Stars of Washington

STARS OF WASHINGTON

April 4^th, 2008

#8-014

APRIL, the fourth Month

Are you an April Fool? In France, the gullible ones are called poisson d’avril, or ‘April fish,’ perhaps because of the folklore that says ‘April fish are easily caught.’ Throughout the northern hemisphere, this month of capricious weather is an optimist’s dream and a poet’s inspiration. The Latin word aperire, meaning ‘to open or bud,’ gives us the name April, and spring festivals around the world, from Easter and Passover to our own Arbor Day, celebrate the season’s renewal of life.

We would like to mark the month in practical ways: bake a rhubarb pie, plant peas and potatoes, toss the first green leaves of dandelions into a salad. The fresh greens are an irresistible tonic, and not just to humans. Since medieval times, dairy farmers have known they could make the finest cheese from milk of cows that grazed on April’s verdant pastures.

Naturalist Hal Borland wrote, ‘April is a promise that May is bound to keep.’ With that in mind, plant shade trees now to please posterity; dwarf fruit trees, lilacs, and roses to please yourself. Teach a child to fish; adopt a kitten; volunteer at your community soup kitchen. Play hopscotch; fly a kite; build a tree house; learn to throw a curveball. It’s April, after all!

FULL PINK MOON (for the wild ground phlox) is the traditional name for April’s full moon, although some

Native Americans called it the Full Sprouting Grass Moon or the Full Egg Moon, all curtsies to the promise of spring.

SIGN OF THE ZODIAC: Aries (March 21 – April 20)

Element: Fire

Quality: Assertive

Birthstone: Diamond

Flower: Sweet pea

CORRESPONDENCE APPROVED BY OUR WORTHY GRAND MATRON

2008 Chapter Yearbook

Something New!

Every Chapter is an important part of Washington Grand Chapter. Each chapter and all their members help to make Grand Chapter what it is, and we want to focus a section of the Yearbook on YOU! We want you to show us what your Chapter has done this year. Did you have a special dinner? Did you have a fundraiser? Special entertainment? Pictures of your OV, Receptions, Honor Nights, etc.? Send us pictures of all the various events that happened in your chapter. We want to devote a page to each chapter. Email us (at the email address shown below) those digital pictures and a short description of each one or send photographs. (If you would like them returned, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope to the snail mail address listed below.)

These pictures would be sent in addition to any ads or ‘Genie Wishes’ that your chapter desires to purchase by March 31, 2008! (OOOPS!)

** Alice Hughes & Betty Hughes, Co-Chairman

6222 N. Cannon, Spokane, 99205

Home phone: 509.328.0513

Email: estartwins@comcast.net

APPROVED BY: ___s/Marjoe Richards_____

Worthy Grand Matron

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March 2008

To: All Chapters

From: Membership Committee

Let’s celebrate our growing Chapters with a fun awards program! Get recognized at Grand Chapter for all your efforts in helping this beautiful Order grow.

Worthy Grand Matron Marjoe and the Membership Committee with the support of the Up Coming Grand Line have implemented a fun way to show off your membership; accomplishments.

For every new member brought into your chapter you will be awarded a special ribbon to place on your chapter’s banner. The number and color breakdown is as follows: (Applies to brand new to Eastern Star members)

1 to 3 new members, the ribbon will be the color chosen by the presiding WGM
4 to 6 members will be a blue ribbon
7 to 9 members a red ribbon
10 to 12 members a white ribbon
13 to 15 members a green ribbon
16 to 18 members a yellow ribbon

If your Chapter initiates 8 new members you will receive the first, second and third ribbon.

If you are so grand as to initiate more than 18 there will be a special color made up for you. The ribbons have our Eastern Star logo, Membership Award, how many initiated and the year on them.

So let’s bring in lots of new members, show them what a great organization we are and get recognized while doing it!!!

Again, talk up what a great Order we have and get those initiates in to help our membership grow.

Fraternally,

** Becky Aldrich, Membership Committee Chair, Astral & Oasis Chapters

APPROVED BY: ___s/Marjoe Richards_____

Worthy Grand Matron

MESSAGES FROM MY MAILBOX...

New Grand Representative…

Okanogan Chapter held their installation Saturday March 29. Following installation, wonderful entertainment by "Michael and Paul” and presentations, Marilyn Sorensen, Grand Esther was escorted to the East. With participation from the membership as many recalled travels during their Grand Representative appointments it was revealed that Deb Poulin was receiving a commission to the District of Columbia. Her mother, Worthy Matron Mary Lou Mosby, brought a surprised and stunned daughter to the East to receive her pin and packet.

