| Los Altos Lodge No. 712: | Last Updated on October 23, 2001 |
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Grand Lodge Week is over! My work load did not allow me to attend but our lodge was well represented by our Senior and Junior Wardens. Bob would call me when they got home every night and fill me in on what had taken place that day. From the feed back one of the items that could be cut back on is the committee reports and the repeating of resolutions, decisions and recommendations.
We now have a new Grand Lecturer, Harold A Macy won the election by 13 votes. One of the carry-overs for next year is the receiving applications at age 18, it got 75% and the feeling is that it will pass next year . Complete results are printed else where. Los Altos was well represented at the Grand Masters reception Sunday October 14th. 21 members, wives and guests were in attendance. The November Stated meeting will be Past Masters night with the opening and closing being done by those that have served our Lodge in the East. Plan to attend and show them that we are grateful for the leadership they have given our Lodge to bring it to the beginning of second fifty years.
This has been a very busy year and there wasn't enough time to do all the things that I wanted to do, but Bob is planing to fit one or two of them into his year. I know Bob would like some help on special activities and trips. He is also open to new ideas and if you have one let him know and help him to plan it and even chair it. By participating in activities like this we could get more of us active in the Lodge. When I first joined Los Altos Lodge there was a group of us that would go up to Mac's Tea Room after the Stated meeting and enjoy each others company and talk about Masonry and our Lodge. It would be nice to bring this custom back and as Mac's is now closed some of us now meet in the dinning room after stated meetings and/or practices for discussion, refreshment and repose. Come and join us. Our Roll Call and Coming Home evening was a success and it was decided that this should be a regular activity. It will be held on the last Monday in September. Those that came enjoyed a barbecued New York steak dinner put on by our Junior Warden. Thank you Rick for a great dinner, you have done a great job this year with dinners and refreshments.
I would like to invite all the Brethren to attend Lodge. The dinners are well prepared and the Stated meetings are usually over with by 9:00 P.M.
Fraternally
William J. Malmstrom, P.M.
Master
Fall is here, and there are several events in the near future. Grand Lodge Annual Communications is Oct. 6 - 10. Although there are fewer resolutions than in past years, there are some certain to be controversial. While some deal with qualifications for lodge officers, others deal with ritual issues and funding for the Masonic Rose Parade float. For those of you who may have missed it, there will be no more Masonic floats unless and until a new method of funding is developed. Stay tuned for the results of the voting.
Elections are coming up at our November stated meeting. I'm hoping to be elected Master for 2002. I think I have some interesting ideas for our lodge for the coming year. All of our officers are busy studying the ritual so that they can be proficient in their new positions. Please come out and cast your vote. Also in November we will be awarding the Hiram Award to Gunnar Galsgaard, PM. Congratulations Gunnar ! Next month I'll also be commenting on some of the results of our member's survey; and giving you my impressions of what they imply to me. There will ideas for new activities, suggestion for modification to our stated meetings and stated meeting dinners. My schedule of events for next year and budget are coming along nicely.
I hope to see you in November.
Fraternally,
Robert Lake
Senior Warden
November is fast approaching and many exciting events will occur at Los Altos 712. On Monday night, October 29th, we will host the Santa Clara Valley Officer's Association Meeting where we will be reviewing the results of the Grand Lodge Sessions, 7:30 PM in the Lodge room. The dinner that evening will be Swiss Steak with all the trimmings. If you are not a regular attendee of the SCVOAM and would like to attend, please come. If you would like to attend the dinner (6:30 PM), please call me, (650) 903-9625, with your reservation by Noon, Saturday, October 27th so I can inform the Valley Star Club of your attendance. The current reservation head-count stands at 67. It should prove to be a fun-filled Fellowship night, indeed! The cost for dinner will be $10.00. This is the big fund-raiser for the Valley Star Club OES so please come to dinner and support our Sisters!
Our Stated Meeting on November 5th will start with a Turkey dinner at 6:30 PM in celebration of Past Master's Night. The cost of dinner will be $8.00 with reservations by Noon, Friday November 2nd (650) 903-9625, $10.00 without reservations. Not only will the Past Masters be opening and closing Lodge, but it is our annual election of officers. On Monday, November 19th, we will be presenting the Hiram Award to W. Gunnar Galsgaard, P.M. 1997. Dinner will begin at 6:30 PM with the H.A. presentation following dinner. Please call (650) 903-9625 with your reservations for dinner by Noon, Friday, November 16th. JW's personal note: We've sure had lots of dinners this year!!! Please come and support your Lodge. Your officers are working very hard to provide you with opportunities to enjoy Masonry with Fellowship. Our Worshipful Master Malmstrom is running efficient, informative, and fun Stated Meetings that are usually completed by 9:00 PM. If you haven't been attending, you are missing out on some good Fellowship and Food!!!
