The Tao of Masonry

Just in time for the post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping season, too.

From The Telegraph (UK) comes the headline:

Freemasons sell Christmas membership packs for £80

Its ‘secret’ handshakes and elaborate rituals have long been a mystery to outsiders, but the world of freemasonry is opening up by selling membership Gift Packs for people to give their loved ones for Christmas.

The Masonic Christmas Gift Pack costs £80 and includes a tour of the local Masonic Lodge, an invitation to meetings with masons, and – subject to approval by the local Lodge – a year’s membership to the group.

The British Federation of Co-Freemasonry described the pack, which is available until the end of December, as “truly a life-changing gift”.

Link to the rest of the article.

Yes, Friendship Lodge is back for another two weekends at the Southington Apple Harvest Festival. Once again we are featuring our fried apple wedges, and despite the damp weather, the crowds are lining up for a taste.

The tent has been folded up, the flooring has been packed away until next year, the fryers have been power-washed, and the apple prep gear has been boxed and stowed away. And most of us that worked the 2009 Southington Apple Harvest Festival are exhausted. In my opinion, we spent a hell of a lot of man hours (and some woman hours) just to make $1,200.

From Apple Harvest 2009

I’m not complaining — too much. Overall, the prep work was less tiring, and the clean-up much easier than when we had been cooking up those steak sandwiches. And we discovered that fresh, local cider — hot or cold –sells pretty well. And we also discovered that the warm, friend apples were an excellent mix with some ice cream, something that we’ll keep on the menu for next year. And as I’ve written before, I think that the two weekend stint is like a built-in team-building session, except that it is not run by high-priced consultants.

But still, the lodge building is old, and we need to raise more capital in order to stay ahead of the repairs, and to be able to lay something by in case of emergencies. I wonder what we could add to the mix for next year?

It’s an overcast Saturday afternoon in the middle of January, there’s six inches of snow on the ground, and the temperature is 17º F. So, what do you do for fun?

2009 Sloper Polar Plunge

Well, if you’re from Friendship Lodge, apparently you take a dip in the lake.

Friendship’s new Worshipful Master Eric Charrette, accompanied by a chilly suite of officers, took on his second “Polar Plunge” in a week to help raise funds for Camp Sloper, the the local YMCA camp. The polar plunge took place at the camp’s small lake, Sloper Pond. Known locally as the home of a semi-ficticious chelonian, a snapping turtle by the name of Mama Cass, the pond was the scene of several dozen people (accompanied by several hundred warmer supporters) willing to brave the elements – specifically, the frigid air and freezing water.

Each volunteer had to commit to a minimum of $100 in cold, hard cash, to be used for the upkeep and maintenance of the popular camp. Several local organizations sent their hardiest, or certainly, their craziest members. Friendship Lodge, which raised about $550 toward the camp benefit, was one of several other local organizations that managed to raise almost $2,000 for the camp, now in it’s 60th year of operation.

WB Eric was joined by RWB Gary Arseneau, Senior Deacon Kevin Cyr, and John Miller, Senior Warden from Frederick-Franklin No. 14 in Plainville, all of whom spent about 30 seconds in the water. . . and then another 30 minutes warming up afterward.

And according to Kevin Cyr, the adage that you don’t feel cold because the water is warmer than the air is a complete myth. “It was like thousands of stinging needles,” he reported. And while everyone agreed, they all offered to jump in again.

The end of Apple Harvest is the final reminder that summer is over and we’re now beginning our long slide through autumn into winter.

Our own Apple Harvest was a mixed success; the changing New England weather left the crowds a bit more sparse than we would have liked to have seen them, but the people who did show up brought their appetites, and Friendship Lodge was benefited by that. In an interesting twist on our fund raising efforts, though, we discovered that those little fried apples that we’ve been selling for the last few years actually make more money for us than our famous Philly steak sandwiches. We never actually took a serious look at our sales until this year, when we were faced with an interesting dilemma.

Our building faces the town green, and is on a small, one-way street parallel to the main thoroughfare. Along the short block is a small office building, a bank, the American Legion, and a newly remodeled office building. The American Legion is right next door to us – we share a driveway in front and a small parking lot in the rear of the buildings.

