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No. 7

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2012

September 2012

Trestle Board

St. John’s Lodge No. 1

Portsmouth, NH

The Master’s Message

Greetings from The East, Brethren!

I hope you all enjoyed the Summer. As usual, it seemed to pass by

too quickly but Autumn is a beautiful season in New Hampshire too. I look

forward to the variety of the scenes which this season will display to our dis-

cerning eyes – the fantastic fall foliage (not the leaf raking, however!), the

crispness of the air, and Sunday afternoon football (Go Pats!).

We have remained busy over the summer with the work of the Lodge and will

continue to do so throughout the remainder of the year. We will raise another

new Mason in September as well as welcome our District Officers to St.

Johns for their annual visitation. Also, at our September Stated, our Brother

Mark Furber will be delivering a talk on “The History of Masonic Ritual.” I

have been looking forward to this presentation for some time and I believe

this will be a topic of interest to our Brothers both young and old.

In addition to our own activities, there are numerous Masonic events occur-

ring in September throughout the District as many Lodges which were dark

(or semi-dark) during the Summer get back to work in earnest.

I encourage you to visit the webpage of the First Masonic District for all the

details of these events (there are far too many to list here), but one event in

particular which I highly recommend is the Outdoor Degree which will be

held on September 15th from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM in Deerfield, New Hamp-

shire. The EA Degree will be followed by a great BBQ meal. I attended this

event last year and I sincerely enjoyed it. The degree work was first rate.

The format was completely unique, low key and informal, with a sense of

humor to it. Not to mention that the meal and fellowship was top shelf.

Your officers will be meeting this month as well to plan our own Lodge ac-

tivities for the remainder of 2012. If you have any thoughts on this subject,

please seek one of us out and let us know. We need your input, Brethren.

We want to make sure we’re doing all we can to make St. John’s the best

Lodge we can be, for you. We can only do that with your help.

Fraternally Yours,

Wor Gib Palmer

Lodge of Instruction

Brethren:

The District Lodges of Instruction of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of

New Hampshire will be held for the year 2012 as follows:

September 7, Friday 6:30 PM—7:30 PM 5, Gorham-Sabatis No. 73 Gorham

September 21, Friday 6:30—PM 7:30 PM, 6 Winnipesaukee No. 75 Alton

September 28, Friday 6:30—PM 7:30 PM, 4 Horace Chase No. 72 Penacook

October 26, Friday 6:30—PM 7:30 PM, 2 Benevolent No. 7 Milford

October 27, Saturday 12:30 PM—10:00 AM, 7 & 8 Meridian No. 60 Franklin

*Note: Meal follows Lodge of Instruction

A current Dues Card is required for admission to the Lodges of Instruction.

The Grand Master, Brother Paul M. Leary, requests that this schedule be pub-

lished in each Lodge's Trestleboard. He further requests that all Officers of

the Lodges in each District make a special effort to attend the Lodge of In-

struction in their District. Attention is directed to the Grand Constitution,

Article IV, Section 9 on Page 5 which states that, "It shall be the duty of the

Masters and Wardens of Lodges in any District, whenever the Grand Master

shall call a Lodge of Instruction to be held in said District, to attend the

same."

The Grand Master also requests that the Worshipful Master make an earnest

effort to see that all Brothers who were Raised to the Degree of Master Ma-

son after September 1, 2011 are aware of the meeting, be told that it is a

Communication that they are expected to attend, and that the program will be

one of Masonic information and education that should be of interest to them.

All MASTER MASONS are welcome and are urged to attend.

Cordially and fraternally,

Thomas S. Lowe, Grand Secretary

The lambskin apron derives from the working

apron of the ancient stone masons. Thus, the

apron is proudly compared with the noblest

decorations of ancient Rome and of both ancient

and modern Europe. But what, exactly, is the

Golden Fleece, Roman Eagle and Star and Gar-

ter?

The Order of the Golden Fleece was of high

repute as an Order of Knight-

hood. It was established in

Flanders, France in 1429 by the Duke of Burgundy, a mem-

ber of the then royal family, who selected the fleece for its

badge because wool was the staple production of the coun-

try. Since that time, it has been considered as one of the

most illustrious Orders of Europe. The badge of the Order,

is a sheepskin suspended from a jeweled collar of firesteels

in the shape of the letter B, for Burgundy, linked by flints;

with the motto “Pretium Laborum Non Vile” (“No Mean Reward for La-

bours”) engraved on the front of the central link and Philip’s motto, “Non

Aliud” (“I will have no other”) on the back.

The Roman Eagle was to Romans the ensign of imperial power. Made of

silver or bronze, the Roman Eagle was placed atop the

pole of the military standards (flags). The eagle was a

symbol of strength, courage and immortality. The eagle

was believed to be the king of the birds that could as-

cend above the storm and become the messenger of the

gods. According to ancient mythology, the eagle would

carry the soul into the presence of the gods, Zeus to the Greeks, Jupiter to the

Tomas and Odin to the tribes of Germania.

