THE PENNSYLVANIA FREEMASON Issued Every Th ree Months By The Right Worshipful Grand Ledge of The Most Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Jurisdiction Thereunto Belonging, through its COMMITTEE ON MASON IC CULTURE - William E. Yeager, Past Grand Master, Chairman; Willia m E. Montgomery, G. Edward Elwell, Jr., Frank R. Leech, William A. Carpenter, Charles A. Young and Ashby B. Paul, Grand Secreta ry. APPROVED AND AUTHORIZED TO BE PRINTED BY
MAX F. BAlCOM Right Worshipful Grand Master
Moiling Address: P.O. BOX 688, WARREN, PA. WILLIAM A. CARPENTER, Editor Change of Address: Notify above address. Your lodge numbe r must be includ e d.
Vol. VII
February, 1960
No. 1
Two New Color a nd Sound Films Available for Use of Blue Lodges Two films-"Masonic Homes at Elizabethtown" and "Masonic Youth Program" have been professionally produced for The Right Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania. They are 16mm. films in color and sound. "Masonic Homes at Elizabet htown" (30 minutes) features the Guests at The Homes, while "Masonic Youth Program" (15 minutes) featu res th e youth at The Masonic Homes and the Thomas Ranken Patton Masonic Insti tution for Boys. In announ cing to the Lodges the completion of the films, Brother Max F. Balcom, R. W. Grand Master said: "The presentation of these films will make every Mason better informed and result in a better appreciation of membership in the Fraternity. "I urge Lodges to schedule these films at the convenience of the Worshipful Master." For the present, these films are confined t o the use of the Masonic Blue Lodges in Penn sylvania. The films can be schedu led by writing Brother Arthur T. Moore, Office of the Grand Master, Broad and Filbert Streets, Philadelphia 7, Pennsylvania. Please give second and third alternate dates. Upon receipt of request, a confirming letter will be sent immediately, to allow ample time for planning the Lodge program. Films will be shipped at least seven days before the scheduled showing. They are to be returned the day following the showing. Lodges must procure a sound projector and screen.
Brother rrAndy" Schroder Succeeded by Brother Raymond H. Grimm as Instructor of Ritualistic Work Brother Andrew J. Schroder, 85, has reti red after 15 years as I nstructor of Ritualistic Work. Brother Raymond H. Grimm, of Pittsburgh, Distri ct Deputy Grand Master of the FiftySeventh Masonic District, was appointed by Brother Max F. Balcom, Right Worshipful Grand Master, to succeed Brother Schroder. In announcing Brother Schroder's retirement at the Annual Grand Communication on December 28, 1959, Brother Sanford M. Chilcote, then Right Worshipful Grand Master, said : "We know that he will be ready and willing to be of help and assistance to us and t o his successor as long as he can." Brother Schroder has agreed to continue as Princi pal of the Temple School of Ins truction in Philadelphia. He joined the Temple School in 1915. Brother Schroder is a member of Orient Lodge No. 289, and served as Master in 1914-, and representative to Grand Lodge since 1922. He was Senior Grand Deacon of Grand Lodge from 1922 to 1938 and then served two years as a District Deputy Grand Master. In 1944, Brother ScottS. Leiby, then Right Worshipful Grand Master, appointed Brother Schroder Assistant Instructor. A short time later, he was appointed Instructor of the Ritualisti c Work. Brother Schroder's other Masonic affiliations include: Past High Pries t of Melita Royal Arch Chapter No. 284, and past President of the Joshua Association; member of Joppa Council No. 46, and Past Thrice Illustrious Master of Royal and Select Masters of Philadelphia; and the Philadelphia Conclave No. 8, Red Cross of Constantine. Brother Schroder said that when his ti me isn' t needed in Masonic Work, he will vacation in St. Petersburg, Florida, and conti nue his hobby of furni ture refinishing at ho me. Brother and Mrs. Schroder have two sons
and two daughters. Both sons are Past Masters, and both sons-in-law are Masons. Brother Grimm served as an Assistant Instructor for the North Side Pittsburgh School of Instruction and Instructor for Chapel School of Instruction. His other Masonic affiliations include: Past High Priest of St. Clair Chapter No. 305; Deputy Illustrious Master, Mt. Moriah Council No. 2, Royal and Select Masters; Eminent Commander, Pittsburgh Commandery No. 1; Past Thrice Potent Master, Gom·gas Lodge of Perfection, Valley of Pittsburgh; Member of the Red Cross of Constantine; and Honorary Member, Supreme Council, 33rd Degree, in 1958.
AN OFFICIA L PUBLICATION OF THE RIGHT WORSHI P FUL GRAND LODGE OF FREE AND A CCEPTED MASONS OF PENNSYLVANIA
VOLUME
Question and Answer Pamphlet Being Prepared In discussing the matter of Lodge programs on page 13 of the new pamphlet "Facing the East" (recently distributed to all Senior Wardens) , the statement was made that " The Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Culture will supply a pamphlet containing questions and answers which can form the basis for an "open forum" program. Numerous requests have been received for this Question and Answer publication. Unfortunately it does not yet exist!! Considerable work upon it has been done, and the hope had been expressed that it would be available about this time. However, the task of preparing s uch a pamphlet has proven to be more t edious and ti me-consuming than had been anticipated. Progress is being made and it is expected that a rough draft can be submitted in the not- too-distant future to those in authori ty for comment and criticism. In the meantime, your patience and indulgence are sol icited.
