CAPITAL CITY LODGE #499
FREE & ACCEPTED MASONS
4647 U STREET, SACRAMENTO, CA 95817
MAY 2022
MONTHLY TRESTLE BOARD
Published monthly by
Monica Hodge
CALENDAR OF EVENTS FOR MAY 2022
Wednesday, May 4th………..Capital City Masonic Temple
Start 6:30 pm…………….………….……….Fellowship
Start 7:00 pm…….……..……………..Roll Call Dinner
Saturday, May 7th……..…….Capital City Masonic Temple
Start 8:00 am…………..….Lodge Monthly Breakfast
Wednesday, May 11th………Capital City Masonic Temple
Start 7:00 pm…………………………….Ritual Practice
Friday, May 13th………Watt Avenue Country Club Lanes
Start 5:00 pm……………….…Brethren Social Event
Wednesday, May 18th…….…….Harding-San Juan Lodge
Start 7:00 pm………….……………..……OSI Meeting
Wednesday, May 25th………Capital City Masonic Temple
Start 7:00 pm…………………………….Ritual Practice
CAPITAL CITY LODGE #499, F. & A.M.
Stated Meeting………………First Wednesday at 7:00 pm
Officer’s Coaches: Loren Robinson, PM
Chief Candidate’s Coach: TBD by Master
ELECTED OFFICERS FOR 2022
Joseph “Kelly” Dixon (Sabrena) Master
Robert W. Leach (Julie) Senior Warden
Eduardo Caballero Jr., PM (Jeralyn) Junior Warden
Eric Schlenker, PM (Shelly) Treasurer
Mark K. Laybourn, PM (Alicia) Secretary
Valentino V. Garcia Chaplain
Virgilio V. Manganaan, PM (Tessie) Senior Deacon
Kevin R. Laybourn (Kristine) Junior Deacon
Sean Roper Marshall
Roy Ridley, PM Senior Steward
Ron Ridley, PM Junior Steward
Tony Shelton, PM (Monica) Organist
Alexander A. Asuncion Sr., PM (Myra) Tiler
John Knox, PM Grand Lodge Inspector for the 410th Masonic District
MAY BIRTHDAYS
Happy Birthday to the following 6 brethren!! May you have many, many more.
Jun Mel Castelo Basa Jr. Scott M. Colvin
Jeremy Aaron Edwards Valentino V. Garcia
Richard D. Hayes James T. Wong Jr.
MAY STATED MEETING MENU
Meal prepared by
Brother Leach & Brother Caballero
Main Dish Spaghetti
Salad House
Bread Garlic
Drinks and dessert will also be provided. Hopefully, we will see you there.
LODGE EMAIL ADDRESS
FROM THE EAST – THE PILLAR OF WISDOM
Brethren,
I want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped make our Roll-Call Dinner a success. A special thanks goes to Brother Tim Scott and Worshipful Tony Shelton for preparing a fabulous meal. Between planning, preparation, serving & the ceremony, events like this would never get done without the commitment and selflessness of others. This event allowed us to honor or Brothers who have passed, with dignity & respect, and for that I am truly thankful.
On the topic of fellowship, I would be interested in getting some feedback from others regarding ideas they might have for events or gatherings, that serve our masonic families. Some may like to bowl, fish, camp or golf. Others may simply like to plink away at targets on a local range. Such opportunities like our monthly breakfasts, can allow Brothers and their families to gather in fellowship with one another, without having to be engaged in an official masonic ceremony. For those who use the Viber Application Brother Leach addressed in last month’s Trestle Board, it allows for the easy coordination of a day out golfing, or a trip to the coast for fishing.
Finally, for those whose life circumstances have kept them away from the Lodge, I would encourage you to search within yourself for the reason(s) that first led you to become involved in Masonry. On April 16th, I had the privilege to attend a masonic funeral ceremony at our Lodge. In keeping with Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth, we were able to serve the family of a Brother from another Lodge, who had passed. At this service, I met a Brother who has been away from Masonry for some time. What a beautiful opportunity to display to this Brother & his family, what Masonry at its core, is all about.
