December 2021 Trestleboard

The Lodge Secretary endeavors to keep our roster as accurate as possible. If you are moving, changing your mailing address, phone number or email address, please update your information in GrandView or notify the Secretary so that your information can be kept current.

Twin Peaks Lodge Secretary

Sickness and Distress

  • W. Bro. Jim Wadley is recovering from shoulder surgery that he had performed in October.
  • W. Bro. Van Steeter is recovering from COVID-19.

Brethren all, if you are aware of any member of this Lodge who is suffering from ill-health or other adverse circumstances, or you yourself are suffering the same and you feel that it would benefit the member to be contacted by members of the Lodge, please reach out to the Secretary, and let him know!

Stated Meeting

  • December 6th at 7:30 pm. The meeting will be held on the Master Mason Degree.

Other Mondays

  • December 13th at 7:00 pm – Public Installation of Twin Peaks 2022 Officers. Dinner at 6:00 pm. Attire is formal.
  • December 20th at 7:00
  • December 27th at 7:00 pm – In observance of the Christmas Holiday, Twin Peaks will not be having any activity this evening. Please enjoy the time with your family and friends. We will see you next year!

Holidays and Observances

  • November 28th – December 6th: Hanukkah (Jewish festival of lights)
  • December 7th: Winter Solstice
  • December 25th: Christmas Day
  • December 26th: Kwanzaa
  • December 31st: New Year’s Eve
  • January 1st: New Year’s Day

From the Outgoing Worshipful Master

Brethren,

We have made it through Thanksgiving.  Christmas and Hannukah are upon us.  Our new Officer Corps has been elected and appointed by WM Elect Sng.  We are going into our second complete year of work.  We have been able to stay on track so far.  Keep up the good work, and if anything, please support our new WM and our officers.  Don’t be afraid to volunteer to assist where you may be needed.  After all that action falls under the heading of Charity. I want to thank all the brethren for the trust that was placed in me for this last trying year.  It has been challenging.  Look around if you see another Lodge that is holding a degree, consider attending.  If you are a Mentor, take your younger brother to observe the degree that he is working on.  It always helps to learn if you see what you are describing.  Speaking of degrees, several of us attended a MM degree held by Canyon Lodge # 13 on Tuesday the 30th.  It turned out that all of us got a part somewhere, even if it was not a speaking.  It is my belief that relationships between Twin Peaks, Canyon, and any other Lodge can always be improved by Brothers visiting each other.  It helps us to get to know the other Masons in our jurisdiction. Just a little something to think about.  The next three years will be interesting for me.  Last September, I became a voting member at large for the Midvale Masonic Temple Board.  The 13th of December, I become the Three-year trustee and the Tyler for the ensuing Masonic year.  Time to wind it up and make it work TOGETHER.  No one member of this Lodge is more important than any other. Remember we Meet on the Level, Act by the Plumb, and Part on the Square.

Richard L. Wailes, PM
Worshipful Master (Outgoing)

From the Worshipful Master-Elect

Brethren,

I am humbled and honored to be elected as Worshipful Master for the ensuing year. Thank you very much for your confidence in me.

I am excited to be working with a great lineup of dedicated officers. Our lodge may be small, but it is full of passionate brothers. Throughout the past year, I sat down with many of you one-on-one to get to know why you joined, what you hope to get out of it, and where you would like to see the lodge go.

One of the sayings we have is, “Freemasonry makes good men better.” But we often don’t go any further to define what it means to be better or how we achieve that. I believe it means in every aspect of life: physically, mentally, spiritually, financially, and socially.

Over the course of the next year, our focus will be to build our foundation starting with a 5-year plan.

One focus will be mentorship. Our lodge has an interesting dichotomy of older, wiser brethren in masonry and in life, as well as some of our newer, younger members. I hope to pair each new officer and brother with a mentor to help them progress in their understanding of the craft, symbols, and how it can be applied to life to “make better men.”

We will be involved in the community with events during the Fourth of July / Pioneer Day holidays, a veterans and first responder’s breakfast, as well as continuing our volunteer efforts at the Utah Food Bank.

