Jan 2016
Greetings from the East,
Just a quick note to let everyone know there will be an Entered Apprentice degree next Wednesday, Jan 27, 2016 at 6:00pm. All brothers are encouraged to attend. There will be a rehearsal on Tuesday night at 7:00pm for those taking part in the degree. Please try to attend.
More next month as we start off a new year. See you all at the next lodge meeting on Feb 3.
Fraternally yours,
Bob Gregg, WM
.
Greetings from the East,
Just a quick note to let everyone know there will be an Entered Apprentice degree next Wednesday, Jan 27, 2016 at 6:00pm. All brothers are encouraged to attend. There will be a rehearsal on Tuesday night at 7:00pm for those taking part in the degree. Please try to attend.
More next month as we start off a new year. See you all at the next lodge meeting on Feb 3.
Fraternally yours,
Bob Gregg, WM
.
May 2015
Greetings from the East,
Family Pot Luck Dinner on May 20th 5:30 pm at the Lodge in Kingsford.
I know it's been a while since this page has been updated and this letter will help to fill in any gaps in which you may have missed. We have some new and exciting things going on at the Lodge; I don't want to ruin any of the surprises, I'll just start with where we left off.
Jan 7th meeting was held in due form, ther was a discussion about transportation of widows for medical treatment and general errands. Several of the Brothers have offered to supply assistance if anyone is in need; you call the Masonic Lodge at 906-239-9501. The Scottish Rite will have abooth at the Ski Jump this year and encouraged all to attend, don't fret if you missed out this year they will be back again next year.
January 17th installation of Officers
Installing Officers
Trenton Rankin PM
Jake Hulce PM
Officers Installed
James Corey Cain - Worshipful Master
Robin Cook - Senior Warden
Bob Gregg - Junior Warden
Bill Ludlow - Treasurer
Kyle Menza - Secretary
Michael Kemnitz - Senior Deacon
James Blignaut - Junior Deacon
Russell Cram - Tiler
February 4th meeting was held in due form and an invitation from the WM of Green Dragon Lodge #821 was received with a Letter and Token of Fellowship. Brother Gregg announced he will be attending the Warden Leadership Conference in Grand Rapids. Norway Lodge will be holding their regular stated meeting in the Iron Mountain Temple for the months of February and March. They have also requested use of our Lodge for the purpose of holding a Soup Kitchen for those in need. Brother Menza will be assisting with the preparation of the meal for the soup kitchen. The Scottish Rite Reunion will be held in Marquette on May 16th 2015 any questionscan be directed to Brother Corey Cain at 906-236-0744.
Mar 4th meeting was hels in due form and the Master of the Year was announced, Brother James Corey Cain was announced as Master Mason of the Year for the Iron Mountain Lodge and The District Master Mason of the Year. I'd like to thankall the Brothers for this award and let them know that I will continue my hard work and dedication to the craft. Master Mason of the Year dinner was held on March 14th in conjunction with Norway Lodge 362's master Mason of the Year dinner. Norway Lodge's Master Mason of the Yearwas Brother Ryan McConnell. A candidate for the Masonic Foundation Scolarship was selected and further invited to the Mastter Mason of the Year dinner; our candidate for this year is Hallie Ruth Balcerzak-Drum. Brother Blignaut will be heading of the Adopt a Highway cleanup this tyear and will be looking for any that maybe assistance.
April 1st meeting was held in somewhat due form, it is April 1st ater all. Brother Cain will be attending the Grand Lodge this year, however not as Worshipful Master but as the Master Mason of the Year Committe Chairman, in his stead Brother Kyle Menza will be attending the Grand Lodge Session. Brothers are encouraged to attend and show supportfor our Grand Worshipful Master William LeVeque. Brother Cain will be at the Iron Mountain High School awards ceremonyon May 13th to present the Masonic Foundation Scholarship to Hallie Ruth Balcerzak-Drum.
May 6th meeting was held in due form, however attendance was very lacking; it would be wonderful to see more of the Brothers to attend the monthly meeting. Ther was a motion on the floor to beginLodge clean up including having a rummage sale to clean out some of the unneeded items and raise a few funds for the repairs that need to be done to the building.
List of Repairs are as follows:
1. Replace all the restroom sinks.
2. Replace the toilts in the men's and ladie's restrooms.
3. Ballasts in 5 of the lights need to be replaced
4. Approx 3 cases of fluorescent will be neede to replace the
lights that are out.