With no pressure, obligation or commitment to stay for the Stated Meeting, I would like to invite you to come and share a meal with your Brothers. I think you will find that your Lodge has an inviting atmosphere, and you just might be reminded of those reasons which led you to become a Mason to begin with. If you are in need of transportation, please let me know, and we will make appropriate arrangements for you to attend.
Fraternally,
Kelly Dixon
Master Kd.12682@gmail.com
FROM THE WEST – THE PILLAR OF STRENGTH
Brethren,
I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. and time spent with family and friends. As I write this, the Master and wardens are preparing to head off this upcoming weekend in April to attend the “Grand Lodge Master and Wardens retreat”. We hope to come back with loads of ideas, and exciting news to bring to our Lodge. Our Goal is to continue pushing on, and not only growing our membership, but trying to reengage the members we have.
Brothers, please reach out to brothers you know, and ask them to Lodge. Ask our brothers, what is keeping them from Lodge and how can we help them. Please, reach out and let the officers know how we can help too. I’m sure we can find brothers to assist in carpooling and/or picking brothers up to come to Lodge. Remember, things you can count on are Stated Meetings and Lodge Breakfast. These are both great times to engage with your brothers and socialize.
Hope to see everyone at the Lodge Breakfast again this month. It will be back on the First Saturday of the Month May 7th, 2022, at the same time 8:00 am to 10:00am.
Biscuits & Gravy was a hit last month, and has been added as a new item to our menu. and it was a hit last time. Thanks again to all the brothers who are, and continue to help out in the Kitchen. If you are interested in helping us in May, please reach out and let me know.
This Month, we are planning a social event for the brothers. On May 13th from 5:00 pm till whenever, and will be held at Country Club Lanes on Watt Ave in Sacramento. Many times, we have events and gatherings for brothers & their families and/or friends. But this night, will be about the brethren. Please come on down and join us for a fun-filled evening of socialization. At Country Club Lanes, it’s more than just Bowling. They have a Full Bar, Billiards, Arcades, Snack bar/Cafe, Laser Tag and much more. Most importantly, it’s a chance to hang out with brothers and catch up.
And Brothers, don’t forget about “Viber”. If you’re not involved, you are missing out.
Viber Messenger: Chats & Calls
Please fill free to ask one of the Pillars of the lodge for assistance in setting up “Viber”. You can send a message to my phone at 916-591-0137, and I can send you an invite to download and join “Viber”. Or you can go ahead and download “Viber”, and add me as a contact. Simply, message me in Viber. and I will add you to the Main Lodge Communication Group. The App is available for Apple and Android smart phones. which most of us have these days. If you are having issues, please let us know at a lodge meeting or event, and one of us would be happy to help.
Please reach out with concerns, questions or ideas. Fill free to reach out to any officer.
Fraternally,
Robert W. Leach
Senior Warden Rwleach@gmail.com
FROM THE SOUTH – THE PILLAR OF BEAUTY
Greetings Brethren. For this month, we will continue to provide some masonic lessons.
Let Temperance chasten, Fortitude support, Prudence direct you, and let Justice be the guide of all your actions. Be especially careful to maintain, in their fullest splendor, those truly Masonic ornaments, Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. These are a few very simple masonic codes and principles to live by, but somehow too complicated to execute.
To make it simple, I would like to share a story:
One day, a tourist found himself in a very simple laid back seaport town. He especially liked the view from his window overlooking the ocean. The unlimited supply of fresh air, and the relentless sound of cascading waves as they break upon contact with the nearby rocks. Each morning he would sit down on the front porch of his hotel, while drinking his coffee, and watch the people on the docks catching fish. He noticed one person in particular, an elderly fisherman who would sit in the same spot, at the same time of the day. After observing him for a week, the tourist noticed that the fisherman would go home after he caught two fish, regardless of what time his last catch would be. Unable to contain his curiosity, he went over to the fisherman.
Tourist: “Hello. Why do you only catch two fish, and then go home?”
