| Los Altos Lodge No. 712: | Last Updated on February 11, 2000 |
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Master - From The East
Hello from your new Master for 1999! This year will certainly be an exciting year. As a slogan for the year, I have adopted the cryptic statement:
"Who's Afraid of Y2K!"
As the deadline for our Trestleboard is the second Monday of each month this year, several events have not happened yet that I would like to report on now - which unfortunately must wait until the next Trestleboard. These include the 1999 Installation of Los Altos Lodge Officers, and the Superbowl party scheduled "respectively" for January 24 at 2:00 P.M., and January 31 from Noon on. I would like to thank all those who assisted at these events, and I am sure that these events were wonderful, entertaining, and fun to attend!
I also attended the January meeting of the Valley Star Chapter No. 250 on Saturday, January 9, and pledged the Lodge's cooperation with their activities. The Valley Star Chapter now has over 250 members, as both the Los Altos and Sunnyvale Chapters have merged to form the new chapter. I also invited the Chapter members, and their families to attend our dinners and our after dinner events, using our on-going reservations system, of course.
Plans for the Year:
Several polls were taken at our last Stated Meeting in an attempt to get an indication as to what kind of activities we should be planing for 1999.
The results are:
(1) Dinners to be held as usual starting at 6:30 P.M. sharp before each Stated Meeting;
(2) An after dinner program to be arranged for the ladies and guests;
(3) Dinner menus and programs to be announced in the previous Trestleboard;
(4) Dinner reservations are required;
(5) Family programs with dinner may be planned on a separate night, and that separate night should be a Monday night and not in conflict with degrees or practice;
(6) Encourage community involvement and presentations at the dinner programs; and
(7) Publish all our open programs in the local newspapers.
As a result, I am proposing the following schedule of events for the year. These are not all certain yet, and your input and suggestions are greatly encouraged!
* Feb. 15 6:30 PM Crab Feed, $?
* June 14 6:30 PM Family Dinner:
* Our Little League Team Visits
* July 9 4:00 PM Kids ID Program
* July 10-11 All Day Los Altos Art and Wine Show, and Kids ID Program
* July 12 4:00 PM Kids ID Program
* Aug. 23 6:30 PM Family BBQ
* Sep. 20 6:30 PM Family Dinner: Constitutional Observance
* Oct. 10-13 All Day Grand Lodge
* Oct. 30 Afternoon Los Altos Kids Halloween Party.
* Dec. 13 6:30 PM Holiday Party
* Dec. ? ? Los Altos Festival of Lights
Please contact me if you have suggestions for additional fun events!
The after dinner program for February 1 will be hosted by the Los Altos Police Department, and will be "Drug Prevention: Questions and Answers"
Fraternally,
Patrick Bailey
Master
Senior Warden - The Westerly Wind
Happy February and Valentines Day to all!
As I write this, we have just completed our January Stated Meeting, wherein I was honored to be asked to serve our lodge as a trustee. I hope that I can bring some solid experience in finance to our lodge, and assist in the continuation of our strong financial standing.
I realize that Our Lodge Trustees normally do very little - and that is often a good sign. However, that doesn't mean we are not eager to hear from you if there something that is bothering you, or that you might like to have changed.
Lodge Organization
Our lodge is a complex, but effective organization. The Master, Wardens, Treasurer and Secretary, are elected by the members for a one year term, as are all Masonic lodges in California. We at Los Altos Lodge, also have a separate organization, "The Los Altos Masonic Temple Association," a corporation whose stock is wholly owned by our Lodge. This corporation has a governing body, called a "Temple Board," which is made up exclusively of members of our lodge.
In addition to the above, we also have the trustees of our lodge, who are responsible for the overall well being of the lodge, as well as all its assets (which also include all the Temple Association stock.)
Legally we must keep each organization separate. Sometimes this leads to poor communications, which we try to avoid, but sometimes is happens anyway.
When that happens, everybody is unhappy. I will do my best to see that the lines of communication are kept open, and that every Brother's questions, no matter how seemingly small, get full and prompt answers.
By the time this is published (February 1, 1999) the installations of all the lodges in the area will have been completed. Many of us have had a chance to visit other lodges' installations, and as I said last month, it was a very special time to renew old acquaintances with brethren and widows whom I have not seen in a year, or more.
I am always amazed at how many friends one rapidly makes in our fraternity. It is one of the things that makes us unique.
See you in lodge, or if you cannot make it to lodge, give me a phone call. I especially want to hear from those of you who cannot attend regularly. Keep in touch!
Fraternally,
Robert W. Martin, P.M.
Senior Warden
Junior Warden - The Southern Breeze
We are planning an exciting year at the chuck wagon, and the rovers are all busy warming up the griddles.
This year, not only will you be able to eat well, but you will also be able to save some money.
We have worked out a plan where you can pay for your Stated Meeting dinners up front for the whole year, and save a buck or two to boot.
$80.00 in February will pay for all Stated Meeting Dinners up to and including January 2000. That means a savings of $16.00 for the year in your pocket per person.
This will also make the Junior Warden's job much easier, so I can spend more time cooking, and less time worrying about money.
As for the menu for the upcoming Masonic year, you will be happy to know I am including it here so you can plan your diets and pills in advance.