The Star and Garter. The Star and Garter are actually two

different orders. Order of the Garter is the highest order of

chivalry existing in England and is dedicated to the image

and arms of St. George . King Edward III founded the Order

of the Garter in 1348 as a noble fraternity consisting of the

King, the Prince of Wales and 24 Knights Companion. The

Order of the Star was created by King John II of France in

1351 and was an imitation of the English Order.

Master Mason Apron

Stated Communication

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

(Dinner 6:00, Open 7:00)

Semi-public for the presentation of proceeds from the

Out of Hibernation 5K to the Seacoast Family Food Pantry

Program from Brother Mark Furber on the

“History of Masonic Ritual”

Dinner—Lasagna

Officer dress— White tie and tails

Special Communication—Master Mason Degree

Brother Richard Moss Laskey, Jr

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

(Dinner 6:00, Open 7:00)

Dinner—Chicken Parmesan

Officer dress— White tie and tails

Special Communication—Grand Lodge Visitation

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

(Dinner 6:00, Open 7:00)

Dinner—Steak Tips

Officer dress— White tie and tails

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

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23 24 25 26 27 28 29

30

September 2012

St. John’s Lodge Historical Sketch

Marston Seavey Fenwick

To play off the J.M. Smucker Company’s slogan, with a name like Marston, he

has to be good!

Marston Seavey Fenwick was born in Portsmouth on October 16, 1914, the

son of Jack and Elisabeth Fenwick. He attended Portsmouth schools, includ-

ing the old Whipple School on State Street, and he graduated from Portsmouth

Senior High School (the old Farragut School building) with the Class of 1932.

He went on to study zoology and geology at the University of New Hampshire

and was awarded degrees in both with the Class of 1936.

At the outbreak of World War II, Marston enlisted in the U.S. Army and

served as an aircraft mechanic. Following the war, he joined the workforce at

the Portsmouth Navy Yard and was employed in the Design Division. In the

late 1950’s following the establishment of the naval nuclear propulsion pro-

gram, he worked in the Nuclear Power Division at the Shipyard and retired as

an expert in Control Engineering in 1980 with 37 years of service.

Marston was a talented artist and professional musician. He played clarinet

and saxophone in the Portsmouth High School Band, and later in several bands

and orchestras across the country. He was a long time member of Local 376 of

the American Federation of Musicians, and served that organization as its sec-

retary and treasurer for 20 years. During the 1950’s and ‘60’s, he was a mem-

ber of the musical group – “The Hungry Five.”

Marston enjoyed painting and was an accomplished ballroom dancer and Ha-

waiian dance performer. He particularly loved to entertain children as a volun-

teer clown and participated in many parades and circus events. He was an

active member and parishioner of St. John's Episcopal Church and in later

years adopted the Baha’i faith, becoming a dedicated member of the Green

Acre Baha'i community of Eliot, Maine.

Marston was married three times; first to Natalie, then to Maxine, and lastly to

Alice; and he had five children: Joan, Mark, Jonathan, Anne and Alison. For

many years, he lived at 576 Sagamore Avenue in Portsmouth, and following

his retirement, he relocated to Arizona. In retirement he continued to play his

instruments in the Phoenix City Band and the Tower Point Band, and he en-

joyed traveling around the country and the world.

Marston was uniquely talented in so many ways. He was also exceptionally

kind and gentle, and above all, humble. In a loving tribute to his father, his

son Mark, a local sculptor and artist, hand crafted a pine box for his Dad. On

March 25, 2008, at the age of 93, Marston succumbed to throat cancer and

passed away in Mesa, Arizona. His body was laid to rest in that pine box and

he is buried in the Center Cemetery in North Hampton.

Yes; Marston was a good man, and if you guessed that he was a Freemason,

then you are correct. In fact, Brother Marston was a member of St. John’s

Lodge, No. 1 in Portsmouth, having been Raised a Master Mason in our

Lodge on June 9, 1937.

Alan Robinson

Historian

Gib Palmer

Worshipful Master

Gilbert.Palmer@assurant.com

(603) 601-2294

Robert Sutherland Jr.

Secretary

Robert7615@aol.com

(603) 436-1095

Contact

Information:

From the Secretary’s Desk

Brethren:

The notice that I sent out helped in getting some of the overdue dues in that

were needed to get us on the way to being in good shape. However I did have

to send out seven 90-day notices for brothers that owe more than one year’s

dues. We also still have quite a few brothers that still owe this year’s dues.

Are you aware that we do have a life membership program so that you could

make one payment to cover the dues for the rest of your life? This would be

the time to do it, before any additional increases in our dues or the Grand

Lodge fees. Contact me for details!

Our thoughts and prayers are with WB George Milliken in the loss of his

wife Jean on Aug. 29th.

Sincerely yours, Robert L. Sutherland, Jr.