** Marilyn Sorensen, Grand Esther

Congratulatory Cards:

P. O. Box 364

Malott, WA 98829

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Another Grand Representative …

Sister Connie,

No April fool-in, Tuesday, April 1, 2008, I had the privilege of giving the Grand Representative commission to the State of Virginia in WA to Sister Kay Johnson, Key City #71, Port Townsend. Her chapter was very excited for her!

Congrats go to:

Kay Johnson

1310 - 19th Street

Port Townsend, WA 98368

It was another magic moment,

** Linda Crichton, Grand Organist

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And another Grand Representative …

I had the honor of presenting the commission of GR of Pennsylvania to Sister Judy Wieck of Reliance Chapter tonight. It was their Installation and a good crowd from the Peninisula area were there to share in the excitement. Fun night.

** Ardith Swartz, Grand Martha

Cards:

5303 – 5^th Street

Bremerton, WA 98312

NOTE: The presenting of the Grand Representative Commissions was one of the highlights of my year as a Grand Officer. I had the great pleasure of presenting Sister Nona Reinbold, the Commission of Grand Representative of Illinois in WA. It was a cold, rainy, windy, miserable night going to and returning from Davenport Chapter … but the warmth inside the Chapter room was wonderful! And now, I am returning next month to attend her honor night … even got a special invitation which makes it even more special!

My second presentation was to Don Schwartz …who received the commission of Grand Representative of Mississippi in WA. I gave that one out at our Grand Treasurer’s Reception a year ago! I was tickled too death when our WGM Joanne asked if I would like to give it … and I said oh yes! Don and Gloria and we go back several years to when she and I were Co-Chairs of the Deputy Instructors so I knew Don quite well. Anyway, I am sure that the Grand Officers agree with me that these GR Commission presentations are a wonderful ‘perk’ to ‘our’ already wonderful year!

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Amaranth news …

Hi Connie:

I know what you are going thru with the loss of e-mail addresses. I have had mine disappear several times in the last six months. They usually return, but it can be 3-4 days. It is very frustrating. Then all of a sudden you have a double list and have to go thru eliminating all the duplicates. What's hard is when you have different groups. I have over 250 e-mail addresses and I am sure you have many more. So I do know the frustration of losing your e-mail addresses.

We just completed our Grand Court for the Order of Amaranth in Pasco, WA. It was a great session. The Supreme Royal Matron is from Washington. We will have our Supreme Session in Seattle at the Double Tree Inn at the airport June 29th to July 2, 2008.

For our Grand Court we raised and have sent to Amaranth Diabetes Foundation for Diabetes Research $43,183.04 and $23,000 for scholarships. This was the most we have ever raised for Diabetes Research.

** Bonnie McCroskey, Gr. Sec. WA Amaranth.

NOTE: I understand the Grand Master Wayne Smith challenged all Masons in attendance at your Informal Opening to match his contribution, and many dollars were collected that evening for your philanthropy.

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Just a note to let you know that Everett Ct. #7 Installation will be Sat. at 8pm not 7:30 pm. West Gate #11 meeting tonight at 5 pm and installation at 7:30pm. Hope to see you at the installations. Please pass thin information on to all who do not have e-mail.

Thanks.

** Bonnie McCroskey, Gr. Sec. WA

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HI All:

It is very sad news that Johannah Byron's husband David died very suddenly yesterday morning. There will be no services as per David's wishes.

Both Johannah and daughter Karen Byron are members of Lakewood Court and have been active in Job's Daughters too.

Please keep the family in your prayers during this time of sorrow.

Johannah Byron's address

305 Farallone Ave.

Fircrest, WA 98466

Karen Byron (daughter)

1023 S. Oxford

Tacoma, WA 98465-1831

Please pass this information on to those who do not have e-mail.

Thank you.

** Bonnie McCroskey, Gr. Sec. WA

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Grand Jurisdiction of Virginia news …

    In Virginia we take a test on our ritual and black book (Laws and Regulations, Constitution, Book of Instructions, etc.)

The Robert L. Clark Award requirements are:
1 - At least 15 of the installed officers must attend a minimum of Two (2) schools of instruction.
2 - At least seven (7) members must attend a meeting of another chapter.
3 - At least four (4) members must attend an Official Visit other than your own.
4 - The chapter must hold an Initiation ceremony during the year. If no petition is received, a mock initiation is acceptable.
5 - At least four (4) elected officers and six (6) other members must take a test.
6 - All Chapter Books of Instruction must be updated by the Secretary.

    The completion of requirements must be documented. A form for documentation is provided to each chapter secretary. The test consists of 35 multiple choice questions derived from the most recent and updated editions of the Black Book.
    The Robert L. Clark (PMWGP) Award is a streamer (ribbon) that is placed on our Chapter's OES flag. We have many of them on our flag.
---Dianna M. Gillard, P.M., Midlothian Chapter No. 186, Midlothian, Virginia

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Warning … eat deer & die???

