| Los Altos Lodge No. 712: | Last Updated on February 11, 2000 |
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Master - From The East
Our November Stated Meeting will include Y2K Officer Elections (The Band of Two Grand), voting on a proposed Bylaws change, and voting on an application for affiliation.
The proposed Bylaws change is printed on page 5.
Our November meeting was very informative. One item of interest was a motion that unanimously passed to assist a distressed worthy brother.
Also, Richard Weyers gave a very well done 3rd Degree Proficiency!
Congratulations also to Robert and Becky Lake! Their new baby, Andrew Robert, was born on Oct. 14 at 8:52 AM, a Libra - the same birth day as Roger Moore (one 007) - at 8 lbs 5 oz, 21 in! All are doing well.
Our new Lodge Visitation will be on Tuesday, Nov. 2, at 6:30 PM at California Lodge No. 1, for dinner and their Stated meeting. (The Monterey Lodge visitation was cancelled. They just could not field enough officers for the planned combined 3rd Degree on Saturday, Oct. 2, for our visitation there.) The Cal. No. 1 Lodge is located in the Brotherhood Masonic Temple at 855 Brotherhood Way in San Francisco.
Car pools will leave our lodge at 5:00 PM sharp that day, Social hour will start at 6:00:PM in their Fireside Room with dinner starting at 6:30 PM. Our dinners will be paid for by our Lodge. Call in you name to me ASAP if you want to attend! At their meeting at 7:30 PM, David Banastre, a past Senior Deacon of our Lodge, is expected to be elected as the new Master of California No.1 for the year 2000!
The 1999 Grand Lodge Resolutions results are in, and summarized on page 7.
Dan McDaniel gave a very eloquent speech at GL to vote "No" on the resolution that would have required all Lodge US flags to not have a yellow or gold fringe; included on page 6.
The GL Review Committee cited only I Federal Regulation as a reference to declare that such a fringe makes no difference, and the motion was soundly defeated. However; other patriotic groups are still very concerned about what such a fringe on a US flag indicates, and the scope of such "Federal Powers" over "Sovereign State's Rights" and "Individual Constitutional Rights." A summary of these discussions can be found on the internet at http://www.padrak.com/alt/WAEP.html.
I have sincerely and deeply learned in Masonry that "the pursuit of truth" is "the goal of Masonic study," and that "the price of liberty is eternal vigilance."
Our computer database is almost up-to-date regarding address data, membership data, and dues data. A new 10 page address book dated Oct. 19 has just been completed. This will be mailed to all of our members and widows along with a computer data form for your use, to update any of our computer database data that needs to be changed. Please - stay in touch!
Our Saturday social events are listed on page 15. Further detailed information on all of these events has been posted on the lodge Web Site at http://wwwjps.net/losaltos7l2/ events-1-99.html -
[Now http://www.calodges.org/no712/ events-1-99.html; 2/11/2000]
or call me at 650-941-6615 and leave your regular mailing address, and I will mail you the same detailed list. Upcoming events that require reservations include Costume Bowling (Oct. 30), the car trips to Cal. Lodge No. I (Nov. 2), the Shrine Hospital (Nov. 6), and the San Jose Tech Museum (Nov. 20). Call ASAP!
Also, our September "Receiving More Light" function was very informative as Sterling Bailey (a Charter Lodge Member and Charter Junior Warden), Jim Gable, and Gene McMahon read a two-page history of our Lodge that I have created, with Sterling Bailey's assistance, for mailing "Formal Introductory Letters" to other Lodges. These members did receive "More Light", in the form of Masonic flashlights attached to a key chain! This function will be repeated at each Stated Meeting this year!
DATES:
Nov. 1: Our next Stated Meeting, with a "Thanksgiving Feast", and the after dinner program will be the new videotape "Freemason's Hall - The Ultimate Tour: The Grand Lodge of England", 70 minutes.
Nov. 2, Cal. No. I visitation. Nov. 6, Shrine Hospital Trip. Nov. 20, San Jose Tech Museum Trip.
The end of the year is rapidly approaching. As the days appear to get shorter, let your Masonic Light shine brightly! I'll look forward to seeing you in Lodge!