For almost ten years, our lodge has sold steak sandwiches during the Apple Harvest Festival; it’s really our only big fundraiser, and we use the money to help maintain the old building that we’ve owned since the 1930s. In order to be a participant in the Festival, we pay a fee. We also pay a separate fee to get a tent, electricity (which we don’t use, since the tent is on our front lawn), gas hookups, and a temporary food permit. We also get some mention in one of the local sponsor flyers.

For the last three years the Festival was not run by the local Chamber of Commerce – it was turned over to private managers. Our lodge, being right on the green and in the middle of the Festival, has always kicked in a “goodwill payment” to help with the general costs. For this, we were supposed to get some extra mention in the various sponsorship ads – but each time it failed to materialize. It did entitle us to sell soda, which was a town-run franchise, but this year we noticed that several other non-sponsor vendors were selling soda, too.

Okay, stuff happens. But that’s not the worst of it.

Our neighbors, the American Legion, decided that they wanted to take advantage of the crowds and sell food outside. In a booth. Just like ours. And while they could have sold pretty much anything, especially items that weren’t already being sold (sausage & pepper sandwiches, burgers and dogs, Irish stew, turkey legs, etc.), they chose to sell. . . steak sandwiches.

The Festival managers limit the items that can be sold, so that vendors are not selling the same things. However, the American Legion does not pay the entry fee, so they do not have to abide by the same rules as the other food vendors. Being right on the green, they are in the middle of the Festival, and being 20 feet closer to the band stage, they probably intercepted some of the traffic that we would have otherwise had.

They also priced their sandwiches a dollar lower than ours (we lowered our own prices to match). They also opted to sell drinks, and since they did not need to pay anything to the town supplier, were able to price their soda lower than the rest of us. Complaints to the Festival managers went nowhere, as they had no authority to do anything.

I know that the libertarian-minded people will say that this is just a matter of supply and demand, of simple economics – but that is not the way that the rest of us viewed the situation. All of the other vendors agreed to abide by certain rules, with the understanding that such rules turn a potential free-for-all into an organized community event.

Every year we always have one or two members who ask why we continue to pay a fee to the town. “The Legion never pays anything, and they get the benefits. Why don’t we do the same thing? We could put up our own tent and sell what we want, and keep all the money.” And every year, a few of us sigh and explain that while it’s frustrating for us, the majority of the members of our lodge believe that it’s the right thing to do. We believe that we are part of the community, and we want to contribute in any way that we can.

It’s easy to voice those sentiments when things are going well, of course, but it’s another thing to hold to your principles when faced with opposition. We spent the two weekends kicking around the idea of not paying the entry fee next year, but really, it was more about blowing off some steam.

But ultimately, this all led to some good things. At the meeting after the end of the Festival, we discussed a number of alternatives to sell; this included taking a closer look at how well the fried apples were selling, and what we could add or subtract to the mix. Some of the officers are already coming up with ideas for the next year, and I fully expect that our fund raising efforts for next year will be completely different.

Tao of Masonry | Freemasonry | Masonry

How about something Masonic that’s not about ritual, rules, regulations, Konspiracy theorists, or a complaint about the Shriners?

The Masonic Scavenger Hunt in Connecticut!

When I was a young’un, we would have neighborhood scavenger hunts on those warm summer nights when school was out. We would form into teams, and somebody – it always seemed to be one of the bossy older girls on the block – would hand out lists of the various items that we would have to scrounge up. Dog bones, bottle caps, soap cakes, safety pins, balloons, and other odd items figured heavily on those lists, and we would all scatter in different directions to search in open garages, knock on doors, and generally annoy the neighbors without children in our search for these useless treasures.

But even though the first day of summer is upon us, this is not a post for waxing nostalgic about those bygone days; we’ve got our own Scavenger Hunt right here in Connecticut. VW Charles Tirrell – my District Grand Lecturer counterpart in the 4th District – is behind the idea for a scavenger hunt with a Masonic theme. No scrounging in your neighbor’s garage for an old bottle opener; you’ll be traveling with a digital camera and your GPS in order to spot Square & Compasses on buildings and old gravestones, paintings and statues of Masonic presidents, and various items with Masonic symbolism.

