2010-04-00-Tidings

Valley of ToledoAncient Accepted Scottish Rite

The Board of Trustees for the Valley of Toledo is pleased to announce that the Spring Reunion for 2010 will be held at The Maumee Indoor Theater.

We will be portraying the 40 - Master Traveler, 70 - Provost & Judge, and 120 - Master of Mercy -

Degrees. The date for the Spring Reunion will be Saturday, April 10, 2010.

The Maumee Indoor Theater is located at 601 Conant St. in Maumee. This is the southwest corner of the Anthony Wayne Trail and Conant St.

Please use the Reservation Form on the inside of the back cover or go on line at www.toledoaasr.com to make your meal reservations for the Reunion and Lunch.

The 7th and 12th Degrees have not been portrayed in the Valley for a number of years, so, if you need these

degrees for your Passport, be sure to attend.

Spring Reunion 2010Maumee Indoor Theater

April 10, 2010Agenda – Saturday, April 10, 2010

7:00 a.m. Registration

7:45 a.m. Class Orientation

8:00 a.m. Open Lodge of Perfection

and Cover Obligation

8:15 a.m. Fourth Degree

9:00 a.m. Intermission

9:15 a.m. Seventh Degree

10:15 a.m. Intermission – Class Picture

10:45 a.m. Twelfth Degree

12:00 p.m. Curtain & Lunch

MMaassoonniiccTTiiddiinnggssPublished by the 320 FREEMASONS, Valley of Toledo Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite

Mail Address:320 FreemasonryAASR Valley of Toledo1720 Indian Wood Circle Suite EMaumee, OH 43537

Phone: 419.893.2942Fax: 419.893.2962

Email:[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]

Editor:Gary L. McElfresh, 330

Design/Layout/Publisher:Brage E. Elliott, 320

Contributing Reporters:Gary L. McElfresh, 330

Douglas W. King, 330

Membership Development:Michael A. Lake, 320

Photography:Richard L. Davis, 320, M.S.A.James R. Weyer, 320

Deputies RepresentativeClarence L. Hartzell III, 330

Executive SecretaryGary L. McElfresh, 330

Trustees:Robert C. Rill Jr., 330

Nicholas J. Stroh, 330

Larry D. Ellison, 330

Dennis L. Wilhelm, Sr., 330

Christopher J. Hill, 330

William H. Koon II, 330

Gregory L. Zook, 320

James A. Foote, 330

Gary L. McElfresh, 330

From The Desk of the Executive Secretary

Visit our web site at www.toledoaasr.com for event information and registration2

I’m sure most of you have heard the saying that “Spring is the time when a man’s fancy turns to thoughts of love” – or in some cases cars, or fishing, or farming or whatever. For those of us in the Scottish Rite Spring is the time when we plan and prepare for our Spring Reunion. Please mark you calendars for Saturday April 10th and come out and enjoy the day. I hope to see you there. Details are on page 1 and there is a reservation form enclosed on page 11.

Today was the first time since my Nephrectomy last fall that I have done a serious morning walk. It was great to get back outdoors in the morning and listen to the birds chirping, watch the squirrels scurrying from one tree to another and see the rabbits darting across the open areas to find some place to hide. This happens every day whether or not I am out there to see it happen and be a part of the start of another day. And you know what, I missed it. I kinda knew that I did but I didn’t realize how much until this morning. I felt so good when I got home that I can’t wait until tomorrow morning so I can get out there and do it all over again. Life is good and it is even better when you live it to its fullest.

While I was walking I got to thinking about our Fraternity and the Scottish Rite in particular and how much I would miss being involved. There are those who actively participate in the different happenings of the Valley and there are those who, for whatever reason, haven’t been around for a while. And I believe that whether it’s attending a Reunion or other Valley functions that one may feel he is missing out but you don’t really understand just how much or what it is you’ve been missing until you come back and see for yourself first hand just what it is. It could be the fellowship and friendships, it could be the lessons of the different degrees or it could be just a sense of feeling that you are a part of something bigger than yourself.