A Mason is sometimes known to be a “Traveling Man.” It is always fun to see the worldwide craft at work – both the similarities and differences. I believe we may always learn from our various travels. We are making an effort this year to attend several lodges in several jurisdictions: Evanston Lodge in Wyoming, an outdoor degree in Idaho, and a weekend in Las Vegas Lodge. After being locked down for so long, I think this will be a great experience for all.

This isn’t intended to be a “guys night away” I want to involve friends, spouses, and family as much as possible. I hope to see more at our monthly meetups and dinner before the lodge.

One of my mottos in life has been, “Work Hard AND Have Fun.” If you’re working hard but miserable, you’re doing something wrong. If you’re having fun but not working, you’re still doing it wrong. You need both to be happy and successful. It is my hope that we have both this next year.

Your Brother on the Level,

Ephraim Y. Sng
Worshipful Master-Elect

On the Secretary’s Table

Brethren all.

Thank you for your confidence in me by electing as Secretary for Twin Peaks Lodge No. 32 for the 2022 Masonic Year. The COVID-19 threat continues to pose hardships for our Lodge and our membership. It has been a rough year.

It is my sad duty to report that we mailed out Four-Week Notices of Imminent Suspension to six members of the Lodge. All of these were to members who were three years or more in arrears, meaning that regretfully, we had not received dues payments for them from since 2019.  There is almost no duty that a Secretary or Master of a Lodge which is more painful than to send out these notices, but there are two: 1) Actually suspending a brother for failure to pay dues and 2) notifying the members of the Lodge of a Brother who has passed to the Celestial Lodge above.  Sadly, even though a number of attempts have been made to contact these brethren by phone, email, letter or through issues of this Trestleboard, we have had almost no response. This, brethren, forces the Lodge’s hand. 2022 dues notices were mailed out on October 13th and they should have been received by the end of that week.  I implore you, while you are reading this article, to check to see if you have received your dues notice and if so, that you have paid them! If you have not, while you are reading this article, please take a moment to send them!  We have three ways that you can pay your dues: Check, Grand View and the Lodge Website. Please see the article entitled “Annual Dues” at the end of this Trestleboard.

Any brother who is in arrears more than 12 months can be suspended for non-payment.  Your Lodge leadership is trying very hard to be lenient! If you are in arrears for 2021 or earlier and you can show financial hardship due to the pandemic or any other reason, please contact either the Worshipful Master or the Secretary (me) and we will try to work things out! But you and only you can take that step!

That brings me to the second part of this rather somber article.  Per the Secretary’s books, which as of the time of this writing had not yet been reconciled with the Treasurer’s books, we show that we had the following total receipts and disbursements:

General Operating Fund
Receipts $6,889.87
Disbursements $8,091.33
Net Profit/(Loss) ($1,201.46)
Charity Account (Mason’s At Work)
Receipts $620.00
Disbursements $0.00
Net Profit/(Loss) $620.00

As you can see, prompt payment of annual dues is more important than ever. With regards to the Charity Account, $250 of the receipts were from the Secretary’s petty-cash fund, which is carried off of the books. We had about $513 in that fund. I elected to deposit some of that money into the Charity account because there is just no real reason for the Secretary to carry that much petty cash around. The remainder were donations from the brethren. So, for that $370 that was donated from certain brethren, thank you! And know that we have used some of that money to help out worthy distressed brethren who requested assistance with their dues.

Fraternally and cordially,

Glen H. Van Steeter, PM
Secretary

Masonic Birthdays

The following Brethren have anniversaries of their being raised to the Degree of Master Mason this month.

  • Worshipful Brother Glen H. Van Steeter PM, raised on December 20, 1999 and has 22 years of service.
  • Brother Trent J Norton, raised on December 12, 2011 and has 10 years of service.
  • Brother Delwyn Lorin Price, raised on December 16, 2013 and has 8 years of service.
  • Brother Richard Taylor Lee, raised on December 26, 2018 and has 3 years of service.

