Fall Newsletter
by Ron Pool - Secretary/ Recorder
pictures added by Tom Zeigler
James M. McDonald was elected Grand Principal Sojourner the first
Wednesday in October at the annual Convocation of the Grand
Chapter of Royal Arch
Masons of Ohio. If Jim behaves himself, he may be elected the
Grand High
Priest and preside over that state-wide organization in about
four years. If
that happens our little Masonic lodge in Upper Sandusky,
population of
about 7,000, will have had: 1 Grand Master of Masons; 1 Grand
High Priest of
Grand Chapter; 2 Grand Masters of the Grand Council; 1 Grand
Commander of the
Grand Commandery; 1 Past Prior of Ohio Priory; 1 State Master
Councilor
of DeMolay, and 1 International Master Councilor of DeMolay.
Most lodges
would be grateful to have one of those positions in their lodge.
Congratulations, Jim.
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At the close of the Lodge books on Sept. 30, our endowment fund
shows a
total of $32,643.28 and has been a very successful program.
Since its
establishment in November, 1994, we have had 268 donations. In
addition
we have used $6,200.79 of interest income from that fund for
improvements
to the facilities. Those expenditures were: $1,870 to paint the
windows on
all three floors; copier repair at $330.79; and $4,000 (half of
the
expense) to replace the boiler with two new ones at $8,000.
As always, only interest can be used from this fund, all
donations
remain invested in CDs or in an interest-bearing savings
account. When one of
our 3 CDs come due, it is immediately reinvested along with more
funds from
additional donations, kept in the endowment savings account.
Warpole
Chapter OES, Warpole Lodge, McCutchen Chapter and Upper Sandusky
Council now
make a donation to this fund in memory of deceased members.
Notification cards
for donations to the Endowment and Scholarship programs are sent
to the
donor and to the family of the person being memorialized.
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We will be installing a large exhaust fan in the attic. This
project has
been in the making for more than 10 years. Concerns have been
raised
about moisture forming in the attic and having an adverse effect
on our
insulation and remainder of the building. An added benefit may
result in helping
cool the remainder of the building by removing some of the warm
air above
the tin ceiling in the lodge room. Trustee Charlie Heck was very
helpful in the
project, even making phone calls from his hospital bed following
several
surgeries he had over the summer months.
Trustee Charlie Heck
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Our pancake and sausage breakfast account provided the other half
of the
cost for our new boiler system.
Pancake Profit by Year
1991 $2,119.32
1992 $2,045.79
1993 $2,598.49
1994 $2,168.04
1995 $2,301.77
1996 $2,042.94
1997 $2,361.18
1998 $2,068.38
1999 $1,884.02
2000 $1,955.95
2001 $2,587.90
2002 $2,500.51
Total Profit as of Sept. 30, 2002: $26,634.29
Wow! Isn't it amazing what we have done in 12 one-day
breakfasts? Can
you imagine what we would be paying in dues if we did not have
that $26,000+
income over the past 12 years? The secret to our success is the
way our
members support the breakfast by selling tickets, making
donations,
working and of course just eating at the one-day event. Ticket
sales did not
equal the profit at last year's breakfast, but donations of $840
helped our
profit margin greatly. I know of Masonic groups that hold
several breakfasts a
year and consider them successful if they show a profit of
between $50-$100
at each event. We should be proud of our accomplishment.
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Dues collections are in full swing with more than one half
collected.
If the year on your dues card(s) does not say 2003, you need to
forward your
dues, made payable to: Masonic Center, 118 W. Johnson Street,
Upper Sandusky,
Ohio 43351. Lodge members not paying by December 31 are to be
suspended
according to instructions from Grand Lodge. Please pay soon to
keep our second
notice mailings to a minimum.
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In an effort to keep our members informed of our income vs.
expenses, I
am again printing a copy of our annual lodge audit on the back
of this
newsletter. Dues money is only one of several forms of income we
depend
on to operate. Dues collection only covers a portion of the
amount of the
expenses we incur. Utility bills nearly did us in with natural
gas
eating up a gigantic share of our finances in 2001. With our new
boilers, our
natural gas expense was nearly cut in half to approximately
$2,200.