Fisherman: “Since our children are all grown up, it’s only me and my wife at home. So, two fish are all we can eat in a day.”
Tourist: “But you can catch more!”
Fisherman: “And why would I do that?”
Tourist: “So you can sell the extra fish, and buy more fishing poles, rods & hooks to catch more fish.”
Fisherman: “But why would I do that?”
Tourist: “Well, so you can have more fish to sell, and have more money. Then you can buy a boat, and hire people to work for you.
So, then you don’t have to sit and fish here anymore, every single day.”
Fisherman: “Yes, I can probably do that, but I don’t want to. You see, I would not want to become a businessman and count money all day, which I might eventually lose. Nor would I want to manage people, and tell them what to do. They could end up not following my instructions. Fishing is what I love, and that’s what I’m going to do. That is why I’m here every morning.”
There is a lot of lessons we can learn from this story. I may not be a fisherman, but I think I understand what it feels to be one. Most often in our lives. we are burdened by the things we think we need to do or accomplish, same as masonry. Sometimes we forget the real reason why we joined.
Along the way the fuel that burns inside that propels each mason to attend stated meetings, degrees and fellowship had somehow died down. Many lodges had either surrendered their charter or merged with other lodges, trying to find a solution, and perhaps just delaying the inevitable. Or maybe just failed to see the most obvious solution. The journey to seek the master’s lost word, is an individual quest. However, our Lodge is our vehicle to aid us in our quest, and what fun it would be to spend it with our brothers.
I believe Capital City Lodge is stronger now than ever before. It’s on what I can feel, on the verge of a masonic membership revival revolution. We must continually seek that which we lost, and in doing so, join our fraternal brothers to move forward in an era of change. If our conviction is strong, and we believe that what we are doing is right, then with a united front we move forward into the future. And, although we may find different answers to the same question, we are together in our quest. Wearing those truly masonic ornaments, Brotherly love, Relief and Truth. And so if someone asks, we can answer, I am a mason and that’s what I wanted to be!
Fraternally,
Eduardo Caballero Jr., PM
Junior Warden ejrcaballero@hotmail.com
A Sojourners Tale #3
Welcome to this installment of a Sojourners Tale. Cathlene and I are having a wonderful time with our travels, throughout the southwest.
One of our stops was in William’s Arizona, which is considered the gateway to the Grand Canyon. It is listed as the last town bypassed by Interstate 40, on the old Route 66. While we were there, I looked up Williams Lodge #38, which was re-charted in 1929.
From there, we moved on to Roswell New Mexico where we visited the International UFO Museum. This stop was very interesting, along with many other interesting exhibits. No, we did not meet any aliens, (yet). While visiting there, I looked up Roswell Lodge #18. The lodge just happened to be hosting and Eastern Star Event, and I was fortunate enough to meet the lodges Sr. Warden Richard Glenn. He was Gracious enough to give to us a tour of his lodge. The lodge’s current location is it’s third, and he informed me that the legendary Pat Garrett was believed to have been a member of the lodge. But most, if not all of the lodge records, where lost in the fire when the previous lodge burned down.
Our next stop was Fredericksburg Texas. While visiting there, we came across Fredericksburg lodge #794 AF & AM Chartered in 1896. Since there was a stated meeting that evening, I contacted the lodge Secretary Brother Fred Ayers, who invited me to break bread with them as well as to attend that evening’s stated meeting. In my conversation with Brother Fred, I found out that we had a Sacramento connection of Worshipful Daniel Scott, the Past Potentate of Ben Ali Shrine. He is also now a Past Master of the Fredericksburg lodge, and Dan is now severing as their Sr. Steward. I was warmly greeted by Worshipful Don Kaiser and his officers, and I must say the Ancient Free and Accepted is different and yet the same. It was nice to sit in lodge with the brothers, and Worshipful Dan asked me to pass on his greetings from Fredericksburg.
That’s all I have for now, until next time…….
Matthew Ernst, P.M.
MORE TO COME, AS WE CONTINUE ON OUR JOURNEY!!