Masonic Book Club: An Autumn Read for October(fest)

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The next meeting of the Masonic Book Club will be:

When: Thursday, October 13th at 6:30pm

Where (UPDATE!!): Lodge Library room. Cannot meet at Bro. Dean Fairbanks home this time. Contractor not finished with porch addition.

At this meeting, we will be discussing the book "Freemasonry" by Brother Mark Stavish. This book's discussion will be open to Master Masons...and should be illuminating! At our last book club meeting at Tres Hombres (what a good time!) this book was chosen in a coin toss win by Worshipful Matt, sorry Steve...

From Amazon.com:

As one of the world's most famous mysterious societies, Freemasons remain the largest fraternal organization in the world.  Some of the most heroic and creative thinkers in history belonged to the order, including George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Goethe, and Mozart.  What links the philosophy of these great minds with the estimated four million Freemasons who actively maintain this ancient brotherhood today?

From sacred geometry to legendary Masonic rites, author and Freemason Mark Stavish divulges the philosophy of Masonry and the moral code that all Masons share.  Learn how Masonry's higher degrees, particularly Scottish Rite, were influenced by occult beliefs and practices, and how Masonry is linked to King Solomon, Gothic architecture, magic practice, alchemy, and Qabala.  

With exercises and suggested readings, this fascinating exploration is an essential learning tool that will answer questions and shed light on other Masonic mysteries, including initiation and the Lost Word.

About the Author

Mark Stavish is an active Freemason under the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania (our countries oldest), Scottish Rite, York Rite and Eastern Star.  He has been a long-time student of esotericism and is a frequent lecturer on ancient occult knowledge. Founder of the Institute for Hermetic Studies (1998), he is the author of numerous articles on Western esotericism. In 2001 he established the Louis Claude de St. Martin Fund, a non-profit dedicated to advancing the study and practice of Western Esotericism. He has also served as a consultant to print and broadcast media and several documentaries. He holds undergraduate degrees in Theology and Communications and a Master's in Counseling.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK

You can obtain the book on Amazon.com in both paper and electronic format at a very reasonable price for used copies, some as low as $4.99. Also check our www.abebooks.com for great used deals as well.

MasonicStein1.jpg

Prior to the meeting, we will be emailing the author to provide us guiding questions to encourage thought and foster discussion.  This is a convivial as well as an educational gathering so please feel free to imbibe in a favorite beverage, as it is Octoberfest, if you like.  Even if you choose to not read the book come join the discussion and brotherly support.

Please RSVP by sending an email to Bro. Steve Catterral, oldegold@hotmail.com or Bro. Dean Fairbanks, dhfairbanks@csuchico.edu

We hope to see you there!

Special Presentation: Grand Lodge of Iran (in Exile)

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Golden Compasses Research Lodge

Presents an Evening with

The Grand Lodge of Iran – in Exile

Come and join us for an informative evening when we will discuss Masonry in Iran and the history of the Grand Lodge of Iran- in exile, the social and political environment of Masonry in Iran and how it compares the Masonry in the United States

Saturday August 20th
ALL Masons and their spouses or significant other are invited

5:00 pm
Social @ Natoma Lodge #64, 1000 Duchow Way, Folsom

6:00 pm
Catered Persian Dinner

7:00 pm
Introductions by MW John Cooper, III, Past Grand Master of Masons of California


$20 per person, Please RSVP, Casual Business Attire

David Lagala, PM, Junior Warden GCRL
1980 Driftwood Circle, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
Tel: 916-834-1290
lagalad@flc.losrios.edu

Background

The Grand Lodge of Iran, established in 1969 in Tehran, existed in the country prior to the Islamic Revolution of 1979, hosted membership from various political figures, including former prime minister Jafar Sharif-Emami (who served as the lodge's grand master at one point), and branched to 43 Lodges and at least 1,035 members.

Since the Iranian Revolution, Freemasonry has been banned in Iran; a "Grand Lodge of Iran in Exile" is currently established in Los Angeles, although it holds meetings in Massachusetts, where the local Grand Lodge approved its practice in 1985.

Persian Freemasons received in March 1985 the approval of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts to conduct Masonic activities in Boston. In the present they have Masonic Lodges in Washington D.C., France and in California all under the Persian Grand Lodge (in Exile).