Now if just coming and sitting and watching the degrees being portrayed is what you enjoy that’s great. Come on out and enjoy the degree presentations. But if just sitting and watching is not your bag then let us know and we’ll find something for you to do. Whether it is being a cast member, working with costumes, stage, or sound or just doing whatever may be needed you are welcome! And when you come bring another member with you, or, better yet bring a new candidate with you. Remember that someone had to think enough of you to ask you to join, now is a good time to ask someone you think highly of to become a Scottish Rite Mason.

In any event if you have not been around for awhile, you need to come out to the various Valley events and see just what it is you have been missing. You need to come out and support the officers and the many others who work so hard to keep the Valley viable. And if you are one of the faithful contact someone you haven’t see for awhile and invite him to come with you. It will make your day that much better if you do.

And my brethren always remember:

SPES MEA IN DEO EST

Visit our web site at www.toledoaasr.com for event information and registration 3

Election of Officers Meeting to be held Thursday, May 13, 2010 at the Valley Offices in Maumee, Ohio. The election will begin at 7:00 p.m. and refreshments will be served afterwards. As this is a tiled meeting make sure to bring your current Blue Lodge Dues Card as well as your current Scottish Rite Valley of Toledo Dues Card.

The Annual Installation of Officers will be held on Friday, May 21st and will be held at Phoenix Lodge in Perrysburg, Ohio. There will be a Social Hour beginning at 6:00 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m. and the Installation of Officers will begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Social Hour and Dinner will be held in the dining room and the Installation of officers will be held in the Lodge Room.

There are three ways to make reservations for this event:

1.) Send in your name – address – number of tickets requested etc. along with your payment of $15.00 per person - see the reservation form on the inside of the back cover.

2.) Call the office to make your reservations and then send in your payment of $15.00 per person.

3.) Go to the Web Site and fill out the on-line registration form and then send in your payment of $15.00 per person. The Valley Web Site is located at www.toledoaasr.com

(#3 is the quickest – easiest – and preferred way to make your reservations.)

Let’s have a good turn out and support our officers as they continue to serve the Valley of Toledo.

Election of Officers to be Held May 13th

Installation of Officers to be Held May 21st

The ceremonial shovel used to break ground on the Heatherdowns Temple in the 1960’s is kept in a special case along with other artifacts in Heritage Hall at the Valley headquarters. The shovel was specially crafted of a unique material. If you think you can identify that material, submit your answer to the Executive Secretary. The first to submit the correct answer will be treated to lunch on the Executive Secretary. The answer will appear in the next issue of the Tidings.

Tidings Quiz




DeMolay Appointments from the Valley of Toledo

Grand Master of DeMolay Robert W. Cockerham with the three appointments from our Scottish Rite Valley of Toledo to the International Supreme Council: Ill. Brother George O. Braatz, 330, the Grand Second Preceptor, Ill. Brother William H. Koon II, 330, the Grand Seventh Preceptor and Ill. Brother Theodore B. Korn, 330, the Region 4 Representative

(representing West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio)


The annual Abbott and Valley of Toledo Scholarship Presentations will be held in conjunction with the Valley of Toledo 32º Masonic Learning Center Graduation. The date is Saturday May 15, 2010 and the place is Gladieux Meadows on Heatherdowns in Toledo.

The evening starts with dinner at 5:30 PM. The cost for the meal is $25.00 per person and reservations are required. You may make your reservations by calling the Valley Office at 419-893-2942 or by visiting the Valley Web Site at www.toledoaasr.com. Click on the calendar and then May 15th. There will be a link to the reservation form.

This will be the third year for the combined event and the last two have been very enjoyable. Let’s have a good turn out and support our local scholars as well as the Learning Center Graduates.

Annual Abbott and Valley of Toledo Scholarships

Heatherdowns Property To Be Sold At Action

The Board of Trustees wishes to inform the membership that they have contracted with Schrader Auction Company to conduct a Real Estate Auction of the Valley of Toledo Property located on Heatherdowns Blvd. in Toledo. The Auction will be held in early summer.

The property has been divided into several parcels/tracts which will give prospective buyers several options to consider.

If the successful bidder on the building does not want the contents of the building a separate auction will take place the same day.

Day – Date – and time are yet to be determined but information will be forthcoming once it is known.

Schrader Real Estate and Auction Company, Inc. is a national real estate firm and have been in business for over 64 years. They are certified auctioneers and real estate brokers and hold professional credentials including Certified Auction Institute (CAI) and Accredited Auctioneer Real Estate (AARE) both of which represent the industry’s highest standards for training and professionalism.