What: A photo scavenger hunt, where teams of 3-5 Freemasons will take photos around Connecticut of a Masonic nature. The brothers will then recongregate and compare their photos in a fun and brotherly manner.

When: June 30th, 2007

Where: 30 Church St., North Haven, CT

Who: Freemasons (EAs, FCs or MMs)

Cost: $30 per team (includes pizza and beverage costs for after the hunt), $6 per person if you’re just attending the judging

Contact: For more information or to sign up a team or individual members (We will assign individual members to teams that are not full, so that everyone can play), email Charles Tirrell at chtirrell@yahoo.com

More details are available at their website:

http://masonicscavengerhuntinct.pbwiki.com/

This all-day event will end with pizza and fellowship; and unlike back in the old days, your parents won’t be calling for you to come home by dark.

Tao of Masonry | Freemasonry | Masonry

The Friendship Lodge “Year of Giving” program is still going well, and for the third major collection of items for the troops overseas, the several local civic groups have organized a benefit concert.

Internationally acclaimed performer and songwriter Elisa Korenne will be headlining the concert on Friday evening, June 8th 2007 that will take place at the American Legion Hall on Main Street, right next door to Friendship Lodge.

Ms. Korenne, as seen from the reviews on her website, provides “edgy and elegant” acoustic and rock music, and has been compared to Tori Amos and Sheryl Crowe (presumably according to her musical style and not to Ms. Crowe’s misunderstood attempt at environmental humor).

The concert will also feature Connecticut rock’n'roll band Second Chance, who will play favorites from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Adding to the fun will be the musical talents of another local band featuring a Past Master of Friendship Lodge.

Tickets are available for a $15 donation to the Year of Giving Benefit. Dancing will be encouraged, and the American Legion hosts a cash bar.

For more information, please see the details on the benefit concert website.

Tao of Masonry | Freemasonry | Masonry

Actually, more like 96 jars.

Quart jars, that is.

Yes, at the end of January I once again donned my operative apron to cook about 96 quarts of tomato sauce.

Why so much, you ask? Because, you know, that’s like 24 gallons of sauce. You could overflow a bathtub with that much sauce.

The answer is that I needed a lot of sauce to serve over the 54 pounds of ziti and 160 meatballs. Along with the bushel of salad, and the several dozen loaves of bread, of course.

Pasta Dinner 2007
Click the pic to see the online album

The First Congregational Church of Southington has a mission trip for the high school-aged confirmands (those that are about to be confirmed), and for the last few years the missions send them to places that need some manpower. Usually they are involved with other groups that rebuild or refurbish churches and schools. This year, they are heading down south to assist with some of the damage from last year’s Hurricane Katrina. About a dozen or so are going, and while they will be put up in shelters, they do need to pay for transportation costs.

A few years ago, seeing the success of the Chicken Pie Scholarship dinner in the Fall, Reverend Rick asked my wife if she’d be interested in doing something similar to help the kids defray the transportation costs. My wife has a heart of gold, so naturally she volunteered my services. She volunteers my service whenever somebody needs to cook for a lot of people. In fact, one year, a couple of the church members had seen me in the kitchen so often that they asked her “Is that man a caterer? Because he’s pretty good and we’d like to have him give us a price on a party.” Naturally, I was a bit upset to learn that she told them that I was only her husband. Even more upsetting is that she sent them away without giving me a shot at bidding on the party. No, I’m not a professional cook, but if somebody wants to pay me for throwing a party, I think it’s only fair to give it due consideration.

The first year that we did this I learned something: no matter how accustomed you are at cooking for family and friends, cooking for large groups (we consistently have between 150 to 200 people) is just not the same. Yes, in theory one just takes a recipe and scales it up, but in practice it’s really difficult to work with the equivalent of four or five 5-gallon buckets of sauce. I tend to make meat sauces, so I needed to keep a pot separate for the vegetarians and cholesterol watchers. And I had to tone down the spiciness. And watch the herbs. And keep stirring.