Here is an interesting article on Freemasonry and Sufism which is the esoteric form of Islam and still very important in Iran. http://freemasoninformation.com/2009/09/freemasonry-and-sufism-two-roads-and-one-destination/

 

Durham High graduate is grand worthy advisor for Rainbow

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As seen in the Chico ER on August 3rd.

Heidi Johnson, Chico-Paradise Rainbow Girls (Chico ER photo credit).

Heidi Johnson, Chico-Paradise Rainbow Girls (Chico ER photo credit).

Heidi Johnson, a 2016 graduate of Durham High School, was appointed to serve as grand worthy advisor of the California jurisdiction, International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. The appointment came while she was attending Grand Assembly, the organization’s annual state convention in Fresno.

Johnson, 18, has been an active member of Rainbow for the past five years. As grand worthy advisor, she will travel throughout the state and visit with each assembly. She will also represent California Rainbow at neighboring jurisdictions of Nevada and Washington/Idaho.

Johnson is the daughter of Greg and Lisa Johnson of Durham. She plans to attend St. Mary’s College in Moraga in the fall of 2017.

This summer, she is traveling to Rhode Island to attend the Supreme Assembly, the biennial international convention of Rainbow.

Heidi has researched and chosen a state-wide service project, “A Place Called Home,” a nonprofit organization in Los Angeles with the focus of education for inner-city youth. She will promote this endeavor during her travels. Members of California Rainbow will work to raise funds for A Place Called Home all year. She will also help plan the next California Grand Assembly, where she will preside in April 2017 and where the proceeds will be announced and presented to A Place Called Home.

Rainbow is a service organization open to girls ages 11-20. Members develop many personal skills including public speaking, event planning, self-confidence and community service.

Johnson is a member of Chico-Paradise Assembly which meets at Chico-Leland Stanford Lodge #111. She has participated in Relay for Life, helps with the Paradise Simple Gesture food collection program, and volunteers with various nonprofit groups and organizations.

Political Conventions and Freemasonry? Links to the Sad Morgan Affair

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The following article was posted on Salon.com on July 4, 2016. It describes the first "third party" in the US, the Anti-Masonic Party.

Monday, Jul 4, 2016 09:00 AM PDT

The convention’s invention: Freemasons and the mysterious dawn of a political instituion

The political convention as we now know it has its roots in a little-known, now-extinct party from Upstate New York

Anti-Masonic Party 1826-1832 became the Whig Party.

Anti-Masonic Party 1826-1832 became the Whig Party.

Jack Kelly

(Credit: AP/Jae C. Hong)

The presidential nominating convention, that quadrennial blend of circus and speechfest, was originated not by the two major parties, but by a little-known and short-lived group who called themselves the Anti-Masons. How did this band of zealots come to found a national institution? The story revolves around a mystery.

In 1826, the Erie Canal corridor across New York state was bringing raging prosperity and not a little anxiety to a land that had recently been a frontier. The patriotic New England Yankees who settled the region were ultra-sensitive to intimations that the American Republic was losing its bearings.

In September of that year, Freemasons along the canal abducted a man named William Morgan. A disgruntled Mason himself, Morgan had written a book exposing Masonic secrets. He imagined a bestseller. Alarmed local Masons took the law into their own hands. They imprisoned Morgan in a disused fort on the Niagara River. A few days later, he disappeared. His fate remains unknown to this day.

It took a public outcry to move the authorities to apprehend Morgan’s abductors and probable killers. Most local magistrates, judges and sheriffs were themselves Masons. Masonic witnesses stonewalled the courts. Those convicted received trivial sentences. Outrage along the canal corridor grew.

Speakers at public meetings suddenly saw Freemasonry as an insidious conspiracy to replace government by the people with an aristocracy. The brotherhood was indeed top-heavy with citizens of means, although there were plenty of working-class members like Morgan himself. It was equally true that many prominent politicians, including New York Governor DeWitt Clinton, the canal’s champion, were Masons. But the notion of a Freemason plot was purely a product of the anxiety that rapid change was bringing to the newly opened lands west of the Appalachians.

