact thatthe content had to have enough pub-lic appeal to allow students of all agesto come and visit the museum, dis-play enough of the historical teach-ings of the fraternity while showingthe history of the Grand Lodge andthe Masonic Home, and createenough internal desire that when anon-Masonic visitor left he might beleft with just enough desire to joinour order.

Since we needed some serioushelp, the committee reached a deci-sion; and with the consent of theMasonic Home Board we hired PGAV,a museum design firm located in St.Louis. Its credentials outshined theother firms considered, and it didn’thurt that some of the staff had someMasonic knowledge through rela-

tives. At least the project managerwas already familiar with the tenetsof the fraternity and we did not needto spend extra time in education. Inorder to take a single idea to fruition;design concepts have to be reviewed,cost estimates, allowing for futuregrowth and a host of other items hadto be considered. Through PGAV’sinsightful revelations, the museumtransformed from solely theme basedinto a combination of themes sup-ported by artifacts. This allows thefuture leaders enough leeway to dis-play different artifacts from time totime and to do theme based displaysas needs arise.

To realize the fulfillment of anydream you need a solid foundationfrom which to build. Having nowjust laid that foundation in the formof a curator and a design firm, theprocess of developing the steps toreality needed to be defined. Ques-tions like who was most influentialand famous in our history? Whatmilestones, buildings, and otheritems helped define Freemasonry inMissouri? Who were the leaders andwho started the donations thatresulted in the Masonic Home? Howdid the individual Lodges help?What part did the Appendant bodiesplay in developing the MasonicHome and the Grand Lodge? Toanswer these questions a large pot ofcoffee and a 12 pack of diet sodawere needed.

At this point in the development,past leaders of the Grand Lodge andother influential individuals left thedefinition of the museum dream tothe committee. Thus it became ourquest to define the dream clearlyenough and with the help of thedesign firm, to allow a design tobegin to take shape. Speaking ofshape, personal dreams have a shape.

A DREAM BECOMES REALITYBy Douglas Reece, Chair

Library and Museum Committee


They consist of a car, home, other material goods, a pro-motion at work, and so on. Have you ever tried to comeup with the shape of a museum? The committee ran outof diet soda before we finally said, “This is what we want.”Oh Boy, now what do we put in the museum? The layoutdesign we chose tended to automatically give us definedareas in which to work. We knew that the entry way andthe rotunda had to intro-duce the Grand Lodgeand the MasonicHome history.

We find in lifethat once a dream isclearly defined the“how” and otherdetails will always pre-sent themselves. Thepaths which lead tothe dream's fulfillmentbecome clearer andthrough that processthe dream’s detailsbecome more refined. Using the ten-ants of Masonry became our numberone priority in selecting content for themuseum. It was decided through muchdiscussion and coffee, that the tenants,Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truthshould be reflected and become thetheme of the museum. Now we havea clearly defined path; Reflected Val-ues … Brotherly Love, Relief, andTruth. “Why these?” you ask. “Theyare the core beliefs of every Freema-son.”

PGAV (the design firm), throughits due diligence and design of themuseum pointed out that we arereflecting the values in seven differ-ent sections. These areas are the“swoop” or front entry wall of themuseum, the “portal” or entry wayinto the museum sections and thefollowing five sections; Pioneers andPathmakers, Living Well, Generosity,Leadership, and Everyman. Now comes the task of givingsubstance to our structure and through Cindee’s efforts weuncovered a host of information to include in each section.In the Pioneers and Pathmakers section we found WilliamClark’s apron.

In the Living Well section, which centers on theMasonic Home and the life of the residents of the home,we find the influence of Laura Ingalls Wilder. We gave therecognition due the Knights Templar and the Order of theEastern Star in the section entitled Generosity, along withother notables. Leadership was a tough one to define.There were so many to choose from. Harry Truman wasoblivious, but we believe you will find this section ofextreme enlightenment.

In our efforts to make sure every Lodge has an oppor-tunity to contribute and display its history as it relates tothe history of Masonry in Missouri, we designed theEveryman section to accommodate this. Pride of the West

Lodge in St. Louis and Temple Gate Lodge in Kansas Cityare the first two Lodges to be allowed to display items inthe museum. There are other cases filled with items fromother Lodges as well. The policy for which Lodge, whatartifacts are to be displayed, and how often are still beingrevised and rewritten. Please wait a time with patience;

your Lodge’s turn will come.As in every dream, minimum

expectations are made as to whatthat dream will be. In the case ofthe Museum we believe we haveexceeded what the original con-cept was. When the committeewas formed five years ago, we alltook a trip one weekend to theGrand Lodge of Iowa’s museumand received a personal guidedtour. Its guidance helped formthe initial concept of what shapeour dream should take.

