Brethren,

When Will Rogers was presented to President Calvin Coolidge, a friend bet him that he could not make the always somber gentleman laugh inside two minutes. Will readily accepted the challenge. Introductions were made. "Mr. President, this is Mr. Will Rogers; Mr. Rogers, President Coolidge." Rogers held out his hand, looked down, stuttered a bit, and said, "Err, excuse me, I didn't quite get the name." Coolidge then broke into a big grin. Such is the nature of April Fools' Day. Tracing its origins back 16th century France, April 1st, under the Julian calendar, fell one week after New Year's Day. The custom of the time was to pay formal calls upon family and friends. When the old calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar in 1562, mock calls were paid on April 1st, as a joke. Thus, we have the origin of April Fools' Day. This April 1st, we will begin lodge at 7:00 P.M. We will hold proficiency for our new Entered Apprentices and if found proficient, will confer upon them the Fellowcraft degree. Please note the time change.

You may recognize the songs, "Top Hat", "Blue Skies", "Easter Parade", "God Bless America" and "White Christmas". They all have one thing in common. They were composed by a Masonic brother. The man, Irving Berlin, emigrated with his family from Russia to America when he was just 5 years old, in the year 1893. Three years later, his father, a cantor, died. Irving was then forced to work to help support the family. First, as a singing newspaper boy, then as a singing waiter, this gifted composer honed his musical skills. With no formal training, but with tireless work and dedication to his craft, Irving Berlin managed to establish his reputation with his 1911 hit, "Alexander's Ragtime Band". He then moved on to compose over 1500 songs. We will see a short DVD on this unusually gifted mason during our regularly scheduled business meeting starting at 7:30 P.M. on April 15, 2008.

Fraternally,

Dennis R. Hamlet
Worshipful Master

Dates to Remember (excerpted from A New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry compiled by Arthur Edward Waite)

1634 A.D. - Sir Alexander Strachan was admitted with the other non-Operatives into Mary's Chapel, and they become Fellows of Craft on July 3.

1670 A.D. - It was ordained by Aberdeen Laws and Statutes belonging to this year that certain privileged persons were to receive the benefit of the Mason's Word, free of all dues, "save for the box, mark, banquet and pint of wine." Lodges were to be held in open fields, except in bad weather, when a house was to be chosen "where no person could hear or see."

Saturday, April 26, 2008 - Bro. Robert J. Schott and Bro. Ned Featherston, for the unbelievable price of $3/person, hold their Pancake Breakfast at the Lodge. Plenty of food and open to all- members, family and friends-from 7:30 AM 'til 10 AM AND for the first time ever: FREE BREAKFAST for ALL January, February, March and April "Masons of the Month" and for visiting Mt. Moriah Brothers living outside of the local area. (Not an excerpt).