The movement gained energy from the settlers’ enthusiasm for militant Christianity. An Anti-Masonic minister declared Freemasonry to be the “darkest and deepest plot that ever was formed in this wicked world against the true God, the true religion.”

Women had long resented husbands who devoted their time to lodge meetings, where liberal drinking was the rule. They helped energize a movement that quickly became a political groundswell. “Reason and religion equally demand [Freemasonry’s] overthrow,” one group of ladies proclaimed.

By 1831, the Anti-Masons had formed a political party and were ready to run a candidate for president. The question was how to choose a standard-bearer. The Constitution had made no provision for the selection of candidates, so parties were free to make up their own rules.

Beginning in 1800, the Congressional caucus of each party met to make the choice. This system was already outdated by the 1830s, and anyway the Anti-Masons had no members in Congress to form a caucus. Having built their movement through public meetings and state conventions, they quite naturally turned to the same means for choosing a candidate.

Not wasting any time, national delegates met more than a year before the election. The first ever presidential nominating convention opened in Baltimore in September 1831. The party selected William Wirt, a respected former attorney general (and a former Mason), to represent them in 1832. They also originated the formal political platform. Their statement of principles included an endorsement of public works spending, support for temperance, and insistence on the suppression of secret societies.

Members of the ailing National Republican party followed suit with their own conclave in December, tapping Henry Clay as their candidate. Although President Andrew Jackson was certain to be selected to run for a second term, the Democrats saw that the other parties had profited from the publicity and morale boost of a national meeting. The Dems held their first convention in March 1832.

William Wirt won only a single state, Vermont. He may have taken some votes from Clay, but it really didn’t matter–Jackson won handily. As more and more Masonic lodges closed their doors, the Anti-Masons suffered from their own success. The hyperbole that had fueled their anger began to ring hollow. Prominent party members, including political heavyweight William Seward, steered them toward other concerns, including the abolition of slavery.

By 1836, the Anti-Masons had become a powerful faction of the Whig Party, whose members joined with anti-slavery Democrats twenty years later to found the new Republican Party. In the contentious nominating convention of 1860, Seward lost out to an Illinois lawyer named Abraham Lincoln. The Anti-Masons disappeared; the convention proved a robust institution.

Masonic Book Club: A Summer Read for August

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The next meeting of the Masonic Book Club will be:

When: Thursday, August 11th at 6:30pm

Where: Tres Hombres restaurant on the patio in downtown Chico

At this meeting, we will be discussing the book "Solomon's Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C." by Christopher Hodapp.

This book's discussion will be open to brothers of all Masonic degree levels...and should be fun! Time for a great summer read.

From Amazon:

DID THE FREEMASONS CREATE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
Step back in time to the birth of a revolutionary new republic and discover how the utopian ideals of a visionary secret society laid the foundation for the most powerful nation on earth. Follow George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and other Founding Fathers as they transform the democratic principles of their Masonic lodges into a radical new nation. Solomon's Builders unravels history from myth as it takes you on a Freemason's tour of Washington, D.C. It reveals the evidence of Masonic influence during the construction of America and its new capital, including clues hidden in plain sight:

  • Masonic connections to national monuments
  • Puzzling pentagrams and symbolism in city streets
  • Washington's temples of the "Widow's Sons"

Solomon's Builders relates the true stories of our visionary Founders, and the fascinating meaning behind the cryptic codes, enigmatic symbols and intriguing architecture that was the basis for the sequel to The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown's novel The Lost Symbol.

Author Christopher Hodapp is a Freemason and a Past Master of two Masonic Lodges. His first book, Freemasons for Dummies, is the most popular modern guide to the ancient and accepted fraternity of Freemasonry.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK

You can obtain the book on Amazon in both paper and electronic format at a very reasonable price for used copies, some as low as $0.50! Also check our www.abebooks.com for great used deals as well.

Prior to the meeting, we will be sending out a list of questions to all attendees to encourage thought and foster discussion.  This is a convivial as well as an educational gathering so please feel free to imbibe in a favorite beverage at Tres Hombres with us, if you like.  Even if you choose to not read the book come join the discussion and brotherly support.

