june 2012 trestle board - portsmouth freemasons · american freemasons: three centuries of building...
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June 2012
Trestle Board
St. John’s Lodge No. 1
Portsmouth, NH
The Master’s Message
Greetings from The East, Brethren!
It’s hard for me to believe that we’ve already reached the half-way point of
my time in the East. We’ve accomplished a lot so far this year and I’m confi-
dent that we’ll continue to do great work in the second half of 2012. Towards
that end, I have decided that we will apply for The Masonic Information
Center’s Mark Twain Masonic Awareness Award. This award recognizes
lodges that have demonstrated exemplary work in constructing a positive
Masonic identity within the lodge and for the local community.
Our application will be filed by the June 1st deadline and all the materials
required for our application to be considered will be submitted by December
1st. I believe that we have already accomplished much of what is required for
this award and what remains can be achieved by the end of the year.
My Brothers, according to The Declaration of Masonic Principles adopted
by Grand Lodge, “Through the improvement and strengthening of the charac-
ter of the individual man, Freemasonry seeks to improve the community.” I
believe that the guidelines set out for The Mark Twain Award will help us
navigate towards the achievement of these important goals.
You will be hearing more about our efforts in this endeavor over the com-
ing months and I trust that our brethren will be supportive of our efforts.
On another note, if you were not aware, Br. Rod MacDonald has been in-
stalled as the District Education Officer for the 1st Masonic District and will
be delivering his first official address at our June Stated Meeting. Please
make the effort to support our new DEO and to congratulate Worshipful Mac-
Donald the next time you see him.
June will be a busy month for us. In addition to our stated meeting, we
have degree work planned for two other nights and, most importantly, Sun-
day, June 24th is St. John’s Sunday. Grand Lodge will be joining us, so it
would be great to see as many brothers from St. Johns participate as possible.
Following the services, we will be having a hamburger and hot dog cook-out
at the Lodge as well. Please refer to the calendar for details of all our June
activities.
Fraternally Yours,
Wor Gib Palmer
Gib Palmer
Worshipful Master
(603) 601-2294
Robert Sutherland Jr.
Secretary
(603) 436-1095
Contact
Information:
Masonic Myths The All –Seeing Eye and the Pyramid on
the $1 Bill
Everybody knows that the All-Seeing Eye
and the Pyramid on the dollar bill are Ma-
sonic symbols, right?
The eye and the pyramid are actually part of
the Great Seal of the United States and were
added to the dollar bill in 1935 with the
words, annuit coeptis, meaning “He has fa-
vored our undertakings.”
A committee of four men, including Benjamin Franklin, designed the Great
Seal in 1776. Benjamin Franklin was the only Mason among the four. The
image of the eye within the triangle to represent God was suggested by Pierre
du Simitiere. The unfinished pyramid was suggested by Francis Hopkinson and
none of the final designers was a Mason.
The eye within the triangle was not exactly new. It appears throughout the
Renaissance, long before speculative Freemasonry arrived on the scene. The
triangle, being three-sided, represents the Christian Trinity—Father, Son and
the Holy Spirit. No records associate Freemasonry with the symbol until
at .least 1797.
As for the unfinished pyramid, it represents the strong, new nation of the United
States, designed to stand for centuries. There are 13 rows of stones, represent-
ing the 13 original colonies with God watching over them.
While the all-seeing eye is used in Masonry, it is not a Masonic symbol. The
unfinished pyramid is also not a Masonic symbol and neither symbol was
placed on the Great Seal or the dollar bill by Masons.
From the Secretary’s Desk
Brethren:
Congratulations to our Sr. Deacon, Brother Roderick MacDonald, on being
appointed and installed as the new District Education Officer for the 1st Ma-
sonic District. We also welcome our new District Deputy Grand Lecturer,
RW Brother Richard Cole, who is no stranger to us. It was a pleasure to have
all of our elected Officers attend Grand Lodge and attend to their duties and
vote on the items of the Grand Lodge.
My Brothers, I must again remind you to look at your dues card and
ask you what is the date it runs out? Is it December 31, 2013? If not, you are
NOT IN GOOD STANDING, so please get your dues in ASAP.
Sincerely yours,
Robert L. Sutherland, Jr.