As you read this,you will find that theMuseum has alreadyopened. We of thecommittee would liketo publicly thank theGrand Lodge of Iowafor its support, theGrand Lodge of Mis-souri and all of theGrand Masters of Mis-souri who through outtheir term of officegave us the freedomand guidance to pursuethe completion of thedream, the MasonicHome Board, withoutwhose support andbelief the physical por-tion of the dream wouldnot have taken shapethis early, and above allto every brother in thisGrand Lodge and everysister in the Order of the

Eastern Star for your devotion to the ideals of the frater-nity and the support you gave because A Dream canBecome Real.

RWB Doug Reece is Past Master of both TemperanceLodge #438 and Adelphi Lodge #355. He is Past DistrictDeputy Grand Master of the 17th Masonic District, andserves as chairman of the Masonic Home Library andMuseum Committee. Doug is a member of the MissouriLodge of Research, Secretary and Masonic Home Repre-sentative of Temperance Lodge #438, has a dual member-ship with Agency Lodge #10, and Weston Lodge #53. Hehas been awarded the Honor Lodge Achievement awardeach year as Master of Temperance Lodge and the TrumanHonor Lodge Award as Master of Adelphi Lodge. He hasattained all of the Ritual proficiency cards and the Indi-vidual Ritual Award and was appointed District DeputyGrand Lecturer in the 7th Masonic District.


M u s e -um exhibits

often begin ascasual conversa-

tions. Peoplebrainstorm, tossing out ideas forobjects to put on display or offeringsuggestions for what they find inter-esting or what they think otherswould find interesting. Reflected Val-ues followed this pattern. The Libraryand Museum Committee wanted tohighlight many, many topics, themesand objects. One theme was people.Masons, particularly Missouri Masonswho made a difference in Missouriand in the Nation, kept surfacing asnoteworthy.

Early in the discussions surround-ing the new exhibit opening at theMissouri Masonic Library and Muse-um on Saturday, February 23, 2008,emerged this idea of bringing forthpeople who exemplify the best inhumanity. To that end, lists weredrawn up and from those lists, toofew people were selected. The Libraryand Museum Committee knew that ithad the difficult task of selecting ahandful of individuals from the manypotential candidates. One personwho emerged consistently was East-ern Star sister Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Laura Ingalls Wilder was one of25 Charter members of MansfieldChapter No. 76. Mansfield ChapterNo. 76 was Instituted and Constitutedon May 15, 1897. These Mansfieldwomen were pathmakers in MissouriEastern Star. Of chapters in the Forty-Sixth District, only Mountain GroveChapter No. 29 is older. Mary S.Chapter No. 129 in Houston is twoyears younger and Hartville ChapterNo. 164 is three years younger, havingbeen founded in 1900. The GrandChapter of the Eastern Star itself orga-nized in Missouri in 1875. Lauraserved as Esther that first year. Shethen served in many capacities,including as Worthy Matron, as Secre-tary, and as District Deputy GrandLecturer.

Laura came to Masonry through

her father. He was a Mason in DeSmet, South Dakota, where the familyfinally settled. Laura Elizabeth, herparents and one of her sisters weremembers. Since Mansfield organizedits own chapter two years after Lauraand her husband Almanzo Wildermoved to Mansfield, it is likely thatshe helped found the chapter. Shealso brought her husband to Masonry,encouraging him to become a MasterMason in 1902. His card in the vaultsof the Grand Lodge of Missouri showsthat he served as Tiler for his lodge.His health, and his less outgoingnature, perhaps prevented him fromaccepting a greater variety of responsi-bilities in his lodge. He retained hisactive status until his death in 1949.