Happy Birthdays

The following Brethren were born this month.

  • Brother Kevin Royce Brown, born on December 5.
  • Most Worshipful Brother James Wadley, born on December 7.
  • Brother Nathan Warlin, born on December 18.
  • Brother John Kaddas, born on December 26.
  • Worshipful Brother Leon Crockett, born on December 26.
  • Brother Jordan Whitney, born on December 29.

Public Installation of 2022 Officers

Installation of Officers will take place on the second Monday in December 13, 2022.

It is a public installation so please invite friends and family.

Dinner will be at 6:00pm. The installation ceremony will begin at 7:15pm.

We are requesting a donation fo $10 for dinner.

Please RSVP here: https://forms.gle/vgHzfdPXeMaWdy1X6

I am very grateful to have had opportunities over the past couple of years to work with some amazing people. I am happy to announce the officers for the 2022 Masonic Year:

Worshipful MasterEphraim Y. SngSenior WardenRobert M. Hartman, PM
Junior WardenLyle Glenn Miller, PMTreasurerLee M. Rogers, PM
SecretaryGlen H. Van Steeter, PMSenior DeaconIll. Bro. Jeremy Estes
Junior DeaconJordan Max WhitneySenior StewardJay L. Roundy, PM
Junior StewardJaysen RoundyChaplainRobin Winslett, PM
MarshalStephen Horman, PMTylerRichard L. Wailes, PM

Installation Team

  1. Installing Officers: MW Bro. Glen Cook
  2. Director of Ceremonies: MW Bro. Allen Record
  3. Installing Marshall: Bro. Cody Webb
  4. Installing Chaplain: MW Bro. Steven Hall

Annual Dues

Annual dues notices for 2022 were mailed on October 13th. With the pandemic that plagued our nation from March of 2020 through the present day, in order to keep our membership healthy and safe, the circumstances compelled us to not hold our usual fundraisers such as the April Cake Auction and the November Veteran’s Day Breakfast. This means that the dues that are submitted by our membership are more important than ever.

You can now find instructions for how to pay dues either by check, or electronically via PayPal or Grandview, on our Lodge website as this page.

150th Annual Communication of the M.W. Grand Lodge of Utah

Brethren all,

The 150th Annual Communication of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Utah will commence on February 4th and conclude the following day at the Salt Lake Masonic Temple (650 E. South Temple, SLC, UT). You are cordially invited to celebrate this special sesquicentennial event.

The Friendship Banquet will be held at the Salt Lake Masonic Temple at 7:00 PM on February 3rd. A tour of the Salt Lake Temple will be provided beginning at 6:00 PM. Casual attire is encouraged. The Grand Master’s Banquet will be held at the Sheraton Salt Lake City on February 4th at 7:00 PM with a no-host social beginning at 6:00 PM. Formal attire is requested.

As this is the single annual event that brings all our Lodges together, the registration fee for this year includes lunches for both Friday and Saturday for attending Masons. We hope this will encourage you to spend that time of labor to refreshment by strengthening fraternal bonds with your brethren from around the Jurisdiction and those who have travelled from foreign Jurisdictions.

For those who require lodging, a group rate of $129.00 per night has been made available at the Sheraton Salt Lake City hotel (150 West, 500 South). This group rate includes breakfast for each morning. You can follow this link to book your reservations.

It is my sincerest hope that you will be able to attend as we celebrate 150 years of Masonry in Utah.

If you have any questions, please contact me or the Grand Secretary.

Sincerely and fraternally,

Daniel J. Lawes
M.W. Grand Master
(801) 673-6375
[email protected]

Lorenzo E. Tibbets, PGM
Grand Secretary
(843) 720-7671
[email protected]

Click here to download a PDF copy of the registration form.

COVID-19: It is REAL, and I GOT IT!

By: Glen Van Steeter, PM

Brethren, the reason that this Trestleboard is being published so late is that I managed to get infected with this infernal and nefarious virus. It isn’t a joke! I will tell you a little about the precautions I have been taking, and how it managed to infect me anyway.