Masonic Quotes
“In the course of one lodge meeting, Freemasonry is a spiritual organization when the chaplain leads the brethren in prayer and asks for the blessing of Deity.
It is a guild when the Master of the lodge teaches the new Mason
the symbolic uses of stonemasons’ tools. It becomes a school of in-struction when the new brother learns about the importance of the seven liberal arts and sciences.
At other moments, it is an amateur theater company when the rit-
ual is performed. The lodge becomes a men’s social club when meet-ing for dinner and fellowship. It becomes a charitable group when re-lief is provided to distressed brothers, their families or the local com-munity. It is also a business association when members with similar interests share ideas.
The lodge resembles a family when fathers and sons, strangers
and friends bond as ‘brothers,’ and it is a community league when vol-unteers are needed for a project.”
American Freemasons: Three Centuries of Building Communities
Stated Communication (Open in EA)
Presentation by Roderick MacDonald (DEO)
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
(Dinner 6:00, Open 7:00)
Dinner—($8.00) - Chicken Cordon Bleu
Officer dress— White Tie and Tails
Special Communication—Master Mason Degree
Vernon Lee Clough and Christopher Thomas Newcomb
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
(Dinner 6:00, Open 7:00)
Dinner—Baked Haddock
Officer dress— White Tie and Tails
St. John’s Sunday
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Form at 8:30 at William Pitt Tavern, Service at 9:00
Lunch served at 11:00—Hamburgers and Hot Dogs ($5.00)
Officer dress— White Tie and Tails
Special Communication—Fellow Craft Degree
Jamie Michael Smith, Daniel Oliver Seawart
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Open will be semi-public to award scholarships
(Dinner 6:00, Open 7:00)
Dinner—BBQ Chicken
Officer dress— White Tie and Tails
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
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June 2012
St. John’s Lodge Historical Sketch
William J. Cater
Less than a half mile from our Masonic Temple in Portsmouth at
the intersection of Columbia and State Streets is a small park that
I’m sure you’ve passed many times. It has some nice trees and
benches, and some playground equipment. In 1947, the land was
given to the City of Portsmouth for the purpose of establishing a
public playground. The City Council accepted it and named it
Cater Park, in honor of the person who generously donated it.
A native of Brockville, Ontario, Canada, William James Cater
was born on December 8, 1874, the son of William and Mary
Ann (Ferris) Cater. When he was a teenager he moved to the
United States and he attended Boston Business College. After
college, Bill moved to Portsmouth where he and his wife Sadie
(Holmes) lived at 547 Sagamore Avenue. As the years passed, he
became one of the City’s most prominent political leaders and
businessmen.
Bill was general manager and treasurer of the Portsmouth-based
Eldredge Brewing Company and was managing editor of the
Times Publishing Company. In 1913 and again in 1915 he was
elected to the New Hampshire General Court, serving in the NH
State Legislature, and in 1924, he was a delegate to the National
Republican Convention. He served for many years on the Ports-
mouth City Council and served as a major on the staff of Gover-
nor John H. Bartlett. He also served on the State Fuel Commis-
sion during World War I and was appointed to the New England
Commission on Foreign and Domestic Commerce by Governor
Bartlett.
Bill was a long time member of the Mechanic Fire Society and
was a past president of the Portsmouth Athletic Club and War-
wick Club. He also served as a trustee of the Chase Home for
Children and the Mark H. Wentworth Home.
Bill retired from general business in 1921 and dedicated his time
to realty interests. He was president of the Atlantic Heights Real
Estate Company and was a director of both the Portsmouth Trust
and Guarantee Company and Portsmouth Building and Loan
Association.
You may recognize Bill Cater’s name as the partner of Amon
Benfield from last month’s tresleboard. The two owned Cater &
Benfield, the grocery store at 2 Pleasant Street in Market
Square.
William James Cater was another in a very long line of promi-
nent men who enjoyed membership in the Masonic Fraternity.
A 57 year Mason, Brother Bill Cater was Raised a Master Ma-
son in St. John’s Lodge on July 7, 1897; and as he passed from
labor to refreshment on December 12, 1954 at the age of 80, he
established the Wm J. Cater Charity Fund in the Lodge with a
donation of $500.
Next time you’re on the far end of State Street where it inter-
sects Columbia Street, look for the little playground and the sign
with our Brother William J. Cater’s name on it.
Alan Robinson
Historian