December 2019 Gila Valley Lodge No. 9 Trestleboard

Printed Every Month 129th Anniversary

DECEMBER 2019

At the November Stated meeting Gila Valley No. 9 F & AM Masonic Lodge with the help of MW Greg Vasquez presented a 50 year award to WB John O'Hara. Brother John was Master of Gila Valley Lodge in 2005 and 2009. He was also Master of the Ray Winkleman Lodge No. 24 in 2002. At the same meeting Bro. Jim Reid was presented with a 20 year award.

He is currently serving as Treasurer of Gila Valley Lodge.

Both are amazing men and assets to the Fraternity and well deserved of the recognition.

1 Ticket $10 - https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr‌ 3 Ticket $20 - https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr‌ Gila Valley is raffling a one of a kind American Flag Feldman Custom knife to benefit their building fund! Brother John Delavan was many things to many people. To one individual, he was a teacher that gave him the skills to provide for his family and to create beautiful works of art. Many years ago Loren Feldman went to our Brother John and asked him to teach him to make knives as he had seen John working on many knives over the years. John jumped at the chance and worked with him for many hours teaching him the finer points of knife making. Delevan went so far as to give Loren his knife making equipment so that he could continue to hone his craft. Loren took the equipment home and started a new career which would take him places he would have never dreamt.

Fast forward to know and Loren Feldman produces some of the finest knives in the world. Not only are they beautiful works of art, but they are made from some of the rarest items on earth. Museum quality dinosaur bones, rare gems, and even meteorites have been used in the making of some of his creations.

Gila Valley Lodge No. 9 reached out to Feldman Custom knives and obtained one of his finest works, an American Flag themed knife that will surely be the jewel of your collection. He started with a Carbon Damascus Steel blade, known for its strength and beauty and used for the finest of knives. The blade has an American Flag done with mosaic Damascus by famous artist Doug Ponizo from Wisconsin.

Doug Ponzio has been Making Damascus Steel in his signature style for well over 20 years. He does not just make Damascus steel, he makes amazing Mosaic Damascus steel also known as Pattern Damascus Steel. Doug is an early riser and in his shop every day, creating one of a kind works of amazing art. Doug Ponzio Mosaic pattern welded Steel is mostly sought after for knife making. Knife makers from all over the globe use his steel to make their knives. Quite simply because he can produce it with exceptional quality and unique patterns.

The Hilt is made from Stainless Steel and Chromium for strength and beauty. Making up the Red is giraffe leg bone, dye red. The Blue is Lapis sourced from the mountains of Afghanistan and the White is Marble from Marble, Colorado. From the same mine that the marble used in the Abraham Lincoln Monument in Washington DC was sourced. This is a one of a kind knife that will never be replicated. The retail price of the knife is $3595.

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Brethren!

Hard to believe but the year is already almost over. However, it's not as close as it may seem. Everywhere we turn, there is Christmas everywhere! Holiday movies have already taken over my tv. Carols have begun their annual assault, taking over radio stations and soundtracks everywhere you turn, and of course the stores are well underway of decking the halls with boughs of holly. Heck I'm sure most of you have an over zealous neighbor or two already proudly displaying the lights on their houses.

Now dont get me wrong, I'm no scrooge. I absolutely love Christmas and everything about it but I like to wait until December before I really embrace it. I find it re really sad that as a society, we are so quick to skip over Thanksgiving. Sure there is no fancy decorations or catchy tunes, except Adam Sandler's turkey classic of course, but it is or at least should be, one of our most important holidays. I'm a big fan of any holiday that motivates families to gather together and celebrate which admittedly is most of them, but I can understand how that's not a huge selling point for some people, but what's not to love about a day where your only real goal is to eat as much delicious food as you can until you end up in a food coma while watching football?! As awesome as that all sounds to me, that's not why I think it's too important of a day to just skip over. The whole purpose of thanksgiving it obviously to give thanks. To do that, you really need to take a step back and take stock of your life and acknowledge all that you have. I've often said that I believe the key to happiness is perspective. That if you take a look at your life from the right light you can see how great you really have it, how much you should be thankful for. It's easy to get bogged down by the things you dont have have or the stuff that's not so great but for most of us, even the stuff that drives crazy are things that someone else is praying for. Theres someone out there right now, pray-

ing for a car as nice a your old heap, for a home as warm as that house you complain about cleaning, or for that stable job that's stressing you out. From the right perspective you can appreciate all the little blessings that are clustered around you.

I urge all of you to give thanksgiving it's due and take the time to truly celebrate all the things we all have to be thankful for. For me, it's my family, my health, a low stress job, living in a nice, clean, safe neighborhood in sunny AZ and or course all of you, my brothers who despite all my many flaws have shown me love and stuck by me and honored by trusting me to serve as worshipful master of Gila Valley for another year, and of course my dedicated officers that I'm excited to have by my side for 2020.

I hope you all have a fantastic holiday full of thanks, and Turkey too!

Fraternally,

Anthony Raimondi 2019 Master Gila Valley Lodge No. 9

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The George Washington Masonic National Memorial Association is proud to offer for the 2019 holiday season a beautiful gold and enamel plated ornament: The Working Tool—United in Brotherly Love.

This ornament unites several essential Masonic symbols that illustrate the crucial and divine lesson of brotherly love. The triangular frame, topped by the Masonic emblem over a sky blue circle, represents the Fraternity. The raised Trowel is every Master Mason’s primary tool: as the Trowel spreads the cement that unites the many different stones or bricks of a building into a single, strong whole, so Master Masons spread brotherly love to unites men throughout the world. Behind the Trowel shines the Blazing Star, an ancient Masonic symbol of Divine Providence, representing the divine nature of brotherhood. As President, Brother George Washington used an ivoryhandled trowel to lay the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. Just as the trowel inspires Masons to use brotherly love to overcome their differences, the new American Republic united all the states under the motto E Pluribus Unum, “from many, one.” To order yours, please call 703-683-2007, ext. 2017, or visit our website at http:// gifts.gwmemorial.org/cgi-bin/webdata_gws.cgi?fid=1567624740&query=Category%2B1%3DHoliday% 2BOrnaments%26pagenum%3D1%26cgifunction%3DSearch&cgifunction=form

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Every year there are many organizations that do drives for toys and food to help families, especially with kids to have a Merry Christmas. I’ve always loved these because of the opportunity to participate in the magic of Christmas to a family that otherwise doesn’t have the means to splurge for new toys or an over the top Christmas dinner. As a child, I was once on the receiving end of this. My mother had spent what seemed like more time in the hospital than at home that year, had to quit her full-time job, and my parents were facing bankruptcy and losing our home. When the subject of Christmas would come up with my sister and me, our parents would say things like this year things are going to be a little different than normal or something similar to attempt to lower the expectations of the big magical Christmas of past years. As a child, you don’t exactly understand that, and dissociation from reality during a time when everything else in life has turned upside down and inside out is needed more than any other time as a way to just be a child.

lies.

This year Gila Valley #9 has decided to participate in one of these drives with an organization that distributes a little different. Compassion Connect AZ is a local Pinal county organization that works with families all year long. Victims of trafficking, domestic abuse survivors, and just those that are going through a hard time and need a little help getting back on their feet. These families participate in programs throughout the year in areas like counseling, job training, support groups, medical clinics, tutoring, and so much more. Everything that Compassion Connect AZ collects this year will be distributed to families that have been making an effort towards bettering themselves and their fami-

here https://www.signupgenius.com/ go/9040d4faba923abf49-christmas. If there is something on the list that you want to sign up for please feel free.

