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Let me begin with a correction, Brother Al Hestilow will not be eligible to receive his 50 year award until after June 25. Your egg headed W.M. missed this requirement. I was thinking (or wasn't) "within the Grand Lodge year", instead of the Masonic year…

Brother Don Giles is recovering from bypass surgery at Baylor All Saints in Ft. Worth; the intensive heart care unit in building C. Brother Raymond Lester is at Health South room 304. Ray Tomes is somewhat better, and back home. Brother Ed Farhood, has been having breathing difficulties. These brethren would be glad to hear from you.

We had a great turnout at the fish fry this year, the fellowship was great, the food was great, and the garden fresh onions were great! Our Senior Deacon, brother Claude Davison presented a very moving Masonic talk, once the lodge was tiled. The diligent few, returned Saturday morning for the post fish fry cleanup. Thanks to P.M. Brother Al Hestilow, for heading up the fish fry, and thanks to all who worked and attended, for making this a good event.

I found this little piece of information that reminded me of brother Davidson's talk: "to that undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns." This is the exact wording used in Hamlet, Act III, Scene 1 by William Shakespeare. (Not a Mason) "Bourn", meaning "boundary" is now an obsolete word except in literature and Masonic ritual.

The fish Fry was followed with an E.A. March the l0th, and the brethren did a fine job. As you can see the lodge has been very active, more brethren are coming to lodge, and floor school, so come on down and join in the fun.

Something for you to look forward to, will be a short Masonic talk to be given by our Junior Warden at the April stated meeting.

As part of our community involvement the lodge voted to giving a $500 scholarship to a graduating senior at Birdville High School this year. This is being funded by contribution. If you would like to contribute please contact the secretary, or just send the funds to the lodge. As Secretary pointed out last month, this is a great tool for spreading the message of the fraternity to the public.

Being that Presidents day and public schools week have just passed I thought you might enjoy these:

"No man ever took the oaths and subscribed to the obligations with greater watchfulness and care than I exercised in receiving the various rites of Masonry, and I say with due deliberation and without fear of breaking the faith. I have never encountered a lesson, never witnessed an example, never heard an obligation uttered which could not be openly proclaimed to the world." The words of a Mason who was also a President of the United States, Warren G. Harding.

William R. Davie, an honor graduate of Princeton College and Governor of North Carolina 1798-99, was nominated as Grand Master of Masons on December 11, 1792, having become a Master Mason only the day before. He was not present for his installation on December 30th. Yet he held the position of Grand Master for 7 years and is known as one of the most active Grand Masters in North Carolina state's history. He is credited with being the "father" of the University of North Carolina, the first State University in America. He laid the cornerstone of the first building, "Old East" in 1793 containing a dedication plate which became missing during the Civil War. The plate was considered lost until it was found in a scrap heap in Clarksville, TN in 191 6 and restored to its rightful place.

Thomas Edison once said, "We don't even begin to understand one percent about ninety-nine percent of anything." When it comes to Freemasonry, do we understand as much as we think we do? Maybe, maybe not. No matter how many times I've seen the degrees performed, heard the words and seen the lectures, I’m not sure I truly understand the profound mystery that is revealed in each degree. Freemasonry uses a complex array of symbols in a specific context. Understanding what the symbols mean is up to each of us individually to discover. In essence, we don't really know what it all means. It's the journey we travel on that helps us discover what Freemasonry truly means.

It is not uncommon that we don't know much about anything. For example, lung cancer. Smoking can cause lung cancer. Yet there are certain people whose lips never touched tobacco but get lung cancer and die. And there are some people who smoke up a storm for most of their life, live to be 90 or older and never get lung cancer. So obviously, there is something in addition to smoking that is involved in the causation of cancer of the lung. And what is that something? The answer is, we usually don't know.

Stranger yet is meningitis, which affects one in every 50,000 people each winter. If I were to ask a doctor what causes meningitis, they would tell me meningococcus - and that's because people who have died from this disease had millions of "bugs" swimming around in pus on the outside of the brain from meningococcus.. Yet, those same “bugs” are found in about 85% of the throat cultures that are taken each winter. And yet, these people did not die from the same "bug". How and why is it that this "bug", this bacterium, can intermittently exist in 49,999 people without harm and yet can get into the brain - often of a previously healthy person -and cause a fatal infection in but one? The answer is: we don't know.

Likewise, we may not really know or understand what all the symbols in Freemasonry mean. I've asked a few Masons for their interpretation of the basic symbols -square and compasses -and each answer is different. Perhaps our symbols are "universal" and it's left up to each of us individual to apply and understand these symbols.

