Questions & Answers
Itinerary of Grand Lodge Officers Through December
Recent Appointments of Right Worshipful Grand Master
Question: Is it true that a Grand Lodge of Alaska has been formed? Answer: The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Alaska has been formed in accordance with the regular Masonic procedure. The first Grand Communication of the new Grand Lodge was held on February 7, 1981. At the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, held in Scranton, June 3, 1981, a Resolution was adopted extending Fraternal Recognition to the new Grand Lodge of Alaska.
November 2-33rd Masonic ·District Meeting, George Wagner Lodge, No. 639, St. Mary's. November 4--22nd Masonic District Meeting, Kane Lodge, No. 566, Kane. November 7-125th Anniversary, Hawley Ldoge, No. 305, Hawley. November 9-53rd Masonic District Meeting, Cedar Lodge, No. 800, Grove City. November 11-31st Masonic District Meeting, Fayette Lodge, No. 228, Uniontown. November 12-39th Masonic District Meeting, Acacia Lodge, No. 355, Blairsville. November 13-48th Masonic District Meeting, Corinthian Lodge, No. 573, Millvale. November 14--R. W. Grand Master attending the Fall Reunion of Scottish Rite Bodies, Valley of Allentown. November 17-26th Masonic District Meeting, Lodge of the Craft, No. 433, New Castle. November 18-37th Masonic District Meeting, Parian Lodge, No. 662, Beaver Falls. November 19 to 21-R. W. Grand Master attending the Fall Reunion of Scottish Rite Bodies, Valley of Reading. November 21-75th Anniversary, H. Stanley Goodwin Lodge, No. 648, Bethlehem. November 23-2nd Masonic District Meeting, Euclid Lodge, No. 698, Harrisburg. NOTE: This District Meeting will complete the District Meetings scheduled and conducted in each of the seventy Masonic Districts throughout the Jurisdiction and beginning on April 8, 1980. December 1-Grand Lodge Committee on Finance Meeting, Philadelphia. December 2-Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge, Election of Grand Lodge Officers and Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Homes, beginning at 10:00 o'clock, A.M., Masonic Temple, Philadelphia. December 3-Visit to December Commu-
Recent Grand Lodge appointments made by Bro. Joseph E. Trate, R. W. Grand Master, include the following: Bro. Harry E. Heatherby, Fernwood Lodge, No. 543, Philadelphia, Chairman of the Trustees of the Consolidated Fund of the Grand Lodge, vice Bro. Andrew 0 . Friedrich, deceased. Bro. Heatherby is also .a member of the Grand Lodge Committee on Finance. Bro. Robert F. Morris, Danville Lodge, No. 224, and a Past District Deputy Grand Master for the 35th Masonic District, a member of the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Temple, Halls and Lodge Rooms, vice Bro. Philip B. Driver, Jr., deceased. Bro. Fred C. Craw, William B. Hackenburg Lodge, No. 703, District Chairman for the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Culture for Masonic District " E," vice Bro. Julian Needleman, resigned. Bro. Ralph R. Ruggles, Jr., Patmos Lodge, No. 348, District Chairman for the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Culture for the 4th Masonic District, vice Bro. Charles Hoover , resigned. Bro. Chester D. Houseknecht, Dietrick Lamade Lodge, No. 755, District Chairman for the Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Culture for the 18th Masonic District, vice Bro. H. Carlton Sweeley, deceased.
Q~estion: Having visited Lodge Meetings
m several other Jurisdictions where the Brethren have applauded at various times, I was quite surprised to learn that the practice of applauding for a Member due recognition or worthy action of the Lodge is not permitted in Pennsylvania Lodges. Answer: Applause in the Body of the Open Lodge has never been permitted in Pennsylvania. It is the responsibility of the District Deputy Grand Master and the Worshipful Master to see that proper decorum is maintained at all Lodge Meetings. Question: Is it possible to reveal the membership statistics of the larger Grand Lodges in the United States? I understand that Freemasonry has not been attracting new Members as it once did. Is this true? Answer: Statistics for the year 1980 indicate the five larger Grand Lodges in the United States with memberships as follows: Ohio with 233 ,254 Members; Texas with 215,182 Members; Pennsylvania with 214,345; California (Including Hawaii) with 197,874, and New York with 165,919. During 1980, the net loss in 46 Grand Lodges in the United States was 55,023. Four Grand Lodges had a net gain totaling 288. The total membership of the Grand Lodges in the United States was 3,251,528 according to statistics at the end of 1980. Question: The question relative to the Order of Eastern Star ruling in Pennsylvania, appearing in the February~arch 1981 issue of "The Pennsylvama Freemason," was not fully answered. The question asked " . . . if this ruling has ever been reviewed." Answer: Yes, the ruling has been reviewed from time to time. And, over a period of 60-years, thirty Right Worshipful Grand Masters have not exercised their authority to rescind the ruling. Freemasonry is a fraternal organization, universal in scope, and teaching through symbols the garnered wisdom of the ages.