Please RSVP so we can set aside chairs and tables on Tres Hombre's patio by sending an email to Bro. Steve Catterral, oldegold@hotmail.com

We hope to see you there!

Memorial Day celebration and Chico-Leland Stanford Lodge No. 111

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Our lodge with other community groups participated in the memorial day service at the Chico Cemetery. We presented the compass and square wreath. The DeMolay and advisers placed flags on all the veterans and flowers on all memorials in the Masonic area of the Chico Cemetery.

Chico-Paradise Rainbow Initiation

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On Monday night May 16, our local chapter of Rainbow Girls International held a very well attended initiation night for three new young ladies from Chico.  If you have never seen a Rainbow ceremony they are very special and the girls did a wonderful job under the tutelage of mother advisor, Lisa Johnson, and direction of the Grand Worthy Advisor our very own Heidi Johnson.  The York Rite Room was packed with visitors from Marysville, Chico, Paradise, Durham, and all of the Table Mountain Lodge officers.  Thank you Table Mountain for coming out to support the girls.  Thank you Chico-Leland Standford Lodge No. 111 WM Matt Cherrington for capturing some images of the event.

The three new initiates are in the front. This brings five new members to date, exceeding their recruitment target for the year.

The three new initiates are in the front. This brings five new members to date, exceeding their recruitment target for the year.

2016 Masonic Scholarship Winners!

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This years scholarships for local graduating high school seniors were swept by two great female students from Durham High School. We are pleased to announce that Mary Freitas and Heidi Johnson are this years scholarship recipients.  They are shown with Worshipful Master Matt Cherrington.

Congratulations Girls from the members of the Chico-Leland Stanford Lodge No. 111. All the best with your future education.

Book Club: The Golden Thread- The Ageless Wisdom of the Western Mystery Traditions

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There is still plenty of time to purchase the book, read the 150 pages, contemplate its information and meaning to Masonry, and then come join us on the Grana Patio on June 9th at 6:30!!

The next meeting of the Masonic Book Club will be:

  • When: Thursday, June 9th at 6:30pm
  • Where: Grana restaurant patio in downtown Chico

At this meeting, we will be discussing the book The Golden Thread: The Ageless Wisdom of the Western Mystery Traditions by Joscelyn Godwin. 

This book's discussion will be open to brothers of all Masonic degree levels.

From Amazon:

The Golden Thread traces the interconnectedness of esoteric wisdom in the Western world, from classical antiquity to contemporary Europe and America. Joscelyn Godwin lends personal perspective to an arrangement of text that is historical and wisdom that is timeless, creating a source of inspiration that calls us to action in our everyday spiritual practice. Every chapter, therefore, makes reference to some aspect of contemporary life and issues of immediate concern. Elegantly written and not without irony and humor, readers will appreciate the non-threatening tone of Godwin's writing, which is not meant to preach or convert but rather inform the public on an often baffling field. Educated readers who are curious about the esoteric and mystery traditions and interested in finding surprising, new approaches to subjects that veer away from the trends of current thought will be particularly drawn to this book.

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK

You can obtain the book on Amazon in both paper and electronic format at a reasonable price for used copies, some as low as $8.99.  Also check out www.abebooks.com for great used deals as well.

Prior to the meeting, we will be sending out a list of questions to all attendees to encourage thought and foster discussion.

This is a convivial as well as an educational gathering so please feel free to imbibe in a favorite beverage at Grana with us, if you like.

Please RSVP so we can set aside chairs and tables on Grana's patio by sending an email to Bro. Steve Catterral, oldegold@hotmail.com

We hope to see you there!

Chico & Durham Teacher Apperciation Night

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On Tuesday April 26 our lodge celebrated exemplary teachers in the Chico and Durham School Districts.  In attendance were Kelly Staley, Superintendent of Chico Unified School District and Len Foreman, Superintendent of Durham Unified School District.  It was a wonderful evening of celebration for exemplary teachers.

Honored teachers of Chico Unified School District: Kathy Jones, Mary Sours, and Mike Bruggeman

Honored teachers of Chico Unified School District: Kathy Jones, Mary Sours, and Mike Bruggeman

Durham Unified School District honorees: Cyndi Haapanen, Deanna Coyne, and Kari Stotler.