Laura Ingalls Wilder is bestknown for her popular children’sbooks the Little House on the Prairieseries. She began writing the fiction-alized version of her childhood on thefrontier in 1932. Over the next elevenyears, she completed the series,

describing daily life for a young girl ina mid-western pioneer family of the1870s and 1880s. Wilder was a natur-al writer, making a living writing andediting for a diversity of newspapersand magazines. She was also a profi-cient and efficient organizer, helpingfound community services as differentas the local library and the local farmloan association. Wilder’s work clear-ly shows a woman who believed thatone should work to better one’s owncommunity, by joining with others to

create organizations of lasting value. Wilder’s Mansfield Home gra-

ciously lent the Missouri MasonicLibrary and Museum a few preciousitems from Wilder’s personalwardrobe. Going on display will behandkerchiefs she embroidered and apair of stylish gloves she wore. TheWilder Home itself is open to all whomake the drive to Mansfield, east ofSpringfield. Almanzo Wilder built thehouse, just the way he built the housethat she describes in her Little Housebooks. And just as in the Little Housebooks, this house is made with lowercounters and cabinets in the kitchenand other features that reflect her andAlmanzo’s slighter statures. TheWilder Home is open from Marchthrough mid-November. Mansfield ison Hwy. 60 east of Springfield andsouth of Lebanon. Both the home andthe barn still stand. Sources: Centennial Book 1875-1975 GrandChapter of Missouri Order of the East-ern StarLecture given by Judy Cantrell to theMansfield Chapter No. 76Web site for the Laura Ingalls WilderMuseum at www.lauraingallswilder-home.com

Cindee Herrick brings 20 yearsexperience to her role as facilitator forthe development of the MasonicLibrary and Museum. She receivedher training in history at Reed Collegeand Portland State University and hermuseum training at the Oregon His-torical Society and San Francisco StateUniversity. Cindee specializes inworking with small history museumsand historical societies, developingcollections policies, collections storagesystems, exhibitions and educationprograms. Prior to moving to Mis-souri with her husband, Frank, sheturned around the U.S. Coast GuardMuseum, in New London, Connecti-cut. She enjoys the challenge of help-ing guide a nearly two hundred yearold institution as builds and main-tains a museum and library.

BRINGING LAURA INGALLS WILDER TO COLUMBIA

By Cindee HerrickSpecial Project Curator


Bro. Ernest Roedel of Deepwater, Missouri, received his50-Year Grand Lodge of Missouri Membership Certificateand Jewel from family friend Mrs. Arlen Baker represent-ing Fayette-Howard Lodge #4, Fayette, at his home inDecember.

Long time Brother J.B. Garrett ofBoonville receivedhis 50-year VeteranMember Jewel, Cer-tificate and Mem-bership card fromCentralia CouncilNo. 34, Royal andSelect Masters,Cryptic Masons ofthe State of Mis-souri. Making thepresentation onbehalf of Cen-tralia Council was

Brother Robert H.Bray of Fayette. Bray is a Past Master of the

Grand Council of Cryptic Masons and Past Illustrious Master of CentraliaCouncil. J. B. is a 50-year member of Cooper Lodge #36, AF & AM andserved his Lodge as Worshipful Master in 1963.Photo (L to R): J.B. Garrett, Robert Bray.

On Saturday, 10/20, Lawrence Cripps of Osage Lodge#303 presented Vernon Duncan (left) his 50-Year Mason-ic Lodge Membership Certificate. Howard Butler (Right)presented his commemorative pin. The Grand Lodge ofMissouri bestows this honor on all 50-year members.

On Dec 18 several members ofKirksville Lodge #105 met to presentBrother Boyd Brown with his 60-yearmembership pin. Brother Brown isour second oldest living member.Pictured L to R are David Powell,lodge secretary, Jim Conner, BrotherBrown, Marion Rehn, lodge chap-lain, and standing, Dale West, lodgetreasurer.


On August 4, 2007, Donald Zahnter presentedRoss Jakeway his 50-year pin and certificatefrom the Grand Lodge of Missouri. Brother Jake-way was also celebrating his 90th birthday thatevening. Pictured (l to r): WB Donald Zahnter, Fred-dy Thomas, Daniel Price, WB James Gross, WB MarvinWilliamson. Brother Jakeway is seated.

Bonhomme Lodge #45 presented Brother Jim Hastingswith his 50-year pin and certificate from the Grand Lodgeof Missouri at its stated communication on May 15, 2007.Pictured (l to r): WB Jim Hastings, his wife Gwen, WB MikeApple and WB Don Dahlem.

On Monday evening, October 15, 2007, Elvins Ionic'smember Denny A. Smith was presented his 50-year cer-tificate and pin from the Grand Lodge of Missouri. Wor-shipful Brother Garry L. Dalton, acting as District DeputyGrand Master, 38th Masonic District of Missouri, madethe presentation.

