The January Stated Meeting of a Lodge is always a busy affair. There’s a delicious meal, a standard list of important business to attend to, and a bevy of presentations. This year, Kenton Lodge was also honored to receive Most Worshipful Brother Mark L. Posler, Grand Master of Oregon Freemasons, for his Official Visit.

The evening began with the scent of the kitchen wafting throughout the building to gently welcome each person as they opened the front door. With his final preparations complete, Kenton’s Junior Warden Valan Primus announced the meal and Chaplain Zack Keirsey offered a prayer. The Junior Warden and his Stewards, Doug Kirkbride and Derek Shaw, then served a delicacy which has come to be known as “Kenton’s Famous Fried Rice.” If you haven’t had the chance to try this particular dish you are missing a rare treat. Indeed you may well have heard talk about this culinary delight, at least among Masonic circles in the Pacific Northwest. The exact recipe is a closely guarded secret known only to Honored Brother Primus and thankfully he is kind enough to prepare it for the Lodge on special occasions.

Worshipful Brother Ian Cawley interrupted the meal to make a presentation about one of the evening’s VIPs and to give her a gift from the Lodge.  In Freemasonry we like to say that we “make good men better” – thus we make those men better friends, or fathers, or husbands. That may be true; but, it is important that we Masons remember to take a step back and think about how the people in our daily lives also shape who we are. That we think about how our friends, or children, or wives make us better Brothers to the Craft than we would be without them. The members of Kenton Lodge have been blessed to have Sarah Palileo in their lives. For years and years she has been supportive of her husband’s passion for Freemasonry as he has served the Lodge. She has invited many of us into her home, including multiple holiday dinners (featuring some of the most deftly cooked turkey that has ever been cooked). And so, on behalf of WB Blake Presswood & his officers, WB Cawley presented Sarah with a small token of our appreciation: a pair of earrings made of natural amethyst with accent diamonds and set in 14k white gold.

As the meal was coming to is natural conclusion, MWB Posler spoke to those present about the charities that he is promoting during his year as Grand Master. In addition to the typical Masonic Charities supported perennially by the Grand Lodge, MWB Posler has been raising money to benefit the Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp. Located in Rhododendron, Oregon, the camp’s mission statement is that they will “help empower children and adults with developmental disabilities through equitable access to the outdoors and recreation.” The camp is approaching its 90th anniversary of providing its campers with the highlight of their year.

With appetites sated, the Brethren made their way to the Lodge room and donned their aprons for the main event of the evening.

Stated Meeting Highlights

The Lodge was honored to receive MWB Mark L. Posler, Grand Master of A.F. & A.M. of Oregon. Accompanying him on his official visit were:

• Right Worshipful Brother Gary Ball, Grand Treasurer
• RWB Adam Bayer, District Deputy for District No. 3
• RWB James Munson, District Deputy for District No. 4
• RWB Daniel De La Rosa, District Deputy for District No. 9
• WB Dale Palileo, Grand Orator
• WB Ian Cawley, Grand Organist

HB Aaron Clark was installed as Senior Deacon of the Lodge.

A cadre of Brothers from Salem Lodge No. 4 were welcomed, including: 

• WB Anthony Chase – Past Master, Current Secretary, President of The Low Twelve Club
• WB Andrew Zobrist, Past Master
• Bro. J.C. Field, Current Senior Deacon
• Bro. Joe Brinsfield, Current Junior Deacon
• Bro. Gary Fleming, Current Junior Steward
• Bro. Mason Boen

The Grand Master was presented with his own “Kenton Wings” lapel pin. A nascent tradition at Kenton Lodge is to present its members with bronze, silver, and finally gold “Kenton Wings” lapel pins as they earn their basic, intermediate, and advanced proficiency cards. As the Grand Master is the ultimate authority when it comes to the Masonic Ritual and Code, the Lodge thought it was only fitting that MWB Posler should be presented with his own golden “Kenton Wings.”

Two Resolutions were read and tabled for votes at the February 9th Stated Meeting.

The Lodge approved the 2023 Budget and the Worshipful Master announced his committees.

The Outgoing Secretary was honored for his 8+ years of service to the Lodge. With the Lodge at ease, WB Cawley spoke about WB Dale Palileo and the pivotal role he has played at Kenton Lodge over the last decade. For nearly all of the Kenton Masons sitting in the meeting, WB Palileo was their first Masonic contact, their first lecturer, and their first coach. The full impact WB Palileo has had, and will have, on Kenton Lodge is likely incalculable, nevertheless the Brethren were of one mind that now was the time to honor him for his many years of hard work. WB Presswood gave WB Palileo a large golden quill from the Lodge to thank him for his service at the Secretary’s desk. With the assistance of MWB Posler, the Lodge gave WB Palileo an acacia box that enclosed a cushion to hold his golden crossed quills lapel pin (earned after 5 years of service as a secretary); the box also enclosed a stack of cards with personal notes from his Brothers. After many hugs, and a few tears, HB Keirsey presented a large replica of the “Kenton Wings.” The hand-carved piece was given to the Lodge and its dedicating plaque reads: “‘Kenton Wings’ | Dedicated in honor of WB Dale Palileo | Worshipful Master 2014 | Secretary 2015-2022 | Thank you for your faithful and tireless service to Kenton Lodge No. 145 A.F. & A.M. | Your efforts have left an indelible mark on this Lodge.”

The Grand Master gave his remarks. MWB Posler thanked the Brethren of Kenton for their warm welcome. He then gave detailed thoughts about how important it is that new Freemasons are having experiences that match up with their high expectations of the Craft. He talked about how certain Grand Lodge programs are aimed at helping Lodges meet those expectations and that even lodges with robust engagement may find valuable information contained within them. The Grand Master also mentioned that these programs are not a completed strategy but are evolving over time and thus our feedback is very important.

MWB Posler also spoke in detail about the importance of Masonic Aid. He talked about reticence of so many Brothers to ask for help for themselves when they need it, even when they are so willing to give out help to any of their Brethren. The Grand Lodge has been doing work to streamline the process of referring Brothers for Masonic Aid. Now, MWB Posler asks all of us to do our part by keeping an eye on our Brothers and letting the Grand Lodge know about any Brothers that can use assistance. The Grand Lodge staff will reach out to the Brother, gather information, and then help them access the most applicable assistance that the various Grand Lodge programs may be able to provide.

The Grand Master also announced two important dates:

• Saturday January 28th – Secretary Seminar – Open to all Master Masons [more info]
• Saturday February 25th – Statewide Training Day – Hybrid webinar/in-person event

With harmony prevailing, the Lodge was closed.

The Past Masters Council convened in the library of the Lodge. WB Ryan Whittenburg led the meeting which saw a review of WB Presswood’s first Stated, as well as plans for how the Past Masters can support their Worshipful Master and his Officers throughout the year and beyond.

Once all were joined together again upstairs, WB Presswood made the final presentation of the evening by giving MWB Posler a beautifully engraved box containing a donation to Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp on behalf of Kenton Lodge.

And so, after a few truly jam-packed hours of important business and presentations, everyone delighted in hearing WB Presswood say those welcome words… “Smoke ’em, if you got ’em!”

The remainder of the evening was filled with classic Kenton fellowship over scotch and cigars. The Junior Warden produced a cake and everyone sang Happy Birthday to HB Joshua Wiedeman. The conversations and merriment lasted well into the early morning.

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