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For those of you on the Internet, if I have your E-mail address,
you
should be receiving weekly updates of news and activities at our
center. I
have to break the messages in three sections since approximately
220 names
appear on my weekly list and I would love to add yours, just
send me a message at
ronpool@udata.com
Internet users, are you aware that this newsletter is available
for you
to read on our web site about a week ahead of the mailed
version? Tom
Zeigler's award-winning Web page has had more than 5,500
visitors since it was
established.
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It has been the policy to remit the dues of all 50-year members
in the
Masonic groups meeting in our facility (more than 53 in lodge
alone.)
Although all of our 50-year members belonging to the Masonic
groups in
Upper Sandusky have their dues remitted automatically, many
choose to
continue to pay their dues, make a per capita donation or
generously contribute
funds for the various projects in the lodge. Since becoming the
secretary in
1997, this year has had the greatest response from our most
experienced
members, to them we say: thank you.
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Plan on attending the annual election of Warpole Lodge the 3rd
Tuesday
in November (Nov. 19.) As usual annual reports will be given,
elections
held and oysters eaten. An open installation of lodge officers
is being
planned for Dec. 3. Senior Warden Joel Kin asks that you please
attend and enjoy
some excellent fellowship, entertainment and delicious
refreshments.
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Elections in Warpole Chapter 366 were held in October and
WM-elect
Suzanna Eyestone and WP-elect Ron Pool are planning an open
installation by
invitation on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. That's right, a
Saturday at 2
p.m. something new this year. Give them a call for more
information and/or
your invitation if you are not an Eastern Star member.
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McCutchen Chapter will be voting on a proposed bylaws change at
its
November 26 meeting. A resolution was made to change our by-laws
to allow officer elections
at our stated meeting in May with the installation to be held on
the stated
meeting in June. The present by-laws will have a final vote
being made
on our stated meeting on November 26. The text of the by-laws
follows:
Present By-laws: Section 4: The stated convocation of this
chapter in
June of each year shall be the regular annual convocation for
the election of
officers. The officers shall be elected at the stated meeting in
June.
The officers shall be installed at the stated meeting in June or
at a
stated or special convocation thereafter.
By-laws change by Resolution: Section 4: The stated convocation
of this
chapter in June of each year shall be the regular annual
convocation
for the election of officers. The officers shall be elected at
the stated
meeting in May. The officers shall be installed at the stated
meeting in
June or at a stated or special convocation thereafter.
Thanks to everyone who helped work at Cedar Point over the
summer.
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Don't forget to attend the annual inspection of Upper Sandusky
Council
#98 on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Royal Master Degree.
Dinner by
guaranteed reservations at 6:30 for a donation of $6. Ladies are
invited to attend.
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Our Rainbow Girls are continuing their tradition of several
projects
during the holidays. They sponsor an Angel Tree Child and
provide gifts for a
youngster in need. They will be baking cookies again for the
Home Health
dsepartment for distribution to the agency's clients near
Christmas
time. A fall dance is also in the planning stages.
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Eastern Star ladies of Bucyrus, Warpole (Upper Sandusky) and
William
Myers (McCutchenville) chapters will be making candy and baking
holiday
cookies to be sold at Marty's Super Center on Saturday, December
14. The groups
will bag the items at our facility on Thursday, Dec. 12.
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Upper DeMolay plans to initiate about 10 new members on Nov. 25
and have
been active all summer. In addition to its annual sausage stand
at the
fair, they have visited Cedar Point 2 times and sold soda at the
Fall Cruise-In.
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We are also volunteering to collect money a night or two at the
annual
Upper Sandusky "Fantasy of Lights" held in Harrison Smith Park
from
Thanksgiving through a few days after Christmas.
Dates to remember:
Lodge election, Nov. 19
Lodge Open Installation, Dec. 3
Eastern Star Installation, Nov. 16
Upper Sandusky Council Inspection, Feb. 11
McCutchen Chapter Inspect., March 25
SEM March 11.
Annual Meeting Of Warpole Lodge Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
Warpole Lodge Open Installation, Tuesday, Dec. 3
Warpole Chapter OES Installation Nov. 16 2 p.m.