At its Monthly Dinner on December 20, 2007, SamaritanLodge 424, Bonne Terre, made a 50-year Grand LodgePin and Certificate presentation to Brother Robert L.Gawf, who with His Wife (Marry) accepted the Honoraccorded Him. Pictured (l to r) Mrs. Gawf, Brother Gawf and RWB. Dale New-comer, with the framed Certificate, and many Brethren andFriends in attendance enjoying the occasion.

Edina Lodge #291 Presented Delbert Rourke and DonWoodward with their 50-year pins and Certificates fromthe Grand Lodge of Missouri on November 1, 2007. Pictured (l to r): Neva Rourke, Delbert Rourke, Phyllis Wood-ward and Don Woodward.


Wallace Lodge #456 of Bunceton on October 24,2007,celebrated four milestones. Aubrey Scholtzhauer for 50years, Keith Bail for 25 years, Albert Eichhorn for 60years, and Glen Eichhorn for 60 years of being Freema-sons. The lodge also celebrated 135 yrs. RWB Jim Wadepresented Aubrey Scholtzhauer his 50-year pin, which hisdaughter pinned on him. RWB Robert Gander presentedAubrey his 50-year plaque. Worshipful Master LoganPfeiffer of Wallace Lodge presented Keith Bail his 25-yearpin and 60-year plaques to Albert and Glen Eichhorn.Many members, family and friends from the 22nd districtwere present. DDGM Robert Gardner is shown present-ing Aubrey Scholtzhauer his 50-year plaque as Glen Eich-horn, Albert Eichhorn and Keith Bail look on.

H.O. Grauel Lodge #672 in Cape Girardeau honoredBrother Kenneth E. Myles with his 50-year pin at thelodge's regular meeting of April 5, 2007. DDGL E. OthaWingo (left) is shown making the presentation to brotherMyles. Augusta Lodge #141, Augusta, Maine raisedBrother Myles in March, 1957. Upon his later relocationto Cape Girardeau, he became affiliated with the H.OGrauel Lodge. He is very active in Moolah Shriners of St.Louis and has served as Illustrious Potentate of thatorganization in 1992.

Britain by Lewis Masonic, 2007), thoroughlydemolishes the preposterous claims made inmodern, popular books based on assump-tions, guesses, misinterpretations, and imag-ination. In the picturesque words of Christo-pher Hodapp, author of Freemasons forDummies and Solomon’s Builders (2007),Cooper “slaughters an entire herd of sacredcattle with his investigation of the manyclaims of Templar involvement in Freema-sonry’s formation and the building of Ross-lyn.”

Comparing the murdered apprentice andMasonic legends, Cooper states that theyappear to be similar on the surface, but are infact quite different in content and purpose.“The legend at Rosslyn Chapel cannot be tak-en to be Masonic in any way, not leastbecause it is directly opposite to the lessonbeing imparted in the Third Degree” (p. 174).He points out that the earliest writers whodescribe the chapel make no mention of themurdered apprentice. “Of supreme impor-tance is the fact that the carved head of theso-called murdered apprentice was not origi-nally carved as such. The wound on the rightforehead was not part of the original carvingat all. It was only later, much later, indicatedby the use of ochre, chalk and paint….That

means that the legend did not exist at thetime the chapel was begun (1446) and onlycame into being more than 250 years later,that is, sometime after 1700 (p. 177). Furtherevidence of deliberate tampering is that theoriginal carving depicted an old man with abeard and moustache, which have been“crudely chiseled away.”

One of Cooper’s predecessors in office, D.Murray Lyon (1830-1903) “made a valiantattempt to set the record straight in Historyof the Lodge of Edinburgh Mary’s Chapel No.1 (1873). Although his history was based onexamination of original documents and hecited sources and individuals with precision,”his conclusions were ignored by writers whopopularized the myth. As Cooper himselfstated, “No popular author has been toFreemasons’ Hall to read the original docu-ments” (p. 122).

The valuable introductory chapter on howto recognize the way original sources havebeen misused in popular “Masonic” books isworth the price of the book ($11.45 fromamazon.com). Techniques of “proving” fan-tastic and imaginative theories are clearlyexplained and illustrated: proving a positivefrom lack of evidence, apply modern ideas toancient practices, ignoring opposing views,self-quoting, inter-quoting, and misquotingare a few. This chapter is a concise course in

how to evaluate and use original documents.In reading early Masonic history it must

be remembered, “None of the traditional his-tories of any of the branches of Freemasonryare, or were, intended to be taken literally.Our forebears in all the Masonic Orders man-ufactured ‘pasts’ for allegorical purposes” (p.307). As I reminded my university studentsduring over fifty years of teaching mytholo-gy, myths should be taken seriously, but notliterally.

