Category Archives: NewsLetters

Greetings Brethren,

At our November Stated Meeting, we had 18 brothers present…game 6 of the World Series probably has something to do with that.

After a delicious French Hunter’s Dinner accompanied by freshly baked bread and warm apple cobbler prepared by the family of JW Adam Harder, the lodge was opened on the Master Mason Degree.

We voted favorably on Brother Ken Humont’s petition to transfer to our lodge from Wisconsin, and I appointed an investigating committee for a new petitioner to our lodge.

Upcoming degree work;
EA Degree on Wednesday, November 16 @ 6:30
2 FC Degrees on Tuesday, November 22 @ 6:30

Brother Tim Stotlar, PM Jim Fritz, PM Nate Moyer, and I passed out candy at Boo in Bluffton on Halloween evening at the City Gym.  We had just enough candy to make it to the end of the line.  It was fun to see all the children and even some adults in their costumes.

The trustees reported that all 3 sections of the lodge roof have been replaced. The brown shingle siding and the gray vinyl siding has also been repainted.

Please keep Brothers:

Alan Coldiron…who is having another chest surgery because he is healing from the outside in instead of the inside out and they will be putting a pump in to keep things cleaned out, which he will need to carry around with him until he is completely healed.

Leonard King…who continues his rehabilitation from his recent stroke.

Mark Penrod… who is having surgery on November 9 to have a port put in while he is waiting on a kidney transplant.

Please visit or send these Brothers a card with a few words of encouragement.

We voted for and elected the following officers for 2017:
Tim Simpson – Worshipful Master
Adam Harder – Senior Warden
Nate Moyer – Junior Warden
Doug Harris- Treasurer
Larry Tschannen – Secretary
David Barton – Trustee

Brother Tom Doepker is chairing a silent auction fundraiser which will run until the December Stated Meeting.  Quite a few items have been donated so far, and the bidding sheets are in place. The bidding is officially open.  It is not too late to still donate an item.

You should be receiving your dues notices from the Grand Lodge in the very near future.  If you have any questions regarding your notice, please contact Larry Tschannen or myself.

Our next monthly community breakfast will be on Saturday, November 19, from 8:00 to 10:30.  Just a reminder that the proceeds from the October and November breakfast will be split evenly and contributed to the Shepard’s House in Fort Wayne, and the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.

WB Fred Lucabaugh thanked everyone for their support either by working or by donating at the benefit breakfast for Kelly Harris, who is suffering from an aggressive brain tumor, held at the Lodge on Saturday, October 29.  The breakfast was a great success, as we served nearly 200 people and were able to raise a significant amount of money to help Kelly.

SW Tim Simpson will be coordinating our 1st ever Chili Cook Off on Saturday, November 5 from 3-5 p.m.  Anyone can also come and sample the different chili dishes for $5 and a vote for your favorite chili will cost $1 per vote.  Family members are welcome to enter the contest, to sample, and to vote.

Lastly, we voted to skip Masonic education, so that we could go home and watch the World Series.

The lodge was then closed in form on the Master Mason Degree.

David Barton
Worshipful Master
Bluffton Lodge 145

Greetings Brethren,

At our October Stated Meeting, we had 32 brothers present including Brothers Joe Rockell (our honorary member) and Ken Humont… a member in Milwaukee, WI who recently moved to the area.

After Larry’s awesome fish fry, the lodge was opened on the Master Mason Degree.

The lodge was then put at ease as we prepared for the presentation of WB Allan Penrod’s Award of Gold and to welcome our guests for the evening (Allan’s wife Jane, his granddaughter Sarah, his great-grandson Kam, and Deeda Skiles). Allan’s Award of Gold was presented by our Treasurer WB Doug Harris and Allan’s son, Mark Penrod.
Congratulations WB Allan on your Award of Gold!

While we were at ease, photos were taken of Allan, his family, and his trusty companion Sadie as well as a photo of all the brothers in attendance. I had to chuckle when I noticed that Sadie had a Grand Master’s pin on her harness. Nice touch WB Allan. After the pictures, the guests were excused and the lodge was returned to order.

