| Los Altos Lodge No. 712: | Last Updated on July 18, 2002 |
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July is here and the summer is warming up. First an important note: change in July! the dinner is no longer stag, there will be a ladies program and perhaps a 50 year presentation.
On May 22, I was pleased to attend Los Altos High School's scholarship night and present our Masonic Educator's Scholarship for $1000 to Caitlin Frates. This was an excellent opportunity to inform the school, parents and other community groups that Masons support public schools.
Our June meeting had a couple of notable events, I'd like to pass along. Before the meeting started we presented 2 Golden Veteran Awards (50 year pins).
Congratulations go to Ernest Hawks and Joe Davis. The next item of note is the creation of a Los Altos Lodge 25 year pin. Preliminary designs are in and we will be getting samples before a formal vote is taken. This is in no way meant to diminish the Grand Lodge's Golden Veterans Awards, but to recognize those members of our Lodge who have reached the 25 year mark. The design includes a Square and Compass, 25 years, and Los Altos Lodge.
If this reaches you in time, please check with us to see if the tentative 3rd degree on July 15th is taking place. It is very important to have sideliners for the degrees. Come and help show our candidates that our Lodge is truly more than its officers. Depending on scheduling we will probably be presenting 50 year pins in July and/or September at our stated meetings.
We have 3 upcoming events that need volunteers and chairmen. Please contact me if you are willing to help at any of these functions.
July 13-14: LA Art & Wine Festival Masonic Info. booth, 18 people @ 3 hrs. each. (If we don't have enough coverage by July 2, we may be forced to cancel one or both days. Saturday, October 12: 9 a.m. -1 p.m: Kids ID booth at the Oak school walkathon (6 people needed)
September 17: Tri-lodge US Constitutional Observance program : this is the second event this year we are sharing with our neighboring lodges of Palo Alto Roller, and Mt. View DeAnza.
For this month, I'd like to offer an essay sent to me by a good friend via email. I think it's particularly thought provoking at this time of the year.
Take out a one-dollar bill, and look at it. The one-dollar bill you're looking at first came off the presses in 1957 in its present design. This so-called paper money is in fact a cotton and linen blend, with red and blue minute silk fibers running through it. It is actually material. We've all washed it without it falling apart. A special blend of ink is used, the contents we will never know. It is overprinted with symbols and then it is starched to make it water resistant and pressed to give it that nice crisp look.
If you look on the front of the bill, you will see the United States Treasury Seal. On the top you will see the scales for a balanced budget. In the center you have a carpenter's square, a tool used for an even cut. Underneath is the Key to the United States Treasury.
That's all pretty easy to figure out, but what is on the back of the dollar bill is something we should all know. If you turn the bill over, you will see two circles. Both circles, together, comprise the Great Seal of the United States.
The First Continental Congress requested that Benjamin Franklin and a group of men come up with a Seal. It took them four years to accomplish this task and another two years to get it approved.
If you look at the left-hand circle, you will see a Pyramid. Notice the face is lighted, and the western side is dark. This country was just beginning. We had not begun to explore the West or decided what we could do for Western Civilization.
The Pyramid is uncapped, again signifying that we were not even close to being finished. Inside the capstone you have the all-seeing eye, an ancient symbol for divinity. It was Franklin's belief that one man couldn't do it alone, but a group of men, with the help of God, could do anything. "IN GOD WE TRUST" is on this currency.
The Latin above the pyramid, "ANNUIT COEPTIS" means, "God has favored our undertaking." The Latin below the pyramid, "NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM" means, "A new order has begun."
At the base of the pyramid is the Roman Numeral for 1776. If you look at the right-hand circle, and check it carefully, you will learn that it is on every National Cemetery in the United States. It is also on the Parade of Flags Walkway at the Bushnell, Florida National Cemetery, and is the centerpiece of most hero's monuments. Slightly modified, it is the seal of the President of the United States, and it is always visible whenever he speaks, yet very few people know what the symbols mean.