5. Kitchen faucet needs to be replaced along with the drain.
6. Floors will need to be stripped and waxed again this year including the kitchen and bake room.
There will be a meeting in June to discuss the future of both the breakfast crew and the pasty crew and if those ventures will start up again in the fall.
Ther has been some discussion amongst the pasty crew that they would rather not continue with the pasties in the fall. It is my duty to inform you that without the proceeds from the pasties we CAN NOT afford to stay in our building. With that being said we do own our building and do have the option to put it up for sale and hopefully select a building site outside the city limits and build a smaller structure that we could afford to stay in.
I am not a person to end anything on a discouraging note and I would just like to add that our Fraternity has nothing to do with a building, nor where we meet; it's about the Brothers and Sisters - it is about the peoplewho belong to our organization, the people whom I have come to love.
Thank you Brothers and Sisters and I hopeto see you all at our upcoming events.
Greetings from the East,
Family Pot Luck Dinner on May 20th 5:30 pm at the Lodge in Kingsford.
I know it's been a while since this page has been updated and this letter will help to fill in any gaps in which you may have missed. We have some new and exciting things going on at the Lodge; I don't want to ruin any of the surprises, I'll just start with where we left off.
Jan 7th meeting was held in due form, ther was a discussion about transportation of widows for medical treatment and general errands. Several of the Brothers have offered to supply assistance if anyone is in need; you call the Masonic Lodge at 906-239-9501. The Scottish Rite will have abooth at the Ski Jump this year and encouraged all to attend, don't fret if you missed out this year they will be back again next year.
January 17th installation of Officers
Installing Officers
Trenton Rankin PM
Jake Hulce PM
Officers Installed
James Corey Cain - Worshipful Master
Robin Cook - Senior Warden
Bob Gregg - Junior Warden
Bill Ludlow - Treasurer
Kyle Menza - Secretary
Michael Kemnitz - Senior Deacon
James Blignaut - Junior Deacon
Russell Cram - Tiler
February 4th meeting was held in due form and an invitation from the WM of Green Dragon Lodge #821 was received with a Letter and Token of Fellowship. Brother Gregg announced he will be attending the Warden Leadership Conference in Grand Rapids. Norway Lodge will be holding their regular stated meeting in the Iron Mountain Temple for the months of February and March. They have also requested use of our Lodge for the purpose of holding a Soup Kitchen for those in need. Brother Menza will be assisting with the preparation of the meal for the soup kitchen. The Scottish Rite Reunion will be held in Marquette on May 16th 2015 any questionscan be directed to Brother Corey Cain at 906-236-0744.
Mar 4th meeting was hels in due form and the Master of the Year was announced, Brother James Corey Cain was announced as Master Mason of the Year for the Iron Mountain Lodge and The District Master Mason of the Year. I'd like to thankall the Brothers for this award and let them know that I will continue my hard work and dedication to the craft. Master Mason of the Year dinner was held on March 14th in conjunction with Norway Lodge 362's master Mason of the Year dinner. Norway Lodge's Master Mason of the Yearwas Brother Ryan McConnell. A candidate for the Masonic Foundation Scolarship was selected and further invited to the Mastter Mason of the Year dinner; our candidate for this year is Hallie Ruth Balcerzak-Drum. Brother Blignaut will be heading of the Adopt a Highway cleanup this tyear and will be looking for any that maybe assistance.
April 1st meeting was held in somewhat due form, it is April 1st ater all. Brother Cain will be attending the Grand Lodge this year, however not as Worshipful Master but as the Master Mason of the Year Committe Chairman, in his stead Brother Kyle Menza will be attending the Grand Lodge Session. Brothers are encouraged to attend and show supportfor our Grand Worshipful Master William LeVeque. Brother Cain will be at the Iron Mountain High School awards ceremonyon May 13th to present the Masonic Foundation Scholarship to Hallie Ruth Balcerzak-Drum.
May 6th meeting was held in due form, however attendance was very lacking; it would be wonderful to see more of the Brothers to attend the monthly meeting. Ther was a motion on the floor to beginLodge clean up including having a rummage sale to clean out some of the unneeded items and raise a few funds for the repairs that need to be done to the building.
List of Repairs are as follows:
1. Replace all the restroom sinks.
2. Replace the toilts in the men's and ladie's restrooms.
3. Ballasts in 5 of the lights need to be replaced
4. Approx 3 cases of fluorescent will be neede to replace the
lights that are out.