WB Fred Lucabaugh read a poem entitled “An Old Master’s Wages” at the request of WB Allan Penrod, which was very appropriate for the evening.

We voted favorably on one petition and I appointed 2 investigating committees for 1 new petitioner as well as 1 transfer to our lodge. The plan right now is to do both EA degrees on Tuesday, October 18, at 6:30. We will confirm this once we have been in contact with the candidates.

We will be participating in the Bluffton Boo on Monday, October 31, from 5-6 p.m. at the City Gym. Several brothers brought in bags of candy last night for the event. The goal is not to run out of candy early, so if you would like to bring a bag(s) to the lodge for the event, there is still time to do so. All members are invited to come and help us with this event.

Steve Skiles reporting for the investment committee said that our investments are continuing to grow. Thanks again to the investment committee for their efforts.

WB Jan Henline spoke on behalf of the trustees, and reported that the roof had been completed. However, the crew was not as careful as they should have been. The President and Quality Manager from Advanced Roofing both have been to the lodge and agreed with our assessment, so they will be cleaning and power washing the affected areas. If the power washing does not work, they will be painting the areas.

Please keep Brothers Alan Coldiron, Leonard King…who continues his rehabilitation from his recent stroke, Mark Penrod… who is awaiting a kidney transplant, and Mike Rouner…who has kidney stones… in your thoughts and prayers. We have told Marge King, Leonard’s wife, to let us know if she needs any work done around their house while Leonard recuperates. All of our brothers should know that we are there for them if they need help, so if you happen to speak with any of these brothers, please extend the same offer of help to them.

Brother Tom Doepker is chairing a silent auction fundraiser which will run until the December Stated Meeting. Quite a few items have been donated so far and the bidding sheets are in place and the bidding is officially open. It is not too late to still donate an item.

You should be receiving your dues notices from the Grand Lodge in the very near future. If you have any questions regarding your notice, please contact Larry Tschannen or myself.

Our next monthly community breakfast will be on Saturday, October 15, from 8 to 10:30. Just a reminder that the proceeds from the October and November breakfast will be split evenly and contributed to the Shepard’s House in Fort Wayne and the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.

WB Fred Lucabaugh will be chairing a benefit breakfast for Kelly Harris, who is suffering from an aggressive brain tumor, at the Lodge on Saturday, October 29. Kelly is a former employee of Paul Reiff and has helped out at our lodge of multiple occasions serving food at various banquets and during Hector’s cookie class. Please come out and support this worthy cause.

SW Tim Simpson will be coordinating our 1st ever Chili Cook Off on Saturday, November 5 from 3-5 p.m. The entry fee is $25 and is open to anyone. Anyone can also come and sample the different chilies for $5 and a vote for your favorite chili will cost $1 per vote. Family members are welcome to enter the contest, to sample, and to vote.

JS Perry Harris said that he had a friend who had some church pews in his barn that were already padded and asked if the lodge would be interested in them. Since the pews are much more comfortable than the current seats, the trustees will be seeing if they are in good enough condition for us to use.

Lastly, for our Masonic education, WB Michael Hostetter divided everyone into groups of 2 or 3 for a 17 question of Masonic trivia. The questions were both difficult and interesting. Thank you WB Michael.

The lodge was then closed in form on the Master Mason Degree.

David Barton
Worshipful Master
Bluffton Lodge 145

Greetings Brethren,

At our September Stated Meeting, we had 25 brothers present including Brothers Joe Rockell (our honorary member) and WB Jason Miller, WB Mike Doxsee, and Josef Irbe of Highland Lodge #762.

After our delicious meal prepared by WB Fred Lucabaugh, the lodge was opened on the Master Mason Degree.

The charter was draped for three brothers who had laid down their working tools since our June meeting; Edwin Hostetter, Vincent Matthews, and Geoff Foughty.

The lodge was then put at ease while we welcomed our guests for the evening for the presentation of Doug Harris’ Award of Gold, which was presented by Doug’s son, JS Perry Harris.  Congratulations WB Doug on your Award of Gold.

