Arcana Lodge #187
Ancient Free & Accepted Masons

920 Lowry Avenue NE
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55418, USA

News from the West

Brethren, I'd like to talk about Fraternal Relations and Outreach to the community.  In my travels around Minnesota on Eastern Star activities, I've noticed that, in some communities, the Masonic Lodge and the Eastern Star Chapter share their fund raising and social activities as a matter of course. These are examples of good fraternal relations. Some seem to think we have to join the Shrine for fun.

The last two Lodge Spaghetti Dinners were great examples of good fraternal relations. (this year's especially, with Joe Macko's accordion in play).  We had the Eastern Star working to help with the dining room service. In the not-to-distant past, Arcana Chapter, in appreciation of this fine building for its home, celebrated the Chapter Centennial by re-carpeting the Lodge room and redecorating the dining room.  The Lodge will be getting an invitation to join in a social event with the Eastern Star in the Lodge dining room in August.

For outreach, the thing the Eastern Star has done well with is fund raisers. They have to, with less than 190 members (33 really active ones). They raise BIG bucks for charities like Red Stocking, Food Shelves, and especially about $1200 -1600 for the Masonic Cancer Center every year with a dance and silent auction.

We, in the Lodge, could work on a little outreach to the community, ourselves. I suggest, for starters, that we schedule a Children's ID Program at the Lodge this summer and/or staff the children's ID booth for a shift at the State Fair this fall. Brothers wishing to participate can email me at: durn-vern@usfamily.net.

Fraternally yours,
Vern Bandel, SW

News from the South

Brethren, the year is nearly half over, and I'm finally getting around to writing an article for the Trestleboard.  I apologize for being so tardy. I offer no excuses, but I can give you a reason; a severe case of procrastination, for which the only cure was sitting down at my computer and writing!

And to think that my main task as Junior Warden is to observe the time. (And, of course, to see that none convert the purposes of refreshment to intemperance or excess, but that's another subject for another time).

Speaking of procrastination, I believe it's something we all suffer from to some degree, and I think it may affect us in our ability to recruit new members.

How many times have we had the opportunity to talk to a family member, a business acquaintance, a neighbor, or a friend about Masonry? Then, for so many of us, we elect to do it the next day, or the next week, or the next month. Pretty soon we just forget to do it at all.

Our beloved Fraternity, the greatest one in all the world, is losing more members every year than it gains, and is in danger of becoming as extinct as the dinosaurs.

I believe that we need to stop waiting and start asking! I think we need to spread the word that Masonry is worth joining and becoming an active member of in pursuit of that one important role… that of making good men better. 

The timing couldn’t be better, with all the attention around the new Tom Hanks movie of the Dan Brown book The DaVinci Code coming out in May.  There was even a full segment about Freemasonry on Good Morning America a few days ago, followed the next day by a look at the history of the Knights Templar.  With this kind of free press it should be easy to strike up a conversation about our craft.

Please ask a man you know to be of good character to join us.  And please… don't wait until tomorrow.

Fraternally yours,
Bernie Wiklund, JW

Masonic Light

I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU
by Tom Lyle

His wife directed me to a wood working shop in his backyard. He was sitting on a tall stool, bent over his wood turning lathe, creating a master's gavel from a portion of an old plum tree stump which a neighbor had given to him. I would discover in the coming months that his work was as precise as his memory, and as beautiful as his heart.

He was to be my first friend in Masonry. He shared his knowledge with me. He knew what I had to do to strive for the higher degrees in Masonry. I called him "Coach", and that's the way he wanted it.

To him it was a warm and friendly nick name, but to me it was far more than that. I spoke it with a friendly, enthusiastic, and often times reverent tone of voice. Although he taught others, I still referred to him as "my coach". He was dedicated to Masonry. He was dedicated to his lodge. He was dedicated to coaching, and it was quite obvious to me that he was totally dedicated to getting me through my degree work in the most efficient yet friendly manner possible.

As you can "probably" tell, I was greatly impressed back then as an Entered Apprentice Mason, but this soon evolved into a very sincere gratitude when, after a word perfect proficiency, I was passed to the degree of Fellow Craft Mason. You see, I was never one to get involved in memory work. So I had to ask in prayer for help in memorizing my degree work. My prayers were answered through the friendly encouragement and hard work of my coach, for, I was raised a Master Mason on October 31 - yes, Halloween!

The Master of the lodge decided to raise me on Halloween because then I would never forget my Masonic anniversary. I felt then, (and even more so now), that it was an honor and a privilege to be a Mason and sit in my lodge with my brothers in Masonry, especially when I sat next to my coach. It was one of the greatest moments of my life.

Yes, I worked hard for that day, but so did my coach. He was there for me. I will always remember using the old push broom to sweep aside the sawdust and plum wood chips on the floor so that we could set up our two wooden stools to sit on. When he asked me where I was first made a Mason, it gave me a very warm and comfortable feeling to be able to say, "in my heart". One session, after going through my questions and answers for him, (Yes, I learned the questions as well as the answers), coach surprised me to the point where my chin hung down to my chest. With the biggest grin I ever saw on him, he shared with me that, "Just yesterday the Grand Master sat on that very same stool that I was now sitting on. It turned out that coach and the Grand Master talked about Masonry for a long time.

It was then that I became aware that coach did work with the Grand Lodge as well as our lodge. I wondered where he found the time, then it dawned on me that he was using his working tools, especially the twenty four inch gage. He created eight hours for God and a distressed worthy brother in Masonry. (Personally, I figured he spent a lot more than eight hours per day). I learned from experience that he didn't count the hours, he happily counted each moment with which he had the opportunity to turn an Entered Apprentice Mason into a Fellow Craft Mason, and he delighted in turning a Fellow Craft Mason into a Master Mason.

It was kind of like him pondering that old plum wood stump for the right combination of grain , texture and strength, then he turned it into a thing of beauty which could be ideally used with wisdom and strength. This is not just a tribute to my coach, it is a tribute to all coaches in Masonry. Your hard work and sacrifice is a shining example of the use of our working tools, for without their consistent use no Mason could be called coach in a friendly, enthusiastic and yes, reverent tone of voice.

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