5. Kitchen faucet needs to be replaced along with the drain.
6. Floors will need to be stripped and waxed again this year including the kitchen and bake room.
There will be a meeting in June to discuss the future of both the breakfast crew and the pasty crew and if those ventures will start up again in the fall.
Ther has been some discussion amongst the pasty crew that they would rather not continue with the pasties in the fall. It is my duty to inform you that without the proceeds from the pasties we CAN NOT afford to stay in our building. With that being said we do own our building and do have the option to put it up for sale and hopefully select a building site outside the city limits and build a smaller structure that we could afford to stay in.
I am not a person to end anything on a discouraging note and I would just like to add that our Fraternity has nothing to do with a building, nor where we meet; it's about the Brothers and Sisters - it is about the peoplewho belong to our organization, the people whom I have come to love.
Thank you Brothers and Sisters and I hopeto see you all at our upcoming events.
December 2014
Greetings from the East,
Well brothers it's December and the year is almost over and my term as Worshipful Master. It's been a wonderful experience for me and I tried and hope that I served the lodge well. I hope all of you have a blessed and wonderful Christmas and a happy new year. Sorry about not getting November's newsletter out, but time got away from me. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and a successful deer season.
Our pasties and breakfast sales are doing wonderful this year. The next breakfast on Dec 7th some of our proceeds will be going to the Interstate Shrine transportation fund. So please come and enjoy a wonderful breakfast.
Our Oktoberfest was a success and hopefully this will become a yearly event. To all who came thank you. A special thanks go out to Cory and Kyle for putting on our first craft show that was also a success and we'll hopefully be having more throughout the year. These activities help us maintain our lodge, so if you can come to these activities it would be apprciated.
Our November's meeting we elected our new officers for 2015. Congradulations to Cory for becoming Worshipful Master for 2015 and Mason of the Year for 2014. I know he will do a great job. The installation of officers will be held on Saturday, Jan 17th and its an open installation. The Mason of the Year dinner will be March 14th with more information coming in the near future.
Fraternity Yours
Michael Kemnitz, WM
Greetings from the East,
Well brothers it's December and the year is almost over and my term as Worshipful Master. It's been a wonderful experience for me and I tried and hope that I served the lodge well. I hope all of you have a blessed and wonderful Christmas and a happy new year. Sorry about not getting November's newsletter out, but time got away from me. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and a successful deer season.
Our pasties and breakfast sales are doing wonderful this year. The next breakfast on Dec 7th some of our proceeds will be going to the Interstate Shrine transportation fund. So please come and enjoy a wonderful breakfast.
Our Oktoberfest was a success and hopefully this will become a yearly event. To all who came thank you. A special thanks go out to Cory and Kyle for putting on our first craft show that was also a success and we'll hopefully be having more throughout the year. These activities help us maintain our lodge, so if you can come to these activities it would be apprciated.
Our November's meeting we elected our new officers for 2015. Congradulations to Cory for becoming Worshipful Master for 2015 and Mason of the Year for 2014. I know he will do a great job. The installation of officers will be held on Saturday, Jan 17th and its an open installation. The Mason of the Year dinner will be March 14th with more information coming in the near future.
Fraternity Yours
Michael Kemnitz, WM
October 2014
Greetings from the East,
Well brothers it's October, the month of Halloween, pumpkins, and Oktoberfest. I hope you have a wonderful month.
Once again we are saddened by the loss of another brother, Cal Formolo. Cal helped out with the breakfast crew. You could always rely on him to help out. We send out our prayers to Joyce and her family at this time of sorrow.
Our pasty crew is off and running this year. Our first sale was on Thursday, Sept 18th. I want to give a special thanks to John Carlson for volunteering to be our baker this year. We will be having our first breakfast on Oct 5th. Please join us for a wonderful breakfast.
Just a reminder that the lodge is having an Oktoberfest meal on Oct 11th. It's not too late to RSVP, but time is running out. You can call Kyle Menza at 239-9501 to RSVP. Refreshments will be at 5:00PM with dinner to follow. Kyle Menza will be cooking supper that night and we should all give him special thanks.
We had our Master Mason degree on Sept 27th. We raised five new brothers --- one from our lodge, two from Marquette lodge, one from Ironwood lodge, and one from Menominee lodge. So, congratulations brothers for becoming Master Masons. There will be another Master Mason degree at our regularly scheduled meeting in November.
Fraternity Yours,
Michael Kemnitz WM
Greetings from the East,
Well brothers it's October, the month of Halloween, pumpkins, and Oktoberfest. I hope you have a wonderful month.