Coming Events

April 10 Spring Reunion

May 13 Election of Officers

May 15 23rd Degree on the USS New Jersey

May 15 Abbott and Valley of Toledo Scholarship Presentations

May 21 Installation of Officers

June 21 Robert D. Sager Memorial Open at Eaglesticks


Masons come to the Scottish Rite from the symbolic lodge imbued with a belief in the purported ancient origin and immutability of Masonic ritual and strictures against innovation. Yet what many regard as the spiritual core of symbolic lodge ritual, the Hiramic legend of the Master Mason’s degree was itself an innovation that did not come into general usage until a decade or more after the formation of the first Grand Lodge.

The Scottish Rite degree rituals recorded in the oldest surviving source manuscript – the 1783 Francken Manuscript – and what we know of their communication during most of the nineteenth century were skeletal compared to the dramatized allegories with which we are familiar. For example, the 20th and 27th rituals, noted for their impressive dramas, did not include dramatic sections at all until they were added by the revised rituals of 1896. Moreover, the medieval trial drama of the 30th did not appear until 1938 and did not become a permanent part of the ritual until 1949. Perhaps most surprising of all is the fact that the “Constans” allegory of the 31st, considered by many of our Brethern to represent the essence of Scottish Rite ritual, made its first appearance as late as 1916, when it was added to the ceremonial ritual of the 32nd.

During the past 150 years the format of Scottish Rite degree rituals has been completely transformed. The traditional full form ritual, established by the French rituals of the mid-1700’s and no doubt based on the form of the symbolic lodge degrees, consisted of a ceremonial opening, followed by reception of the candidate, the obligation and investiture, and a lecture or catechism, often very lengthy, explaining the history, symbolism, and lesson of the degree. In the late 19th century the lecture and catechism were increasingly replaced by a dramatic allegory which during the 20th century became the principal component of most degree rituals. In other words, the dramatic had superceded the didactic as the preferred method of communicating the essence of the ritual. By the end of the last century, the ceremonial portion was disappearing entirely from most degree rituals, leaving only the dramatic section, or allegory, as the ritual of the degree.

“Why Do Scottish Rite Rituals Change So Often?”


If the purpose of the ritual is to impart a moral lesson and shape personal behavior, then it must be meaningful and inspiring to the individuals to whom it is communicated. This, in turn, requires that the method in which the ritual is communicated be understandable and that its content be relevant in the prevailing social culture. Society, as we know, is subject to continuing change, and during the past 30-odd years that change has come at an accelerated rate. Of course, truth and the contrast between moral right and wrong do not change. But means of communication and interpretation must be responsive to cultural change if the message is to be understood.

C. DeForrest Trexler, 330

From The Degree Rituals of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, Heredom, Volume 17, 2009, The Scottish Rite Research Society.

“Why Do Scottish Rite Rituals Change So Often?” (continued)

“The Future of the Rite“

The future of Scottish Rite Freemasonry rests in the hands of its members. It will be what we make of it: an institution of moral leadership, educational advancement and philanthropic endeavors or merely a social club with empty titles and vain pretensions. To achieve the former requires the combined and concerted effort of a great many of us and a renewed commitment to learn the simple lessons of practical morality and the sublime teachings of religious philosophy, then live them, that our light may so shine before men that they will continue to desire our fellowship and join in our assemblies.

The seed is self-improvement and the fruit is moral progress. Each of us must become the Magister Interior, the Inward Master, for until we have mastered ourselves our influence over other men can bring no good result.

Good men; better men.

We seek no more; we offer no more.

It is enough.

- Dr. Rex R. Hutchins, 33rd, G.C., from A Bridge to Light.


Christian A. King & Bernard S. Welniak, Jr. Elected to Receive the 330

At the Annual Meeting of the Supreme Council held in August 2009, Brothers Christian A. King and Bernard S. Welniak, Jr. were elected to receive the 330 at the next Annual Meeting of the Supreme Council in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Brother Christian A. King is a resident of Archbold, Ohio and graduated from Archbold High School. He is an Optometrist in Archbold. He belongs to the American Optometric Association and works closely with the Boy Scouts of America, he has received the Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award.