Durham Unified School District honorees: Cyndi Haapanen, Deanna Coyne, and Kari Stotler.

Master of Ceremonies Steve Catterall and Worshipful Master Matt Cherrington.

Master of Ceremonies Steve Catterall and Worshipful Master Matt Cherrington.

April 2nd Week: Enchilda Tuesday and Book Club Thursday

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Lodge Dinner and Stated Meeting, Tuesday April 12 @ 6:30.

All members, their families and interested visitors most welcome. Bring a friend who may be interested in Freemasonry.

Cost: $8.00

RSVP contact: Lodge Secretary @ 893-6171 OR email: 111secretary@sbcglobal.net

From the Magic Masonic Kitchen Menu of Steve and Fritz comes...

  • Enchiladas in red sauce
  • Mexican rice
  • Refried beans
  • Mixed salad
  • Cake of some kind with ice cream

Stated Meeting: 7:30pm; Masonic members only

Thursday April 14 @ 6:30 Starts the Lodge's Masonic Book Club @ the Lodge.

Our first meeting of the Lodge Book Club will discuss The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry by Bro. Jay Kinney. This book's discussion will be restricted to Master Masons.  See Book Club page for details.

If you purchased the book come and discuss with a group of interested readers in all things Masonry.

Cellphone App Ready for our Lodge - Download Now!

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Grand Lodge of California rolled out a pilot app that can be customized for each lodge. During March Chico-Leland Stanford #111 lodge partook in building our own smartphone app as part of this larger Grand lodge program.  Some of the features we wanted addressed:

  • Looking for a way to motivate engagement outside stated meetings.
  • Ability to be able to share photos, messages, and social events privately with our own lodge members.
  • Help us to increase attendance at events, and getting RSVPs in early.
  • Make the app personalized for the exclusive use of our brothers...at no cost.

Features and benefits

• Post and comment on messages and pictures in a Facebook-like news feed.
• View calendar information for your lodge; all data is pulled in directly from our lodge website Google calendar; dates are automatically synced.
• Send notifications of events directly to members’ smartphones.
• RSVP to events straight from your smartphone.
• Collect payments for events, donations, or anything you want. (future feature linked to website)
• Browse member contact information; email and call other members with ease.
• Create smaller groups on specific topics, or send a private message a single person.
• Link to our lodge website, Trestleboard, or other important documents from the app.
• All activity is private to the members of the app only; message and post to only members on the app.
• Administrators can see reports on what is popular in your app. Brother Dean Fairbanks is the administrator of both the app and the lodge website. Questions? Contact at chicolelandstanford111@gmail.com

Use this link to install our lodge's app:

http://ourapp.link/chico-stanford-111

The app needs to install completely before "Device Management" and the option to trust will show up in "General" (in Settings).  FYI below are the instructions for "trusting" the CA Grand Lodge, follow them completely.

Brothers can trust the CA Grand Lodge by opening Settings, then "General", then "Device Management", then trust apps from "GRAND LODGE FREE & ACCEPTED MASONS OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, Inc.". They should then be able to open the app. (The download page also contains these instructions, for reference.)

St. Patricks Day, Washington, Osiris, and Bacchanalia...what a mix?!

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March 17 is the day generally believed to be the death of St. Patrick, the British-born missionary who is credited with converting Ireland to Christianity.

During the Continental Army’s 1779-1780 winter encampment  in Morristown, New Jersey, well known Master Mason General George Washington granted a single holiday to his troops – Saint Patrick’s Day.

See History Channel – George Washington’s Revolutionary St. Patrick’s Day

So in an effort to give his men a badly needed break, to recognize the heritage of many of his soldiers and to express solidarity with the “brave and generous” people of Ireland, Washington issued general orders on March 16, 1780, proclaiming St. Patrick’s Day a holiday for his troops. It was the first day of rest for the Continental Army in more than a year. “The General directs that all fatigue and working parties cease for to-morrow the SEVENTEENTH instant,” read the orders, “a day held in particular regard by the people of [Ireland].”

