Bro. Roberts, 103, Inspires Craft (Continued from Page 3)
staying busy. Nearing his tOOth birthday, Bro. Roberts was still giving speeches before civic clubs and women's groups. And he still hadn't stopped working. Every Wednesday he held down a job at the newspaper plant in Tunkhannock, "stuffing" special sections into the papers as they rolled off the press. He also rode along when the papers were delivered to out-of-town newsstands in surrounding communities . Bro. Roberts handles all his personal affairs and in recent months was teaching a Sunday School class at the Marlatt Nursing Home in Tunkhannock, where he has lived the past nine years. Up until a year ago when he suffered a fall, Bro. Roberts was a familiar figure walking along the streets of the community. He kept in good shape by his walking jaunts from the nursing home to the Masonic Hall, newspaper office and public library. Since he fell, he said, he tries to get a taxi to take him up town so he can attend his Blue Lodge meeting. One of his joys is reading. He never misses reading the daily newspaper and subscribes to two national news magazines to keep abreast of world events. He and his wife, Emily, were rtlarried 57 years when death called her in August, 1951. They had a daughter. Josephine, also deceased, and two sons, Tracey, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., and Alfred, of Bogota, N.J. Bro . Roberts, who's up every morning at 7 o'clock, never seems to get tired like most of us. Twice a month, he reminded, he always attended the "Ever Young Club" luncheon meetings. Could be that's one reason he is still a "young fellow." THE PENNSYLVANIA FREEMASON Distribution Office MASONIC HOMES Elizabethtown, Pa. 17022 (Send FORM 3579 to Above Address)
AN
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION
Of. THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUL GRAND LODGE OF FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS OF PENNSYLVANIA
VOLUME XVIII
Site of Annual Grand Event Grand Master's Banquet during Annual Grand Communication will be held in December in beautiful ballroom of Penn Harris Motor Inn near Harrisburg, (Story Page 6).
Action Set on Holiday Meetings (Continued from Page 7)
in this house until 1827, when it moved close to the Susquehanna River. The Brick House, erected prior to the Revolution, remained standing until late this spring when it was demolished to make room for a new apartment complex. The frontispiece of the Perseverance Lodge Notice still carries a picture of the Campbell Brick House. Bro. William E. Yeager Sr. was made a Mason in Hazle Lodge No. 327 in Hazleton in 1918 and ever since has been one of the busiest Masons in our Jurisdiction. He subsequently moved to Warren and was instrumental in having Joseph Warren Lodge No. 726 constituted on October 5, 1923 with 59 warrant members. He was the warrant Senior Warden and then the first elected Worshipful Master, serving as such in 1924. Since then he has been active Second Class POSTAGE PAID AT Elizabethtown Pennsylvania
in every phase of Freemasonry. He was appointed District Deputy Grand Master in 1932 and served in that capacity until 1942, when he became a member of the Committee on Masonic Homes. He is still active on that committee. He was our R. W. Grand Master in 1950 and 1951. He has served as chairman of the Committee on Correspondence, Masonic Culture, Insurance, and Children's Service Committee. He has been an officer in all the York Rite Bodies. In 1949 he became an active member of the Supreme Council of the Northern Scottish Rite Jurisdiction and is now its Grand Captain General. He is a member of the Shrine, the Jesters, the Grotto, Royal Order of Scotland and Knights of the York Cross of Honor. He has served as president of the Masonic Relief Association and is an officer of the Philalethes Society, the Rosicrucians and served recently as Grand Sovereign of the Red Cross of Constantine. Active in business, he is president of the Community Consumer Co. in Warren. He recently received the Community Service Award by action of the Warren County Chamber of Commerce. He is a 60-year veteran of the National Council of Boy Scouts of America, and is a 51-year member of the American Legion. These are a few of his activities. Can anyone top them? Don't forget the September Quarterly Communication will be held in Jaffa Mosque in Altoona. We hope to see you there.
POSTMASTER: Please Include Complete Imprint of Address on Your Postal Return Clipping.
It has been said, "Helping someone else is the secret of happiness."
AUGUST
e
1971
NUMBER 3
Homes Gets Modern Care Facility A new 116-bed extended care facility, one of the most modern of its kind in the country, will be built at the Masonic Homes at Elizabethtown. The building was approved unanimously by Grand Lodge at its June Quarterly Communication held at the Homes. The three-story structure with partial basement will cost an estimated $3,500,000, including equipment and furnishings. Target date for the building's com-
pletion is the "summer of 1973," according to a spokesman for Lawrie & Green of Harrisburg, the architects. The air conditioned facility will be erected adjacent to the Philadelphia Freemasons' Memorial Hospital. A large out-patient clinic, consisting of 2,635 square feet, will link the new brick building with the hospital. The type of brick will be compatible with the hospital's stone construction. The all-steel frame, fire-resistant new building has been designed so two ad-
ditional floors and a wing can be built at a future date. With that expansion, up to 196 more Guests could be accommodated . At the site a new visitors' parking area for 15 cars will be constructed adjacent to the entrance of the new building. A new, two-way service driveway will be installed leading to the employes' present parking area, which will be rebuilt to handle 79 cars. A series of walkthrough tunnels will (Continued on Page 4)
$1 Million Goal Provides Masons Newest Challenge
103rd Birthday One to Remember Bro. George L. Roberts' birthday cake called for 103 candles but when the baker couldn't come up with enough, icing did the trick in spelling out greetings to the state's oldest Mason in point of membership. Helping to honor him were Bro. Clifford J. Manns (right), District Deputy Grand Master of the 59th Masonic D istrict, and Bro. Marvin Sands, Worshipful Master of Temple Lodge No. 248 in Tunkhannock. Bro. Roberts, who described the cake as " just beautiful," has been a member of the Lodge for more than 79 years. (Story Page 3).
The newest challenge facing Pennsylvania's 242,387 Masons is a goal of $ 1,000,000. That's the total contributions needed to put the "Guest and Building Fund" over the top. Known previously as the Guest Fund, its designation has been changed this year with Grand Lodge approval of building the 116-bed extended care facility at the Masonic Homes. Calling for the charitable help of every Brother to reach the $1,000,000 goal, Bro. Hiram P. Ball, R. W. Grand Master, said: "In approving this new structure, the Masons of Pennsylvania have demonstrated they can accept the challenge of the future." The extended care facility, he said, will provide critically needed space for ambulatory Guests. It also will lessen the pressures faced daily by the hospital's medical staff, he added. The new building will be built without increasing G rand Lodge dues. Grand Lodge unanimously approved two steps which will pay for most of the new construction program. (Continued on Page 4)