We m ust live o ur Freemasonry in our daily lives and action s if we want to get the most from it. The general desire and aim of the Craft is to propagate tru th, thereby making its votaries better a nd wiser. As Freemasons are ever to search for further light, they should be zealous readers, s tudents, thinkers and teachers . -V. M. BUR ROWS
If, at any time, your mailing address changes,
YOUR CORRECT MAiliNG ADDRESS IS MOST IMPORTANT
FREEMASON
please notify The Aide to the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic C ultm·e a ppointed within yo ur Lodge. He is equippe d with a spec ial "Chan ge of Addr ess Card " that h e w ill p t·ocess imme dia t ely and thereby ass ure yo u of each n ew issu e of "Th e Pennsyl vania F r eemason. " Failure to keep your col"l"ect maili n g a dd1·ess c an onl y result i n unnecessary h a ndling of yo ur mail and the p ossibility tha t your cop y of T h e Pennsyl vania Freemason w ill e ithet· be r etm ·ned for l ack of the proper a ddress or the chance that i t may ge t into the h a nds of the \nong person. Your coopet·a tion in m a king certa in that your name a nd address is always correct on our m a iling list is g t·eatly appreciilted .
FEBRUARY · 1 960
VII
NUMBER 1
A Messatj·e from Our Grand Master I wish to express to all my Brethren in P en nsylvania a sincere feeling of gratitude for elevating me t o this highest Masonic honor- Right Worshipful Gr and Master of Maso ns in P ennsylvania-at high noon on December 28, 1959. It has been a rare privilege to have served t he past six years in the Grand Lodge with such dedicated Masons as Past Grand Masters Ralph M. Lehr, Charles H. Nitsch a nd Sanford M. Chilcote. I am st rengthened in assuming the duties of this high office in knowing that I wi ll be surrounded- and support ed-by dedicated and capable Grand Lodge Officers and Past Grand Mast ers. I was grea tly pleased on D ecember 28, 1959, when approximately 50 Members of my Lodge, Emporium Lodge No . 382, wer e present in Corinthian Hall, Masonic Temple, Philadelphia, when I was installed. I t was th e first t ime ma ny of t hese Bret hren atte nded a Communication of the Grand Lodge. It was my privilege to visit my own Lodge on my firs t official visitation as Grand Master o n January 9, 1960. I was accompanied by many Grand Lodge Officers, P ast Grand Masters a nd District Deputy Grand Mast er s. Near! y 300 Masons were present. After my inst allation as Grand Mas ter, I urged P ennsylvania Masons to embark enthusiastically on an eight-point program, to ass ure the continued growth of Freemasonr y. In advocating this program, I emphasized tha t we must never stray from the Landmarks of Freemasonry. We must be faithful at all times to this great heritage. T he program, which I like to think of as the " T wentieth Century Approach," includes t he following :
grams well, and don't use t he " hit-and-miss" system for Stated Meetings. 3. Inspire a greater pride and under standing among Members. Masonry has a great deal to offer the world in its idealism . Unfortunately, for many of us, our " Labor" has become listening-our " refreshments" free-loading. I believe we sh ould pr omote our high standards with passionate dedication in ever y area and category of our Frat ernity. 4. Educate P ennsylvania Masons 111 benevolent projects of t he Fraternity. The complet e st or y on these projects wo uld take pages t o tell. To help t ell this story, Grand Lodge has completed two m ovies- " Masonic H omes at Elizabethtown (30 minutes), and " Masonic Yo uth Program" (15 minutes) . T hese 16 mm. films, in color and sound, are now available t o Blue Lodges. A colorful brochure on The H omes and Patton School is now available at a nominal cost . I h ope every Lodge in P e nnsylvania will schedule these films arid make the brochure available t o t he Brethren. 5. Improve the physical condition of Blue Lodge m eeting rooms. We should have pride in the appearance of all Masonic meeting places. We also must modernize our architecture to be in gear with modern construction thinking. There are many s ugges tions' on h ow t o solve this problem. T he Grand Lodge's Committee 'on Masonic Temples, Halls a nd Lodge Rooms will give you the sugges tions, but you must f urnish the leadership.
l. Increase the attendance at Masonic Lodge meetings.
6. Constitu te Blue Lodges in new a nd growing communities.
T his is probably the great est problem. We mus t do som et hing abo ut it. I sugges t that every Lodge fo r m an Attendan ce Committee, and" that the Committee keep close attendance records. Send letters, u se the phone, or eve n use your car t o chauffeur Breth ren to a mee ting. D o th is fo r one year , and the attendance figures will increase materially.
P ennsylvan ia is urbanizing faster than we have recognized in our Fraternit y. New communities ar e springing up all over the st ate. These new Lodges should be in new or expanded commu nities, no t just doubling the number of Lodges in a community for the sake of constituting Lodges. If every community of adequate size in Pennsylvania had a Masoni c Lodge tomorrow, our rate of membership increase would be phenomenal.
2. Make Masonic meetings m or e interesting. The School of Instruction is constantly bringing about an improvement in the Work. Blue Lodges ca n bring about more interest in meetings by having excellent speakers. Plan pro-
7. Give ever y possible help to the Order of D eMolay. This will give you r Lodge a community project- a project that will help arouse the Masonic spirit in any community. We (Continued on page 2)