While we were at ease, photos were taken of Doug and his family as well as a photo of all the brothers in attendance, which will be presented by Tim Stotlar to Helen Wilson, our resident at Compass Park, this Sunday during the Masonic Home Festival.  The festival is from 9:30 – 4, if you are interested in attending.  If you would like to ride down with Tim and myself, just reply to this email or give me a call at 260-438-8364.

After the pictures, the guests were excused and the lodge was returned to order.   Highland Lodge #762 then presented WB Jan Henline with an honorary membership in appreciation of all of his help at their lodge over the years.

We voted favorably on one petition, and we have received another petition, so we will be having some degree work coming up over the next few months.

Tim Stotlar, our Masonic Home Ambassador, recapped all of the contact and items that he had sent to Helen Wilson over the last several months.

Tim also announced that we will be participating in the Bluffton Boo… passing out candy for Halloween.

We are asking everyone to please bring a bag of candy to the October Stated Meeting for the event.  If you cannot make the meeting, you can always drop off a bag of candy at the lodge and Doug and Larry have promised not to eat it.

Steve Skiles reporting for the investment committee said that our investments are continuing to grow.  Thanks again to the investment committee for their efforts.

WB Jan Henline spoke on behalf of the trustees, and reported that the roof had indeed suffered hail damage and that an insurance claim had been filed on our behalf.  The claim for the flat roofs has been approved and we are now waiting on the claim for the interior portions which will cover repainting the ceilings that were damaged due to the leaks to be approved.

Please keep Brothers Joe Pfeifer who recently had stents put in and is recovering nicely, along with Leonard King…who continues his rehabilitation from his recent stroke, and Mark Penrod… who is awaiting a kidney transplant, in your thoughts and prayers.

Brother Tom Doepker will be chairing a silent auction fundraiser in November.  Tom is looking for any item that you may wish to donate for the auction.  Larry will be sending out more information at a later date.

You should be receiving your dues notices from the Grand Lodge somewhere in the September-October time period.  If you have any questions regarding your notice, please contact Larry Tschannen or myself.

Our next monthly community breakfast will be on Saturday, September 17, from 8 to 10:30.

Lastly, our Masonic education was a game of “Guess that famous Mason”, emceed by WB Joshua Dunsmore. Josh offered a series of clues to which everyone tried to guess who he was describing.  Personally, I like these kinds of interactions, so thanks again Brother Josh.

The lodge was then closed in form on the Master Mason Degree.

David Barton
Worshipful Master
Bluffton Lodge 145

Greetings Brethren,

 At our Stated Meeting on June 7, 2016, we had 36 brothers present including Grand Master Carey B. Carter.  There were visitors from Waynedale, Jackson, Pennville, Montpelier, & Gas City.

After our meal, we opened the lodge on the Master Mason Degree.

We began with a presentation by Brother Stephen Kroman on the Executive Committee Program, which we will be discussing at the September meeting to see if we feel that this program is a good fit for our lodge.

The lodge thanked Past Master’s Doug Harris and Jan Henline for the new secretary and treasurer’s desks that they built for the lodge.  These two brothers donated their time and all of the materials to build and then donated these desks, at no cost to cost to the lodge.  If you haven’t had an opportunity to see, you should stop by the lodge and check them out. 

The charter was draped for our recently departed Brother James Mossburg, who laid down his working tools on May 10, 2016.

We have one new petition that we will be voting on at our September Stated meeting.  The investigating committee for the applicant will consist of Brothers Tom Doepker, Nate Moyer & Joshua Dunsmore.

Steve Skiles, Chairman of the Investment Committee, reported that our investments have been performing very well.  I would like to personally thank all of the members of this committee for their efforts this year.

Next, was the presentation from the Ways & Means Committee regarding their recommendation regarding our dues for 2017.  After discussion and exchange of ideas, it was unanimously voted upon by the lodge to raise our dues for 2017 to $115, which is an increase of $10 a year. 

Brother Nate Moyer has been appointed to serve the remainder of 2016 as our Junior Deacon.

Please keep Brothers Edwin Hostetter and Alan Coldiron in your thoughts and prayers.
                Edwin, who will celebrate his 99th birthday on August 1, continues to be in declining health.
                Allan Coldiron recently fell and broke his arm in three places.  He is also awaiting a decision from the doctors on how to treat a heart ailment.