Brother King is a Past Master of Wauseon Lodge #349, in Wauseon, OH and a member of Superior Lodge #179 in West Unity, OH. He is a member of First Christian Church Disciples of Christ in Wauseon. He became a Royal Arch Mason in 1999 at Wauseon Chapter #111 and has served as High Priest five times with the last term ending in 2008, he joined Wauseon Council #68 R.S.M. in 2000 serving as Illustrious Master in 2003, joined Bryan Commandery #74 K.T. and

is currently serving as Eminent Commander, and is the Grand Musician for Grand Chapter and Past Grand Musician for Grand Council. He joined the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite Valley of Toledo in 1996 and is currently serving as Deputy Master of Mi-A-Mi Lodge of Perfection. His other affiliations are: Black Stone York Rite College, Red Cross of Constantine, Society of Rosicrucian’s, St. Thomas of Acon, Allied Masonic Degrees, Key to the Sea, Fulton O.E.S. #67, & Yeomen of York.

Brother Bernard S. Welniak, Jr., is a resident of Whitehouse, Ohio and graduated from Macomber High School. He is retired from St. Luke’s Hospital after 28 yrs of service. He is a Past President of The N.W.O. Guild of Patient Account Managers as well as Past President of the Assoc. for Crime Prevention. He is now a referring Travel Agent and does volunteer work for several organizations. He and his wife, Dorothy, attend St Joseph’s Church in Maumee, OH. He has served two terms on the Village of Whitehouse Council and in 1992 on the Committee to prepare legislation for a Charter Form of Government. He is Past President of the former Whitehouse Area Recreation Corp. and is a member of the Whitehouse American Legion Post #384. Both Bernie & Dorothy are members of the Maumee Elks #1850.

Brother Welniak is a member of Barton Smith Lodge #613, Fort Meigs Chapter #29, Toledo Council #33, Toledo Commandery #7. He joined the Valley of Toledo in 1975 and is currently serving as High Priest of Northern Light Council, Princes of Jerusalem. He is also a member of St. Thomas Conclave, Red Cross of Constantine, Turkey Foot Council #253 A.M.D.. Chairman for the Fallen Timber’s DeMolay Chapter #36091 and is holder of the DeMolay Honorary Legion of Honor. Brother Welniak is active in Zenobia Shrine and served as Potentate in 1993. Brother Welniak joined the Zenobia Shrine Arab Patrol, a competitive Drill Team in 1975. He was President of the Patrol in 1982 and continues to drill competitively. Past President of the Great Lakes Shrine Patrol Association 1986/1987, Past President of Ohio Shrine Association 1999/2000 and continues to Chair the Annual Shrine Hospital Tabloid Promotion.


Yes – I would like to attend the Spring 2010 Reunion. Please make the following meal reservation:

Name: __________________________________________

Reunion Lunch: ________ @ $5.00 = _______________

Make checks payable to: AASR Valley of Toledo and mail to:

AASR Valley of Toledo

1720 Indian Wood Circle Suite E

Maumee, OH 43537-4041

Social Hour at 6:00 pm - Dinner at 6:30 pm – Installation at 7:30 pm

Name _______________________________________________________

Address ______________________________________________________

City ST, Zip ___________________________________________________

Daytime Phone _____________________________

# Tickets _____ Amount Enclosed # of Tickets X $15.00) $__________

VALLEY: ___________________________________ DATE: _______________________

Team Captain Telephone

1. ___________________________________ Day number: ____________________

Team Members Evening Number: ____________________

2. ___________________________________

3. ___________________________________

4. ___________________________________

Please enclose check for $300.00. (or $75.00 each) payable to the Valley of Toledo and mail to:

All Ohio Scottish Rite Golf Tournament

EAGLESTICKS

C/O Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite

1720 Indian Wood Circle, Suite E

Maumee, Ohio 43537

A check must accompany your reservation. The deadline for reservations is June 11, 2010.

Reservation Form - Spring Reunion - April 10, 2010

Reservation Form - Installation of Officers - May 21, 2010

Reservation Form - Eaglesticks - June 21, 2010

AASR Valley of Toledo1720 Indianwood Circle Suite EMaumee OH 43537-4041

Dated Material

Documents

2010-04-00-Tidings