Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Fosters.com - Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Laconia NH, Sanford ME
Fosters.com - Dover NH, Rochester NH, Portsmouth NH, Laconia NH, Sanford ME
PORTSMOUTH — The Freemasons are a fraternity dedicated to giving, and that giving nature was honored Saturday.
According to New Hampshire Freemason Deputy Grand Marshall Stewart Aronson, the masons give on average $3 million a day toward charitable endeavors.
The 22nd annual Mason's Day was held at the William Pitt Tavern at Strawberry Banke. The tavern has historical significance to the New Hampshire Freemasons because it was where New Hampshire's first Masonic Grand Lodge was established in 1789. Famous masons such as Paul Revere and General John Sullivan have been in the tavern, even attending meetings there, and there are rumors George Washington also visited the lodge.
Saturday's daylong festivities were open to the public. Participants included Mason-affiliated groups such as the Shriners, Rainbow Girls and Scottish Rite. Activities included a tour of the lodge, demonstrations by police and firefighters, scavenger hunts with prizes, face painting, magic shows and a free cookout.
"It's basically a celebration of Freemasonry and the values we espouse: fraternal friendship and brotherly love," said Scott Willard, one of the organizers of the event and a member of the Ossipee Valley Lodge.
Willard was honored early in the day with the Masonic Service Award. Paul Leary, grandmaster of New Hampshire, said Willard's peers had recommended he receive the reward, of which only four can be given in the state per year. Leary said when Mason Day was extended to a Masonic Family Day to make it into a bigger event, Willard helped make the transition and has been a part of planning the event every year.
"Without his jump starting (the family day)," this would probably not be happening," Leary said.
Willard soon will be moving out of state and no longer be a part of the New Hampshire Freemasons.
"He's done so much work behind the scenes," said Aronson. "He just steps up. He's a tremendous person and real treasure. We wanted to thank him with something here today. It's very little to what he's given. We're going to miss his participation."
Also honored during the festivities was Nelson Ward, for 70 years of membership with the Freemasons, and Edwin Kimball, for 60 years.
The Freemasons also awarded scholarships to 13 people, five of whom were present at the event. Scholarship winners were Hannah Olstad, of Farmington; Calvin Lord, of Hampton Falls; Jasmine Roth, of Manchester; Kelsey Dalrymple, of Concord; Samantha Thompson, of Fitzwilliam; Maxwell Cooper, of New London; Bryanne Thomas, of Rindge; Jared Barnett, of Westmoreland; Heather Zukas, of Freemont; Brian Anderson, of Nashua; Richard Gilbert III, of Newfields; Richard Rossoll Jr., of Lebanon; and Angels Zukas of Freemont.
Richard Gilbert Jr., whose son received a scholarship, spoke on behalf of his family, saying his two daughters had also received Mason scholarships, making the total amount between their three children more than $13,000.
"Without help from the Scottish Rite this path would be impossible," he said of the success of his children in pursuing a higher education.
Even though Mason Day was meant to honor the organization, their charitable nature did not stop there. The Scottish Rite, which fully funds the Children's Dyslexia Centers in Nashua and Rochester, had a booth providing information explaining how their program trains teachers to teach children with dyslexia how to read.
Another program the Scottish Rite helps fund, and was offering registration for on Saturday, is the Children's Identification Program, which fingerprints, gathers dental records and makes a DVD of a child, then gives it to a parent so if a child goes missing, they have all the information to give to authorities.
"It's just what we do," Aronson said of the participation in these and other groups. "A lot of what we do go to funds that we give to charitable organizations."
At the end of the day, though, Aronson said it will not be the end of the Freemason festivities in the Portsmouth area.
Aronson said the Freemasons will spend the summer celebrating 275 years of masons in Portsmouth. He explained that last week was the official anniversary, which included a celebration at the Portsmouth lodge and a parade on Sunday morning.
"It's an opportunity for us to sort of wave our flag a bit and let people know who we are and that we have been a part of the Portsmouth community for 275 years," he said.