Street Fair parking spots are now available.  If you had a spot last year, you have the right to reserve that spot again for $20.  Payment must be received by Larry Tschannen by August 15 or the spot will be opened up to the next person in line on the sign-up sheet.

We had four winners of a $1,375 scholarship from the Grand Lodge.  Those winners are Bo Thompson, Reggie Garrett, Jake Garrett, & Kobie Lucabaugh.

We acknowledged PM Dunsmore and our lodge for receiving the Grand Master’s Award with High Distinction for 2015.

Our next monthly breakfast will be on Saturday, June 18 from 8 to 10:30.

After the breakfast at approximately 11:30, Past Master Fred Lucabaugh will be spearheading a group at the Murray Cemetery on 400N just east of Norwell Road that will be resetting headstones that were knocked over by vandals last fall.  Please come on out and give them a hand if at all possible.

We will also be planning a cook-out similar to what we have had in recent years somewhere in the mid to late July timeframe.  There will be more information sent out on that later as the plans are finalized.

Fraternally,

David Barton
Worshipful Master
Bluffton Lodge 145

Greetings Brethren,

What a meal last night!!! Boy, can Joe Pfeiffer and Paul Reiff cook. Excellent job brothers.
No one has signed up for the June meal yet, so if you would be willing to do so, please contact our JW Adam Harder.

We had an update from our investment committee concerning their work with the American Funds, which now has in excess of $x,xxx. The reallocation of funds that they made in late January has been very beneficial to the lodge and I want to publicly thank them for the work. Following the advice from our financial planner, they have moved $x,xxx into a money market fund that will be needed to pay for our new roof.

The investment committee asked that the lodge as a whole stipulate how the money from the American Funds should be spent in the future. We voted on and passed the following statement;

The money from the American Funds investments may be used for with the consent of the lodge, but not limited to capital improvements, repairs or upkeep, remodeling, replacement or addition of needed equipment, or unforeseen expenses or expenditures incurred by the lodge.

Regarding the roof situation, the trustees are still obtaining quotes, but it appears that we will probably be spending approximately $x,xxx to re-roof the entire building.  However, the trustees are performing their due diligence on behalf of the lodge to make sure that they obtain as many quotes as necessary to make sure that the roof needs replaced and that we will be paying a fair price for any needed work or repairs.  We will keep you updated on the status of this project.

I also announced last night that Todd Smuts has decided to step down for the Senior Deacon due to a busy personal and work schedule that he felt was preventing him from dedicating the time necessary to the position.  I have appointed Steve Skiles to Senior Deacon position.

At our June Stated Meeting, we will have a presentation by Stephen Kroman, the Grand Photographer, on the Executive Committee Program.  Also joining us that evening will be the Grand Master Carey Carter.

Our by-law changes have all been approved by Grand Lodge.  However, I am going to hold off on having them re-printed until after the June meeting to see if we are interested in adopting the Executive Committee Program, which would necessitate another change to the by-laws.

In conjunction with Bluffton Bi-centennial Celebration, we will be moving our December breakfast from the 3rd Saturday in December to the 2nd Saturday to help kick off their event.  The proceeds from this breakfast and the November breakfasts will used as our Christmas giving, and will be split between the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital and the Shepard’s House in Fort Wayne.

The Annual Communication is on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 17-18, in Indianapolis with registration beginning at 8 a.m. and the Grand Lodge convening at 9:30 a.m.

Please be sure to attend the June Stated Meeting when the Ways and Means Committee will be making their presentation on the cost of dues for 2017.

SW Tim Simpson presented our Masonic education speaking on the history of Brother William R. Davie who was Grand Master of North Carolina from 1793-1799.  Brother Tim also spoke of Confederate and Union troops coming together under a flag of truce for Lieutenant Commander J. E. Hart of St. George’s Lodge #6 of New York after he was shot and killed while anchored in the Mississippi River on June 11, 1863 to conduct funeral services for their departed Brother on June 13.  Many years later, a marker was placed on his monument stating “This monument is dedicated in loving tribute to the universality of Freemasonry.”

Fraternally,

David Barton
Worshipful Master
Bluffton Lodge 145