An alarming outbreak of ‘mad deer’ disease is infecting wildlife in at least eight states and Canada. The illness is called chronic wasting disease, or CWD, and like mad cow disease, it causes deer and elk brains to decay. First identified a decade ago, CWD has spread and reached nearly epidemic proportions in recent years, erupting in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and two Canadian provinces. Brain tests after last fall’s hunting season in Wisconsin showed that about 3% of white-tailed deer in one large region were infected. Consumption of venison in this region is commonplace; the state’s hunters killed 446,000 deer last year. Like mad cow, CWD is apparently caused by prions, aberrant proteins that enter the brain and cause normal proteins to become distorted. There’s no evidence that the disease can spread to humans, but the deaths of five young people from an unusual brain-wasting illness called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease are prompting concern. Three of the five regularly ate venison or elk. ‘We don’t understand the transmission, we don’t understand the origin,’ neurobiologist Stanley Prusiner of the University of California, San Francisco, tells The Wall Street Journal. ‘We don’t understand anything!’

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Pacific Chapter news …

Next meeting Thursday April 10th 8:00 PM. Please come and welcome our new Matron & Patron, Kris & Archie. Last meeting Della won the 50/50 for $27.50 and donated the money to the Rainbow assembly in Castle Rock. Door prize winners Jackie, Kris and Donna.

Bring your used postage stamps & alum pull taps to our next meetings.

** Art Herring

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Southwest Washington Dinner Party …

Honoring WGM Marjoe Richards, WGP Phil Green & Grand Warder Marcia Haukaas

Saturday, April 19th

Social Hour from 5:00 - 6:00 p.m., dinner at 6:00 p.m.

Tickets are $12.00 each - only 100 tickets will be sold

Open to all OES members and guests

Held at Vancouver Masonic Center, 2500 NE 78th St. Vancouver

For reservations please contact Paulette Schlee at 360-607-7801.

Thank you so much.

** Eileen Winstead

P. S. I forgot to add something to that announcement on April 19th -

Would you please add this:

50's theme - please dress accordingly

Women: Poodles skirts or peddle pushers

Men: jeans, white t-shirts, school jackets, leather jackets, loafers

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Deadly fruit that kills 10 times more people than sharks …

Falling coconuts kill 150 people throughout the world every year – 10 times the number of people killed by sharks!

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Lake Powell, Utah …

For hundreds of thousands of years, the Colorado River roared through Glen Canyon carving a tremendous canyon through the sandstone. In 1963, the Glen Canyon dam was completed and impounded the Colorado, turning the wild beauty of Glen Canyon into popular Lake Powell – a vast body of deep blue water contained within orange-red cliff walls. It’s like no other place on earth. With spectacular red rock towers, blue-green water perfect for fishing and boating, beaches of rosy sand and night skies shimmering with stars – vacation memories at Lake Powell will last you and your RV family a lifetime! Lake Powell is the second largest man-made lake in the United States. Its waters hold large populations of bass – striped, large-mouth and smallmouth – and walleye. It has 96 major canyons and 1,960 miles of shoreline (more than the west coast of the United States). Did you know that Lake Powell is home to more than 170 species of birds, 800 different mammals & more than a dozen reptile species? Bring your fishing rod, binoculars, go for a hike, and kayak on beautiful Lake Powell. Sandstone cliffs, crystal clear azure water, pastel canyons, and soft sandy beaches are yours to enjoy! For more information: visit www.GO-Utah.com

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Mothers Day Tea …

Analia Chapter No. 112 OES

MOTHER'S DAY TEA

Saturday, May 10, 1:00 PM to 3 PM

Edmonds Masonic Center, 515 Dayton Street, Edmonds

$10.00 each

Please join us as we celebrate Spring and Our Mothers and Friends!

** Jean Pennington, 425-774-7504, MKJeanPennington@Juno.com

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Martha Washington Chapter news …

Connie, Martha Washington's Installation (Vancouver) will be at 2 pm on April 12. You just needed the time. Laurel Ward is the Worthy Matron-elect and Kent Stradley is the Worthy Patron-elect.

** Eleanor Westlake

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Honor Night cancelled …

ALPHA CHAPTER #88 in Cle Elum is CANCELLING the Honor Night for William (Dick) Goodman, Grand Representative to Arizona. Dick is currently in the hospital in Yakima. We will reschedule it for MAY or JUNE when we are confident he'll be feeling better and be able to ENJOY his time in the spotlight!