The Care Center has put together a website with items that they are requesting, and based on what people are giving the greatest need is simply gift cards currently. They are requesting them in $25 increments to Walmart, Frys, Safeway, Ross or Target. As a lodge lets help them obtain their goal. We will be collecting gift cards and money to purchase gift cards at the December stated meeting and then deliver it the next day.

In addition to gift cards, they're collecting many different items needed, such as underwear, card games, personal items, and many more. For a look at the complete list click

We can collect any and all donations and deliver them at the same time.

Bro. Joe Guinn Master Mason Gila Valley Lodge No. 9

The Pinal County Animal Care and Control is once again full of dogs and needs our help again.

Please bring in your old blankets and dog toys for us to donate for our next Stated Meeting!!

There will be a box for collection of the donated items!

Other items that are needed: Cleaning supplies - Blankets and towels – Peanut butter (xylitol-free) – Pet Food Medicine - Office supplies - Grooming tools 5

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Companions,

It is with sadness we see our Companion and Friend Frosty leave this earth, but it is also with heartfelt relief that the Great Architect has called him home and there is no more suffering and pain.

We are nearing the time of year of the Feast of St John the Evangelist Day (or Apostle or Divine). I did some quick research into St John the Evangelsit which depicts him as the Patron Saint of Literature in the mural pictures. He was a disciple of St John the Baptist and was called by Christ to be his “beloved disciple”. In the mural of St John at Potmas, he is seen receiving Angelic inspiration and at his feet is an eagle. The Royal Eagle is a fitting symbol for Saint John the Evangelist, for the eagle is known for grace, strength, keenness of vision and powers of flight above all creatures, as Saint John the Evangelist is sublime among all stylists, even among the most royal of scriptural stylists, soaring to heaven itself to open his grand profession of faith in his gospel concerning the Eternal God, Creator and Redeemer. This is significant to Freemasonry and especially the Royal Arch as one of our symbols depicted on the Veils. Can you remember which Veil?

This is certainly a topic for Royal Arch symbolism and education.

the Mark Master degree as we have a practice scheduled for December 14 if time permits. I know it will be a very busy day in Globe. Ritual proficiency is my goal for the year and it is most important when conferring the Mark Master on potential Companions.

I would also stress the desire to be able to open Because of its special theological character, the Gos- Globe Chapter No. 7 Royal Arch Masons without the aid of ritual books. This will not happen overpel According to John was considered in ancient times to be the “spiritual Gospel”, and it wielded a night but remember that Time, Patience and Perseprofound and lasting influence on the development verance will accomplish all things. of early Christian doctrine.

Jim Baker, 2019 High Priest Globe Chapter No. 7 RAM

(Much of this is copied or edited from Maywood University web site).

I hope all of us are studying the parts assigned for

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Gila Valley is playing poker for Charity! Bring an item to help a baby and cash for chips and descend upon Bro. Joe Guinn’s house on December 14th at 7pm for another great night of Poker with your Brothers! We are asking that you bring something to donate to Compassion Connect that will help fill their Care Closet. Bring Diapers and or baby wipes! Anything that a baby might need, we want to fill it up!

The poker is Texas Hold ‘em and the Cigars are Cuban… or from other tobacco growing counties! There is a pool and hot tub for those so inclined. We will be enjoying pulled pork sandwiches for dinner. $20 initial buy in, rebuys unlimited, cash game.

For information, Contact the Poker Commission Bro. Joe Guinn at guinnjoe@gmail.com.

Yes, that is the scuttlebutt, there are enough Jeep owners at Gila Valley that initial talks are in the works to form a club and start exploring the trails. No word from the powers that be on whether those with 4X4’s not of the Jeep persuasion will be allowed to tag along. First planned trips will be occurring soon so reach out now.

For information, Contact club President Bro. Joe Guinn at guinnjoe@gmail.com.

CALIENTE COFFEE CLUB SINCE 1985

First and third Tuesday at 9:00 am Caliente Club House, Florence Arizona

MASONIC CONVERSATION, FELLOWSHIP, and EDUCATION For Information call Dewey at 520.576.2329

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Join Grand Master Greg & Lady Debbie Vasquez for a fun filled evening Saturday December 7th at the El Zaribah Shrine!

The evening includes Dinner, Entertainment & Fun. Order you tickets here before they are gone! http://bit.ly/GLOAZChristmasParty There are a few hotels room still available for the special rate $99 a night which includes a free shuttle to the Shrine auditorium and breakfast. book yours now at: https://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/groups/personalized/P/PHXANGI-AML-20191207/index.jhtml?

WT.mc_id=POG

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Historic Florence Arizona is a pretty interesting Town if you take the time to explore it.

Recently the Executive Director of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce left his position for a job helping Veterans in Mesa, leaving the Chamber without leadership. Being on the Board of Directors, I was in a position to step in as Interim Director. During that time, part of my responsibilities is keeping track of the fun things to do in Florence that will attract visitors and therefore hopefully attract customers.

Last week a gentleman came into my office and expressed his opinion that there were not enough events to keep people active and happy like previous places he had lived. I smiled and listened to his concerns and complaints, hearing how great his previous place of residence was. I agreed with his opinions on a successful community and directed him to the Chamber Facebook page which I have attempted to keep up to date with things to do in Florence as I find out about them.

We walked through the calendar of the current week and future months, and he marveled at all the things to do. In fact he saw that there was a talk happening in nearby McFarland State Park that was starting soon and he thanked me and quickly left to enjoy the lecture.

What does this have to do with Masonry? I humbly suggest that most people do not know all the things that are happening within our Fraternity. There are some well publicized Degrees and Parties that are lots of fun, however there are lot of other Masonic Events and lectures happening all over the State, you just need to ask. Take the time to look, you will be surprised and perhaps find something you might like!

Fraternally,

Roger Biede

2019 Junior Grand Steward Grand Lodge of Arizona F. & A.M.

www.azmasoniclibrary.org 10

Are you a Masonic Leader? Leadership is not about a title. It is about getting results.

Today I believe the single largest problem we as a fraternity face is the lack of leadership. Sure we have men with titles, but are they leaders? In most of our Lodges, the Secretary is the leader. I did not say that he was necessarily a good leader, or a bad leader.

However, he is probably the only one willing to keep things going.

How many times have we sat in the East and looked at the Secretary for help? Everyone needs help, but if you are the Master of your Lodge you are supposed to be the leader. After all you do have the title. What does a title mean? Today it means absolutely nothing.

We have Masters that can't open their Lodge. We have Past Masters that don't know any more about how their Lodge works today then before they were elected Junior Warden.

Brothers, I want to discuss the importance of bringing new Brothers into the Fraternity, and the actual significance of mentoring the new Brothers I have seen Brothers come through the door in flocks, only to be paired off with a single Brother, taught the words, and raised. When a Brother enters the lodge, he may be given an instructor or "mentor," but it is still each and every member of a Lodge's responsibility to help that Brother become a successful Mason. If you see a new Brother come through the door, look for a passion within him, something that can be cultivated to help our Fraternity progress in some way.

Inspire interest and passion within the Brother, do not demand it of him. You can only lead a horse to water. It is up to us to inspire the horse to drink by kind fellowship, and by example. Raise your Brothers knowing that the future of your lodge will be carried upon their backs.

It is up to us to help shape each Brother into a Mason worth the name of our ancient Order.

Leadership, or the lack there of, is responsible for the state of our Fraternity. Leaders are not born, they are made. You can learn to be a leader. Leadership is about the impact we have on others and ability to inlearned skill that must be practiced. Harry Truman said spire them to believe they can do anything. Leadership is "Men make history and not the other way around. In pea riods where there is no leadership, society stands still.

Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better."

Does your Lodge have any goals? What do you want to accomplish? Who do you want to help? Now, how are you going to get it done? Leadership is that simple. Set goals. Communicate your goals. Then make a plan to accomplish your goals.

If your Lodge members elected you to an office, you were chosen as a leader. Whether you are Tiler or Worshipful Master, you have been given an opportunity and the responsibility to make a difference in your Lodge.

We will soon be halfway through our Masonic year. Do you have a plan? Will your Lodge be a better Lodge after this year than it was before you were elected? If not, why? Step up and be a leader. After all that is what you were elected to do, not to hold a title, but to get results.

MW Bro. Jason Jefcoat, GM of Mississippi

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In the Ancient world the Liberal Arts and Sciences consisted of grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy; at least, the standard histories of education thus list them, though it is doubtful if Greek and Roman Schools rigidly adhered to that list or to its nomenclature-the Athenian schools of a certainty did not, because Aristotle and his successors taught zoology; neither did the schools and universities which were built in Europe after Charlemagne for the university at Salerno specialized in botany; the one at Cologne, in stenography and bookkeeping; one at Paris in law; etc.

The Medieval Freemasons were so devoted to the Liberal Arts and Sciences that when the author of the first of the Old Charges east about among the pages of the polycronicons or histories of the world then being circulated in MS. form for the grounds on which a Charter had been given to the Fraternity, he gave prominence to an old legend about two pillars on which the "secrets" of the Arts and Sciences had been preserved through Noah's Flood. This close and boasted connection between Operative Freemasons and the Arts and Sciences has long been a puzzle. Masons did not teach their apprentices each of the seven subjects. Why should a Craft of workmen boast of possessing u hat belonged to a few universities? Nevertheless they did boast, and because they did, they considered themselves apart and above the populace, which was illiterate. Even the clergy was uneducated? and among the prelates only a few could read and write. The majority of the kings, princes, and upper nobility knew so little about books or studies that they almost knew nothing; even as late as 1700 Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, the Grand Monarch, could only w ith great labor sign his name or spell out a few sentences.

ed man. Thus the connection between Freemasonry and the Arts and Sciences was not a factitious one, but a necessary one. In a period without schools an education could not be called schooling, college or university; it was called the Liberal Arts and Sciences. Since the Freemasons employed the phrase merely as a name for education, the fact that the classical curriculum had consisted of seven subjects is irrelevant to their history, and has no significance for interpretation of the Ritual.

After the system of Speculative Freemasonry was established in the Eighteenth Century the emphasis on education as not

only retained but was magnified, and it was called by its old name. The two pillars mere retained; a prominent place was given to the Arts and Sciences in both the Esoteric and the Exoteric portions of the Second Degree. Twentieth Century Freemasons feel as by a kind of instinct that education inevitably and naturally is one of their concerns; they take the motto, "Let there be light," with seriousness and earnestness.

This is a striking fact, this continuous emphasis on education The answer to the puzzle is that the Gothic Freemasons who by the same Fraternity through eight or nine centuries of built the cathedrals, priories, abbeys, etc., practiced an art time! The memory of that long tradition, the sense of continwhich of itself required an education; education was an inte- uing now what has been practiced for so long, is alive in the gral part of it. To be such a Freemason was to be an educat- Masonic consciousness.

The

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Masons have seen education persist through social, religious, political revolutions, from one language to another, from one country to another; they are therefore indifferent to the labels by which education is named (else they would substitute "education" for "Liberal Arts and Sciences"), and they are likely to believe, as against pedagogic experimentalists and innovators, that the imperishable identity and long-continued practice of education means that at bottom there is the curriculum, not countless possible curricula; and that it universally consists of the language, as it is written or spoken and is its structure, of mathematics, of history, of science, and of literature; an apprentice in life must begin with these; what else he learns in addition is determined by what art, trade, or vocation he is to enter.

The fact that education belongs essentially to the nature of Freemasonry and ever has, possesses a critical importance for the history of the Craft; is one of the facts by which the central problem of that history can be solved.

There were hundreds of crafts gilds, fraternities, societies, skilled trades in the Middle Ages; a few of them were larger, more pow erful, and far more wealthy than the Mason Craft, and they also had legends, traditions, officers, rules and regulations, possessed charters, took oaths, had ceremonies, admitted "non-operatives" to membership. Why then did Freemasonry stand aside and apart from the others? Why did it alone survive the others? Why did not they, as well as it, and long after the Middle Ages had passed, flower into world-wide fraternities? What unique secret did Freemasonry possess that they did not? It is because it had in itself, and from the beginning, had so much for the mind; so much of the arts and sciences; its members were compelled to think and to learn as well as to use tools.

It possessed what no other Craft possessed, and which can be described by no better name than philosophy, though it is a misnomer, for the Freemasons were not theorizers but found out a whole set of truths in the process

of their work; and these truths were not discovered or even guessed at by church, state, or the populace. When after 1717 the Lodges were thrown open to men of every walk and vocation, these latter discovered in the ancient Craft such a wealth of thought and learning as must ever be inexhaustible; and they have since written some tens of thousands of books about it, and have expounded it among themselves in tens of thousands of speeches and lectures. Furthermore they found that from the beginning

While Freemasonry is an important part of a member's life, it cannot interfere with his family, faith or occupational commitments. Rather, Freemasonry reinforces that each member must focus on improving himself, caring for his family and community, fulfilling his personal vocational responsibility and, above all, revering his God. If he does all that, he will make an impact in ways that truly matter.

What helps you be present and invested in yourself, your family, community and work? of Masonry, education had never been considered by it to be abstract, academic, or detached, a luxury for the few, a privilege for the rich, a necessity only for one or two professions, a monopoly of the learned, and something in books; they found that education belonged to work; this connecting of education with work, this insistence that work involves education, was not dreamed of in Greece and Rome, was not seen in the Middle Ages, and would have aroused a sense of horror if it had been, and even in modern times is only beginning to be seen.

The uniqueness of this discovery explains in part the uniqueness of Freemasonry then and thereafter. ~ Mackey

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This time of year should be happy and kind, even though that is not always the case. We visit family and friends and are able to enjoy the outdoors more, so why are we not all happy and full of joy?

friends we haven’t talked to in a while, then maybe we can ALL enjoy the holidays a little bit more.

This time of the year we go through many changes in the weather, the number people visiting the valley, and also the holidays.

With the weather we add clothing and even turn off the AC. We have to buy new windshield wipers for the rain and maybe even turn on the heat. There are more cars on the road and the hours of daylight are less.

Halloween is over, all the ghouls are put away, and Thanksgiving and Turkey are on their way. The seasons are changing and so are the plates, with cooler weather and shorter days. So during this time please think of all that you are thankful for and embrace the change, for soon we will be facing Christmas and then quickly New Year’s Day. Fraternally,

Eric Smith 2019 Senior Warden Gila Valley Lodge No. 9

The changes in weather bring different emotions to everyone, some love the cooler temps and think of football games with friends. Others do not like the cool and wish for the heat of the summer.

Why three times three ?

In ancient times the Entered Degree was alone prevalent amongst the generality of our Lodges; for no Brothers could be passed and raised except in the Grand Lodge, and few availed themselves of the privilege. Hence they had only one sign, one token, and one word, and these three constituted the honors.

But the members of the Grand Lodge had three signs, three tokens, and three words, and therefore, three times three were appropriately termed the Grand Honors."

