Portland was abuzz with basketball last Thursday, but the tone in the lodge was somber and serious as the lodge was busy doing what Masons do best: examining an Entered Apprentice brother on his proficiency in the lecture of the Entered Apprentice Degree, and conferring the Fellowcraft Degree on another brother who just recently came back from his trip to Turkey.

The brothers who were the focus of the lodge’s attention that evening were Brother Zack Andrew who gave his proficiency, and Brother Patrick Person who was passed to the degree of Fellowcraft.

Brother Andrew, who became an Entered Apprentice last February, gave a near-perfect rendition of the proficiency and was declared proficient by WB Joseph Piazza. His Fellowcraft Degree is now scheduled for May 23rd to complete the series of Fellowcraft Degrees the lodge has planned for the month of May.

The highlight of the evening of course was Brother Person’s passing to the Fellowcraft Degree, which saw the usual pedigree of quality that the lodge has been known for. While there were a few missing faces in the officer lineup, the lodge easily conferred the degree without much fanfare, with the exception of honored Brother Ian Cawley tickling the ivory keys during the degree — something that was unplanned and was a first for the lodge’s Senior Warden.

Brothers Hunter Bronson and John Giler also filled out a few important seats for the first time, namely the Senior Warden and Tiler positions, consecutively.

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