THE PENNSYLVANIA FREEMASON Distribution Office MASONIC HOMES Elizabethtown, Pa. 17022 (Send FORM 3579 to Above Address)
nication of The Grand Holy Royal Arch Chapter of Pennsylvania, Masonic Temple, Philadelphia. December 4--Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Homes Meeting, Masonic Homes, Elizabethtown. December 5-R. W. Grand Master attending 75th Anniversary of Red Lion Lodge, No. 649, Red Lion, York County. December 27-Vesper Service in Heinz Chapel, University of Pittsburgh Campus followed by Grand Master's Dinner at Pittsburgh Hilton Hotel. December 28--Annual Grand Communication of Grand Lodge, beginning at 10:00 o'clock, A.M., Gothic Hall, Masonic Temple, Pittsburgh; Installation of Grand Lodge Elected Officers at Noon. Second Class POSTAGE PAID AT Elizabethtown Pennsylvania
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The PENNSYLVANIA
FREE1WASON AN OFFICIAl PUBliCATION Of THE RIGHT WORSHIPFUl GRAND lODGE Of FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS Of PEMNSYlVAIIIA VOLUME XXVIII
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER • 1981
State of Craft Message From R. W. Grand Master My Brethren: It has been our very great pleasure to have visited with you in your Lodges through our great Commonwealth in our District Visitation Program, Lodge anniversaries, cornerstone layings , Lodge Room dedications and other meetings. You have responded overwhelmingly with your record attendance at the Quarterly Communications of your Grand Lodge. It is our firm belief that the goal that was set on December 27, 1979, for Grand Lodge to return to and to strengthen the foundation stones of Freemasonry, the Blue Lodges, is within our grasp. Yes, our grasp, my Brethren, yours and mine . All of us have a part in the plan and all of us will share the satisfaction of having worked together to attain that goal. The District Visitation Program, for example, has been extremely successful, in our opinion, because you, the Freemasons of Pennsylvania, turned out in record numbers to exchange ideas with your Grand Lodge Officers and, through questions and answers, to seek a better understanding of your Grand Lodge and its actions, your Lodges and the Masonic Fraternity in general. Certainly we found differences of opinions on some issues, but honesty and candor without malice were the watchwords of the program. Your Grand Lodge Officers, at no time, avoided an issue or were evasive in th eir responses to your questions. You, in turn, were courteous and circumspect in your actions and always within the due bounds of good Masonic conduct. In our sessions with you in all parts of the Jurisdiction, we have found a continuity of concern about the physical and financial health of your Lodges. Questions about how Lodges can increase attendance and membership have been asked during almost every District Visitation. Similarly, the question about how to improve the finances of Lodges has also been raised. The questions are important and need to be examined. We believe, and have so stated, that attendance at Lodge Meetings is directly related to the attentiveness of the Lodge to its Members. We have told (Continued on Page 4)
NUMBER 3
For Grand Lodge Business and Election
Quarterly Communication At Philadelphia, Dec. 2nd The December Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge will be held at the Masonic Temple, One North Broad Street, Philadelphia, on Wednesday morning, December 2nd, 1981. Grand Lodge will be opened in Corinthian Hall at 10:00 o'clock, A.M. Renaissance Hall, near Corinthian Hall, will also be Tyled and will be equipped with closed circuit television and amplification to accommodate an over-flow attendance, if needed. A Grand Lodge Communication is open to all Master Masons. At this December Quarterly Communication, the Annual Election of Grand Lodge Officers and seven Members to serve on the Grand Lodge · Committee on Masonic Homes will be conducted. Annual reports will be presented and there will be action taken on various Resolutions and an Amendment to The Ahiman Rezon. A luncheon will be served for the Brethren attending the December Quarterly Communication during a "Call-off Period" at Noon. Grand Lodge will Return to Labor following the luncheon and could be ready to close before 3:00 o'clock, P.M. The occasion will be highlighted by a dinnerdance to be held that evening in th e Dominion Ballroom of {he Franklin Plaza Hotel, 17th and Vine Streets, Philadelphia. All Masons and their ladies are invited to attend. The dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. and entertainment will be provided by The Spurrlows to be followed by dancing to the music of the Joe Martin Orchestra. Tickets for the dinner-dance are now available at a cost of $12.50 per person on a first request basis. Reservations will be limited to approximately 1,500 persons. (Continued on Page 11)
Annual Grand Communication Set for Pittsburgh December 28