More cars on the road means more travel time to and from home, work, and the store. Grocery shopping is now almost a chore.

For some the holidays are great and others not so much.

We should all remember that the holidays mean so much in so many different ways for all of us. If we all respect that and try to understand, maybe even reach out to family and

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According to legend St John the Evangelist’s birthday is December 27. He is said to be a disciple of St John the Baptist and the “Beloved Disciple” of Jesus. John was a Galilean fisherman and a cousin of Jesus. As a young man John was impulsive, impetuous and vindictive.

According ancient history John and his brother James were referred to as the “Sons of Thunder” for the time they wanted to call down fire from Heaven. In his later years, John the Evangelist’s disposition changed and he became known as the Disciple of Love. In operative Masonry St Thomas, a stonemason, would be a fitting Patron Saint but speculative Masonry it is my belief that St John the Evangelist and St John the Baptist are the proper choices for our Patron Saints.

St John the Evangelist’s transformation from being hottempered and radical young man to a man of peace and tranquility in his old age is an excellent example of learning to subdue our passions and improve ourselves

in Free Masonry. He goes from being intolerant of others to sharing his theology of a better way of life.

It is said that John was very loyal and was the only disciple to attended Jesus’s trial and was at the foot of the cross for the crucifixion. He also took Mary, the mother of Jesus into his home and cared for her until her death. We learn from the writings of St John the Evangelist that his message is simple and straightforward, that to know and love God (Deity) is to obey His law and that the essential mark of grace is Brotherly Love and that the ideal life is to live in fellowship with others.

As evidenced by his life’s journey we learn that St John the Evangelist practiced the most important tenants of Freemasonry, “Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth”, an example my Brothers, well worthy of imitation.

Jim Baker 2019 Junior Grand Warden Grand Lodge of Arizona

Tom Williams 50 Year Uncle Bro. Tom Williams went to visit his 90 year old uncle in California and found out during the visit that he had recently accounted for 50 years of being a Mason. He quickly made some phone calls to his home Lodge in Texas so that he could be awarded his pin. He could not reach the Lodge but made arrangements to contact the Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Texas and was able to confirm the presentation.

Within the month his uncle, Bro. Howard Williams was presented with his certificate and pin representing 50 years of service to our great Fraternity

!

W

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Why the Northeast Corner ?

In the Institutes of Menu, the sacred book of the Brahmans, it is said: "If any one has an incurable disease, let him advance in a straight path towards the invincible northeast point, feeding on water and air till his mortal frame totally decays, and his soul becomes united with the supreme." It is at the same northeast point that those first instructions begin in Freemasonry which enable the true Freemason to commence the erection of that spiritual temple in which, after the decay of his mortal frame, "his soul becomes united with the supreme. "

blematic of firmness and stability of character and the peculiar finish and fineness of the material, emblematic of virtue and holiness show that the ceremony of the Northeast Corner of the Lodge was undoubtedly intended to portray, in the consecrated language of symbolism, the necessity of integrity and stability of conduct, of truthfulness and uprightness of character, and of purity and holiness of life, which, just at that time and in that place, the candidate is most impressively charged to maintain.

NORTH STAR In the important ceremony which refers to the Northeast This star is frequently used as a Masonic symbol, as are the Corner of the Lodge, the Candidate becomes as one who morning star, the day star, the seven stars. Thus, the mornis, to all outward appearance, a perfect and upright man ing star is the forerunner of the Great Light that is about to and Mason, the representative of a spiritual Corner-stone, break upon the Lodge; or, as in the grade of Grand Master on which he is to erect his future moral and Masonic edi- Architect, twelfth of the Scottish System, the initiate is refice. This symbolic reference of the Corner-stone of a ma- ceived at the hour "when the day star has risen in the east, terial edifice to a Freemason when, at his first initiation, he and the north star looked down upon the seven stars that commences the moral and intellectual task of erecting a circle round him." The symbolism is truth; the North Star spiritual temple in his heart, is beautifully sustained when is the Pole Star, the Polaris of the mariner, the Cynosura. we look at all the qualities that are required to constitute a that guides Freemasons over the stormy seas of time. The "well-tried, true, and trusty" Corner-stone. The squareness seven stars are the symbol of right and justice to the Order of its surface, emblematic of morality its cubical form, em- and the country

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WB Mike Smolenack Curtis Johnson WB John O’Hara PM WB Delbert Lewis PM WB Ray Osbourn PM WB Billy Bayless Robert E. Turley WB Forest Hammer Family of Ken Holland

Baby Rylee Ringer Baby Miguel Martinez Baby Angeliya Celeste Holt MW Grand Master of Arizona First Responders The Armed Forces Our Veterans Our dearly departed Brethren Brethren Gila Valley Lodge No. 9

November Birthdays

November Anniversaries

Jacob Roberts Robert Amma Boyd Johnson Roger Biede III Chip Frizzell Jim Baker Dewey Jefferson Tom Williams Joe Guinn

Gale McDougal John O’Hara Jim Reid Wade Bell Michael Henry Jacob Roberts Dewey Jefferson

11-4 11-4 11-11 11-12 11-12 11-17 11-20 11-22 11-29

11-8-1985 11-12-1969 11-16-1999 11-22-1997 11-22-1997 11-22-1997 11-28-2016

December Birthdays

December Anniversaries

John Lane Daniel Gentry Mark Nielsen

Ron Miller Delbert Lewis Fred Aipperspach

12-8 12-16 12-28 18

12-4-1989 12-13-1948 12-14-2009

SCIENCE With Thanksgiving right around the corner and Christmas close behind let's try to look back and reflect on what has occurred in the past year. There have been many new things that we all have experienced, many new things that we were surprised from, and many things that may have made us wonder why throughout the year. So this month I am going to ask, What are 3 different things that we can be thankful for this year?

Trying to ponder a reasonable definition of science, is like trying to package air. There are pros and cons all the way to absolutes, to the point of theoretical equality. People say that all science come from original thought, distilled into blends of theory, unproven, and put to the test to show the way to a desired place where reasonable minds agree further investigation must be taken.

I am thankful for the brothers that I have gotten to know. No matter if I sit with you in lodge on a regular basis or if I only get to see you once in a while all my brothers that I have met, I am glad to have met you.

Up till now, progress was based on human opinion, and some functional provability. Probable from this point on, each proof of mind and matter is called science. Thoughts of what is considered science constitutes a realm of absolutes of thought, investigation, analytical progress, and agreement on what is provable, and what should be, and the realization that there is always more to do. Possibly then known proof can be proven.

I am thankful for the lessons that masonry has taught me especially Charity. That around this time I look to see how I can help my family, friends and community. For without a firm foundation in the community made of strong friends and family then what is there.

Finally, I am thankful for the one who knows all things and is the one in whom I put my trust. If it wasn't for the great Architect's guidance and direction I may never have made my way through the doors of the lodge that I am now a member.

I now challenge each of you to think of 3 things that you are thankful for this past year and have a great Thanksgiving and a safe holiday season.

Till next time Brothers,

Because of the presence of ethereal thought, there often are detractors of progress, need, doubt, even morals. But detractors often are the stimulant to further progression by the doubting of of given proofs, and the cycle continues, the results producing untold delay for the advancement of civilization. The accomplishments of science can be for the good, as in medical discovery, or the obverse as weapons of mass destruction. Let moral wisdom be the guide.

John Woode

David Woodland

2019 Junior Deacon Gila Valley Lodge No. 9

Scottsdale Lodge no. 43

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When Charlotte “Lottie” Colton Devine was born Nov. 22, 1889, in Florence, Arizona, the town was reeling from the aftermath that same year of the escape of Apache prisoners who had murdered their guards and fled into the desert.

