From the East

Greetings from the East,



The beautiful month of May is here. Warm days and sunshine. This month, 170 years ago, we received our charter for our lodge. Can you imagine the excitement of the Brothers who had been waiting to start this lodge? 1854! The Gold Rush brought big dreams to the area. The American River passed by the miners as they aspired to wealth and fame. Many of the men that came from the east were Freemasons. Not only did they dream of wealth but of supporting their fellow brethren, building community, and making men better. We can only imagine what it was like! Undoubtedly, it was difficult, but knowing there were brothers to rely on and have a place to meet and share fellowship must have been a relief.

Please join your brothers for our Outdoor Degree on Saturday, June 1 on our journey back to 1854 as we recreate what a degree could have been like at that time. It will be a second degree not only for our lodge but for neighboring lodges as well with an open sky above us, brethren beside us, and brothers to pass to the degree of Fellowcraft. A unique experience indeed! We will have the pleasure of the Most Worshipful Sean Metroka to perform the Staircase Lecture. See the event flyer below to register and contribute to help defray the costs. The attendance is limited to eighty brethren, Fellowcraft and above.

In observance of Masonic Public Awareness Month, from May 1–14, Grand Lodge is asking California Masons to post a message on their Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok explaining why their membership is so important to them with the hashtag #ImAMason (follow the new channel @CaliforniaMasons) (It is important you use the hashtag so we can see and share it!) This can be a simple written message, a photo, a selfie—whatever you like! Either way, by talking about Freemasonry and our membership with the people around us, we can inspire the next generation of would-be Masons to take that first step and knock on the door.

I would like to thank the brothers who took time on the morning of Saturday, April 20 to come to your lodge and do some overdue cleanup and maintenance while the officers were at the Master and Wardens retreat. Led by our 2024 Hiram Awardee Brother Dale Jordan Sr., the team barked the parking lot, sidewalk, and patio, repaired doors, and cleaned the kitchen. A big thank you to brothers Larry Godbout, Jonathan Godbout, Shahin Mogharab, Scott Leventon, Rob Willingham, Rob Smith, Jeff Joe, Greg Lane, Sydney Moore, Melvin Manalo, Lee Rabe, and Dale Jordan, Sr.

Speaking of Brother Dale Jordan, Sr., please put June 15, 2024, 10:00 a.m. on your calendar to be present and honor Dale as this year’s well-deserved Hiram Award recipient. At his request, we will serve brunch followed by the award ceremony.

The Hiram Award is the fraternity’s way of recognizing the unsung heroes of the lodge. The guy who stays late to clean up in the kitchen. The one who organizes a cleanup day. The one who makes sure the light bulbs get changed and shows up on a Saturday morning to repaint the dining room. These invisible engines are what power lodges forward. And there is no better way to repay that devotion to the lodge and Freemasonry than through Masonry’s highest honor.

The Hiram Award, according to the award manual, is for “recognition of a brother by his own lodge for his devoted service to that lodge and to Masonic principles in general. It is intended for the brother who, year after year, displays his devotion without receiving special recognition or special honor.”

In short, the Hiram Award is meant to honor members for doing the work that does not usually come with honors. The award manual goes on: “You will find them at labor in kitchens, the coaching rooms, the committees, their churches and communities—anywhere that a true and steady hand of assistance is needed.”

From the South

Dear Brothers,

I hope this email finds all of you well and still enjoying the afterglow of our April events. I want to take a moment to extend my deepest gratitude for your presence and contribution to the tremendous success of these events. Our attendance for breakfast this year has reached numbers of more than 70 people every month. I also want to extend my gratitude and appreciation for the brothers who volunteered and took the time to come early for the preparation and stay late for the after clean up. Thanks for your dedication and hard work, and let me express that your participation helps to make our lodge excellent and successful for our fraternity and friends.

Likewise, our monthly stated meeting dinners have been well received and praised. And I feel grateful for our brothers who walk the extra mile to make them happen for the benefit of our fraternity. I want to thank all the participants in our activities for their support in the attendance, preparation and cleaning and to those brothers who provide transportation to others and those who bring friends and family to enjoy and get closer with our brothers.

In April, Worshipful Master Stuart Stackhouse, Sr. Warden Noel Lukas, Sr. Deacon Arthur Walasek and I attended the officer training retreat in Lake Tahoe. It was much more impressive than I expected as I saw with surprise and joy how other lodges are progressing and improving for the well-being and retention of their members. The many discussion sessions and mutual sharing between brothers, helped us generate new ideas and gave us the energy, awakening and the vision that, as officers, we need to serve in our positions to improve our lodge and serve each other and our fraternity to be better every day, one day at a time.

May is a busy month with lots of activities to make our lodge fellowship stronger. It begins on Thursday, May 2 at 6:30 p.m. with our Stated Meeting Dinner and 66th Annual Scholarship Awards with our exclusive and delicious taco buffet prepared by Chef Marcus Hill of VIP Catering. At this dinner, we will have the pleasure of hosting and dining with local students and their families as 15 students will be awarded with scholarships from Natoma 64.

Then, on Saturday, May 4, come for breakfast, stay for the French degree. All Masons are invited to watch La Parfaite Union Lodge #17 as they perform their first degree in French in our lodge at 11:00 AM. The degree is their full form First Degree, and includes several sequences that are present in the old rituals of the 18th century, making it perhaps older than the ritual we all are familiar with. The program is jointly sponsored by the “Further Light” program of the Scottish Rite, Golden Compasses Research Lodge, and Natoma Lodge #64. Recommended attire: Business Casual.

The following Saturday, May 11, it's a day of fishing in the San Francisco Bay for many of our brethren and their families. Happy catching to all who registered! We hope for calm seas and a plentiful catch on your trip.

Then on Saturday, May 18, break out your favorite Hawaiian shirt! The lodge Luau is back by popular demand! Watch your email for the menu and to RSVP.

Looking ahead, we have the Historic Folsom Hometown Parade on June 29 in the morning. We could use some help preparing the float for the parade. Do you have any ideas for a theme and decorations? Does your family? Please join us for this short but fun parade down Sutter Street in historic Folsom.

On behalf of the entire officer team, I'd like to extend our heartfelt thanks for your valuable contribution and efforts to make sure our activities go above and beyond expectations. I hope to see all of you at our events. Please contact me if you can help at any of our activities this month (310) 291-6399 (text preferred).

By the Plumb,

Pedro Sanchez

Junior Warden