We apologize for the late notice. However, feel that it is in the best interest of Dick to take some of the pressure off! Our regular meeting will proceed as usual. See you on the OES trail! AND GET BETTER QUICK......Dick Goodman!!!!!
** Janie and Ken Larson, Worthy Matron and Patron, Alpha Chapter #88 in SNOWY Cle Elum, WA

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Inland Empire Past Matrons & Past Patrons Assn. Meetings …

Also – here are the dates for the rest of the year – (subject to change)

Friday – April 30, 2008 (Grand Officers invited and initiation)

Friday - May 30, 2008

June through August – summer break

Friday – September 26, 2008 (Brown Bag Fundraiser)

Friday – October 17, 2008 (Honor Grand Family)

Friday – November 28, 2008 (Holiday celebration)

Friday – January 30, 2009 (installation & Memorial)

Thanks

** Betty Hughes, Vice President, Inland Empire Past Matrons/Past Patrons Association

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Eastern Star donates 340 books to Sunnyslope kids

By Aaron Burkhalter, Port Orchard Independent

Mar 26 2008

Any teacher will tell you reading is a gift. And while the ability itself can’t be packaged and given, books can be.

That’s what brought Port Orchard’s Chapter of the Eastern Star to Sunnyslope Elementary School on Friday, with boxes full of donated books for the school.

Rose Gross holds the title Worthy Matron in the local branch of the Eastern Star. The title holder leads the group for his or her term, and also takes the lead on a philanthropic project benefiting a local group of some kind.

“Eastern Star is an organization that does community service as well as charity work throughout the entire world,” Gross said.

Gross, who volunteers at Sunnyslope Elementary, wanted to do something for students from kindergarten to sixth grade.

For the last year, the group has been collecting the books, and brought all 340 to the school Friday morning.

The students are big readers, Principal Bob Leslie said at the assembly, as evidenced by a just-completed reading campaign. The Masonic Lodge donated two bicycles, and students who read for the last two months entered to win those bicycles.

Leslie said the books will go into individual classroom libraries and the schools general library. “It’s just a great donation,” he said, “a gift that goes on giving for a long time.”

The Eastern Star is a branch of the Masonic Lodge and does philanthropic work locally and abroad. Gross said the Port Orchard branch has been in the community 111 years. Visit www.po-masonicfamily.org for more information on the Masonic Lodge and the Port Orchard Branch of the Eastern Star.

** Rose Gross

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Afton Chapter news …

Please note that Afton Chapter, Marysville will have an open installation at 5:00 pm on Sat. April 5th,

Thanks.

** Pat Dean

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One of American’s best wines under $15 …

Merlot: 2005 Columbia Crest Grand Estates Columbia Valley Merlot ($11) ‘So luscious that it’s hard to stop drinking it!’ Columbia Crest Winery, Paterson, WA

The Week April 4, 2008

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Interesting …

            Here in PA there is an event held every year (free of charge!) at one of the Masonic Homes where Masonic bodies of every type gather and share fellowship, entertainment, and food.
            One year there were bumper-stickers that said: "Don't take your organs to Heaven, Heaven knows we need then here!"
            I already was an organ donor, but that saying just stuck in my mind. Our Chapter just lost a member who had been on dialysis. Please, if your faith allows, become an organ donor!!
            Love and Blessings,
** Terri L. Beaver, PM, Lafayette Chapter #222, Selinsgrove, PA GGC

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Grand Representative Flag Notice

Hi Connie,

Would you please put a blurb in the Stars of Washington for me?

Letters have been sent to all the Grand Representatives regarding Grand Chapter Session in June 2008. If you have not returned your letter yet please do so as soon as possible even if you do not planning on attending. Also please remember that you are responsible for ironing your own flag and with 61 flags to iron before the Monday morning practice it will take some time and you can not expect to get this done at the last minute Remember that you will need an escort for the parade of flags. If you have any questions please email me at phyllish@danawheels.net or call me at 253-862-9975. Thank you.

** Phyllis Hippler, Grand Representative Flags Chairman.

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Where are your important files?

While browsing through the latest issue of the Cal Star News, I saw this article and thought it would be helpful to us all!

All of us have important files, but are they in locations easily found? Sooner or later you, your heirs, or executor of your estate will need certain files, deeds, financial information, etc. If you haven’t already done so, it would be a good idea to make a list of your important files and where to find them. The following is a suggestion for a location list that lists your property records, important ‘papers,’ etc., and where you and family members or other designated persons can find them.