Stated Meeting Dinners:
February 1, 1999 - Swiss Steak, red potatoes, Salad, Rolls Green beans, Dessert; March 1, 1999 - Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner, Green jello salad, Mashed Pot with Kale, Green vegetables, Corn Beef & Lime Sherbet; April 5 - Stuff Pork Chops; May 3 - Mexican Dinner; June 7 - Meatloaf; July 5 - BBQ Ribs; August 3rd - Italian; September 3 - Chicken Parmesan; October 4th - Pot Roast; November 1st - Shepherd Pie; December 6th - Christmas Dinner; and January 3rd - Beef Stroganoff. In addition to the above Stated Meeting Dinners, we are planning our $15.00 per person Annual Crab Feed on February 15th - Steamed Crab & Pasta Dinner with green salad, garlic bread & ice cream. Finally, on August 23rd we will hold our Annual Lodge BBQ Cookout.
Further details on this popular event will be forthcoming in future editions of this column.
SEE YOU AT THE CHUCK WAGON PARTNER.
William Malmstrom, PM
Junior Wardens
Trestleboard Editor - The Fireside Room
Our Stated Meeting this month falls on February 1st. In history we find this day to be one of very special importance.
It was in 1865 that the 13th amendment to the Constitution was approved, establishing this day as our National Freedom Day.
While in Ireland it is the national Commemoration Day of St. Brigid of Kildar, an Irish Catholic nun who is also honored by Celtic pagans as an important Goddess of romance and love.
It was on this day in 1895 that John Ford the famous director of Stagecoach, Air Mail, The Quiet Man and numerous other Masterpiece films was born.
In 1901 it was Clark Gable's turn at birth. Who could forget him as a great actor?
1904 S.J. Perelman author/humorist (Around the World in 80 Days)
1906 Hildegarde Adell Wisc, night club singer (I'll Be Seeing You)
1926 Stuart Whitman SF Calif, actor (Cimarron Strip)
1934 Bob Shane vocalist (Kingston Trio-Scarlet Ribbons)
1937 Don Everly Brownie Ky, singer (Everly Bros-Wake Up Little Susie).
It was on this day in 1709 that Alexander Selkirk, the real life Robinson Crusoe, was rescued from Juan Fernandez, while on this same day in 1790 our U.S. Supreme Court convened for the very 1st time. Interestingly, they met in New Your City. Then on February 1st in the year 1810 Spain surrendered to the French at Seville. For the fledgling United States this event was to prove of paramount importance because it gave credence to a Mexican Indian revolt in September of that year. This in turn shaped trends and events which culminated on February 2nd 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, by which, as you will recall from my past articles, expanded U.S. Territory to the Pacific Ocean.
In 1862 Julia Howe published "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and three years later in 1865 General Sherman began his famed march through South Carolina.
But not all events of this day were of a warlike nature, some were truly toward peaceful ends. In 1893 Thomas Edison completed the worlds first movie studio at West Orange New Jersey. Then in 1953 the absolutely stunning series "You Are There" with Walter Cronkite, premiered on CBS television.
In 1965 Martin Luther King Jr. and 700 demonstrators were arrested in Selma Alabama.
Then in 1968 Vince Lombardi resigned as coach of the Green Bay Packers, ending one of the most fabulous eras in American Sports.
In the Ancient Roman Calendar this day was called Kalends, which is significant today as the derivation of our word Calendar.
Finally, February is called the month of Love, in the middle of which we celebrate "St. Valentin's Day", which is "Lupercalia" for the Pagan religions.
Fraternally,
Bro. Lou Orozco
Editor
Maurice Dunbar - "Who's Afraid of Y2K?"
Does the new millennium start January 1, 2000 or 2001? The calendar we use begins at year 1 instead of 0--- for a zero was left out in the transition from B.C. to A.D. Thus, a century does not begin with a double-zero year, but ends with it. The new century and millennium be-gin with an 01 year -- not a 00 year.
It is not clear that 2001 is the beginning of the new millennium, because the Western world measures it by the birth of Jesus. But many scholars argue persuasively that he was actually born 4, 5 or 6 years before the year Anno Domini. If this is the case, the third millennium may have already begun in 1994 or even in 1992 of our present calendar.
The millennium is actually a human creation, an arbitrary date in the eternal orbiting of our planet around its mother, the Sun. It has no particular significance in solar astronomy.
Even so, most of the population of the world does not measure the calendar by the birth of Jesus. The Chinese year in 2000 is 4698. In the Hebrew calendar, it is 5762. For Muslims, the calendar begins in 622 A.D. when Mohammed went from Mecca to Medina and the year 2000 A.D. is the Muslim year 1378. It is 6238 in the ancient Egyptian calendar, 2751 for the Babylonian 2546 for the Buddhist, 5121 for the Mayan Great Cycle, and 2755 for the old Roman calendar.
The Gregorian calendar was instituted by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 (Elizabeth had been queen of England for 24 years) replacing the Julian calendar which was 10 days different from ours. After the decline of Rome, Britain celebrated New Year on December 25 -- until William The Conqueror changed New Year's Day to January 1, 1067, the date of his coronation. Britain later changed it to March 25, then changed it again to accord with other countries. The French wanted Easter to be New Year's Day. For the Chinese (1/4 of the world's population), New Year's Day is at the end of February.
Thus January 1, 2000 or 2001 is a meaningless non-event - an expression of Western socio-cultural prejudice, of no special significance in nature.
Brother Maurice Dunbar
Professor Emeritus, DeAnza College
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