The date of St. Patrick’s Day already held special significance for Washington. Four years prior, on March 17, 1776, the British evacuated Boston, and the general had his first major strategic victory since assuming the command of the Continental Army in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in July 1775. Nearly 9,000 Redcoats and more than 1,000 Loyalists boarded 120 ships in Boston Harbor on that St. Patrick’s Day morning, and the enormous flotilla set sail for Halifax, Nova Scotia. Legend has it that Washington selected “Boston” as the password for the first troops to re-enter the town that day, and, in honor of Ireland’s patron saint, “St. Patrick” was the proper response.

But now March 17th becomes even more interesting...

In Egyptian mythology, Osiris was killed on the 17th day of Athyr, the third month of the ancient calendar (which would have been October).
But “St. Paddy’s” has traditionally been a very minor Saint’s day in Ireland. Considering that the day has become America’s defacto Bacchanal (which takes us back to Osiris) it’s worth noting some of the parallels of this day with Solar mythology.

• Osiris was believed to be the source of barley, which was used for brewing beer in Egypt.
• It’s customary to wear green on St. Patrick’s Day and Osiris was known as the “Green Man”
• The root word of Patrick is pater, the Latin word meaning father. Osiris is the father in the Egyptian Trinity.

Finally, one other famous Roman-Greek festival started on March 17th, the festival of Bacchanalia, a celebration to the deity Bacchus or Greek Dionysus to whom wine was sacred. This festival is seen as a re-interpreation of Osirsis, where drinking beer was sacred to the followers of Osiris, the Green Man.

And now? St. Patricks Day via Washington has become America’s defacto Bacchanal, which kind of takes us back to Osiris, The Green Man.  March 17th is close enough to the vernal equinox or the first day of Spring! Thus heres to the Green Man, St. Patrick’s Day and a prominent American Freemason bringing the budding season to the fore.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!

Sources used:

http://secretsun.blogspot.com/

http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2014/03/st-patricks-day-and-freemasonry.html

Chico-Leland Stanford Lodge Book Club...Begins!

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Our first meeting of the Lodge Book Club will discuss The Masonic Myth: Unlocking the Truth About the Symbols, the Secret Rites, and the History of Freemasonry by Bro. Jay Kinney

When: Thursday, April 14th at 6:30pm

Where: Lodge library room.  

This book's discussion will be restricted to Master Masons.

For 15 years, Bro. Kinney was the publisher and editor of Gnosis, the premier journal covering Western esoteric traditions and spiritual paths.  He is a California Mason and a member of the York and Scottish Rites, and is a noted Masonic author.  He has been a speaker at the California Masonic Symposium, and is a recipient of the Albert G. Mackey Award for Excellence in Masonic Research. He is also the head librarian for the San Francisco Scottish Rite Library.

From Amazon:

"His book is an accessible and fascinating history of the Freemasons that sheds new light on this secret fraternity. A nonfiction look at the mysterious and wrongly maligned ancient society that plays a major role in The Lost Symbol, the new novel by Dan Brown (The Da Vinci Code), Kinney’s The Masonic Myth debunks the myths as it reveals the truth about the Freemasons, their history, and their secret symbols and rituals—a truth that is far more fascinating than all the conspiracy theories combined."

WHERE TO GET THE BOOK

You can obtain the book on Amazon in both paper and electronic format at a reasonable price for used copies, some as low as $1.99.  Also check out www.abebooks.com for great used deals as well.

One week prior to the meeting, we will be sending out a small list of questions to all attendees to encourage thought and foster discussion.  Get the book now and dedicate 10 pages a night to reading it and you will be done! Around 200 page with illustrations.

This is a convivial as well as an educational gathering so please feel free to bring snacks, tea/coffee, or juice to share, if you like.

The Lodge library room is limited to 20, so please RSVP by sending an email to Bro. Steve Catterral, oldegold@hotmail.com, who will be coordinating the Book Club.

We hope to see you there!

Chico Shrine Club Mini Car Unit Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser!

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The Chico Shrine Club Mini Car Unit is hosting an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner to raise money for insurance and parade entries. Currently it cost the Shrine Mini-Cars nearly $1000 per year for us to attend 9-10 parades a year to raise awareness for the Shriner's Hospital for Children.

The cost for the full dinner is only $10 for spaghetti, salad, bread, and dessert. This is gong to be a fun event with raffles and guys wearing funny hats...what's more fun than that??!