IMPORTANT FILES:

Your important files might include:

Your WILL with any codicils and/or TRUST with any amendments.
ADVANCE HEALTH CARE DIRECTIE
List of BANK ACCOUNTS
BIRTH CERTIFICATE
MILITARY and VETERAN records
CITIZENSHIP records
Important cancelled CHECKS
SAFE DEPOSIT keys (and location of depository)
Copies of past years’ INCOME TAX RETURNS
CONTRATS to which you are a party
DEED(s) to property owned
TITLE insurance, etc.
Deeds to cemetery PLOTS
Copy of MORTGAGES
Copies of recent mortgage PAYMENT Statements
Files on PURCHASE price and IMPROVEMENT costs of home
Fire and umbrella INSURANCE policies on personal and real property
LIFE INSURANCE policies
JEWELERY, objects of art, collectibles, e.g., stamp or coin collections
STOCK, BONDS, etc.
SOCIAL SECURITY information
PINK SLIP for automobile ownership
RETIREMENT plans, annuities, etc.
NAMES of people to contact in cases of emergency or death, e.g., family members, insurance agent(s), clergy, etc.

** Cal Star News, Winter 2008

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Ah ha … no excuse now!

Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2008 1:32 PM

Subject: Masonic License plates

Message received from Ill. Bro. William R. Miller, 33°, SGIG, Orient of WA to me!

Be advised that those who have not gotten the Masonic plate because they have a personalized plate, no longer have an excuse. Their personalized plate can now be obtained on the Masonic Backing. I was marginally surprised when I learned that I got the first in Washington, maybe it's too well a kept secret.

** Carl

My two cents: So all you who have personalized plates, you can now have them on Masonic backing! How cool is that? When you get them, make sure you let me know so I can get them on the License Plate list.

OES CHAPTERS' CALENDAR

(as taken from your Ode Cards ...includes everything, hopefully, except those are listed in the Masonic Calendar. Chapters on the Westside will be highlighted RED and those on the Eastside in BLUE. The Cascades will be the dividing point!)

Reminders... April 1^st – 15th, 2008

1 April (1^st Tuesday)

APRIL FOOL’S DAY

2 April (1^st Wednesday)

THE SUN DANCES ON EASTER MORN

3 April (1^st Thursday)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO GRAND SENTINEL DENNIS & ESCORT JILL!

4 April (1^st Friday)

Rain from the south prevents the drought, but rain from the west is always best!

5 April (1^st Saturday)

April snow breeds grass!

Afton Chapter, Marysville … Installation of Officers; 5:00 PM.
Amethyst Chapter, Seattle (West Seattle) ... Installation of Officers; 7:30 PM.
Golden Rod Chapter, Snohomish ... Installation of Officers; 1:00 PM
Greenwood Chapter, Seattle (Greenwood) ... Installation of Officers; 7:00 PM
Guiding Star Chapter, Sumner ... Installation of Officers (Linda Ogren, AM & Pat Hall, AP); 7:30 PM
Ivanhoe Chapter, Spokane …Installation of Officers; 2:00 PM
Naomi Chapter, Puyallup ... Installation of Officers; (Jeanette Turner, AM & Fred Docker, AP); 2:00 PM
Port Orchard Chapter ... Installation of Officers; 1:00 PM.
Henry Wentworth Chapter, Vancouver ... Installation of Officers; 7:30 PM
Welcome Chapter, Shelton ... Installation of Officers; 7:30 PM

6 April (1^st Sunday)

ARMY DAY

NEW MOON

7 April (1^st Monday)

Washboard sky, not three days dry!

Bethlehem Chapter, Deer Park … Kick-off Potluck: 6:00 PM! Stated Meeting. Time: 7:30 PM.
Ferndale Chapter ... Installation of Officers; 7:30 PM
Waitsburg Chapter ... Installation of Officers; 7:30 PM

8 April (2^nd Tuesday)

April borrows 3 days from March, and they are ill!

Vida Chapter, Tacoma ... Installation of Officers; 7:30 PM.

9 April (2^nd Wednesday)

NATIONAL FORMER POW RECOGNITION DAY

Maple Chapter, Castle Rock … Stated Meeting; Long Form; Honor JPM Cyndi Branch & JPP Pat Bohna and Easter. Co-Chairs: Sheryl Mencke & Louise James. Time: 7:30 PM.
Pine Tree Chapter, Kettle Falls … Borscht Dinner by WM Pat & WP Tom; 6:00 PM. Soup donations to WGM & WGP projects. Stated Meeting; Honor Night for Lamplighter DI, Mary Hagstom. Honor JPM & JPP. Refreshments: Lasca & Jim Bailey. Time: 7:30 PM.
Tacoma Chapter ... Installation of Officers; 7:30 PM.

10 April (2^nd Thursday)

Pacific Chapter, Ilwaco … Stated Meeting; Long Form. Installation of Officers. Decorations & Refreshments: Ivy, Tarri & Rhonda. Time: 8:00 PM.
Zillah Chapter, Newport … Stated Meeting; Long Form. Refreshments: Corrine & Icye. Time: 7:30 PM.

11 April (2^nd Friday)

PERSIAN GULF WAR OFFICIAL CEASE FIRES (1991)

A cold April the barn will fill.

Corinthian Chapter, Tacoma ... Installation of Officers; 7:30 PM.

