I would also like to thank everyone who attended the open installation of officers on December 20th. It was wonderful to see the lodge room so full. I also want to thank the Installing Team that was headed by MWB Donald Severson and also included WB Gerald Chartrand, WB James Locker, and Vern Bandel. In addition I would like to thank all the groups and individuals who helped make the evening such a success, particularly: my cousin and host for the evening Jim Higgins; Dee Bandel for being my organist; Friendship Assembly #2 Rainbow for Girls who presented the Bible; and Jobs Bethel #19 for performing the Living Cross. My ushers were from Lincoln Chapter DeMolay, and Zion Commandery presented the Flag of our country. Sandy Knoke and Laurie Shop who were a tremendous help in the kitchen. My God Mother Betty Maas, my girlfriend Bev Williams, and my parents did a great job with the table decorations. Thank you all very much.

I am starting a new meeting format for the first meeting of each month. Starting in February there will be Trustee’s meeting one hour before our stated meeting. We will follow the first stated meeting of each month with a short program and refreshments on the second floor. The January program was a presentation on personal safety by Brother Tim Davidson, a Sargent with the Minneapolis Police Department. Following the first meeting in February WB Gerald Chartrand has volunteered to present a short program on the history of US presidents who were Masons. If you have an idea for a program topic, please contact our Lodge Education Officer, WB Joe Macko, or myself.

At our January 12th stated meeting, the brothers of Arcana Lodge passed a motion to establish a Hardship Fund the interest of which is intended to pay the annual lodge dues for poor, distressed brothers who are not able to meet this expense. A committee has been assigned to the task of drafting a set of guidelines to ensure the proper management of the fund, and establish a procedure for requesting assistance and to meet the privacy concerns of our brethren.

Arcana lodge is lucky to have several new petitioners once again and our first set of Masonic Degrees have been scheduled for 1998. We are looking forward to Thursday, February 12th when Brother Bard Almen will take the East to preside over the Entered Apprentice Degree. Please note the starting time of 7:00 PM for this First degree. On March 16th Brother David Sibben will take the East for our Fellow Crafts Degree, and I will preside over the Master Masons degree on April 4th. Please join the officers on each of these nights to help welcome our newest members into the greatest organization on earth. Remember, our new initiates first impression of Masonry will be at these degrees, and the best way to make them feel welcome is to have the sidelines full.

Two other upcoming events that need to be scheduled on your calendar are the Sweethearts Dinner and the Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser. This year’s Sweethearts dinner will be held at Gasthof zur Gemutlichkeit on Saturday evening, February 21st at 5:30 PM. Dinner will be served family style from large platters so that everyone can sample a wide range of the delicious German cuisine. March 14th will be the first annual Arcana Lodge Spaghetti Dinner. Our theme for this fundraiser will be "The Ides of March" and dinner will include a Caesar salad. We look forward to your support by joining us that evening, selling tickets, and by volunteering to help serving, work in the kitchen, or any assistance you can provide.

Once again, thank you for allowing me to serve you as your Worshipful Master for 1998. Brothers remember that harmony is the strength and support of all societies, more especially of ours. Until next month, may the blessing of Heaven rest upon us and all regular Masons.

Some things have changed a little in my life, most recently I married my lovely wife Dorothy, or as most people call her Dee. We live in Fridley with my wife’s yellow Labrador Retriever Buddy. We both love the outdoors and enjoy camping, hunting, snowmobiling and skiing. I work as an electrician and my wife is a biologist for a local medical company.

Our Worshipful Master Doug Roswold has appointed me as fund raising chairman. We are planning a spaghetti dinner as our first fund raising event for the year. The proceeds from this event will be put toward improvements of the building. The spaghetti dinner is scheduled for Saturday, March 14^th, 1998, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. and will be held on the second floor of Arcana Lodge. Tickets requesting a $5.00 donation will be mailed to each member and the lodge looks forward to your support.