I know I certainly don't understand the meaning of all the symbols. It's sort of like trying to understand the mechanism of a closed watch. We see the face and moving hands, can hear it ticking, but it's difficult to open the case. We may have some picture of the mechanism for what we see, but we may never be quite sure that our picture is the only one which could explain what we see. We may never be able to compare our picture with the real mechanism. Likewise, we each have our own "picture" of what Freemasonry is, but we can never really be sure that our picture is the only one that accurately describes what Freemasonry is. That is why we constantly search for the truth and ascribe our own meanings to the symbols. I may go my whole life and never be able to understand what it all means, but I do know that I can apply basic knowledge to the symbols and some good effect will result.

Let us therefore strive to learn more with the belief that Freemasonry guides us down a moral path yet we may never understand what it all means. The good news is we don't have to know what it all means to use the tenants of Freemasonry! I don't know how my VCR works, but I know how to use it! Think about it!

I am happy to say things are going well for Smithfield Lodge lately. Everyone is doing an excellent job! Our finances are getting better. New faces are showing up and activity is increasing. Let's hope things continue to improve.

We are going to have a yard sale sometime soon this year in hopes of making enough money to purchase a new riding lawnmower. Please remember this before you throw anything of value out. Maybe we will make enough money where Bunk can ride in style!

Remember everyone who has been in the hospital lately in your prayers. Hopefully they will be recovered and back with us before this comes out.

We are so pleased with the turnout at the annual Public Schools Week fish fry. We are so blessed with such willing helpers that made this meeting such a success. I have informed the Lodge, and A.M. Hestilow, Jr. P.M. that he will not be due his 50 year award until after June 23,2005. This has to do with the Masonic Year he was reported on the Grand Lodge report. More on this later. We are looking forward to honoring this worthy brother.

He has contributed so much to the Lodge. We have several brothers who are ill at this time, let us keep up with each other and remember a fallen brother in his distress. If you are ill, please let us know. There are phone numbers, and e-mail addresses in this periodical that you can use. We care about you and want to know about you. This is for both good and bad news.

We have been notified that Mrs. Millie Burton, wife of Frances Burton has passed away, and has remembered the Lodge with a most generous bequest. This family has meant so much to Smithfield Lodge, and we sincerely thank them for helping to keep Smithfield Lodge solvent.

Lodge officer elections are nearing, remember if you want to help in the officer line-up contact the Worshipful Master and let him know of your interest.

Last, but not least, if you are now in arrears on your dues please take care of this as soon as possible. If you are having trouble meeting this obligation, please let a Lodge officer know. We can help.

Worshipful Master	John D. Frakes	john_frakes@msn.com
Senior Warden	,Mike Haygood
Junior Warden	Herb Taylor
Treasurer	David W. Myers, PM
Secretary	Billy R. Campbell, PM
Chaplain	Jim Mendenhall, PM
Senior Deacon	Claude W. Davison
Junior Deacon	Walter Busch
Senior Steward	Mike Byers
Junior Steward/Editor	Rickey L. Montey	bingo44@comcast.net
Tiler	Gary L. Spraggins, PM	j

Your support is a continuing need. Any donation is welcome. A donation of $100.00 or more puts your name, or the name of someone you wish to honor, on a plaque in the dining area of the Lodge building. Please send your donation to Smithfield Masonic Lodge #455, A.F. & A.M., P.O. Box 821413 , Fort Worth, Texas 76182

Masonic Birthdays for April, 2005

The following brethren will observe their Masonic Birthdays. They were raised to the sublime Degree of Master Mason during this month.

Linda and Jim Allen PM	Evelyn and Jack Jeter APM	Malliga and Daryle Hester PM	Renee and Herbert Taylor
Patsy and Billy Campbell PM	Gary Spraggins PM	Helen and L.W. Egger PM	Don.R.Hawkins,PM
Wanda and A. M. Hestilow Jr PM	Deborah and John Frakes PM	Mary A. Whitt	H.C. Martin, PM
David Myers PM and Family	R. T. “Bunk” Koonce Jr. PM	Ida and T.C. Powell PM	Lucy and B.J. Poland
J.G. Stegall Jr. PM	Artie and Bob Holder PM	Hope and Rickey Montey	Mary and Maurice Gosdin PM

R.D. Bates	04/14/1988	C.E. Duncan	04/25/2000	L.W. Egger PM	04/16/1964
A.C. Evans	04/29/1976	S.I. Hayes	04/12/1994	T.L. Hester PM	04/20/1974
K.M. Jordan	04/14/2001	R.T. Koonce, Jr PM	04/20/1974	R.B. Lester PM	04/11/1957
H.E. McMurtrey	04/27/1993	J.A. Minshew	04/28/1969	F.M. Brown	04/16/1973
R.L. Sanders	04/14/1949	M.D. Self	04/10/1975	W.C. Wagner	04/01/1986
H.A, Rumzek	04/29/1983