Once again we are saddened by the loss of another brother, Cal Formolo. Cal helped out with the breakfast crew. You could always rely on him to help out. We send out our prayers to Joyce and her family at this time of sorrow.
Our pasty crew is off and running this year. Our first sale was on Thursday, Sept 18th. I want to give a special thanks to John Carlson for volunteering to be our baker this year. We will be having our first breakfast on Oct 5th. Please join us for a wonderful breakfast.
Just a reminder that the lodge is having an Oktoberfest meal on Oct 11th. It's not too late to RSVP, but time is running out. You can call Kyle Menza at 239-9501 to RSVP. Refreshments will be at 5:00PM with dinner to follow. Kyle Menza will be cooking supper that night and we should all give him special thanks.
We had our Master Mason degree on Sept 27th. We raised five new brothers --- one from our lodge, two from Marquette lodge, one from Ironwood lodge, and one from Menominee lodge. So, congratulations brothers for becoming Master Masons. There will be another Master Mason degree at our regularly scheduled meeting in November.
Fraternity Yours,
Michael Kemnitz WM
September 2014
Greetings from the East,
Well brothers it's September the month everyhing starts to change and we get ready for winter. Hopefully we have some summer weather yet.
On a sad note we put to rest Brother Dave Bruneau in August. It's always sad to hear of a brother passing, but he is in a better place. We also pray that Dave's family be comforted in their time of sorrow.
We have a problem with our pasty crew this year. Chuck Jennings informed me last month that due to health issues he is unable to head up the pasty crew this coming year. I had a meeting with the pasty crew on Monday , July 28th, and the pasty crew is willing to take over for Chuck, except for baking on Thursday mornings. So I'm asking for a volunteer or someone they know who would be willing to take over that position. We will be doing full bake or frozen pasties, no half bakes, until we get someone to fill in as a cook full time. The pasties will start up again on the third Thursday in September. Hopefully we will have our issues resolved by then.
Brothers who have delinquent dues for 2013 and/or 2014 need to have them paid up by September 15th. In October's meeting we will be voting on whether to suspend the brothers who are delinquent, or keep them for another year.
On a lighter note the lodge will be having an Oktoberfest meal on October 11th. We had to move the date due to scheduling conflicts. Refreshments will be served at 5:00pm with dinner to follow. Kyle Menza will be cooking supper that night and we should all give him special thanks. We will also be putting on a Master Mason degree hopefully on September 27th starting at 10:00am. We will be raising 4-5 brothers that day so if you can come please do and help out our fellow brothers with their degree work.
Just a reminder that Norway Lodge is having a fishing derby on Sept. 13th from 10:00am until whenever. The entry fee is $10.00 per person. The lunch will be potluck and you need to bring your own refreshments. To get the information on this event call Jake Hulce WM of Norway Lodge. His number is 906-282-1212.
Fraternally Yours,
Michael Kemnitz, WM
Well brothers it's September the month everyhing starts to change and we get ready for winter. Hopefully we have some summer weather yet.
On a sad note we put to rest Brother Dave Bruneau in August. It's always sad to hear of a brother passing, but he is in a better place. We also pray that Dave's family be comforted in their time of sorrow.
We have a problem with our pasty crew this year. Chuck Jennings informed me last month that due to health issues he is unable to head up the pasty crew this coming year. I had a meeting with the pasty crew on Monday , July 28th, and the pasty crew is willing to take over for Chuck, except for baking on Thursday mornings. So I'm asking for a volunteer or someone they know who would be willing to take over that position. We will be doing full bake or frozen pasties, no half bakes, until we get someone to fill in as a cook full time. The pasties will start up again on the third Thursday in September. Hopefully we will have our issues resolved by then.
Brothers who have delinquent dues for 2013 and/or 2014 need to have them paid up by September 15th. In October's meeting we will be voting on whether to suspend the brothers who are delinquent, or keep them for another year.
On a lighter note the lodge will be having an Oktoberfest meal on October 11th. We had to move the date due to scheduling conflicts. Refreshments will be served at 5:00pm with dinner to follow. Kyle Menza will be cooking supper that night and we should all give him special thanks. We will also be putting on a Master Mason degree hopefully on September 27th starting at 10:00am. We will be raising 4-5 brothers that day so if you can come please do and help out our fellow brothers with their degree work.