Fraternally,
Patrick Bailey
Master
Senior Warden - The Westerly Wind
You will be reading a lot about the Grand Lodge Annual Communication in this Trestleboard. I was lucky enough this year to be able to attend all the sessions, and also to attend the Saturday Secretaries' workshop. It was a wonderful experience to get together with so many friends and brothers from all over California, and many other states and countries.
As most of you know, I was a sponsor of a resolution (No. 29) which would have prevented any law, rule, or regulation which could have prevented a brother from wearing a yarmulke in lodge.
This was a wonderful experience, and although the resolution did not pass, I am very satisfied with the outcome because it was made very clear that the Masons of California do not want ANY laws, rules or regulations restricting ANY kind of religious apparel, and furthermore, we really do not want to talk about it either. It is a long tradition in Freemasonry NOT to discuss religious matters.
As many of you may not know, I was prohibited from writing about this resolution prior to the vote, because anything in writing would be considered "politicking" which is prohibited by CMC . Now that the voting is over (and it is NOT a carry-over to next year) I am finally free to write about this.
I am very proud of our fraternity, and I am very pleased that we decided at our Annual Communication where, by a definitive vote, we voted to continue our 149-year tradition which we have had in California: To respect brethren from every country, sect and opinion. This is one of the fundamental teachings and practices of Freemasonry.
Over 240 brethren from over 80 lodges requested to co-sponsor my resolution, which I was glad to share with so many brethren. It demonstrated to everybody that all across our State, from East to West and North to South, the brethren wanted to make a clear statement to ourselves and to the world where we stand on freedom of religion, freedom of expression, harmony, and brotherly love. All of which may sound confusing to some, for after all, wasn't my resolution DEFEATED ???
Yes, my resolution lost, but its passage became unnecessary, as was made clear at the voting, once the earlier resolution was defeated, the one which would have prohibited wearing a yarmulke (or any other religious headwear) in lodge. The powerful Policy and General Purposes Committee gave a lengthy report, strongly recommending defeat of that resolution.
Once it lost, the need for any resolution such as mine became less important. One criticism I heard often during the year was that my resolution did not go FAR enough. That criticism was echoed also by the Policy Committee. (I happen to agree with that criticism. I intentionally limited my resolution. It simply stated that there would be no restriction on the wearing of yarmulkes, and it was silent regarding any other religious headwear.) The reason I was so specific was that an event occurred in the previous year which upset me as a Mason, as it did many others. A Jewish brother was told he could not wear his yarmulke in lodge. He appealed it to the Inspector, to the Assistant Grand Lecturer, and the Grand Lecturer, but lost. In his final appeal to the Grand Master, he was told he could wear his yarmulke. (That was a persistent brother !)
It appeared to me last November that this appeal might have to be repeated every year, with every new successive Grand Master. I felt that it needed to be clearly stated how we Freemasons truly feel regarding a brother's desire to show respect to God by wearing the yarmulke, a tradition which the Jewish faith has observed "from time immemorial" (as far as I know.) That was the motivation behind the resolution.
To all those brethren who signed their names to this resolution, and to those of you who voted for the resolution, you should all be very proud of yourselves.
There are few times in a person's life when he gets the chance to take a stand on such an important principle. I am proud of each of you, and I am very pleased with the serious discussions which came out of our resolution. And in the final outcome, we can all be very proud of our fraternity!
Fraternally,
Robert W. Martin, P.M.
Sr. Warden
"Vote NO on the resolution to not allow a Gold Fringe on the U.S. Flag"
In an impressive display of leadership before the Grand Lodge, our very own Worshipful Dan, presented the following dissertation, and thereby successfully contributed to the due process of an important Masonic decision. Editor
Dan R. McDaniel, Past Master, Los Altos Lodge No. 712 Speaking before the Grand Lodge Free & Accepted Masons of California October 12, 1999 The Worshipful Dan R. McDaniel, P.LM Inspector for the 170th Masonic District
"Vote NO on the resolution to not allow a Gold Fringe on the U.S. Flag"
For many years rumors have been spread through the United States concerning the origin and meaning of the gold fringe which frequently decorates the Stars and Stripes. It has been claimed that such fringe is without proper authorization; that it is symbolic of the end of the gold standard as the basis for United States currency; or that it indicates the substitution of Admiralty Courts and Martial Law for common law courts and procedures, as part of a vast conspiracy supposedly instigated by communists, liberals, feminists, the Illuminati, or other supposedly un-American groups. The Flag Research Center in Massachusetts, the foremost authority on flags in the United States, has provided the following information regarding fringe on flags.