Our Fraternity is only as good as those that contribute. Your attendance is essential to our success.
Richard Weyers
Junior Warden
On September 24 we held our first Roll Call and Coming Home event. It was a 'Men Only' affair. The dinner was superb and hosted by the Lodge. Worshipful Bill Malmstrom presided both in the East and as chef with our Senior Warden taking care of all other duties.. There were twenty eight brethren present and mailed-in responses from over a dozen more.
As the Roll was Called each brother present, arose and gave a brief description of how he entered into Masonry and further how he became a member of Los Altos. We had many emotional moments and also much levity and gaiety. When it ended, all the brethren professed it was a grand evening and that it should be an annual event. The November Trestleboard cover displays the brethren in attendance. The brothers in attendance were as listed below by Masonic seniority.
Sterling Bailey Ed Clark Dan McDaniel Bruce Pruitt Kermit Williams John Adams Gene McMahon Bill Henry] Tom Evans Joseph Romero Richard Rosenberg Ernest Castillo Ford Osborn Bill Malmstrom Gunnar Galsgaard David Kimball Luis Orozco Greg Buschek Patrick Bailey David Anderson Robert Lake Richard Weyers Hal Bain Mike Sadler John Graham
Our Master with his finite wisdom appointed a committee to investigate and find, if at Los Altos, there was a brother worthy of the Hiram Award.
As the brethren are aware, this Lodge has been blessed with active and worthy brethren. The results of this years investigation, indeed did find one that stand worthy of such an award. He is a dedicated hard worker in the Lodge, a Past Master. In the past he has served as Secretary and for the last two years as President of the Los Altos Masonic Temple Association.
Prior to his retirement, this year, he always found time to help out in lodge activities and has been instrumental in see that the building is renovated in proper fashion. The committee has selected Gunnar Galsgaard as this years Hiram Award Recipient and it will be presented on Nov. 19, 2001.ed
It was a sunny Thursday afternoon in late August in Copenhagen Denmark in 1935 that Gunnar first saw the light of day. He grew up in a semi urban/rural environment about 5 miles outside the city of Copenhagen, situated on a piece of land bordered on one side by water connected to the oceans of the world. After the war, i.e. after "the big one" as Archie Bunker used to call it, when American movies were reintroduced to the European market he got acquainted with the great outdoors of the West where cowboys like Gary Cooper, Glenn Ford and John Wayne could ride their horses for hours and hours without running out of land. By this time he was conditioned and after he had finished his studies at the University of Denmark, an opportunity presented itself when the Russian premier Mr. Nikita Kruchev had created a situation to which President Kennedy responded by extending a world wide invitation to engineers to come and assist putting an American on the moon. Gunnar now recognized that this was the moment to make his old dream come true, checking out the other side of the water and really finding out how far one could ride without coming to a stop sign.
He landed in Los Angeles in 1963 with his wife and one year old son Allan, the first thing he saw leaving the terminal was palm trees and not cacti as Hollywood had let him to expect. Well, that did not deter his enthusiasm, a stop over in paradise could not hurt anybody he thought, so he went to work as a professional engineer for an aerospace company and got assigned to calculating strength of materials employed in the space program.
One day five years later, driving south on the San Fernando Freeway in his 55 Chevy, he learned via the radio that the US Agricultural Department had issued a bulletin that the smog in the Valley was not good for the growing of asparagus. He quickly deduced that if it was not good for asparagus, it probably was not good for him and his family either.
The next opportunity to improve his lot came in 1969 when he relocated to the Bay Area and where he immediately decided to establish his new roots. He went to work for a mechanical contractor and retired in May 2001. He joined masonry in 1983, served on the Temple board for two three year terms and was secretary of the Lodge for three years before becoming Master in 1997. Gunnar returned to LAMTA after his year as Master and has served the last two years as President.
