Page 4 - August 2018

From the Desk of the Grand Master

As my beloved and endeared community and surrounding area, I am quite positively
young daughter, Jaki and content of the ability to reach out to a special Uncle to
her best friend, Ayanna, left Jaki, as there are already several in her mind to aid and
last Friday to “shop till they assist her in any way possible. We all know as Brother
drop”, explore, and perform Masons, to aid and assist, and I am positive of any
reconnaissance missions in unexpected daughterly issues, problems, or situations,
Billings, with my credit card of my Brothers to provide any aid and assistance to
the future site of their college my Jaki. My only hope is they notify me if they have
education at MSU-Billings, to bond her out.
which I will forever call
Eastern, as I attended both In fact, our ultimate duties as Grand Lodge Offi cers
Western and Northern. It was is to aid and assist our Brothers in our Craft in a
Bro. Jeff Harada, MWGM with truly mixed emotions variety of ways designed to off er worthy assistance to
as I totally realize she will be leaving Labor Day individual Brothers. I know our district duties as Grand
weekend to start her undergraduate education. So, Lodge Offi cers may seem mundane and ineff ective to
as I reluctantly relinquished my credit card for fuel some of the Craft. However, we hope and truly desire
and food, Jaki promised to reimburse me. I know at to put the Grand back in Grand Lodge by empowering
this personal stage in my life, I have done my best each Grand Lodge Offi cer to literally off er more to our
to raise my 2 children and to hopefully prepare them Lodges than the systematic sampling of spaghetti at
adequately for the diff erent stages of this wonderful a Lodge dinner. We will serve the Craft with Honor,
God Blessed life we have on this Earth. Humility, and the Grand desire to not only improve
ourselves as Masons but to improve Masonry in
During Eastern’s college orientation weekend, we Montana. We have outlined specifi c district duties to
spent a portion of the afternoon in one of the classrooms, not only continue our district Lodge visits but to fi nd
as a group of parents discussing the upcoming empty worthy Brothers, their widows, and orphans to provide
nest syndrome. We discussed the diff erences as aid and assistance.
parents to send our children off to various universities
around the country. I informed the other parents of the Theodore Roosevelt has off ered these words way
reception day at the United States Military Academy more eloquent than I: I ask of each Mason, of each
at West Point, NY, and you were advised you had 90 member, of each brother, that he shall remember ever
seconds to say good bye to your new Cadet. Later, a that there is upon him a peculiar obligation to show
group of 1100 newly sworn Cadets marched by the himself in every respect a good citizen; for, after all,
families on a huge parade fi eld, and we were all very the way he can best do his duty by the ancient order
positive we could pick out our loved ones dressed in to which he belongs is by refl ecting credit upon that
Grey uniform pants, white short sleeved shirts, and order by way in which he performs his duty as a citizen
white hats. of the United States.

Back to the point of my daughter traveling off to We need to accept the simple request of President
Billings for college this Labor Day weekend, and my Roosevelt by performing our duties not only as Grand
worries about her well-being, safety, home-sickness Lodge Offi cers but as we perform our duties as citizens
for her “dear old Daddy” and the absence of a home- and Brothers. Our absolute goal to perform the duties
cooked meal as Jaki becomes accustomed to the of our obligation as your District Offi cers does not
dormitory life. It would be safe for me to eff ectively change the manner in which all Masons perform our
cut the apron strings or maybe appropriately my duties as citizens of the United States. As I mention
Kimono straps. the ultimate necessity of all Montana Masons to
emphatically know and understand their specifi c roles
But truly knowing in my heart and mind and soul in the Grand Lodge of Montana, in which all Montana
of the hundreds of my Brother Masons in the Billings Masons belong. It is imperative to remember our

Page 4 Montana Freemason August 2018