From the standpoint of history and law, fringe on a flag has no inherent or established universal symbolism. As to the claim that placing a fringe on a flag makes it a "banner", a unique definition of "banner" is not be found in any dictionary, legal or otherwise. In any event, is not our national anthem "The Star Spangled Banner"?
While fringe is frequently used on military flags and in formal settings, it is also widely used in the private sector. Examples of private usage of fringe on flags in the United States extend back for 200 years. Fringe is and always has been a purely decorative addition -- an optional enhancement of the beauty of a flag, added on a discretionary basis when the flag is purchased.
In the private sector and for non-military uses, use of fringe is like the choice of polyester or nylon over cotton or wool for the flag itself -- simply a matter of enhancing the appearance of the flag.
Title Four of the United States Code, which defines the Stars and Stripes, neither prescribes nor proscribes the use of cords and tassels, heading, sleeve, fringe, grommets, and other accessories to the flag. It is universally recognized that the symbolic aspect of the flag is inherent in its colors and symbols, not in the physical characteristics of the flag or the things (like fringe) added to it when it is displayed.
With regard to the similarity of the color gold to the color yellow, and the resulting implication of cowardice, I can only point out that the branch color of the Cavalry of the United States Army is yellow. Are we to assume that those troopers of the 7th Cavalry who died at Little Big Horn did so under a flag of cowardice? Are we also to assume that those men of the 2nd Armored Division who swept through France in World War 11, flying their yellow troop guidons, felt that they were showing the flag of cowardice? I hardly think so. This gold/yellow issue is clearly a red herring.
Finally, it is estimated that the cost to the several lodges to replace their present fringed flags would be in excess of $50,000.
Brethren, I urge a NO vote on this Resolution.
--- ----- -------
The above Resolution failed after receiving only 6 % of the vote.
Editor
Trestleboard Editor - "The Continental Marines"
For the last 224 years November 10th has been an important "Masonic Red Letter Day."
Back in 1775 the nights must have seemed much darker and longer in the original 13 American Colonies.
Certainly these were tense times on the Philadelphia waterfront. As the autumn months of 1775 approached the townspeople could see that clandestine activity increased.
Night after night the flickering candle light from a window in the Tun Tavern gleamed defiantly through the darkest, flickering out onto the cobble stone street long after most Philadelphians had retired for the night.
It was there in a secluded upstairs room where seven men attired in knee breeches and silk stockings, (the costume of the day), gathered around a solid wood table.
These men were the appointed members of the important Maritime Committee of the Continental Congress, and were meeting there in session under the leadership of Chairman John Adams of Massachusetts who occupied the large chair at the head of the table.
Other members of the committee included Silas Dean of Connecticut, John Langdon of New Hampshire, Christopher Gadsden of South Carolina, Joseph Hews of North Carolina, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, and Stephen Hopkins of Rhode Island.
It was these seven men who were eventually responsible for the drafting and bringing to the floor of the Continental Congress the resolution establishing a corps of Continental Marines for the first time on November 10, 1775. The resolution provided in part that "...they be enlisted and commissioned to serve for and during the present war between great -Britain and the Colonies,..."
Of the members of that august committee only two were known to be active Freemasons, Joseph Hews and Richard Henry Lee, but the principals of the Masonic brotherhood were introduced from the very beginning.
Many members of the Congress were in fact Brother Masons, and when it came time to choose a Commandant, it fell to Captain Samuel Nicholas, a Brother Mason and member of Lodge No. 13 of Philadelphia.
The famous motto of his faithful Marine Corps, "Semper Fidelis, " truly describes the very spirit of Freemasonry, as well as that small band of Brother Marines, which helped man Washington's boats across the Delaware River at Trenton.
These "Few Good Men" have established beachhead, after beachhead; year after year, always answering when called upon, that they remained, "In Service To Their Flag, Their Country and Their Corps." Truly a Brotherhood.
Happy Birthday U.S. Marines!
Semper Fidelis
Editor
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