Brethren it is that time of year again when I will be sending out your dues notices. They should be all in the mail by the middle of November. Please return your payment by the first of the year. California Masonic Code states that in order for a member to be in good standing his dues must be current. Richard Rosenberg, PM, Sec
To all the brethren that have worked on the Lodge computer. I have been authorized by LAMTA to attempt to clean up the spurious files that reside on the lodge computer. Towards this end I will begin to delete old directories and files. If you have something that you feel the Lodge should keep, please to inform me so I can set up an archive for the information/program. Thank you for your cooperation. Ernie Castillo
GRAND MASTER'S DECISIONS Decision No. 1: Cease and Desist Order to Mem. of Huntington Beach Ldg # 380 98.7% PASSED Decision No. 2: Suspension of Charter of Huntington Beach Lodge No. 380 92.9% PASSED GRAND MASTER'S RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation No. 1: Receiving Applications at Age 18 79.8% CY-OVER Recommendation No. 2: Changing the Inspector's Year to That of the Grand Master 46.2% FAILED Recommendation No. 3: Refund of Fees for Failure to Advance 79.1% CY-OVER Recommendation No. 4: Appointment of Task Force to Write a Ritual Manual 73.3% PASSED Recommendation No. 5: JG Warden to Serve on Calif. Masonic Memorial Temple Board 96.1% PASSED Recommendation No. 6: Irrevocable Donation of Contributions 91.6% PASSED UNFINISHED BUSINESS - 2000 Resolution No. 00-04: Combines Dimit and Transfer Forms Into One 63.4% FAILED Resolution No. 00-09: Changes "Organist" to "Musician" 63.0% FAILED Resolution No. 00-10: Clarifies Ritual Requirements of Officers 27.4% FAILED RESOLUTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION - 2001 Resolution No. 01-01: Nominating Candidates for Membership 18.7% FAILED Resolution No. 01-02: Permitting Research Ldg to Hold Stated Meetings in the 1st deg 25.4% FAILED Resolution No. 01-03: Permits Stated Meetings in the First Degree 33.8% FAILED Resolution No. 01-04: Requires Two Black Cubes to Reject Applicant 28.7% FAILED Resolution No. 01-05: Requires Only One Volume of the Sacred Law on the Altar 51.6% CY-OVER Resolution No. 01-06: Mod. of Qualifications of Mstr-elect, Ward.-elect and Snr Deac. 25.3% FAILED Resolution No. 01-07: Ritual Eligibility of Past Masters 30.7% FAILED Resolution No. 01-08: Affiliated Past Masters to be Members of Grand Lodge 47.6% FAILED Resolution No. 01-09: Permits Candidates to Wear Regular Clothing 5.2% FAILED Resolution No. 01-10: Permits Truckee Lodge No. 200, 10 Stated Meetings a Year 97.0% PASSED Resolution No. 01-11: Information on Back of Dues Receipt 19.1% FAILED Resolution No. 01-12: Levies One Time Per Capita Charge for Rose Parade Float 57.2% PASSED 2001-2002 GRAND LODGE OFFICERS C. Ray Whitaker - Grand Master William Holsinger - Deputy Grand Master Howard D. Kirkpatrick - Senior Grand Warden David R. Doan - Junior Grand Warden Joseph W. R. Ashwill - Grand Treasurer John L. Cooper Ill - Grand Secretary Harold A. Macy - Grand Lecturer APPOINTED OFFICERS Thomas M. Boles - Grand Chaplain Robert S. Watanab - A.G.L., Division 11 Vemon M. Dandridge - A.G.L., Division Ill Robert D. Rowan, Jr - A.G.L., Division V Richard K. Pumerantz - Grand Orator Joel H. Springer III - Assistant Grand Secretary LeRoy J. Foote - Grand Marshal Robert C. KelsoGrand - Standard Bearer Virgil L. Gabrielson - Grand Sword Bearer Scott T. Porter - Grand Bible Bearer Phillip L. McAllister, Sr. - Senior Grand Deacon Richard W. Hopper - Junior Grand Deacon Domingo R. Sola - Senior Grand Steward Paul Wright, J - Junior Grand Steward Gary C. Young - Grand Pursuivant Joseph Von Geczy - Grand Organist Jack M. Rose - Grand Tiler Christopher Morris - Assistant Grand Organist Lloyd J. Garbutt - Assistant Grand Tiler
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