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No. 7

May 2

014 May 2014

Trestle Board

St. John’s Lodge No. 1

Portsmouth, NH

The Master’s Message

Greetings Brethren!

I would like to start off by sending a huge thank you to everyone that helped to

make this year’s Out of Hibernation 5K a tremendous success! Let the Grand

Artificer be praised for the splendid weather! We had 349 runners register and I

feel safe in saying that we have accumulated the love of the community for the

race. I have heard from many last minute registrants how they love this race and

the great cause it is for. I for one am gracious to the community for embracing

all that we have set out to accomplish and I think we have. The better known this

race gets, the easier it is to get more runners and donations. I am especially

thankful for all the hard work put in by the Co-chairs Worshipful Gib Palmer

and Worshipful Dan Stolworthy whose help made Brother Dan Silverman’s life

a little less hectic. Brother Silverman has been a driving force behind this race

since its inception for which we owe its success. It should be another month until

we know the final donation amount for the Seacoast Family Food Pantry. Once

all the bills are paid, I will schedule the check presentation.

May’s calendar doesn’t look to be very full, with the exception of the stated

meeting on the 7th and Grand Lodges 225th annual communication. This will be

followed by the installation of the Grand Lodge Officers and will mark our own

Right Worshipful Robert L. Sutherland’s 4th tour of duty as District Deputy

Grand Master. It will also mark our Senior Warden Rod MacDonald’s 3rd year as

District Education Officer and 2nd year for Worshipful Verne S. Anderson Jr. as

the Grand Sword Bearer. It is a grand honor for them and please join with me in

congratulating them for their service. It is fantastic that St. John’s Lodge is well

represented in the Grand Lodge that was started 225 years ago here in Ports-

mouth on July 8th at the William Pitt Tavern.

With May, flowers bloom and pollen tickles the nose. I hope that all the Breth-

ren have a moderate allergy season. I know as I age, mine have gotten worse.

Yes, I know, at least it’s not snow….

Fraternally Yours,

Wor Floyd Caron

2014 Out of Hibernation Road Race

They’re off—over 350 registered runners!

This year, proceeds will,

once again, benefit the

Seacoast Family Food

First place overall, Kyle

Williams, with a time of

16:34

After the race, the room was packed

with runners waiting for results

Worshipful Brother Palmer,

Brother Silverman and

Worshipful Brother

Stolworthy celebrate a

successful race

Worshipful Brother

Stolworthy hands out one of

dozens of door prizes

Ashlar

From the beginning of our journey in Masonry, we learn about the ashlars—

the rough ashlar and the perfect ashlar. But, what exactly is ashlar?

Ashlar refers to an individual stone that has been cut and worked until square

or it refers to the overall masonry consisting of such stones. It is the finest

stone masonry unit. Precisely cut on all faces adjacent to those of other stones

so that it is capable of very thin joints between blocks. The visible face of the

stone may be as quarry faced or feature a variety of treatments—tooled,

smoothly polished or rendered with another material for decorative effect.

Ashlars are generally shaped as cubes but can also include stones shaped as

trapezoids.

Ashlar masonry may consist of stones that are laid in horizontal courses with

continuous horizontal joints or random, in which the joints are deliberately not

continuous, either horizontal or vertical.

Ashlar blocks have been used in the construction of buildings for centuries. In

Greece and Crete, ashlar blocks were much larger than ashlar blocks of today.

In modern European masonry, ashlar blocks are generally about 14” in height.

When shorter than 12”, they are called small ashlar.

In Freemasonry, ashlars are used as a symbolic metaphor for progress. The

rough ashlar is the stone as taken from the quarry. The smooth ashlar is a

stone that has been smoothed and dressed by the experienced workmen and

allegorically represents the Mason who, through education and diligence, has

learned the lessons of Masonry and who lives an upstanding life.