12 April (2^nd Saturday)

MOON – FIRST QUARTER

If the ash leafs out before the oak, expect a wet season.

Martha Washington Chapter, Vancouver... Installation of Officers; 2:00 PM.

14 April (2^nd Monday)

Snow in April is a poor man’s manure.

Trinity Chapter, Tumwater ... Installation of Officers; 7:30 PM.
White Rose Chapter, Spokane ... Installation of Officers; 1:30 PM

15 April (3^rd Tuesday)

Lewis Chapter, Lakewood … Stated Meeting; Honoring Jobs Daughters; Short Form. Time: 8:00 PM.
Montesano Chapter … Honor Night for Lamplighter Deputy Instructor, Cliff Roberson. Time: 7:30 PM.

This "Calendar of Events” is like the weather ... you know... is subject to change!

NEWS BITS & PIECES …

ONLY IN AMERICA:

New mothers now expect an expensive ‘push present’ from their husbands as compensation for the agony of childbirth, inspired by lavish postpartum gifts of jewelry from such A-list new fathers as Pierce Brosnan and Ben Affleck, 55% of new mothers in the U. S. say they deserve similar rewards from their husbands, and the nation’s high-end retailers are scrambling to cash in on the trend. ‘I get calls from hospitals from men who say, ‘I’ve tot to get one tonight,’ says jeweler Craig Warburton. ‘I go on mercy dashes with pendants and earrings. Sales are up 40%!’
Prisoners have filed a class-action lawsuit against Vermont charging that a food called Nutraloaf is so disgusting it should be considered ‘cruel and unusual punishment.’ Nutraloaf is made of cubed bread, vegetables, and powdered milk and is served without utensils to prisoners who’ve used forks as weapons or hurled food at guards. The prisoners, however, say that Nutraloaf is clearly a punishment, and should therefore only be served after a formal disciplinary hearing. ‘Even in prison,’ said attorney Seth Lipschutz, ‘you get a little bit of due process.’

** The Week, April 4, 2008

GOOD WEEK FOR:

Zah Dunlap of Oklahoma, who was declared brain-dead after an accident, but then began moving his foot and hand as doctors prepared to harvest his organs. The 21-year-old slowly regained consciousness and was sent home to continue his recovery. ‘I feel pretty good,’ he said this week!

BAD WEEK FOR:

Having people over, after an Oregon man arrived home after work to find 30 people carrying off nearly everything he owned. A prankster had posted an ad on Craigslist.com announcing that Robert Salisbury was giving away everything in his house. ‘They refused to give the stuff back,’ said Salisbury. ‘They honestly thought that because it was on the Internet, it was true.’
The passengers of Flight 1536, after a US Airways pilot who was landing a plane in Charlotte, NC, accidentally fired a gun in the cockpit. The pilot was part of a program begun after 9/22 to allow pilots to be armed. ‘This has never happened before,’ said a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Administration.
Spiritual monopolies, after the Provenance Hotel chain replaced its bedside Bibles with a ‘spiritual menu’ from which guests can order either the Judeo-Christian text, the Book of Mormon, the Koran, or books on Scientology, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism.

** The Week April 4, 2008

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Things to ponder …

Life expectancy in the U. S. is rising, but so is the longevity gap between rich and poor. In the early 1980’s, the most affluent Americans could expect to live 2.8 years longer than the poorest (75.8 years instead of 73). By 2000, the difference in life expectancy had increased to 4.5 years (79.2 instead of 74.7).

** The New York Times

Only 75% of the U. S. children complete secondary school, a figure lower than in Norway (100%), Germany (99%), South Korea (96%), Russia (87%), and Italy (81%).

** The Boston Globe

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TRASH TALK

In the spring when you bring your bird feeders indoors, give them a good washing with a 10% bleach solution (nine parts warm water and one part chlorine Bleach).
Tao deter mice and keep pet food fresh, store large quantities of dry pet food or livestock feed in plastic or metal trash cans with tight-fitting lids. (As we speak, the deer are trying to find away to get into the chicken house and share their feed! Ted has a barrel of wheat outside the chicken house and I believe that they can smell it, but just haven’t figured out yet how to open it up!)
After emptying the trash, sprinkle baking soda in the can to control odors.
Keep trash cans tightly covered in the spring and summer to cut down on flies around your house!

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FIVE GREAT REASONS TO DRINK WATER

Dehydration is a problem for 75 percent of Americans. For many, what feels like a hunger pang is actually thirst.
Drinking water boosts the metabolism while lessening food cravings.
Dehydration is the chief contributor to daytime fatigue.
Most people who suffer from back and join pain find relief if they drink 8 to 10 glasses of water per day.
To keep mental facilities sharp – memory, computation, mental focus – stay hydrated!