I found the meticulously detailed docu-mentation compelling and worthy of seriousconsideration. An important contributionCooper makes is including copies of the actu-al documents upon which speculative inter-pretations are based, so that the reader maydirectly examine sources otherwise difficultto locate.

Rosslyn Chapel was a Christian church,not related in any way to Freemasonry, espe-cially not to the Knights Templar Crusadersand was so considered until modern times.The myths of Masonic connections withRosslyn were deliberately fabricated toenhance the reputation of certain personsand organizations.

The author’s conclusion is inevitable:

There is no Masonic symbolismwithin Rosslyn Chapel!

from back cover


The 22nd Masonic District met at Cooper Lodge #36 onOctober 24, 2007. There were 93 Brothers in attendanceto enjoy a great dinner prepared by Arlin Baker and hisLodge helpers. The 22nd Masonic District is comprisedof nine Lodges. They are: Centralia Lodge #59, Cen-tralia; Twilight Lodge #114, Columbia; Ashland Lodge#156, Asland; Hallsville Lodge #336, Hallsville; AncientLandmark Lodge #356, Harrisburg; Acacia Lodge #602,Columbia; Cooper Lodge #36, Boonville; Wallace Lodge#456, Bunceton; Fayette-Howard Lodge #4, Fayette.Brother Robert Gander passed the gavel to the new offi-cers: President Grant Lawson, Hallsville Lodge #336; 1stVice-President Daren Clark, Centralia Lodge #59; 2ndVice-President Roy Cary, Cooper Lodge #36.

Cooper Lodge #36 held its annual installation of Officersand dinner on the evening of September 11 at the LodgeHall. Master Chef Arlin Baker prepared the meat and theBrothers furnished the side dishes. More than 80 mem-bers, family and friends attended the ceremony and din-ner. All those present were given the opportunity to tourthe newly restored Lodge Hall. Special recognition wasgiven to Tammy Florine for the painting and windowrepair. Jim Hackman was thanked for providing the spe-cial truck with a lift so the second story windows couldbe painted. A great night of fellowship was had.Installation picture: 1st row from left: Senior Warden-MarkBean; Installing Master-A.K.”Iggy” Ingacio; Master-Roy Cary;Chaplain-Jim Painter; Installing Chaplain-Lewis Odneal; 2ndrow: Senior Deacon-Marvin Utterback; Marshall-John Cary;Junior Warden-Bill Burnett; Treasurer-Robert Bradshaw; Tyler-Nathan Cary; Installing Marshall & Secretary-Billie Sullivan;3rd row: Senior Steward-Matt Price; Junior Steward-Rick Zim-merman; Master Chef-Arlin Baker; Junior Deacon-Ted Litton.CONGRATULATIONS!!! Submitted by Sam Thompson.

Albert Pike Lodge #219 installed its Officers for the com-ing year on October 23, 2007. Officers for 2007-2008 areas follows: Jimmy R. Douthitt, WM; Charles J. Wentworth,SW; Thomas R. Butts, JW; Bobbie E. White, Treasurer; Ted-die E. Harrison, Secretary; Joseph L. Heilig, Chaplain;Ben C. Kenney, MAR; Lance Berry; SD; Donald Powers, JD;Dennis Abernathy, SS; John Cardin, JS; Ted W. Harrison,Tyler.

It pays to welcome visitors to your Lodge. Recently,the son of Brother J. T. McMahon, Jesse T. “Tom”McMahon V, of Alexandria, Va. paid a visit to CooperLodge #36 with his father. While he was here for din-ner, one of the old refrigerators quit working. Tom hassent a check to help pay for a new one. With helpfrom Brother Todd Snapp, we now have it.

Photo Left to Right: Proud father J. T. McMahon, MasterRoy Cary, Tom McMahon.


On Nov. 27, 2007 WM Rick Johnston of Laclede Lodge#83 presented Bro. Terry Ozborn with his 25-year lapelpin.

Wallace Lodge #456 of Bunceton on Oct-20, 2007, had afundraiser at River Hills Sporting Clay in Boonville. It wascalled "Shoot for Scholarships." Members and friendsshot at clay targets in skeet trap and sporting clay. Peo-ple and companies pledged money for each trap bro-ken. It was a great success and the money will go to stu-dents going to a two-year college or trade school.

