Brethren,

Tidings from the East. Garner 701 has really been busy since our last newsletter, and I hope you have been a part of it all. A First Degree was conducted at our October 22^nd Communication. Brother Ken Hartman and his degree team did an outstanding job.

On the 3^rd of November the Order of the Eastern Star honored the two Garner Lodges with a wonderful supper. We very much appreciate the Eastern Star’s hard work and the delicious meal, as well as the support they provide throughout the year.

A District-wide School of Instruction was conducted on 8 and 10 November at Vandora and Green Level Lodges. Garner 701 was well represented and received a good deal of valuable information, especially regarding the recently approved changes in the OSW.

Our November 12^th Communication was extremely well attended, including several brothers who have not been able to attend in some time. We were very glad to see those brothers and hope they will be able to return to the Lodge very soon. The chef’s crew did another outstanding job in preparing a superb spaghetti dinner. A special thank you to Kathy Talaska for the beautiful and tasty red, white, and blue Veteran’s Day cake that she prepared for dessert.

Several items of business were discussed at the Communication, in which you might be interested. Our annual Christmas dinner and celebration will be held at the Lodge on Sunday December 2^nd at 7:00 p.m. Please mark your calendars now and plan to attend. The chef’s crew is in need of some help in preparing for that meal. They have done a terrific job all year and this is the first time they’ve asked for any help. Let’s not let them down. If you can spare a few minutes please come by the Lodge on Saturday 1 December at 4:00 p.m. and lend these hard working brothers a hand.

Brethren, we have had two unfortunate incidents to occur in our Lodge recently that I feel I must address. Sometime since our last meal at the Lodge, someone, inadvertently I am sure, unplugged our freezer. As a result everything in it spoiled, including several very nice steaks and other items we planned to have at a future supper. The loss probably amounted to a few hundred dollars. Then, this past Monday night as the chef’s crew was preparing our meal, they discovered that someone has apparently taken the stainless steel serving pans that were in our kitchen and left us some stainless serving pans that are much more shallow than the ones we had. Therefore, please be careful if you use our kitchen facilities to make sure appliances are not unplugged or misused. If you accidentally picked up the wrong serving pans, please return them as soon as possible, we need the deep pans to prepare our Christmas celebration meal.

We were all very happy to see Worshipful Brother Earl Purser at our last meeting. Brother Earl is doing quite well after a recent, short stay in the hospital. Worshipful Brother Earl has also been recognized for his faithful support of the Garner High School football program. After a recent victory, the team honored him with the game ball autographed by the entire team.

We would also like to recognize and congratulate Worshipful Brother Norman Karr, who was recently installed as president of the Garner Kiwanas Club.

Our next stated Communication will be the Monday after Thanksgiving, November 26^th. That will be our tradition “Move-up Night” when all the line officers will fill the next chair. We will elect officers for the 2002 Masonic year at our December 10^th Communication. Please make every effort to be at both those meetings. It’s just not the same when you’re not there.

Finally, I most sincerely hope that you and your family enjoy a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Fraternally,

Jimmy Stevens, Master

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