The Bald Eagle was selected as a symbol for victory for two reasons:
First, he is not afraid of a storm; he is strong, and he is smart enough to soar above it.
Secondly, he wears no material crown. We had just broken from the King of England. Also, notice the shield is unsupported. This country can now stand on its own.
At the top of that shield you have a white bar signifying congress, a unifying factor. We were coming together as one nation. In the Eagle's beak you will read "E PLURIBUS UNUM" meaning, "One nation from many people."
Above the Eagle, you have thirteen stars, representing the thirteen original colonies, and any clouds of misunderstanding rolling away. Again, we were coming together as one. Notice what the Eagle holds in his talons. He holds an olive branch and arrows. This country wants peace, but we will never be afraid to fight to preserve peace. The Eagle always wants to face the olive branch, but in time of war, his gaze turns toward the arrows.
They say that the number 13 is an unlucky number. This is almost a worldwide belief. You will usually never see a room numbered 13, or any hotels or motels with a 13th floor. But think about this: 13 original colonies, 13 signers of the Declaration of Independence, 13 stripes on our flag, 13 steps on the Pyramid, 13 letters in the Latin above, 13 letters in "E Pluribus Unum," 13 stars above the Eagle, 13 bars on that shield, 13 leaves on the olive branch, 13 fruits, and if you look closely, 13 arrows. And, for minorities: the 13th Amendment.
I always ask people, "Why don't you know this?" Your children don't know this, and their history teachers don't know this. Too many veterans have given up too much to ever let the meaning fade. Many veterans remember coming home to an America that didn't care. Too many veterans never came home at all.
Share this page with everyone, so they can learn what is on the back of the UNITED STATES ONE DOLLAR BILL, and what it stands for.
Otherwise, they will probably never know. GOD BLESS AMERICA!
Fraternally,
Robert Lake
Master
The weather is nice, sometimes hot, and sunny. We've had a disappointing crop of cherries this year at the Weyers household. Perhaps it is because I pruned the trees in January, perhaps it is due to the extended cold weather and the bees were not buzzing like previous years. At any rate, my wife Jill has been kind to us. She has supplied us "cherry lovers" with store-bought cherries and we all have cherry stains on our cheeks!
Your officers and past masters have been hard at work preparing for and conferring the degrees of Masonry. Our work will pay-off on Monday, July 15th, when we will be raising Brother Craig Schoonover to the sublime degree of Master Mason. Come join us and welcome our newest Master Mason! After this, we will rewind and begin working on another 1st degree as we have received another blue application. If balloting is successful, we will be conferring a first degree either in late July or August.
Please stay tuned, extend your Cable-Tow, and help support your Lodge through your attendance and involvement. As my Masonic Coach (Lou Orozco, HA, FM, Trestleboard Editor and Organist) often told me, "You get out of Masonry what you put in!" I ask you now, "How much are you getting out of Masonry?"
Below is an article I found on the world wide web from the Grand Lodge of Vermont providing a historical perspective of:
The Moon in Masonic History
by James P.W. Goss, Grand Historian, Grand Lodge of Vermont
There is no more spectacular reminder of our Masonic historical and ritualistic heritage than the moon at its height of fullness. While astronomers view the moon with the analytical eye of science, the moon has been a focal point for cultures around the world throughout history, and has inspired music, poetry, and religion alike. However, for Masons, and particularly Vermont Masons, the moon has not just been a symbolic light in our ritualistic teaching but also a literal light to our brethren of long ago. It thus behooves us to take a moment to remember the moon and its long association with the Craft and its origins.
Our direct Masonic tradition regarding the moon begins with the ancient Hebrews. In Genesis 1:14-19, we are told that on the fourth day of creation, "God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night." Despite the specific prohibitions against lunar worship in Deuteronomy and the Book of Kings, the moon was still regarded as a strong symbol of permanence and regularity associated with its usage to measure the passage of time. In fact, the monthly offerings to the moon found in Numbers 28:11-15 are still read in some Jewish synagogues.