Most were eventually caught and placed in the Florence jail.

The one Native American who escaped, the Apache Kid, became known as the most feared desperado in Arizona Territory. He was never caught. Outlaws would continue to play an integral role in Lottie’s life.

my name in the next edition of the paper and folks stopped spelling.”

At age 10, she found herself in the crowd trying to catch a glimpse of the lady bandit Pearl Hart who had been caught and held in the Florence jail for robbing a stagecoach. The whole town had turned out to see the woman outlaw, including Lottie and her sister Georgia. Pearl smiled and waved at two girls. The youngsters were delighted to be recognized by such a fascinating woman.

Pearl was still wearing the men’s clothing she had donned before holding up the stage, including a pair of flowered suspenders. The men of Florence found her fascinating, bringing her gifts to gain her attention. The townswomen, according to Lottie, also liked to sneak a peek at the female outlaw who so beguiled their besotted menfolk. The entire town “found her pleasant, with an easy way of talking,” Lottie said, “but as they left she gave them a ‘cussing’ they never forgot.”

“I was such a curious somebody about all the goings on,” Lottie wrote in her childhood autobiography, “Es Verdad” or “It is True,” penned in 1964. She recalled the time as a young child when her mother sent her outside with a bowl of bread and milk. She watched as Lottie took her bowl to the wood pile and set it down. Curious, she followed the child and watched as a bull snake Lottie had befriended came up to the bowl and started drinking the leftover milk. “Papa was not satisfied until he found the snake,” Lottie said, “and was sure it was not a rattler. He let it go its way.”

She was curious, as well as exceptionally intelligent, so that her parents often spelled out words during conversations so she would not understand what was being discussed.

“One evening we had as guests Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Cooper,” Lottie said, “he was the assistant editor of the Blade-Tribune newspaper for a few years. Mama had given me watermelon to eat in the dining room, Alberta (Lottie’s younger sister) kept tugging at me to give her some, so I called out, ‘Mama, can baby sister have some of the d-a-m watermelon?’ I got

Lottie’s mother, Mary, was one of the first teachers in the new Florence schoolhouse while her father, Albert, along with working as chief engineer and superintendent for the Florence Canal Co., served as deputy clerk of the U.S. Court in Florence.

In 1903, the family moved to Safford. Lottie attended school in Morrison, Illinois, until age 19 when she took a teaching position in Solomonville, Arizona. Two years later, she returned to Florence to teach.

In 1912, Lottie married Edwin O. Devine who served as Pinal County justice of the peace along with his duties as Florence police judge. The couple had two children: Edwyna, born in 1914, and Jonelle in 1920. Jonelle died at the age of 10.

For several years, Lottie enjoyed the position of editor of women’s activities on the (cont)

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Blade Tribune along with running the school cafeteria.

When Edwin died in 1944, Lottie was appointed to finish his term as justice of the peace. At the same time, she was appointed town magistrate by the Florence Town Council town magistrate by the Florence Town Council.

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Year. She also founded a similar club in Apache Junction.

During World War II, she worked in hospitals and private homes taking care of the sick, injured and disabled. She also chaired the county Red Cross.

If that was not enough, in her spare time, Lottie wrote and directed two minstrel shows, one performed in Casa Grande and the other in Florence.

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Lottie died June 19, 1967, at the age of 77. She is still remembered in Florence as the little girl who let little stand in Since Edwin’s office sat unoccupied for several weeks, Lottie her way and took that philosophy with her throughout her terms of office. decided it needed a good cleaning. After working in the school cafeteria all day, she set to work scrubbing off a layer of dirt in the disheveled office. Suddenly, the phone rang and Lottie was informed by the Superior Court clerk’s office that a couple wanted to get married.

Lottie, thinking it was a joke since she had just recently been sworn in, hung up the phone and went back to dusting and sweeping. A few minutes later, the engaged couple walked into the office and reassured Lottie they certainly did want to marry. Lottie quickly powdered her nose, put away her broom and performed the ceremony.

Of the many cases brought before Lottie, several stand out. She bound an escaped prisoner over to the Superior Court after he beat the wife of the Arizona State Prison farm superintendent over the head with a hammer. She levied a particularly large bond against a man who was accused of shooting up the old sheriff’s office building in Superior, Arizona and wounding two men. And she was especially hard on drunken drivers who were used to being sentenced to a mere weekend in jail for their transgressions. Instead, she fined them $100 and 10 days in jail for their first offense.

In all the years Lottie served as justice of the peace, no one opposed her. She stayed on the job until 1955 when she announced she was ready to retire. But in 1959, she was reappointed to the position and stayed in office until her official retirement in 1963. She became the first Arizona justice of the peace to be given a lifetime membership in the Arizona Justice of the Peace Association.

Always active in community organizations, Lottie served as president of the Florence Business and Professional Woman’s Club and was once selected Woman of the

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Erected in the 1920s and 30s, it soars 333 feet as a beacon of Light and knowledge, educating and inspiring all who visit it.

Recognized in 2015 as a National Historic Landmark, the Memorial is one of the most impressive and iconic buildings in the area around our nation’s capital. Our new fundraising endeavor, The Landmark Century Campaign, aims to support a thorough restoration of the Memorial.

And we can help!

Today, the Memorial is a museum like no other in the world. Everything we do revolves around our vision: “to inspire humanity through education to emulate and promote the virtues, character and vision of George Washington, the Man, the Mason, and Father of our Country.” Open seven days a week, the Memor i a l o f f e r s detailed exhibits and guided tours that teach the general public about George Washington, his life and virtues, and the role that Freemasonry played throughout his life. Further, the Memorial is an important space for the performing arts, social gatherings, public events, and educational seminars. And, of course, it is an active

Having a tree planted on the grounds of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial is an excellent way to honor an important individual in your life. And also a great way to express thanks to an organization, such as a Lodge or Chapter. For a donation of $750, the tree will be cared for in perpetuity, and a handsome stone marker placed near the tree will communicate your dedication.

Masonic temple, housing two Craft lodges and regularly hosting visiting lodges from around the country. The Memorial is a central hub connecting Masons to one another, and connecting the Craft to the public, our nation, and our world F o r t h e p a s t d e c a d e , t h e Memorial Association has devoted tremendous energy and resources to the renovation of the Memorial.

Major exhibits have been added. Interiors have been repaired and repainted. Lighting has been updated. But the most considerable work is the top-to-bottom restoration of the building itself—the first such renovation since the Memorial was completed nearly a century ago.

Beginning at the Memorial’s pyramid level, we have begun a multi-year project to perform all needed structural repairs. Stone by stone, are repointing the mortar and protecting the building from water penetration. When completed, the building will be in bet-

ter than new condition.

The Society of Washington Lodges is for regular Lodges (recognized by the Grand Lodges of the United States) who are committed to supporting the Memorial.

There is a one-time donation of $2,500.00, which can be applied toward Patronage.

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Arizona's Family - Ernest McFarland's adopted daughter, Jewell, met Del Lewis in Florence, Arizona. On June 17, 1951, while Mac was serving as Senate Majority Leader, Del and Jewell married in Washington in a wedding that was covered in the New York Times. Del and Jewell had 5 children and eventually managed KTVK Channel 3 - the TV station that Mac founded in Phoenix in 1955. Their story: https:// www.youtube.com/ President Lincoln appointed John Addison Gurley as Arizona’s first territorial governor, and named John No- watch?v=kfdmbr1A -7E&t=177s ble Goodwin, former congressman from Maine and a lawyer, as Chief Justice of the Arizona Territory. Gurley From left, back row: Del Lewis, Del Lewis Jr, Jewell Lewis and Kara Lewis (or Leah). Front row: Bill Lewis, Leah Lewis died before he could take office, and Lincoln then ap(or Kara) and John Lewis. WB Delbert Lewis was raising a pointed Goodwin as governor.