Diagram

Description automatically generated with medium confidenceI know that there are a LOT of opinions regarding COVID-19, whether the vaccines are effective, whether the government can mandate our citizens to get the vaccine, etc. This article is about none of that. This is a recitation of what I did to avoid it and how I allowed a lapse of my personal efforts to prevent this from happening failed.

From the time that we became genuinely aware of COVID-19, which was March of 2020, I personally took as many precautions as I could.  Throughout the summer, fall and winter, I did not go out without wearing a mask. I practiced prudent social distancing. I avoided going to public places or amongst crowds, or even visiting friends and relations. Part of the reason for this is that both my wife and I are 60 years old. Further, my 80 year old mother lives with us, and she has a number of health issues that are a natural result of being advanced in age.

In January of 2021, it was announced that those aged 65 and older or who had “co-morbidities” could get one of three available vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson and Johnson.  We immediately took mom to the Mountain America Convention Center in Sandy to receive her 1st and 2nd Pfizer vaccinations.

In March of 2021, the government extended the vaccinations to those 50 years or older. I received my first Pfizer vaccination on March 12th, and my second one on April 2nd. Even though I was vaccinated, I continued wearing a mask anytime I went out to a public setting (like the grocer), restricted my outings, and continued to avoid spending time with friends who were not similarly vaccinated.

In early October of 2021, the government announced that boosters were available for those who had received the Pfizer vaccine. I ran out and got mine on October 15th.  My mother received hers about two weeks later.

On November 12th, I flew to Phoenix, Arizona to act as the Installing Officer for the Pubic Installation of Officers of Phoenicia Lodge No. 58, of which I am a member. I stayed with a member of the Lodge during this trip. I had to make one shopping trip for a new tux shirt, as my old one was positively a balloon on me since I had managed to lose about 35 pounds since the last time I wore one. I visited the Men’s Wearhouse in Peoria, Arizona. I wore a mask even though fully vaccinated persons were not required to. I flew home to Salt Lake on November 14th. Early on Monday the 15th, I started experiencing flu-like symptoms such as overall body achiness, headaches, elevated fever and coughing.  On the evening of the 15th, I received a call from the brother who had been kind enough to lodge me over the weekend. He was embarrassed to inform me that he had tested positive for COVID-19. On Wednesday the 17th, I was tested and sure enough, the results came back positive. Oh crap!  Additionally, my son-in-law, who was the outgoing Master of Phoenicia 58, had also managed to catch it. By Friday the 19th, everybody living in my home tested positive, including my mother!

So, going back to the symptoms. Imagine the flu, and then multiply it times two.  About the only symptoms I didn’t get was the loss of taste and smell, although they were affected. Food and drink tasted “funny” and “salty”. My fever reached a zenith of 102.3 degrees several times. From November 17th through November 27th, I did pretty much nothing except sleep, eat and drink. I am writing this on November 30th and I am still weak, unable to work much more than about four hours per day. On November 28th, I put up the Christmas lights on our house, and I kid you not when I say that it completely wiped me out.

Talking with my doctor, she made it quite clear that I had likely been infected with the “Delta” variant that has been causing so much trouble worldwide. She also made it equally clear that it could have been much worse, especially for my mother, had we not gotten our boosters only a few weeks earlier. My son-in-law, who is fully vaccinated but had not yet received his booster and who is only 37 years of age, was much sicker than I was, although for a shorter period of time.

There was no way for my Phoenician brother to know that he had been infected at the time that I stayed with him. He was also fully vaccinated but he had not yet received his booster. I do not blame him at all for this. But I will close by saying this: Regardless of how you feel about the vaccine, the danger of COVID-19 is real. I have always believed this, but I am now living proof. And I am thankful beyond words that there was a vaccine available and that I had taken the booster. But you can rest assured that even though I now have “natural” immunity, I will be wearing my mask at the Stated Meeting and Public Installation! 

Take care, my Brethren, and be safe during this holiday time!

Glen Van Steeter