VEST Official Organ Of The SU nie Benevolent Order Of The State Of Texas, Fo ded 1897 BENEVOLENCE
HUMANITY
BROTHERHOOD
Postmaster: Please S,nd Form 3579 to: SUPREME LODGE, SPJST, P.O. Box 100, Temple, Texas 76501 VOLUME 65, NUMBER 5 FEBRUARY 2, 1977
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK A NEW START The chartering of Lodge No. 189, Centerville took place Sunday , Jan- I will start anew this morning with uary 23rd. Upon arrival at the a higher, fairer creed; scene at the George Washington I will cease to stand complaining of Carver School gymnasium where my ruthless neighbor's greed; the ceremonies were being held we I will cease to sit repining while found a very large assembly of my duty's call is clear; members present. (The school has I will waste no moment whining, not been used for about seven and my heart shall know no fear. years, we learned.) There were I will look sometimes about me for members from other districts presthe things that merit praise; ent as visitors plus a grand num- I will search for hidden beauties ber of District I members in which that elude the grumbler's greed. district Lodge No. 188 is located. I will try to find contentment in It is proper to note here that, the paths that I must tread; very likely, this was the largest I Will cease to have resentment group of charter members of a when another moves ahead. lodge to ever be present to be in- I will not be swayed by envy when stalled at a chartering of a lodge; my rival's strength is shown; we feel that it would be safe to say I will not deny his merit, but I'll that 100 plus were there and it was strive to prove my own; noteworthy that so many were I will try to see the beauty spread youth and in their teens. Pictures before me, rain or shine; of the event appear in this issue. I will cease to preach your duty, There was a delicious barbecue and be more concerned with mine. dinner with trimmings served and fellowship enjoyed before the families doing things together and chartering took place at 2 p.m. It for the youth to enjoy wholesome was nice and pleasant to meet so and supervised entertainment, plus many new fraternal friends and see a need for a lodge and eventually so many of our older ones at the a building, since there is no comgathering, The group of mem- munity or recreational building in bers of Lodge No. 188 seem to be the entire area. An SPJST lodge very enthusiastic about their fu- and eventually a nice lodge facility ture. will fulfill a great need in this area Lodge 188 was organized Novem- of Leon County. ber 22, 1976, in the home of Travis It actually began early in the Oden. State Field Manager Silas fail of 1976, when, at a second Smith presided at that meeting. meeting, some 20 people met OctThe members saw the need for ober 25 with SIMI Smith and Sister
Jeanette Smith and District I Sales PAM Ben Trcalek. They assisted Jacquelyn Wakefield in writing 18 applications at that meeting. Sales Representative Jacquelyn Wakefield of Lodge No. 188 has, since that date written up 169 members as of the chartering date; she certainly wasn't sitting still! As we understand it, Brother Chester Shrualdas of Lodge No. 74, Lovelady, spoke about the MST to Dr. A. M, Ea.sterling, Jr., at one time. It is rather interesting how some of these new lodges come into being. September 1, IWO, Dis Youth Counselor Lola Vavra of Lodge No. 17, New Tabor and Sis•ter Jacquelyn Wakefield met in Bryan in a place of business. There was some mention of SPJST Lodge No. 179, Warrenton, being chartered and this resulted in discussing the possibility of establishing an SPJST lodge near Centerville. Sister Lola discussed this at home with her husband, Brothet Andrew Vavra and he contacted. SPJST SFM Silas Smith. (Brother Vavra made a passing reference about this to your editor at the District I meeting in Bryan in the fall.) At any rate, the program shows that: "SFM Smith telephoned Jacquelyn. Wakefield September 13, 1976, and set up a meeting for Wednesday, September 15, 1976, in her home with her family. During the meeting, Brother and Sister Smith explained the procedure in