Bro. John E. Rakar Made a Mason at Sight in Penn Township, to call a special meeting so that he could cause the several degrees to be conferred on Bro. Rakar. More than 200 persons, officers and members of Tyrian Lodge, officers and members of the lodges in the 54th Masonic District, and officers of the Grand Lodge, were present. The Grand Master had arranged the special meeting without revealing the name of the person being honored. Those who were to confer the degrees did not know who was to be the candidate, adding an effective element of drama to the occasion. At the appropriate time Bro. Williamson explained that Bro. Rakar was the man who had taught him to fly. " I have spent more than a thousand hours with this young man in the confined space of the cockpit of an airplan e," he said, adding, "Wh ile he was teaching me to fly, I believe he was learning a little about Freemasonry." "He asked about membership, and because I know him to be a fine young man who will be a credit to the fraternity, I chose this way to make him a Mason," the Grand Master said. Bro. James L. Ernette, Senior Grand Deacon, conferred the first degree; Bro. Vern A. Henery, District Deputy Grand Master for the 54th Masonic District, the second, and Bro. Roy A. McCullough, Aide to the Grand Master, the third. Bro. Arthur J. Kurtz, R.W. Junior Grand Warden, delivered the charge at the conclusion of the first degree; Bro. Carl W. Stenberg, Jr., the R.W. Senior Grand Warden, delivered the charge following the second degree, and the R.W. Grand Master gave the charge after the third degree. Bro. William A. Carpenter, R.W. Deputy Grand Master, served as the Guide for the candidate for all three degrees. 0 ne who is made a mason at sight becomes a mason at large until he successfully petitions a lodge for membership. Bro. Rakar has petitioned for membership in Tyrian Lodge No. 612. He is married to the former Darlene Thompson . They reside in Ligonier.
Grand Master Samuel C. Williamson congratulates Bro. John E. Rakar on being made a mason at sight. The degrees were conferred at a special meeting of the Grand Master's lodge, Tyrian Lodge No. 612.
John E. Rakar, a professional pilot and personal friend of the R.W. Grand Master, Bro. Samuel C. Williamson, was made a mason at sight on Saturday, August 28. The authority to make a mason at sight rests exclusively with the Grand Master. The last time the honor was granted was in 1976 when then Grand Master, Bro. John L. McCain, caused Bro. F. Eugene Dixon, Jr. to receive all three degrees on the same day. Bro. Earl F. Herold, while Grand Master in 1964-65, made Bros. F. William Sunderman, Robert J. Lamont and John S. Campbell, Jr. masons at sight. A study of Grand Lodge records, conducted in 1978, revealed that 62 men had been made masons at sight; the practice dating to 1885. In the current case, Grand Master Williamson asked the members of his own lodge, Tyrian Lodge No. 612 held at Level Green
Officers' Itinerary (Continued from Page 4)
February 5, 1983 - Grand Master to attend Junior-Senior Wardens Night, Pennsylvania Consistory, Valley of Pittsburgh. February 8, 1983- Grand Master, accompanied by Grand Lodge Officers, will attend an informal visitation to Valley Lodge No. 613, Turtle Creek. February 20, 1983 - Grand Master, accompanied by Grand Lodge Officers, will attend the Conference of Grand Masters in Dallas, Texas. February 25, 1983 - Grand Lodge Committee on Masonic Homes Meeting, Masonic Homes, Elizabethtown. February 26, 1983 - Grand Master, accompanied by Grand Lodge Officers, wi ll attend the 125th Anniversary of Myrtle Lodge No . 316, Franklin.
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