Master Mason on 12/13/1948 and was Master of Gila Valley Goodwin was 39 when he arrived in Arizona in Decem- No. 9 F & AM Masonic Lodge in 1959. He will receive his ber of 1863, as part of a par70 year pin 2019 ty of appointed officials who traveled from Washington DC. . Goodwin left Arizona two years later after being elected as the territory’s delegate to the U.S. Congress.

The State of Utah’s history was largely influenced by Masons.

In physics and geometry, a "catenary" is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends.

When inverted, this forms the centenarian arch, which is said to be the strongest of all arches. As the form of a symbolic Lodge is an oblong square, that of a Royal Arch Chapter, according to to some English rituals, is a centenarian arch.

Historian Thomas Edwin Farish wrote about Goodwin in 1916 in History of Arizona, Volume III: “He was industrious, democratic in all his views and typical Westerner, as far as his habits were concerned, for he was in no sense a Puritan or hide bound in his views. He enjoyed a toddy, liked a game of draw, and was pleasant, affable and courteous to everyone.”

PGM Morris Goldwater wrote in his history of @Aztlan Lodge #1 "The first recorded minutes of a meeting are without date. It was in the year 1864. The Secretary, who was Lieut. Charles Curtis of the U. S. Army and the meeting was held at the house of John N. Goodwin, then Governor of the Territory, and is the log building later owned by and the home of Judge H. W. Fleury.

According to LDS Living, the first five presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were Freemasons, having joined the organization in Nauvoo, Illinois, before church members moved west to settle in the Salt Lake Valley. The beehive, now symbolic of the Utah spirit of industry, originated with Freemasons, who first used the symbol dating back to the 18th century

Do you have some Arizona Lodge Masonic Trivia? Please send to us so that we can include it in a future edition!

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In the Old West, gold was stored at area mines and it was well guarded. But when it came time to ship the gold to one of the banks, it was at its most vulnerable to robbery.

News of any gold shipments from the mines was impossible to keep secret. Newspapers would report on it. So when a gang of desperadoes from New Mexico suddenly showed up in Prescott, Arizona, the owner of the Little Jessie mine, John Jones, decided to take precautions for his upcoming gold shipment to the Prescott Bank.

He hired former Prescott marshal (effectively chief of police), James M. Dodson to escort and insure the safety of the gold shipment from the Big Bug area mine.

Soon, "Dodson's skill as a sleuth uncovered an advance plot." He learned that the gang of would-be-robbers had recruited the driver of the gold shipment!

that Wood leveled his gun at the driver and told him to pull off the trail into the brush to hide.

However, instead of changing drivers, Dodson decided to hatch a ruse to foil the robbery.

After first light, the two crooks who took the easier leftfork found that there was no buggy traveling ahead of them. They then surmised that the gold buggy took the other fork. Dodson hoped that the robbers would think they would use the same, more difficult "backroad" to the bank, setting up an ambush on the wrong trail. But Dodson couldn't be sure his plan would work. He still needed to be cautious.

Dodson had to plan carefully and quietly. To help himself, Dodson hired a 23 year-old man named Homer Wood who mentored Dodson and whom Dodson could trust.

He told Wood of his plan and Wood promised to carry out the ruse to the letter.

First, Dodson let it leak out when the shipment would take place. Then, at the appointed time, (5 a.m.) when the empty buggy would leave Prescott for the mine, Dodson showed up pretending to be hopelessly drunk.

The driver of the buggy, having been recruited by the robbers, must have thought that the heist was going to be easy when Dodson told him and Wood to go ahead without him.

"The gun at his back forced the driver to follow the command and from behind a clump of trees, they waited noiselessly. The sound of horses finally reached them and they silently watched the dimly-lighted road as two buggies passed and took the left fork of the road." Two of the would be thieves were seen with rifles by their sides as they drove by.

Wood and the driver continued to wait. Dodson then rode up to Wood with a fast buggy and ordered the driver to take the right fork. The driver protested, but Dodson revealed that he knew the driver was part of the gang and forced him to continue ahead on the more difficult trail.

When the buggy reached the Little Jessie mine, it was loaded with the gold. Jones, the owner, got in the with the driver. They were followed by two armed men in a wagon, with Dodson on horseback and young Wood covering the rearguard. This time, they took the easier, faster trail into town. They kept 100 yards between each one of them to better defend against an ambush.

However, "no incident marred the return to Prescott, for Dodson's ruse had worked." The robbers did indeed set up an ambush for a gold buggy that would never come.

"As for Dodson, even though his plan was perfect to the last detail and the gang fell into his trap so completely, he seemed somewhat disappointed that a fight couldn't have evolved."

Later in life, Dodson moved to Phoenix for his remaining years, where he died May 10th, 1907. His obituary stated: "He participated in the border warfare in Missouri during the war between the states and was a Confederate soldier.

For about twelve years he was city marshal or chief of police of Prescott and had a well established reputation as a fearless officer."

Outside Prescott, the road forked at "3 Mile House." The Dodson was not only fearless, he proved himself to be left-fork was the easier, faster route to the mine. The right clever as well. James Dodson was a long time member -fork went over many mountains and hills through the of Aztlan Lodge #1, joining their Lodge in 1884. placer mine claims around Lynx Creek. It was at this fork Do you have some Arizona Lodge Masonic Trivia? Please send to us so that we can include it in a future edition!

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The Order of the Mustard Seed, otherwise known as "The Fraternity of Moravian Brothers of the Order of Religious Freemasons," was introduced in 1716 by a group of school friends at the Halle Academy in what is now Eastern German, led by a young nobleman called Nicholas Ludwig von Zinzendorf. They saw their society as a kind of spiritual order of knighthood, dedicated not to personal honour or self-advancement but to radical service of Jesus Christ the King. The rules they committed to live by would change and mature as the Order grew, but the heart of their promise always remained the same: To be True to Christ To be Kind to People To take the Gospel to the Nations For these young men ‘True to Christ’ started off expressed mostly as personal holiness; it would develop to include the complex challenges of working with integrity in the midst of opposition. ‘Kind to People’ encompassed a commitment to helping the poor but also learning to love your enemies in practise. And their aspiration to take the ‘Gospel to the Nations’ would lead to pioneering missionary work across Europe and in every part of the known world.

Zinzendorf and others went on to become the leaders of the Moravian renewal, which has been described as “one of the purest moves of the Spirit in church history”. Zinzendorf’s commitment to be ‘kind to people’ led him to accept religious refugees fleeing persecution in Moravia (modern day Czech Republic) on his estate at Herrnhut in Germany – a present day image of which is on the front page of the website. In August 1727, they experienced a dramatic move of the Holy Spirit which led them to start a prayer watch that continued day and night for the next 100 years. The community at Herrnhut became the centre of a spiritual revival which led to the planting of radical missional communities all around the world. Within five years they sent out their first overseas missionaries to work among slaves in the Caribbean, even offering to become slaves themselves if that was what it took to reach those whom no-one else seemed to care about. These early Moravian pioneers were the first ‘lay’ missionaries and the first to be sent by a non state-sponsored organization in modern history. They were soon followed by missions to Greenland, North America, Africa, and the Far East.