Laclede Lodge #83 & Twilight Lodge opened a joint session for the thirddegree on Nov. 27th, 2007 at the lodge hall in Lebanon, MO for the purposeof giving a third degree to a man from each lodge. Michael Manley fromLaclede Lodge and Tanner Hunt of Twilight Lodge #114 were the members tobe raised on this special occasion. Visiting brethren from Twilight Lodge wereWM Dean Christy, RWB Jim Wade - Secretary, WB Kenneth Gebhardt, WBRobert Warford, SD Charles Palmer and Tanner Hunt.From left to right; First row; Michael Manley, Tanner Hunt & David O'Dell; Secondrow; WB Kenneth Gebhardt, WM Rick Johnston, WB Robert Warford, WM DeanChristy, Jason Arends, Billy Garrett; Third row; WB Sam Mustard, Tom Shamel, RWB CN Unverzagt, Charles Palmer, WB Mike Day, Paul Berry; Fourth row; Dan Knauss, MikeCrisp, RWB Jim Wade, Allen Tubbs; Last row; Terry Ozborne, WB Jim Morgan, FrankGrantham, John Winfrey, WB Wayne Calk, Steve Phelan, Clay Veurink.

On behalf of Butler Lodge #254, RWB Alvin O. Griffin, DDGL 32nd District, wel-comed RWB Rocky E. Weaver, Deputy Grand Master, to its second degree onOctober 18, 2007. RWB Weaver told the attendees he enjoyed giving thesecond degree lecture, and was invited to Butler #254 for that purpose. RWBWeaver was received as a distinguished guest and Butler Lodge memberswere honored to confer a degree in his presence.

Saturday, September 15th found several members of the Swope Park Mason-ic Temple family working the third CHIPS event sponsored by our Lodge. I amtold we are the ONLY Lodge in the state to do three programs this year. As evi-denced by the photo (left), we had a huge crowd! Scheduled to run from 10AM to 3 PM, we worked until 4 PM and processed 175 children between theages of 6 months up to 14 years old. In addition to Swope Park Lodge #617members, Swope Park OES Chapter #520, William Kuhn DeMolay, Job’sDaughter Bethel #48 members and even the Wm F Kuhn Royal Arch Mason’schapter were represented and hard at work. This was our third program thisyear and the 200th program statewide. Our efforts added 175 children to the33,194 processed since inception of the Missouri program. Kudos to St. Luke’sMethodist church in South Kansas City for hosting the event.


The Labor Day parade in Doniphan united members ofComposite Lodge #369, Naylor Lodge #568, GrandinLodge #579 and Poplar Bluff Lodge #209 in a winningeffort. Worshipful Master Gary Greenlee of CompositeLodge displays the blue ribbon for fraternal organiza-tions.

Members of the Grand Line of the Grand Lodge of Mis-souri joined members of several lodges from the St.Joseph area to dedicate the cornerstone of the NewSocial Security Administration building in St. Joseph.MWB Bruce R. Austin, Grand Master, officiated at the cer-emony which took place on November 4, 2007.

Meridian Lodge No.2, of St Louis, followed its tradition ofover thirty years of volunteering for Old Newsboys' Dayon November 15. Neither rain nor sleet nor cold cankeep the men from their corners selling newspapers tobenefit children's charities. They collected approxi-mately $900.00 in a little over two hours.

Members of Sedalia Lodge #236 and their guestsenjoyed a Family Picnic at Liberty Park in Sedalia Sat.Sept. 15, 2007.

At its regular meeting on November 13, 2007, the LibertyMasonic Building board presented monetary donationsto three charitable organizations. Marvin Scott, buildingboard president is shown with representatives of thegroups. Pictured with Scott are Linda Knouse from Free-dom house, Marianne Hill from the Liberty Hospital TreeHouse Foundation, Kyle Sublett from Fidelity Chapter ofDeMolay International, Gail Elliott, Lisa Elliott and otherrepresentatives of Liberty Rainbow Assembly #31.

RWB Wayne Hutching, MWB Robert Berger, MWB P. Vin-cent Kinkaid and RWB Harvey Soule are shown at theannual Lamplight meeting at St. Francois Lodge #234,Libertyville, MO, on August 2, 2007. St. Francois Lodge#234 has met in the same building since 1866, makingthis the longest consecutive Lodge meeting in the samehall in the state of Missouri.


