From the looks of it outside, it must be spring. I’m
afraid we are all in for a surprise sometime soon and
winter will return. February begins as January ended
at Doric - very busy.
On
Jan 17th
we conducted an EA Degree for Brother Andrew Moore and
on Feb 28, at a special meeting, we will confer the FC
degree. Your support and attendance is strongly
requested.
Along with our normal two meetings we will be serving as
host for the Sunday services at the VA in Madison. We
still could use some support on any weekend but
specially the 12th
and 19th.
Please give me a call if you could help out. As the
time in our building comes to an end I would like to
have some special programs to remind us of our past.
Our second monthly meeting on the 21st
will be to honor all our Past Masters, so come join us
for a special program.
Doric was a sight to behold on Sunday Jan 28th as we
held a Memorial Service for Brother Bill Pitcher. As I
arrived, it was an amazing sight to see, the lot was
full of cars, with some parking in the back yard and
people parking on the side of the road. If only we
could have that type of response on a Lodge night.
We
are working on the details for the
Man-to-Mason-to-Shrine as I write this article. Because
of anticipated size of the class, we will be looking to
move it to a different location in Madison. At Doric we
have three candidates so far and are looking for more.
Our future will be in the hands of people not yet in our
lodge; to help preserve our history.
Our
temporary housing committee is at work as are our
Trustees, while the Long-range committee will be meeting
in February . Items for sale have been marked and some
have already been moved out. There will be a sale at
the end of March and early April and your help will be
needed. In April we will need to clean out everything
in the building and be out by April 28th.
I am thinking of some special program to mark that event
also.
On
March 26th
we will have a FREE program at Doric by the “Radio
Active” group of Madison (I belong to this group).
They recreate the old radio shows of the 30’s, 40’s and
50’s come and relive the past! It will be open to
anyone interested so tell a friend. Let’s see if we can
line the road with cars again before we leave.
Have a good month and see you in lodge.
Dale Holmen
WM
2006
William J.V. Pitcher
On
December 23, 2005 Bill pasted on to the celestial lodge
above. In accordance with his and his family’s wishes, a
Masonic memorial was held. On January 28th, Doric
hosted and presented a Masonic service. The program was
opened by Past Master Mitch Custer, who served as Master
of Ceremony. He introduced Brother Fred Liedel PM who
conducted a very memorable Masonic service. The next
part of the service was a toast to Brother Bill, given
by the Zor Pipes and Drums, everyone in attendance
participated in raising their glass to the memory of
Bill. People were asked to get up and speak on their
memories of Bill and his life and how they had been
touched by him. The alter of the lodge had been
moved to the front of the lodged and served as the
memorial table and not only held the holy bible, square
and compasses but also the feather bonnet that Bill wore
in parades as the Drum Major. The mace that he used was
also laid on the altar. In the Chaplin's chair at the
front of the lodge room was placed his uniform, complete
with white leather gloves, black leather belt, and a
tartan with a broach pinned to it. Following the
service a luncheon was held. In all it was estimated
that over 100 of Bill’s friends and family were in
attendance at this event. His wife, Betty, will be
moving to Tennessee to live closer to her daughter.
Bill will be missed not only by the members of Doric
Lodge but also by many in the Madison area as he had had
a major influence on our community.
Sincerely,
Mitch Custer PM, Secretary.