APRIL MASONIC FAMILY CALENDAR

Grand Lodge's Concordant Body of April - Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry

April 5 …GL: One Day Conferral – Wenatchee; 8:00 AM; TU
April 5 … GL: Washington DeMolay Convention - Wenatchee, Banquet and Installation; Tux; Ladies.
April 5 … OES: Session Meeting & Sundome Walk-through; 2:00 PM.
April 8 … OES: Kitsap/Mason PM Luncheon.
April 9 … GL: Surprise Visit - Contact your DDGM for further information. Time: 7:35 PM; TU.
April 10 … GL: Spokane Valley Scottish Rite; Meeting: 6:30 PM; Dinner following. TU; Ladies.
April 11 – 13 … GL: Wardens Conference, Clarion Hotel, Yakima; Ladies.
April 11 … SR: Valley of Everett … Lodge of Perfection; Buffet: 6:30 PM; Stated Meeting.
April 12 …OES: Reception for Grand Ruth, Charlotte Wilson, Everett.
April 15 … GL: Surprise Visit - Contact your DDGM for further information. Meeting: 7:35 PM; TU.
April 17 – 20 … GL: GL of Hawaii, Honolulu; TU.
April 18 …OES: Organist Club Musicale.
April 18 … OES: Thurston County PM Luncheon.
April 18 … SR: Valley of Everett … Chapter of Rose Croix; Buffet: 6:30 PM. Stated Meeting; 29^th Degree.
April 19 … OES: Southwest WA Assn. Dinner.
April 19 … GL: DDGM Team Meeting - GM not in attendance.
April 23 … GL: Olympic Chapter National Sojourners Birthday Dinner and Meeting, Sequim; Dinner: 6:00 PM; Meeting following. TU; Ladies.
April 24 … GL: Corinthian Lodge No. 38 – Junior Achievement Scholarship Presentation Night. Meeting; 7:00 PM; TU; Ladies
April 25 … GL: District 8 Meeting; Centennial Lodge No. 25; Toys for Tots; Dinner: 6:30 PM; Meeting following; TU; Ladies
April 25 … OES: King County PM Luncheon
April 25 …OES: Honor night for Marcia Beck, Co-Chairman of the Lamplighter DI.
April 26 … GL: Loggers Degree; Quilcene-Jefferson Lodge No. 107; Meeting: 10:00 AM; Dinner following.
April 26 … OES: North Central WA All-Star Luncheon
April 26 … OES: Grand Worthy Advisor Reception.
April 27 … OES: Eastern Washington PAGO Luncheon, Moses Lake.
April 30 … OES: Southeast WA PM Luncheon
April 30 … OES: Inland Empire PM & PP Dinner; Spokane.

OES: Events with Worthy Grand Matron

GL: Events with the Grand Master

SR: Events of the Scottish Rite Valleys

TU =Team Uniform - consisting of blue blazer, grey slacks, white shirt and team tie.

CTU = Casual Team Uniform - grey slacks, blue Masonic polo shirt OR any of the previous GL casual shirts

APRIL TIDBITS

April 1^st – April 15^th …

April 1:

1883: Birthday of silent film star Lon Chaney
1932: Birthday of Debbie Reynolds, singer/dancer/actress

NATURE WATCH: If you see a brown bird with a long narrow bill shoot straight up in the air in a spiral, fly in a circle, and then plummet to the ground, you have witnessed the courtship dance of the male American woodcock. In souring call is a loud buzz: Bzeep! Woodcocks breed from New England west to the Mississippi River.

April 2:

1722: The first of Ben Franklin’s 14 commentaries – America’s first essay series – was published under the name Silence Dogood.
1878: The Easter egg roll at the White House was begun.
1914: Birth of actor Sir Alec Guinness

Winter’s done, and

April’s in the skies,

Earth, look up with

Laugher in your eyes! - Charles G. D. Roberts

Avoid CATastrophe: Cats that ingest any part of the Easter lily (or another member of the lily family) can develop kidney damage within hours, so keep those Easter lilies out of reach. If your cat nibbles a lily, call your vet right away!

April 3:

1860: The Pony Express began mail delivery.
1934: Birth of ethnologist Jane Goodall, known for her study of chimpanzees.
1988: Easter Sunday thunderstorms in Michigan and Indiana spawned five tornadoes. A wind gust of 114 miles per hour was recorded at Ann Arbor, Michigan.

NATURE WATCH: Great blue herons return now to Vinalhaven, Maine and other summer destinations. Largest and heaviest of the North American herons, this solitary and nocturnal bird wades slowly in quiet waters, hunting for fish and other food.