Sedalia Lodge #236 held an open Installation of OfficersMon. Oct. 15, 2007. (L to R) Robert P. Melby, Tyler; David W.Wiedeman, Treasurer; Wilfried C. Koch, SS; Donald 0. Walker,JD; William D. Talley, SW; David E. Miller, WM; Floyd D. Ulmer, SD;Floyd E. Stevenson, JS; James R. Hamilton, Marshall; Robert D.Weikal, Secretary; H.H. Luetjen, Chaplain.

Liberty Lodge #31 conducted its annualflower delivery to Lodge widows just priorto Christmas this year. Given the snow-storm of that week, Lodge brothers per-formed the additional service of cleaningoff many of the widow's driveways.

Pictured: Brother Jerod Crump, Junior War-den, pitches in.

Cooper Lodge #36 distributed proceeds from its chili din-ner fundraiser, which raised $2,740. Those who benefitedwere the Stein House HDC, four families the Jaycees arehelping, Harvest House, Blake Frevert (a third graderwith Leukemia), eighteen of our widows and 8 home-bound members (who received Christmas baskets). Wealso gave over twenty dinner tickets to Unlimited Oppor-tunities. Shown (L to R): Brother Mark Bean, Linda Sapping-ton (HDC), Master Roy Cary, Carrie Harrington of theJaycees, Brother Bill Burnett.

Cooper Lodge #36 Christmas baskets for home-bound members and widows were prepared anddelivered by Brothers John Cary, Chris Cary, ArlinBaker, and Gary Whitehurse.

(L to R): Brothers John Cary, Chris Cary, Arlin Baker, andGary Whitehurse.


RWB Larry Cameron chaired the committee coordinatingcontributions from Swope Park OES #520, William F. KuhnDeMolay, Jobs Daughters Bethel #1 and many brothersof Swope Park Lodge #617. Brother Cameron purchasedsocks, oranges, and bananas with funds collected. Brav-ing the wintry elements Friday evening, volunteers fromthe youth met at the Lodge and assembled the Christ-mas sacks. Young Job-Bees Lexi and Madison Parkintonassist Chief Elf Larry along with DeMolay Boys MattHoaglan, Dakota Parkinson and Alex Barnes working inthe background.

Saturday afternoon, through the snow storm, RWB LarryCameron, Brother Al Beach, WM Ken Best, Master Coun-cilor Alex Barnes, Senior Deacon Matt Hoaglan andJunior Deacon Dakota Parkinson visited the KC VA Hos-pital. Santa’s helpers spent all afternoon delivering thegifts and bringing smiles to every veteran they met. Whata great day it was - to listen to the many stories the vet-erans had to tell. Over 155 gift sacks were distributedduring the course of the day.

Linn Creek Lodge #152 once again has completed itsannual Christmas Drive for families in need. Through thegenerous donations from our Lodge Brothers and theLake Of The Ozarks area merchants we were able tocollect and distribute well over $4,000 in food, clean-ing products, personal hygiene products, checks, andgift certificates. This was our sixth annual ChristmasDrive and the amount collected has far exceeded pre-vious years. We were able to assist nine families, twohad just lost their homes to fire. We also made dona-tions to six local organizations in the Camdentonarea who help persons in need. They are Lake AreaHelping Hands, Citizens Against Domestic Violence,Camdenton County Child Advocacy Center, ElksLodge #2517, Lamb House, and The Salvation Army. Pictured is Bro. Paul Warman, Marshall, loading avehicle with items for delivery. We are proud to have Bro. Warman asa member of our lodge. This Brother spends several weeks each year canvassing the lake areamerchants at his own expense soliciting donations for our drive.

TYRO Lodge #12 AF & AM of Caledonia, MO will host its

31st Annual Coon Dinner Mania with other wild game

also baked beans, potato salad, coleslaw,desserts & refreshments. There will be work in

the 3rd Degree that night.

Food @ 6:00 PM • Lodge @ 7:30 March 15th, 2008

All Master Masons are invited,for more info call 573-779-3426 or

573-734-2822

REGIONAL SCHOOLSOF INSTRUCTION

REGION C • RWB MICHAEL ARMSTRONGApril 19, 2008

Appleton City Lodge #412Appleton City, Missouri, 9:00AM

May 31, 2008Mt. Washington Lodge #614

Independence, Missouri, 9:00AM

POSTMASTER: Please send Address Forms 2579 to Grand Secretary,6033 Masonic Drive, Suite B, Columbia, Missouri 65202-6535.

