Oriental Chapter No.128 Inspection

Yesterday REC Young and I went to West Salem for the inspection of Oriental Chapter No. 128.   West Salem is about 25 miles south of Medina in Wayne County's Amish Community.  My daughter Audra lives just outside of West Salem so Julia went along to visit with the grandkids while I went to the inspection

Now this is a small country lodge that has an old church for a building. It still has the stained glass windows  and is a nice building.   Lodge, Chapter and O.E.S. all meet here and I have attended many meetings of all three bodies.  I am an honorary member of Oriental Chapter No.128 due to number of times I've attended their meetings and worked in degrees.

Now when you first enter the anteroom you aren't sure you are in the correct fraternal organization because of the critter staring down at you from near the ceiling.









But you are really in a masonic lodge as the next set of pictures show.   The stained glass windows in the east and west make beautiful backdrops for these stations.   There is a small window in the north but I could not get a picture of it because of the veils.

One unique feature of the lodge room is that the south wall is made up of roll-up doors.   I have seen these doors open to give more seating room at a Symbolic Lodge inspection.  As you can see last night the front row was made up of O.E.S. chairs.

The Chapter was opened full form in a fine manner by EC Virgil Kline.   There were two candidates for the degree.  A third candidate was supposed to be there but we had some bad weather and he apparently could not make it.   The candidates, Bill Irwin and Alex Prochazka, were introduced, other introductions made and at 8:10 PM the degree began.

EC Tom Crosky was Jeshua.  Normally I don't point out cast members but I need to make an exception here.   EC Crosky is a 50 year plus mason including 50 years in Priory.   He is a PM of Harrisville Lodge, one of my lodges,  serving the first time in 1959.   He is 86 years old and about as active in the fraternity as anyone in the district.   He is also a Deputy in the Oddfellows, and belongs to Rebeccas.  I don't know how many times he and his wife Fern have been in the east in O.E.S. but it is plenty.  They were Julia and my co-workers in 1993.

The degree was done quite well and we now have two more Royal Arch Masons in the 10th Capitular District.  The picture includes the candidates, Chapter officers, DDGHP and me.   EC Crosky is just to my right.

Now a less happy note.   REC Porter informed us that MEC Robert Crabbs is not in the best of health at this time.   He has blood clots in both legs.   One is 18 inches long and the other is 21 inches long.  Both are about the diameter of a pencil.  These are giving MEC Crabbs a great deal of pain.   I would asked that the Chapters and Companions send him cards.   His address is Robert D. Crabbs, 1871 Rock Road Route 3, Mansfield, OH 44903.

I would like to say dry road, good ritual work and great Companionship, however the roads are partly snow covered.   But two out of three isn't so bad!

'til the next time.