April 4:

1902: Cecil Rhodes left a scholarship fund in his will providing for Americans to attend Oxford University in England. To this day, Rhodes scholars are chosen from their exemplary scholarship, athleticism, and character.
1915: Bluesman Muddy Waters was born.
1932: C. C. Kind isolated vitamin C at the University of Pittsburgh.

NAATURE WATCH: In the northern Great Plains, watch for American white pelicans in marshy areas as soon as the ice melts. A flock of these huge birds is an amazing sight as they take off and soar in circles.

April 5:

1614: Pocahontas married John Rolfe.
1870: a state law reorganized the Metropolitan Fire Department into the Fire Department of the City of New York. The Board of Fire Commissioners ordered the placement of “E.D.N.Y” on all apparatus.
1900: Actor Spencer Tracy was born.

‘Many a bear going out on a warm day like this would never have thought of bringing a little something with him.’ – A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

April 6:

1909: The first credit union in the United States opened in Manchester, New Hampshire.
1973: On opening day, the Boston Red Sox beat the New York Yankees 15-5 in the first American League baseball game played using the designated hitter rule.

NATURE WATCH: Carp, white bass, and largemouth bass are spawning now in cold northern streams and lakes.

Remember, people will judge you by your actions, not your intentions. You may have a heart of gold – but so does a hard-boiled egg! – Author Unknown

April 7:

1862: Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant defeated the Confederates under General Albert Sidney Johnston at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee, with staggering casualties on both sides.
1915: Birth of jazz singer Billie Holiday.
1957: New York City’s last electric trolley made its final run from Queens to Manhattan.

NATURE WATCH: Old-timers in the upland South believe that frost will not occur after the dogwoods have bloomed. The white blossoms ‘floating’ in the woods beside the soft pink redbud blossoms is a beguiling sight, but tradition holds that full blooms foretell a cold winter.

April 8:

1935: Congress approved the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
1974: Hank Aaron blasted home run number 715, breaking Babe Ruth’s career record.

The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest amount of hissing. – Jean-Baptiste Colbert

April 9:

1833: The first tax-supported public library in the United States was founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire.
1872: Dried milk was patented by New Yorker Samuel R. Percy.

April 10:

1847: Newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer was born.
2001: Hailstones up to 3 inches in diameter struck northern St. Lois. Within a week, 38,000 claims had been filed with the five largest auto insurers in the area.

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now

Is hung with bloom along the bough. – A. E Houseman

April 11:

1945: American soldiers liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp in Germany.
1970: The song ‘Let It Be’ by the Beatles topped the charts.

NATURE WATCH: Starting in the South and moving toward the cold ones, broods of the periodical cicada (Magi-cicada species) begin to emerge. These large, extremely noisy but essentially harmless insects have a 17-year life cycle, most of which is spent underground as a nymph.

April 12:

1934: The wind on Mt. Washington in New Hampshire’s White Mountains gusted to 231 miles per hour, the highest wind speed ever clocked.
1961: Russian cosmonaut Yury Gagarin became the first person in space, completing a single orbit of Earth in 108 minutes. ‘I see Earth. It’s so beautiful!” – Yury Gagarin

April 13:

1743: Birthday of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States (1801-1809). The Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC was dedicated on this day in 1943, with President Franklin Roosevelt giving the main address.
1972: Ballplayers went back to work as major league baseball’s first strike ended.

The maxim of buying nothing without the money in our pockets to pay for it would make of our country one of the happiest on earth. – Thomas Jefferson.

April 14:

1828: Noah Webster obtained a copyright for the first edition of his dictionary.
1886: A tornado ripped through St. Cloud, Minnesota, killing 74 people. The bottom of the Mississippi River – normally 15 feet deep – was said to have been seen during the tornado’s crossing.
1939: John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath was published.

NATURE WATCH: In the West, bobcats, coyotes, and foxes are giving birth to litters. In the breeze, you will start to see hackberry, skipper, blue, and queen butterflies.

April 15:

1817: The first school for the deaf in the United States was established in Hartford, Connecticut.
1912: The Titanic sank.

LORE AND LEGEND: If a wren chooses to nest in your yard, be on the alert for feathers it may drop. If you find one, offer it to anyone with a boat. Folk wisdom says that a wren’s feather brought aboard ship will prevent a shipwreck.

(To be continued …)

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW??

What if there was one single activity that could reduce stress, increase your fitness level, encourage proper nutrition, increase your social skills and boost your self-esteem? There is such an activity and it is as near as your backyard. Gardening has been proven to provide a vast array of physical and mental benefits. And it’s fun!

Many people find working out in a gym to be tedious, time-consuming and boring. Gardening, on the other hand, coaxes our winter-weary bodies out into the fresh air and sunshine where we are surrounded by the beauty and wonder that only Mother Nature can provide. Gardening connects us to nature and provides us with fresh fruits and vegetables and the encouragement to eat them.