Page Two
The North Carolina Mason
March, 1970
Grand Master's Corner
(Continued from Page One)
went off without a hitch, except for a
faux pas or two by the Grand Master.
Again, it was a pleasure to see several
old friends, including Brother Jerome
r. Raper, District Deputy Grand Mas
ter.
During the first three nights of the
following week. Brother Charlie Harris
and I held District Meetings close
enough to Smithfield and Raleigh for us
to return home each night. In Ayden on
Monday night we were happy to see
Brothers William J. Bundy and James
W. Brewer, Past Grand Masters, includ
ed among the 101 Masons present. On
Tuesday night, Bro. Floyd Stewart, Past
Master and Secretary of Fellowship
Lodge No. 84, and Jack Honeycutt, Dis
trict Deputy Grand Master (24) joined
us for the trip to Kinston for the meet
ing of the 11th Masonic District. At this
meeting it was my pleasure to see my
life-long friend. Brother Levin K. Jones,
Secretary of St. John’s Lodge No. 4, and
a native of Smithfield, and Brother Pete
Holland, Past District Deputy Grand
Master, who had presided at the meet
ing of the 37th District in Asheboro
back in October. I was also glad to see
that Brother S. Frank Noble, Jr., Grand
Marshall, had driven over from New
Bern for this meeting. On the following
night Brother Charlie and I, Brother
Jack Honeycutt again, and my brother,
Cullen D. Hooks, Past Master of Fellow-
.ship Lodge No. 84, drove to Wallace for
the meeting of the 12th Masonic Dis
trict. I was happy to see Brother Quincy
Sutton, who had served as District Dep
uty Grand Master with me several years
ago; Brother Larry McCullen, a fellow
Texaco Distributor; and my congress
man and friend. Brother David Hender
son among those present. I believe I saw
more loud shirts that night than at any
meeting I have attended during the past
year, and I’m inclined to attribute that
to the fine clothing store in Wallace op
erated by Brother Arthur Apple.
I don’t believe I have reported earlier
that Brother Pete Dudley, Assistant to
the Grand Secretary was in and out of
the office for several weeks due to ill
ness. At this writing I am happy to re
port that Pete seems to be fully recover
ed and is now just as sassy as ever. On
Friday, January 16, Pete and I had
lunch together, then Brother Harris and
I headed for the Governor’s Inn Motel in
Shelby which served as our headquar
ters point for the next two nights when
we had the pleasure of dedicating two
beautiful new Temples. On Friday night
we had a fine meeting in Spindale Lodge
No. 673, where on last July 8 the breth
ren had worked until meeting time to
make it possible for us to hold our Dis
trict Meeting in this new Temple. There |
was an excellent crowd assembled in this!
large Lodge room for the dedication,;
and it was good to see many of the same ^
1970 OFFICERS ROLESVILLE LODGE NO. 683
First row, left to right: Brother Benja
min F. Bartlett, Chaplain; Ernest T. Co-
zart, Jr., Senior Warden; Carlyle D. Wood-
lief. Master; Gordon B. Price, Junior War
den, John B. Raper, Steward. Back row:
Oscar T. Barham, Jr., Senior Deacon; May
nard H. Jones, Tyler; Milton E. Jones, Sec
retary; William H. Parker, Treasurer; Bad
ger G. Jones, Steward; and John C. Brad-
sher. Junior Deacon.
brethren who had been present for the
District Meeting in July, including
Brother Fred C. Kinzie, who had served
as Master of this Lodge at the time of
its organization in 1938-39 and who
served for several years as Grand Lec
turer of the Grand Lodge of North Car
olina. On Saturday night we drove to
Camp Call Lodge No. 534 where it had
been my privilege to lay the cornerstone
for their new Temple on April 29, 1969,
two weeks after I had been elected
Grand Master of Masons in North Caro
lina. In spite of the rain which had been
falling most of the day, this was anoth
er good meeting with a good crowd in at
tendance, including several who had
been present in Spindale the night be
fore. Brother George W. Lee, Past Mas
ter, who had served as Grand Chaplain
in the meeting in Spindale served as
Grand Marshal for this meeting.
Among those present for both occasions
was an old friend and Past District Dep
uty Grand Master, Brother Flay Willis.
On Tuesday of the following week,
January 20, I drove to Norwood for the
Ladies’ Night Program of Pee Dee
Lodge No. 150, where I had been invited
months earlier by the Master, Brother
Bill Johnson, Jr., to be the guest speak
er. I arrived a bit late for this meeting
because of difficulty I had in finding the
Piney Point Golf Club on this dark and
rainy night. When I did arrive, I was
greeted by a large crowd of Masons,
their ladies, and other guests. This was
an enjoyable occasion for me, and it was
good to see Brother Nat Dean, Senior
Grand Deacon, and find that he is in
good health again.
The next day Brother Charlie Harris
arrived at the Heart of Albemarle,
where I was staying, and that night we
went to Midland for the meeting of the
43rd Masonic District. Again we had a
good crowd present, including Brother
Nat Dean who stopped by for the meet
ing on his way home from work in Char
lotte. The following night, Thursday,
January 22, we drove to Wadesboro for
the meeting of the 39th Masonic Dis
trict, the 65th District Meeting of this
Masonic year. This final District Meet
ing was presided over by Brother Rob
ert L. Cagle, District Deputy Grand
Master, whom I have seen at several
Masonic meetings throughout the year.
Brother Dean was with us again for the
third night in a row.
Brother Troy Robbins attended the
last few District Meetings in spite of the
fact that he was suffering from a pain
ful back problem. Since that time Bro.
Troy has been in a hospital in Greens
boro where he underwent surgery on his
back. He has returned home and is now
putting in several hours’ work every
day, and it appears that he is slowly but
surely on the mend. I’m sure that every
one reading this column joins me in
wishing for him a speedy and complete
recovery. Incidently, Troy says he just
couldn’t have made those last few
meetings without Brother Leon Gray
along to look after him. Anybody need
a good nurse?
Several times during the year Brother
Pete Dudley—and Brother Harris a
time or two, I believe—made the state
ment at District Meetings that, “As
soon as we wear out one Grand Master,
they throw another one at us.” When
these meetings were over I was able to
ask, “Who wore out who?” I was the
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