It is from the medieval European science of Alchemy that the first uses of the moon in the graphic and ritualistic manner that Masons are accustomed to derive their meaning. The Alchemists were a group of mystics who first appeared in the 12th century and were the forerunners of our modern chemists. They believed that with the proper mixture of chemicals and methods base metals such as iron and lead could be turned into gold and silver. Beyond this however, the Alchemists were true philosophers who used symbols and drawings extensively in their teachings and who insisted on strict secrecy from their initiates. Much of the graphic symbolism used in Masonry, such as images of the plumb, square, level, rough ashlar and perfect ashlar, was taken from Alchemical texts.
To the Alchemists, the moon was a symbol of the metal silver and was used to depict that substance in the obscure writings which transmitted their secret formulae. One of the most prevalent images used by the Alchemists was the stylized drawing of the sun and the moon with human faces. These images are now associated with the Masonic tracing boards of England and monitors of such American Masonic ritualists as Jeremy Cross, who lectured in the lodges of Vermont in 1815.
It is in the Craft Ritual and the structure of the Masonic lodge itself that we must bring together all of the foregoing elements to give a true picture of the use of the moon in Masonry. In modern American ritual the primary reference to the moon is as the second of the "Lesser lights," of Masonry. This modern usage follows from the early 18th century English ritual reference to the Three lights of the Lodge being the "Sun, Moon and Master-Mason." In addition to these "moveable lights," there were also in these early English Lodge rooms three "fixed lights," which are described by some Masonic historians as three windows in the lodge room "to light men to, at, and from their work." These three windows were later replaced with three candles located at the East, South and West corners of the lodge and situated before the Master, Junior Warden and Senior Warden, respectively. The reference to the Sun, Moon and Master of the Lodge as the three lesser lights of Masonry and their particular association with these three burning tapers and the associated officers was developed by the so-called Antient Grand Lodge which was active in England from the mid to late 18th century. The Antients, who apparently consisted of Mason hailing from Scotland and Ireland, were at odds with another faction of Masons in England, the so-called "Premier Grand Lodge." The ritual of the Premier Grand Lodge only referred to three "great" lights without the Antients' reference to the "lesser" lights. The fact that the Antients held to the above interpretation of the three lesser lights was particularly significant for American Masonry as was their use of deacons in their degree work, as we shall see.
In modern American Webb work ritual, the moon is referred to in the First Degree as one of the three lesser or moveable lights and is identified as the biblical ruler of the night and as a reference of regularity for the conduct of the Master of the Lodge.
[Editor's Note: Due to space limitations. This article will be continued in the August issue of the Trestleboard.]
Fraternally,
Richard G. Weyers
Senior Warden
It is time to give thanks to the brethren for supporting my attendance at this year's Junior Warden workshop. Truly an enlightening experience. It drove home the importance of letting the community know who we are, and what we are doing for the community, not to mention having the pleasure of the future Grand Master and his wife voluntarily baby sit my twin baby girls; just so my wife and I could be out on the dance floor! More important, the training definitely helps to provide the planning for a successful 2004 Masonic year that clearly must be started now.
Speaking of the twins, I reflect on one comment made by a Past Master at our installation this year: "Any lodge that requires a babysitter for all three top officers is OK with me!" In that light, if we want to attract new members that are in the workforce, it is necessary we meet their needs. One of those needs is to provide childcare so as to not unduly burden the spouse of our potential brethren, and for that matter, our current brethren.
I strongly encourage you to give favorable consideration toward any viable mechanism that will relieve our brethren in duties to support of our lodge and fraternity.
Fraternally,
Harold C. Bain
Junior Warden
The building is in good shape and enjoys full occupancy. No major building improvements are planned for the time being although we do have a long wish list. One item keeps coming up and that is the need for a speaker system. We once had a system and the board is now favorably inclined to making the speaches audio available in the West.
Fraternally,
Gunnar Galsgaard, H.A., P.M
LAMTA President
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