For more information on the New Hampshire Freemasons, visit their website at http://nhgrandlodge.org.
PORTSMOUTH — The Freemasons are a fraternity dedicated to giving, and that giving nature was honored Saturday.
According to New Hampshire Freemason Deputy Grand Marshall Stewart Aronson, the masons give on average $3 million a day toward charitable endeavors.
The 22nd annual Mason's Day was held at the William Pitt Tavern at Strawberry Banke. The tavern has historical significance to the New Hampshire Freemasons because it was where New Hampshire's first Masonic Grand Lodge was established in 1789. Famous masons such as Paul Revere and General John Sullivan have been in the tavern, even attending meetings there, and there are rumors George Washington also visited the lodge.
Saturday's daylong festivities were open to the public. Participants included Mason-affiliated groups such as the Shriners, Rainbow Girls and Scottish Rite. Activities included a tour of the lodge, demonstrations by police and firefighters, scavenger hunts with prizes, face painting, magic shows and a free cookout.
"It's basically a celebration of Freemasonry and the values we espouse: fraternal friendship and brotherly love," said Scott Willard, one of the organizers of the event and a member of the Ossipee Valley Lodge.
Willard was honored early in the day with the Masonic Service Award. Paul Leary, grandmaster of New Hampshire, said Willard's peers had recommended he receive the reward, of which only four can be given in the state per year. Leary said when Mason Day was extended to a Masonic Family Day to make it into a bigger event, Willard helped make the transition and has been a part of planning the event every year.
"Without his jump starting (the family day)," this would probably not be happening," Leary said.
Willard soon will be moving out of state and no longer be a part of the New Hampshire Freemasons.
"He's done so much work behind the scenes," said Aronson. "He just steps up. He's a tremendous person and real treasure. We wanted to thank him with something here today. It's very little to what he's given. We're going to miss his participation."
Also honored during the festivities was Nelson Ward, for 70 years of membership with the Freemasons, and Edwin Kimball, for 60 years.
The Freemasons also awarded scholarships to 13 people, five of whom were present at the event. Scholarship winners were Hannah Olstad, of Farmington; Calvin Lord, of Hampton Falls; Jasmine Roth, of Manchester; Kelsey Dalrymple, of Concord; Samantha Thompson, of Fitzwilliam; Maxwell Cooper, of New London; Bryanne Thomas, of Rindge; Jared Barnett, of Westmoreland; Heather Zukas, of Freemont; Brian Anderson, of Nashua; Richard Gilbert III, of Newfields; Richard Rossoll Jr., of Lebanon; and Angels Zukas of Freemont.
Richard Gilbert Jr., whose son received a scholarship, spoke on behalf of his family, saying his two daughters had also received Mason scholarships, making the total amount between their three children more than $13,000.
"Without help from the Scottish Rite this path would be impossible," he said of the success of his children in pursuing a higher education.
Even though Mason Day was meant to honor the organization, their charitable nature did not stop there. The Scottish Rite, which fully funds the Children's Dyslexia Centers in Nashua and Rochester, had a booth providing information explaining how their program trains teachers to teach children with dyslexia how to read.
Another program the Scottish Rite helps fund, and was offering registration for on Saturday, is the Children's Identification Program, which fingerprints, gathers dental records and makes a DVD of a child, then gives it to a parent so if a child goes missing, they have all the information to give to authorities.
"It's just what we do," Aronson said of the participation in these and other groups. "A lot of what we do go to funds that we give to charitable organizations."
At the end of the day, though, Aronson said it will not be the end of the Freemason festivities in the Portsmouth area.
Aronson said the Freemasons will spend the summer celebrating 275 years of masons in Portsmouth. He explained that last week was the official anniversary, which included a celebration at the Portsmouth lodge and a parade on Sunday morning.
"It's an opportunity for us to sort of wave our flag a bit and let people know who we are and that we have been a part of the Portsmouth community for 275 years," he said.
For more information on the New Hampshire Freemasons, visit their website at http://nhgrandlodge.org.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)