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Official Organ Of The Slavonic Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas, Founded 1897 HUMANITY
BENEVOLENCE
BROTHERHOOD
PoItmaster: Please Send Form 3579 to: SUPREME LODGE, SPJST, P.O. Box 100, Temple, Texas 76501 VOLUME 64, NUMBER 49 DECEMBER 8, 1976
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK A notice to Lodge No. 135, Ennis members: A delayed arrival letter can he found on page 21, at the conclusion of the Necrology section. * * While we are on the subject of letters and meetings, you will notice that many, many of our lodges are having their annual meeting this coming Sunday, December 12th. One of them is our Lodge No. 54 here in West. The officers are hoping to have a large turnout and cards have been sent out to quite a large number of you members to bring out your entire family, especially children, for this annual affair and social. Why not make a special effort to be present? You won't regret it. Let us try hard to create more interest in Lodge 54! Read the letters in the Letter section and try to attend your particular lodge's meeting; show the local lodge officers that you care and are interested in the affairs of your lodge. Remember the old saying: "It Is too late to shut the gate after the horses have gotten out!" Brother Calvin Chervenka wrote in the convention issue that to many of our members the Vestnik is the SPJST became they do not attend their lodge meetings. That is true, of course, and we try to do as much good with it as is humanly possible, however, you must realize that your Vestnik cannot do as much for your lodge as your
GIVE US! Give us, 0 give us the man who sings at his work! Be his occupation what it may, he is equal to any of those who follow the same pursuit in silent sullenness. He will do more in the same time . . . he will do it better ... he will persevere longer. One is scarcely sensible to fatigue while he marches to music. The very stars are said to make harmony as they revolve in their spheres. —Carlyle AUTUMN The melancholy days are come, the saddest of the year, Of wailing winds, and naked woods, and meadows brown and sear. —William C. Bryant being present at the meetings can. The Vestnik reports to you what has been done and what is coming up in the future at your lodge. For members to be present at the discussions, deliberations and voicing their opinions plus voting on the matters is what is very important. Surely most of us remember the story of a messenger sent by horseback to warn this king that an enemy was advancing and a nail came out of one of the horse's shoes and the horse started limping. Instead of stopping to get the shoe repaired, the messenger continued until the horse could go no more and the message was not delivered
in time and the kingdom was lost to the enemy. The saying goes: "For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for the want of a shoe, the horse was lost; for the want of a horse, the messenger was lost; for the want of a messenger, the king, was lost and for the want of a king the kingdom was lost." Get the message? Every member like every nail in the horseshoe, counts! It is too late to complain after some action by your lodge is taken if you were not there to take part in what was going on and voicing your opinion pertaining to what was going on. Your editor realizes that what with television, football, and all the other activities, etc., going on there seems to be no time, however, remember that the annual meeting is where the future of your lodge for 1 entire year is decided in the kind of officers you choose. We all have to remember that to be leaders in lodges as large as Lodge No. 47, Seaton and/or Lodge No. 88, Houston you have to choose members who have compassion for a great number of members; in Lodge No. 88's case probably 8 to 9 thousand. These words are spoken from experience. While on the subject of Lodge No. 88, Houston (which was prac tically my second home for a long time), I remember conversations witii Brothers John Mrnustik and Rudy Zatopek (both musicians