The doors open at 5:30pm, and dinner is served at 6pm. There will be 'to-go' containers available if you want to pick up your dinner on the way home.

If you are interested in purchasing tickets, please call 342-3422 to RSVP (so we know how much food to buy). Tell 'em you saw this on the Lodge website.

We are also accepting any donations for raffle prizes if you want to help us out that way.

Please SHARE this event to your timeline and to all your friends to get the word out....Thank you!

"It's all about the kids!"

An Early California Leader, and a Mason: John Bidwell

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Featured at the California Freemason.org website this week.

The Henry Wilson Coil Library and Museum of Freemasonry has among its archives an 1857 petition for the Royal Arch degrees of John Bidwell. Shown here, with punctuation added for clarity, the certificate reads:

To the M.W. High Priest, King, Scribe, and Companions of Washington R.A. Chapter No. 13:

The petition of the subscriber respectfully sheweth that being a Master Mason in good standing and a member of Chico Lodge U.D. and residing within the jurisdiction of your chapter is desirous of receiving the degrees of Mark, Past and Most Excellent Master and Royal Arch therein if found worthy.

Residence: Chico, Butte Co., Cal. [....37]
Occupation: Farmer.

[Signed]

J. Bidwell
[The names of those who recommended Bidwell are then listed.]

John Bidwell (Aug. 5, 1819 – April 4, 1900) led a fascinating life. Originally from New York, Bidwell was part of the first wagon train that traveled from Independence, Missouri to California. He assisted in drawing up the Bear Flag Republic’s resolution of independence and fought in the Mexican War. After the war, he was the first person to find gold on the Feather River in Sutter’s Creek.  Bidwell founded the Chico Masonic Lodge No. 111 on December 31, 1856.

Bidwell used the profits from his good fortune to create a dual career as California’s leading agriculturalist and as a state politician. He served in the state senate and was a strong supporter of Lincoln in the bourgeoning Civil War. Bidwell was unsuccessful in bids to serve as governor of California and president of the United States. Around the same time, he became disillusioned with Freemasonry, and left the Craft in 1867.

To learn more about Chico-Leland Stanford Masonic Lodge No. 111 history and John Bidwell go here

To learn more about California’s Masonic history and to view archival documents and artifacts online, visit

All freemason.org articles may be repurposed by any Masonic publication with credit to the Grand Lodge of California.

Darrel and Mary Louise Hunter in Masons of CA News!

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A Union Built on Charity

Darrel and Mary Louise Hunter talk about charitable instincts, being part of an organization that takes care of its own, and the gift that that’s the greatest of all.

Fifty-seven years ago, Mary Louise and Darrel Hunter met at a church youth gathering, fell in love, and married within months. They were 19 years old. There were many things that drew them together, of course. One was a shared charitable instinct.

“We both grew up in families with just enough to get by, yet that always found a way to help those in need,” explains Mary Louise, “whether it was driving somebody to church or the grocery store, or doing odd jobs.”

“For both families, giving was part of our DNA,” Darrel agrees.

Darrel became a Mason in the 1980s. He and Mary Louise joined Eastern Star, and Mary Louise began a 19-year engagement playing piano for a Rainbow assembly. Darrel became a lodge leader: He is past master and current secretary of Chico-Leland Stanford Lodge No. 111, and former district inspector. He served seven years on the Masonic Homes Endowment Board, and can still rattle off trivia about the original Union City Home. When he imagines the 3,000 Masons who climbed the hill on its dedication day, his voice takes on a dreamy tone.

Giving remains in the couple’s DNA. Among many charitable endeavors, they are long-time donors to the fraternity’s annual fund.

“For 100-plus years, the Masonic Homes has cared for our own,” Darrel says. “And now, Masonic Outreach Services has drastically reduced the financial burden on lodges to care for aging members and widows. We want to support that. So whether it’s for a birthday, anniversary, or holiday, it’s just better to make a donation to our Masonic charities than to buy something else that needs dusting.” (“Or finding a place for!” chimes in Mary Louise.)

“It makes my chest swell with pride,” Darrel says, “to be part of an organization that takes care of people the way the Masons do.”