To Improve Myself In Freemasonry

The owner was meticulous about the wayhe wanted the structure built. He was a stick-ler for detail and insisted that the buildingconform precisely to his design, for he him-self, not an architect, drew the designs forthe building he wanted the stonemasons toconstruct. He was so determined that heeven drew the designs upon wooden boards,which he required the builders to carve outexactly the way the designs would be chis-eled into stone. After all this was to be a pri-vate sanctuary for a special purpose only forhimself—to perpetuate his memory—andfor his distinguished family.

The master stonemason, who was over-seeing the project, knew that the outwardpurpose was a religious one. As was commonin the Middle Ages, the Church had inex-orable requirements for every ounce of a per-son’s life and this authority reached beyonddeath. In compliance with the Church’scanons, he wanted to assure himself entryinto heaven. To accomplish this, the ownerwas establishing a perpetual place of prayer,with a priest whose only duty was to prayfor the salvation of his soul after death, aswell as those of his family members. A per-petual endowment was being set up toassure the perpetuity of the prayers. To pre-vent any interference or cessation, he washaving a private chapel constructed on hisown property. It was no unusual thing forwealthy persons and eminent families to do,for there were some forty-two such chapelsin the immediate vicinity. They were calledchurches, but to distinguish them frombuildings dedicated to general worship, theywere called collegiate churches, and to dis-

tinguish them from churches owned by thechurch hierarchy, they were called “secularcollegiate churches,” i.e., privately ownedchapels whose unique function was perpetu-al prayers for the souls of the owner and hisfamilies and for family burials. Consideringall this, the master stonemason scrupulouslyconstructed the family chapel to the exactspecifications of the owner.

The design of one inner column was sointricate and elaborate that the master of thecraft despaired of reaching the perfectionrequired by the owner, if he attempted onlyto follow the pattern that was first drawnthen carved in wood. Inquiring about its ori-gin, the householder informed him that itwas based on an original that he had seen inhis travels. He thought it was in Italy, butwasn’t sure whether it was in Rome or Flo-rence.

The chief mason received permission totravel to Italy to examine the original col-umn, a trip that took two months. On hisreturn, “when he entered the chapel he wasastonished to find that the pillar had beencompleted and was identical to the original.His astonishment soon turned to anger as herealized that his long journey was a wastedone. He demanded to know who had, in hisabsence, carved the pillar. A lowly apprenticestepped forward and proudly claimed thework as his. Instead of receiving praise forhis beautiful work the master mason, furtherenraged by the fact that such beauty hadbeen wrought by a mere apprentice, struck ablow to the apprentice’s forehead whichkilled him instantly” (p. 172).

This is an account of a purportedly real

event that took place in the 15th century atthe building of an ordinary chapel that wasunusual mostly for the quantity of columnsand carvings inside. The chapel itself wasnever completed.

If this story is reminiscent of a familiarMasonic legend, you will not be surprised tonotice that many modern writers haveattempted to make direct connectionsbetween Freemasonry and this building,known as Rosslyn Chapel, even to the extentof claiming it as a “Masonic chapel.”

A distinguished academic historian, whois also a perspicuous investigator of thesources of Freemasonry’s history, has writtena thoroughly documented treatise clarifyingand correcting the recent claims concerningFreemasonry and Rosslyn Chapel. This his-torian is Robert L. D. Cooper, Curator of theGrand Lodge of Scotland Library and Muse-um, and author of Cracking the Freemason’sCode: The Truth Abut Solomon’s Key andthe Brotherhood (2007) and editor of theGrand Lodge of Scotland’s 2002 reprint ofThe Genealogie of the Sainteclaires of Ross-lyn, written by Fr. Richard A. Hay (1661-ca.1736). The author, a member of QuatuorCoronati Lodge No. 2076 (London), hadaccess to original sources in this Library.

The “murdered apprentice” story was firsttold in 1761 and was unknown to writerswho were thoroughly familiar with thechapel earlier: John Slezer (Theatrum Scotiae,1693) and Fr. Hay. Bro. Cooper’s book, TheRosslyn Hoax? Viewing Rosslyn ChapelFrom a New Perspective (published in Great

continues page 58

THE MURDERED APPRENTICEDr. E. Otha Wingo, DDGL 38, Fellow of the Missouri Lodge of Research [[email protected]]

missouri freemason magazine - v53n02 - 2008 spring

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