Stated Communication #5001—Open in FC

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Dinner—Mexican (tacos, burritos, rice) $8.00

(Dinner 6:00, Open 7:00)

Officer dress— White Tie and Tails

Presentation on the William Pitt Tavern “How cool this place is”

Saturday, May 17th, 2014

Annual Communication of Grand Lodge

9:30 AM

Manchester

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

May 2014

St. John’s Lodge Historical Sketch

William G. Billings

Diphtheria was once a major cause of illness and death among children. Its

name was taken from the Greek διφθέρα (diphthera) meaning “leather” or

“pair of leather scrolls” and was given in 1826 by French physician Pierre

Bretonneau. It was so named because of the leathery membrane that grew on

the tonsils and in the throat of those inflicted by this very serious bacterial

infection.

In the mid-18th Century, Diphtheria was one of the most dreaded diseases, with

frequent large-scale outbreaks in the New England colonies. During these

epidemics, the disease killed as many as 80% of the children below 10 years of

age. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, there were as many as 200,000 cases

of the illness in the United States each year, with about 15,000 related deaths;

most of the deaths were children, but there were many adults who died too.

Effective treatments for the disease were unavailable until the discovery of

antibacterial sulfonamides, commonly called sulfa drugs. In 1932, the sulfa

drug Prontosil, made by Bayer, was the first medicine ever discovered that

could effectively treat a range of bacterial infections inside the body, including

Diphtheria.

Diphtheria is easily transmitted from person to person by respiratory droplets

usually when one person sneezes or coughs near another. The symptoms

include sore throat, loss of appetite, and fever. The most notable feature of the

infection, however, is the formation of a thick gray layer over the tonsils and in

the throat, a byproduct of the toxin secreted by the bacteria. In really bad

cases, the toxin travels to the heart, kidneys and liver where it can cause

permanent damage and can result in death. Diphtheria patients are kept in

isolation for 48 hours while being treated with antibiotics and an antitoxin to

neutralize the toxins secreted by the bacteria.

In the 1920’s an immunization for Diphtheria was developed. It’s basically a

modified version of the diphtheria toxin itself. The immunization is not given

as a single injection, but rather is combined with vaccine serum for tetanus and

pertussis (whooping cough) in a preparation called DTP or DTaP. The current

immunization schedule for Diphtheria includes five immunization shots before

age six years, plus one booster dose for adolescents. Adults can receive

diphtheria immunization in combination with a tetanus booster, which is

recommended every ten years.

Since the introduction of the vaccine, Diphtheria rates have dropped

dramatically in the United States and other countries around the world.

Between 2004 and 2008, no cases were recorded in the United States.

However, in 2007, 4,190 cases were reported worldwide, which is likely an

underestimate of the actual number of cases.

So; that was an interesting little history on a really bad disease; but what I

would really like to know is, have you ever heard of William Billings?

William G. Billings was a good man and popular citizen who lived in

Portsmouth during the latter part of the 1800’s. He was born in Kittery,

Maine, on September 10, 1852 but resided most of his life in Portsmouth. He

owned a very successful business in downtown Portsmouth in which he

manufactured and sold window sashes and blinds. Outside of work he was

very active. He was a Past Grand of Piscataqua Lodge, No. 6, International

Order of Odd Fellows, and a Past Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New

Hampshire, IOOF. In addition to his service to the Odd Fellows, we was also

a Mason and very active member of the York Rite of Freemasonry where he

was a Past Commander of DeWitt Clinton Commandery, Knights Templar.

He was also a very active member of St. John’s Lodge, No. 1 where he was

Raised on April 7, 1880. He became an officer of the Lodge and moved

through the chairs quickly; and at the young age of 32 years was installed

Worshipful Master of the Lodge for the years 1884/85.

Sadly, Worshipful William Billings’ life was cut short when he

passed from labor to refreshment on September 1, 1893 at his

home in Portsmouth, just a few days before his 41st birthday. In

his final days, he was stricken and died of complications

resulting from a particularly bad outbreak of … Diphtheria.

Alan M. Robinson, PM

Historian

Happy Birthday Brothers!

Join us for the Stated Communication during your birthday month

and the dinner is on the Master and Wardens.

Floyd Caron

Worshipful Master

Floyd.stjohns@yahoo.com

(207) 577-3028

Robert L. Sutherland, Jr.

Secretary

robert7615@aol.com

(603) 828-5246

Contact

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