Throughout this remarkable period the Mustard Seed covenant was the guiding principle which urged them on in mission and service, and led them back onto the right path when they got it wrong. Its members came to include people of influence like the King of Denmark and the Archbishop of Canterbury, ‘outsiders’ like the Chief of the Cree tribe of Native Americans, and ordinary people from many walks of life, all committed to doing extraordinary things in God’s Kingdom.

As far as we know the original Order of the Mustard Seed did not continue much beyond the late 18th century. It paid special attention to the fourth Chapter of the Gospel of St. Mark, where Christ compares heaven to a mustard seed.The brethren were said to have worn a ring, inscribed with the phrase "Keiner von uns lebt ihm selber" translated as "No one of us lives for himself." Today, the Order of the Mustard Seed has been resurrected as a spiritual sect, without ties to Freemasonry.

Do you have some Arizona Lodge Masonic Trivia? Please send to us so that we can include it in a future edition!

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Freemasonry is the oldest and largest fraternity known.

In 17th and 18th century England, Masons defined their fraternity as "a system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." Today it might be defined as "an organized society of men who symbolically apply the principles of operative masonry to the art of character building." As is customary with any concept of thought, it has enjoyed times of great renown and prestige, and it has experienced times of adversity. Freemasonry, today, remains an energetic organization that is attracting advocates over the entire civilized world. Over the years a great deal has been written and said concerning the Masonic Fraternity, much of it fact and much of it fiction. It

timate Authority or Great Light in Freemasonry; The soul of man is immortal; Man's commitment to Divine Providence determines his destiny; Man's reverence for God is best exemplified by his actions toward his fellow man; Considering the universality of freemasonry, its teachings cannot be defined in any single statement or established profile. The following is considered to be representative of its fundamental precepts: Man's first duty is to love and revere God, implore his aid in all laudable undertakings, and seek his guidance through prayer, embrace and practice the tenets of religion, extend charity and sympathy to all mankind, shield and support the widow and orphan, defend virtue, respect the aged, honor the bonds of friendship, protect the hopeless, lift up the oppressed, comfort the downcast, restore dignity to the rejected, respect the laws of government, promote morality, and add to the common stock of knowledge and understanding. The heart of Freemasonry is the heart of its members.

The making of a Freemason is a continued course of education, training and character forming or symbolically known as the search for more light. It is also an innermost desire, followed by obligations, that makes one a member of the Craft, yet in a truer sense, a man is not a Freemason unless he lives up to his obligations. The philosophy of Freemasonry, when discovered and then accepted and practiced, provides simple but profound sois perhaps inevitable that myths have arisen with respect lutions to the problems of human relationships. The to Freemasonry, some of them advanced by its support- man who has been raised to the Sublime Degree of a ers and others of them promoted by its critics, and that Master Mason must understand that there is nothing the dissemination of these myths has produced confused higher and nothing superior to him in Masonry. When conceptions of Freemasonry. Freemasonry teaches, he has become a Master Mason, he has become as through ritual, how to build a better world by making much a Mason as he will ever be. Thus, the man who "better men out of good men," by strengthening their has received the three degrees in the Symbolic Lodge or character, improving their moral and spiritual outlook Blue Lodge is a Master Mason. The Master Mason Deand broadening their mental horizons. It teaches men: gree is the climax of Freemasonry. Thus, it is the subprinciples of personal responsibility and righteousness; lime degree, and is supreme and unexcelled. From the an understanding of character; and how to put these les- Symbolic Lodge or Blue Lodge, one may join other Masons into practice in daily life. The man who has decided sonic groups such as the York Rite and the Scottish Rite. to seek Masonic membership needs only to convey his These are sometimes called higher degrees. They are desire to someone close to him who is a Mason. That higher only in the sense that they have higher numbers Mason will take it from there. and that some of them are prerequisite for others. (cont) Freemasonry teaches the universal principle of unselfish friendship and promotes those moral precepts, which are in keeping with all great faiths. The following, though not exclusive, is considered basic: One God created mankind; This God is the author of all life; God's existence is revealed to man through faith and the Book of Holy Scriptures; The Book of Holy Scriptures is the Ul-

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However, there is nothing higher and nothing superior to the degree of Master Mason. There are certain other organizations, the best known of which are perhaps the Shrine and the Grotto, which are not Masonic bodies, but organizations which require Masonic membership as a prerequisite for joining them. These organizations, in other words, draw their membership exclusively from the Masonic Fraternity, but they are not a part of it.

Affection. It dictates to no man as to his beliefs, either religious or secular. It seeks no advantage for its Members through business or politics. Freemasonry is not a forum for discussions on partisan affairs. We assemble for work and fellowship and to learn to love and cherish one another. By so doing, we bring light out of darkness, beauty out of drabness, exaltation out of despair, to the end that every Brother's life may become more radiant and meaningful.

Freemasonry is not a religion even though it is religious in character. It does not pretend to take the place of religion nor serve as a substitute for the religious beliefs of its Members. Freemasonry accepts men, found to be worthy, regardless of religious convictions. An essential requirement is a belief in the existence of a Supreme Being. Freemasonry is not an insurance or beneficial society. It is not organized for profit. However, the charity and services rendered are beyond measure. It teaches the Golden Rule. It seeks to make good men better through its firm belief in the Fatherhood of God, the Brotherhood of Man and the Immortality of the Soul.

The tenets of Freemasonry are ethical principles that are acceptable to all good men. It teaches tolerance toward all mankind. It is known throughout the world, it consists of men bound together by bonds of Brotherly Love and

To surmise, no man can live according to the principles and teachings of Ancient Craft Masonry and do anything, knowingly and willingly, that is contrary to moral and upright principles. Freemasonry frowns on every wrongful act and admonishes the right actions between each of us and the world at large. Freemasonry is and should always be a guide to our actions. Freemasonry is kindness in the home, honesty in business, courtesy in society, fairness in work, pity and concern for the unfortunate, resistance toward evil, help for the weak, forgiveness for the penitent, love for one another and, above all, reverence and love for God. Freemasonry is many things but, most of all: Freemasonry is a way of life... ~ Bro. Author Unknown

Florence Veterans Memorial Park Dedicated Bro. John Anderson, Vice-Mayor recently presided at the dedication of the new Veteran’s Memorial Park in Downtown Historic Florence. A badly needed first, Bro. Anderson enlisted his son, a landscape architect, to develop a plan for a beautiful courtyard that would adequately memorialize those that have served in the armed forces. Centered around a beautiful eagle statue, the park encompasses the Southern area of the Library and Community Center.

Working with the city, the park and rec department, American Legion No. 9, and Gila Valley Lodge No. 9 monies were raised and the park became a reality in one short year!