Just a reminder that Norway Lodge is having a fishing derby on Sept. 13th from 10:00am until whenever. The entry fee is $10.00 per person. The lunch will be potluck and you need to bring your own refreshments. To get the information on this event call Jake Hulce WM of Norway Lodge. His number is 906-282-1212.
Fraternally Yours,
Michael Kemnitz, WM
August 2014
Greetings from the East,
Well brothers it looks like summer is
flying by fast by next month the leaves willing be changing.
Hopefully everybody has had a good summer so far, because summer is just
too short in the UP.
Our pasty and breakfast crew appreciation picnic is planned for Sunday August 17th at Dorothy Fox Hall. Refreshments will start at 11:00 and lunch to follow. If you are planning to attend please call Robin Cook at
1-906-630-2013 or Carol Larson at 1-906-282-6721 so we can get a head count.
We have problem with our pasty crew this year. Chuck Jennings informed me last month that do to health issues he is unable to head up the pasty crew this coming year. I had a meeting with the pasty crew on Monday July 28th and the pasty crew is willing to take over for Chuck, except for baking Thursday mornings. So I’m asking for a volunteer or someone they know who would be willing to take over that position. The Pasties will start up again on the 2nd Thursday of September. Hopefully will have our issues resolved by then.
On a lighter note the lodge is planning to
have an Oktoberfest meal on Oct 11th. The time isn’t set yet, but if anyone
is willing to bring a German dish to pass that would be great.
We also will be putting on a Master Mason degree later on this month so
if you’re willing to help out just call me at 221-7855 and I will give you the
details.
Fraternity
Yours
Michael Kemnitz,
WM
Well brothers it looks like summer is
flying by fast by next month the leaves willing be changing.
Hopefully everybody has had a good summer so far, because summer is just
too short in the UP.
Our pasty and breakfast crew appreciation picnic is planned for Sunday August 17th at Dorothy Fox Hall. Refreshments will start at 11:00 and lunch to follow. If you are planning to attend please call Robin Cook at
1-906-630-2013 or Carol Larson at 1-906-282-6721 so we can get a head count.
We have problem with our pasty crew this year. Chuck Jennings informed me last month that do to health issues he is unable to head up the pasty crew this coming year. I had a meeting with the pasty crew on Monday July 28th and the pasty crew is willing to take over for Chuck, except for baking Thursday mornings. So I’m asking for a volunteer or someone they know who would be willing to take over that position. The Pasties will start up again on the 2nd Thursday of September. Hopefully will have our issues resolved by then.
On a lighter note the lodge is planning to
have an Oktoberfest meal on Oct 11th. The time isn’t set yet, but if anyone
is willing to bring a German dish to pass that would be great.
We also will be putting on a Master Mason degree later on this month so
if you’re willing to help out just call me at 221-7855 and I will give you the
details.
Fraternity
Yours
Michael Kemnitz,
WM
June 2014
Greetings from the East,
Well brothers it looks like summer has finally arrived. I hope everybody is getting out and enjoying the weather. Summer is too short in the UP.
Our pasty and breakfast crew appreciation picnic is planned for Sunday, August 17th at Dorothy Fox Hall. Refreshments will start at 10:00 and lunch to follow. If you are planning to attend please call Robin Cook at 906-630-2013 or Carol Larson at 906-282-6721 so we can get a head count.
We had our cleanup on June 7th and it went well. The floor got waxed and it looks wonderful. Thanks to Russ, Dino, Bob, Greg, and Kyle for helping out. It couldn't have gotten done without these brothers. The Grand Lodge Officers will be putting on an EA degree at our lodge on June 21st at 9:00. Please come and welcome the Grand Officers.
Faithfully yours,
Michael Kemnitz, WM
Well brothers it looks like summer has finally arrived. I hope everybody is getting out and enjoying the weather. Summer is too short in the UP.
Our pasty and breakfast crew appreciation picnic is planned for Sunday, August 17th at Dorothy Fox Hall. Refreshments will start at 10:00 and lunch to follow. If you are planning to attend please call Robin Cook at 906-630-2013 or Carol Larson at 906-282-6721 so we can get a head count.
We had our cleanup on June 7th and it went well. The floor got waxed and it looks wonderful. Thanks to Russ, Dino, Bob, Greg, and Kyle for helping out. It couldn't have gotten done without these brothers. The Grand Lodge Officers will be putting on an EA degree at our lodge on June 21st at 9:00. Please come and welcome the Grand Officers.
Faithfully yours,
Michael Kemnitz, WM