Thank you again for electing me to be your Senior Warden for 1998. Arcana has a young and enthusiastic corps of officers and we welcome your ideas for what you would like to see our lodge do in the upcoming months.

My full name is Bradley Scott Almen; I was born some forty years ago at North Memorial Hospital about twenty minutes after my dad rushed my mother through the front door; I spent the first year of my life crying inconsolably; thereafter my mother fretted and worried when I failed to speak a complete sentence until I was three; I learned to ride a bicycle on my fifth birthday while I was home sick with the measles; grade school was a breeze (I built dozens of plastic model cars, gluing them together in the basement without ventilation); junior high was a nightmare until I joined Lincoln Chapter DeMolay; I graduated from Edison High School in 1975 (without top honors - much to my mother’s dismay), the University of Minnesota College of Liberal Arts in 1988 and the University of Minnesota Law School in 1988.

I’ve earned a living in the past twenty-five years as follows: fry cook/Sun Drive Inn; camp counselor/J.E. Meyers Memorial Park; truck washer/Allstate Leasing Corp.; truck mechanic/ Allstate Leasing Corporation; Deputy Sheriff/Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department; upholstery helper/driver/refinisher/Ahlquist Upholstery; machine woodworker/Central Furniture Frame; tow truck driver/Graham’s Towing; law clerk/Eckberg Law Firm, self-employed carpenter/painter/landscaper/plumber, etc.; commercial bill collector/ Textron Corp.; house manager/ Missions, Inc.; self-employed attorney/Almen Law Office, and partner/ALHQUIST LAW OFFICE, P.A. It’s hard to believe dad ever doubted my industry and ambition!

Since 1992 I have been an advisor for Lincoln Chapter DeMolay, where I am currently the Advisory Council Chairman. The honors and distinctions I have received as an active DeMolay and as an Advisor include: Past Master Councilor’s Meritorious Service Award, Degree of Chevalier, Guild of the Leather Apron, Degree of Legion of Honor, and I am a Deputy Member of the International Supreme Council. I am also a past Associate Guardian of Bethel #19 - Job’s Daughters, and I am a board member of J.E. Meyers Memorial Park Association - DeMolay Camp.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, I do afford myself the occasional opportunity for rest refreshment and meditation. When I am not busy working or attending some sort of meeting, I enjoy reading, going to the movies, bicycling, weight lifting (bench press record - 295 lbs.), going to the theatre, camping, snow skiing, water skiing, memorizing ritual, and napping. My favorite movie is On the Waterfront staring Marlon Brando; my favorite book is Lost Illusions by Honore De Balzac; my favorite philosopher is Friedrich Nietzsche; my favorite author is Mark Twain; my favorite actor is Al Pacino; my favorite actress is Meryl Streep; my favorite comedian is Dennis Miller; my favorite play is Our Town by Thorton Wilder; my favorite sport to watch is football; my favorite sport to play is basketball; my favorite holiday is the Fourth of July; my favorite cartoon is Rocky and Bulwinkle; my favorite TV show of all time is Mr. Ed; my current favorite TV show is Law and Order; my favorite car is a 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner Convertible; my favorite softdrink is Coca Cola; my favorite foods are spaghetti, greasy cheeseburgers, French fries, Frosted Flakes, Coco Pebbles, Cheetos (not the crunchy ones), chocolate pudding, Hagendaz chocolate chip ice cream, and anything our fearless leader Doug has cooked.

In any case, I am very pleased to be serving you as your Junior Warden, and trust that we will all find pleasure and profit in our fellowship together in what promises to be a truly successful year. In this regard, I invite you and your sweetheart to please join us at our annual Sweetheart’s Dinner - February 21, 1998. This year we will again be celebrating at the (please do not ask me to pronounce that) Restaurant at 2300 University Avenue N.E. Minneapolis - the fun and frivolity beginning promptly at 5:30 p.m. To make reservations please call me at (612) 782-9838 by February 14th, 1998. Please be advised that my area code is subject to change without notice - and you are likely to reach only my voice mail - please leave me a message in any case.