And can you believe that some people can’t have wine in their sauce? The sulfites give them rather unpleasant reactions. Good thing that somebody warned the minister.

I also discovered that one is not even allowed to drink wine in the church while preparing sauce. Actually, the prohibition probably extends to more than just while making sauce – I suspect that they don’t want anyone drinking wine while cooking anything at all.

Like I said – it’s just not the same.

Anyway, by the third year we we had gotten the hang of it, and I’m pleased to say that this year was one of the best ever. We served about 170 people, and the dozen or so confirmands came down to serve and help clean up, and we were out of there by 9:30 – the earliest ever. Naturally we had some help from people who were carefully screened for the ability to work with sharp tools, hot pans, and who wouldn’t mind being around me for two days. And for the token bit of Masonic content, I’d like to thank Brother Ed for staying after dinner to help with the dishes, and his wife Polly who managed to not ask me about joining Order of Eastern Star as we scrubbed the pots.

We had some leftovers, so we made up large Ziplock bags of ziti and my wife ladled in some sauce and tossed in a few meatballs, and sold them the next morning after the services as “ready made dinners.” The dinner raised about $1,500 after expenses, and the only thing that we had left over was a large bag of ziti and some meatballs.

Anyone want to guess what I had for lunch for the rest of the week?

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The second weekend of the 38th annual Apple Harvest Festival finally drew to a close, and although the numbers are still out, it appears that Friendship Lodge had its best year in a long time, with over $5,000 in profit generated from the sale of Philly steak sandwiches and our now-famous fried apple wedgies. With the exception of a downpour on the morning of the first Sunday, we had two weekends of good weather – not too hot, not too cold, and just right for fair-goers to walk around and build up an appetite.

Apple Harvest 2006 – Week 2

I’m pleased to see that the Apple Wedgies are becoming more well-known. For the last few years we’ve typically bought 6 cases (600 apples), often ending up with at least one case left over. This year we bought 10 cases! We peeled, wedged, and fried 9 of them over the two weekends and sold them right up until 7 p.m. on Sunday. What a fantastic increase! And I’m sure that it had very little to do with a certain officer who hooked the apple peeler up to a power drill to speed up the production… We also ran out of the steak sandwiches early Sunday afternoon, not long after the parade ended – a sure sign that the crowds were in a buying mood.

Events like this do not run themselves, and we appreciate everyone who came down to help in whatever capacity they could lend themselves to, whether it be running errands, moving the food from the lodge to the tent, moving empty containers from the tent back to the lodge, working the counters, or helping with the clean-up. While every bit of help was important, several people deserve a special mention. First, the event would not have been half as successful without the unflagging efforts of Gerry and his wonderful wife Rhonda. They helped to set up, they prepped and cooked, they helped to dismantle the booth, and Gerry even provided the all-important and nutritious egg sandwiches on weekend mornings. I am going to strongly recommend to everybody that they find out what kind of vitamins these two take.

Some other highlights worth mentioning: Kyle worked until his back gave out, and we’re hoping for a speedy recovery. Jim did an admirable job coordinating, something that I would have hated to do myself. And it was certainly worth the price of admission to see not just one, but two Dougs (H & L) doing actual labor. Special thanks to Chuck and Ken for manning the hot grill with their usual calm demeanor while under fire. Kevin, Ryan and Eric are also to be commended for their help while watching over the DeMolay tent; and certainly thanks to those DeMolays who pitched in to help their lodge by carrying things back and forth when needed. I understand that the Marcus Holcocmb DeMolay Chapter made over $800 from their popcorn and cotton candy sales; great job, guys!

I also need to specially thank Charley R and Larry B, both of whom stepped down from the East in their respective lodges to help out at Friendship. In fact, between the Apple Harvest and DeMolay, Charley has become so frequent a visitor at Friendship that we should make him an honorary member.

And I think that we should all take an opportunity to thank our wives or Significant Others, who either came to help out, lend moral support, or at least gave us the time off to come down to work the booth.

I know that I missed some people on this list, and I apologize for that because it took the efforts of every single one of you to make this the most successful Apple Harvest in recent memory. It’s events like this that make me especially proud to be a member of Friendship Lodge.

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