We are proud of the efforts of John and his committee. (Of which Bro. Gale MacDougal and Bro. Dave Jones played instrumental parts in brining the park to a reality.) This will be a gathering point for the citizens of the Town now and for years to come. Next time you are around stop by the park, pay your respects and “feed the Eagle�

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December 2, Gila Valley Lodge No. 9

December 6, 2019 Kearny Poker Night

7:00 pm Monday’s at the Lodge

Ray Winkelman Lodge No. 24 7:30 pm Poker Kearny Style 209 Essex Road Kearny AZ 480-433-9023

December 5, Pinal Lodge No. 30 7:00 pm Stated Meeting

December 9, Gila Valley Lodge No. 9 5:00 pm Dinner at Mount Athos 7:00 pm Stated Meeting 9:00 pm Post meeting discussion at Mount Athos

December 10, Ray-Winkleman No. 24 7:30 pm Stated Meeting

December 14, 2019 Gila Valley Poker Night Gila Valley Lodge No. 9

7:00 pm Poker Gila Valley Lodge Style At Guinn’s House BRING BABY ITEMS TO DONATE

January 4, 2019 Officer Installation Gila Valley Lodge No. 9

7400 pm Poker Gila Valley Lodge Family welcome

December 10, Ocotillo Chapter No. 21 OES January 27, 2020 Make a Different Day 7:00 pm Stated Meeting

Gila Valley Lodge No. 9 Florence, Arizona

December 14 White Mountain No. 3

7:00 am Begins

10:00 am Stated Meeting

March 7, 2020 Lost Dutchman Degree

December 14, Globe Chapter No. 7 R.A.M

Gila Valley Lodge No. 9 Superstition Mountains, Arizona

2:00 pm Stated Meeting

10:00 am Degree Begins

December 12, Apache Lodge No. 69 7:300 pm Stated Meeting

December 16, Gila Valley Lodge No. 9 7:00 pm Monday’s at the Lodge

December 19, Eloy Lodge No. 46 7:00 pm Stated Meeting

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On August 26th, members of Gila Valley Lodge drafted the first ever Gila Valley Fantasy Football league. Champion will donate half their winning to the Lodge! Fantasy football is a game in which the participants serve as General Managers of virtual professional gridiron football teams. The competitors choose team rosters by participating in a draft in which all players of a real football league are available Keep your eyes out for monthly standings!

For information, Contact the League Commission Bro. Joe Guinn at guinnjoe@gmail.com.

D. Genchi

7

5

0

J. Guinn

6

6

1

A. Raimondi

6

6

1

J. Baker

4

8

3

J. Woode

3

9

4

N. Genchi

9

3

0

B. Gay

8

4

1

R. Biede

8

4

1

N. Genchi

6

6

3

R. Kann

3

9

6

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WB Jim Baker is the current High Priest The “Capitular” or Chapter Degrees of Freemasonry refers the four degrees of the York Rite system that follow the “blue lodge” or “Craft” degrees. The Holy Royal Arch is the final degree and the culmination of the Chapter experience for a candidate. The Chapter is the second body of the York Rite of Freemasonry (following the Symbolic or 'Blue' Lodge), though in some Jurisdictions it is considered the completion of the initial three degrees and is part of the regular Craft experience. All Master Masons are eligible for membership. Contact WB Jim Baker, High Priest, or Paul Dore at pauldoresr@cox.net for more information

Do you have a son 12-21 years Old? Saguaro Order of the DeMolay is the premier youth leadership organization building young men of character and dedicated to making young men better people and leaders and sponsored by Gila Valley Lodge 9, Pinal Lodge No. 30, and Eloy Lodge No. 46 Meetings are held twice monthly on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month starting at 6:00 pm. All parents are welcome and are encouraged to attend and get involved in this great organization. They meet at Pinal Lodge #30 located at 1140 E. Florence Blvd., Casa Grande, Arizona 85122.

Great Men wear a Fez! We're counting on you… Who do you know that would make a good Mason and Shriner? A friend? A family member? A coworker? Commit to making a difference!

The future of our fraternity relies on your commitment.

CLICK HERE TO REFER A GOOD MAN The individual you refer will receive a series of communications, the first of which will identity you as the referral source.

The Scottish Rite is a Masonic organization that continues a Master Mason's education of the first three degrees. The Scottish Rite is one of several appendant groups of the worldwide fraternity known as Freemasonry. Each Valley has up to four Scottish Rite bodies, and each body confers a set of degrees. In the Southern Jurisdiction these are the Lodge of Perfection (4°-14°). Chapter Rose Croix (15°-18°), Council of Knights Kadosh (19°-30°), and the Consistory (31°-32°). The 33rd Degree is an honorary degree awarded for exceptional service. Have a question? Ask a Personal Rep! 30

Brethren, Friends, and Family, This year the Masonic Charities of Arizona approved 18 grants totaling $30,000 to organizations throughout Arizona. These 501c3 charitable organizations provide much needed services to their communities. Those services include assistance to our Veterans at the three VA Hospitals in Arizona, Domestic abuse shelters, child learning disabilities, training and assistance for people with special needs, support for soldiers abroad, Adult literacy programs and Personal hygiene kits for the working poor and homeless.

We are able to award these Grants from the income of our investment fund, Lodge and Personal donations and support from Grand Lodge. In order to keep up with the desire to expand our Grant distribution to more organizations and communities around the State we ask for your help.

We have registered with the Amazon Smile Foundation. Amazon Smile will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization selected by their customers. For Amazon customers to select the Masonic Charities of Arizona to receive these donations go to http://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-2746389 to automatically select us. Or you can go to www.smile.amazon.com and you will be prompted to select a charity. Now you are ready to shop and support the Masonic Charities of Arizona.

The Board of Directors of the Masonic Charities of Arizona extends our appreciation to all of you for your support.

Fraternally, Craig Hutchison Secretary, Masonic Charities of Arizona www.masoniccharitiesaz.com crghutch@gmail.com

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Anthony Raimondi Email: Raimondi_57@msn.com

Eric Smith Email: jiminys@yahoo.com

Email: roger.biede@gmail.com

MWGM Gregory A. Vasquez 2019-20 Grand Master F. & A.M of Arizona

Dewey Jefferson Email: djndjedderson48@yahoo.com

Chairman: WB Anthony Raimondi Email: Raimondi_57@msn.com

John Woode

Chairman: WB Daniel Genchi PM

Email: jwoode591@gmail.com

Email: dmgenchi@gmail.com

Chairman: Eric Smith Email: jiminys@yahoo.com

Brian Ringer

Chairman: WB Roger Biede III PM

Email:

Email: roger.biede@gmail.com

Chairman: Dewey Jefferson Email: djndjedderson48@yahoo.com

Daniel Genchi PM Email: dmgenchi@gmail.com

Chairman: WB Roger Biede III PM Email: roger.biede@gmail.com

Chairman: Gale MacDougall HPM

Dave “DJ� Jones

Email: bearinbox@con.net

Email: dejones2063@gmail.com

Dewey Jefferson Chairman Daniel Genchi PM Roger Biede III PM

Gale MacDougal Email: bearinbox@con.net

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The first mention of Moon Lodges can be found in the Cooke Manuscript of 1410, one of the oldest documents belonging to the Masonic Craft. In the U.S., Moon Lodges were first noted in colonial times around 1717 to be operating in Philadelphia, Boston and Tennessee.

There appears to have been approximately 3000 moon lodges in the U.S. at the turn of the last century but by the 1950’s that number had decreased to 500. Today, by last count, there are roughly 129 moon lodges in the U.S. A moon lodge was born out of necessity due to the lack of natural or artificial illumination by which one could travel to and from meetings. During the 18th century, transportation was limited to horseback, horse & buggy, walking and even in some circumstances by boat. There were no paved roads and very few gravel but merely two dirt ruts that would meander through bush and fields rarely in a straight line. With only a candle or coal oil lamp to light the way, a full moon provided welcome companionship for a long and lonely trek. Individuals would travel 810 miles or more and were unable to make the long trip home at night and would be supplied lodging by a fellow brother, leaving after breakfast to return home the next morning.

Gila Valley Lodge No. 9 continues to follow this tradition and is honored to be still one of the remaining “Moon Lodges” in the United States. Our Stated Meetings are the Monday On or Before the Full Moon of the Month, The Lodge also goes “Dark” during the summer months of July and August, where no Stated Meetings are held.

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