Greetings from the West!

             Franklin’s Masonic year just keeps rolling
along and were coming up to the final stretch of 2019.
What a better way to begin the close of the year by the
Raising of new Master Masons. Worshipful Brett and
his line of officers have been hard at work, so the
candidates receive a great degree. Please come out
and support our soon to be new Master Masons, they
are not just our candidates but they are the future of
Franklin and the Craft. A special thank you to W:. Ed
Lowe for stepping in to the role of Senior Deacon, not
just for the degree but for the remainder of the year as
Brother Corey Maclean has accepted a new job out of
the area and had to step out of line. To Brother Corey,
Congratulations and thank you for your service in the
Navy, and we wish you luck if the next chapter of your
life and hope to see you back in lodge soon.

            On Sunday, November 17 Franklin is going to
hosting a Special Ladies Brunch at Franklin Lodge. So
please join us as we treat our Special ladies with a
delicious meal prepared by the brethren of Franklin.
Brunch will be at 1pm and consist of a meal of
Roasted Pork Loin with Apple, Onion Sauce or Baked
stuffed Chicken with Wild Mushroom, Gravy, Mashed
Potatoes, Carrots with Fresh Dill Butter or a Vegetarian
option. Scrambled eggs, Mini Bagels with Cream
Cheese & Sliced, Salmon, Sausage Links. Please
RSVP with Worshipful Brett by Nov 10 at
brettwesterly@gmail.com or (401) 378-6474.
​
           Lastly, another reminder about the Southern
Districts Annual Winter Warmer. It will be held on
Saturday, February 1st, 2020 at the Downey Weaver
Post in Charlestown. Cocktail hour at 5pm, with dinner
at 6pm with raffles and auction to follow. Tickets can
be purchased through franklin20.org/store or via
contacting me directly at rbrunson23@icloud.com or
401-644-4525.
​
Fraternally,
Ralph Brunson P.M.
Senior Warden
Franklin Lodge #20

Greetings from the West!
 
            As we move into fall Franklin Lodge’s candidates have been passed to the degree of Fellow Craft with a special thank you to Worshipful Jim Halderman and the brethren of Hope Lodge.  W:. Jim and his lodge did an amazing job and the candidates were treated with the long form of the Fellow Craft degree, which really isn’t done as much in any lodge any more.   Congratulations to our candidates for taking their next step in Freemasonry.

          So here we are in October already, I’m always amazed on how quick the Masonic year seems to fly by. Even though I haven’t been as active this year as I hoped to be due to the birth of my son and conflict at work, I am still dedicated to Franklin and the Craft.  I have been busy planning for another year in the east for potential programs and more importantly degrees for incoming candidates.  Next year is going to be about the candidate experience.  As I have been thinking on how we as a Lodge can do more to keep our candidates and newly made brethren to keep coming to Lodge, one challenge has come up.  As of this writing Franklin is facing an issue with filling the roles for officers within the Lodge.  I believe each chair is crucial to the lodge and our candidates learning and growing experience in Freemasonry.  So, I am asking that any brother who wishes to help Franklin Lodge and the Craft grow, please reach out to me.  There are a couple key positions that Franklin needs to continue the growth of our candidates and our lodge.  My contact information will be listed below.

         Finally, as I have been planning 2020, I have also been planning the Southern Masonic District’s Annual Winter Warmer.  I have very pleased to announce that it will be help on Saturday February 1st, 2020 at the Downey Weaver Post in Charlestown.  Cocktail hour at 5pm, with dinner at 6pm with raffles and auction to follow.  Tickets can be purchased through franklin20.org/store or via contacting me directly.   For those planning on attending, if within the length of your cable tow, please bring a gift basket or item for the silent auction or raffle.
 
Fraternally,
Ralph Brunson P.M.
Senior Warden
Rbrunson23@icloud.com
401-644-4525

.

Brethren,

       Welcome back! As you hear in every September message, I hope that you enjoyed and/or had a very productive summer. Are you ready to get back into the swing of things? We have three EA’s that are looking forward to their FC degree, on to being Master Masons and then members of our lodge.

​         So Brothers, we have work to do. Speaking of being busy, it was great to hear from W. Brother Gregg Gingerich. He was installed as Worshipful Master of Barrington Lodge #522, Illinois back in July. Check out their website https://www.barringtonmasons.org. Great pictures! He stated that he did have to step down as 2nd NE District Education Officer so that he could focus on the business of the lodge. They are pretty busy. If anyone ever wants a place to stay while in the Chicago area, please reach out to him.
       
       W. Brother Ray Geer just completed his year as President of the National Camping Travelers Club! Wow did that go by quickly. Congratulations on a job well done! For those that didn’t know, W. Br. Ray was recently installed as AGL for Franklin Lodge. I guess now that the business running a National Masonic Camping club is behind him he can focus his attention elsewhere.

        And a job well done to W. Br. Brett Marggraff and Br. Bob Caron who manned the Franklin Lodge booth at Westerly's 350th anniversary celebration in Wilcox park. It was wonderful that we had representation for this occasion. RW Eric Grist stopped in for an assist. Thank you Brother! Hope Mitchell PM. and Arielle Poulin WM were also there to represent Deborah Chapter OES and Westerly Assembly IORG. It sounds like it was a good day indeed. And no, I don’t think that is what we are having for dinner. :-)

Daniel Rzewuski, PM
​Secretary

Brethren,

Our Worshipful Master is busy taking care of some family
business. While he is squaring things away there are some
important things going on that the Brethren need to be
informed of.

Mt. Vernon has been gracious enough to extend an
invitation to allow our EA’s to go through their Fellow Craft
Degree with them. We don’t have a date and time for that
yet but we will release that information as soon as we have
it. It is important that we go and support them at Mt.
Vernon when the time comes.

The DDGM visitation to Charity Lodge has been pushed up
to this month. You might be thinking, “Hey W. Br.
Secretary, we just went to Charity for the DDGM
visitation”. Yes we did, but our new DDGM RW Eric Grist
has requested the opportunity to enjoy his visitation to
Charity Lodge be in their outdoor lodge. They have also
changed the date. Instead of meeting on a Thursday they
have decided to meet on Saturday June 15th opening at
12:00. They will have cheese and crackers for friends and
family available inside their dining hall while the Brethren
conduct the meeting. They will keep it short, breaking for a
cook out to follow the meeting. So, please if you can, mark
June 15th 12:00 on your calendar and bring your family
down to Charity Lodge. They have received dispensation
allowing members and officers to switch from tuxedo to
white collared shirts and dark slacks for their summer
meetings. So, leave your tux at home. Officers, wear your
jewels and apron.

What’s going on at Franklin you ask? W. Br. Ralph Brunson
did an excellent job welcoming our previous DDGM RW
Gilbert Fontes Jr. into the lodge at our last meeting.
Apparently sitting back in the East is like riding a bike.
Strawberry shortcake is back by popular demand! You have
asked and Br. Bob Caron has promised to deliver. Before
we go dark for the summer he will be bringing back this
popular Franklin Lodge tradition for our June meeting. Our
candidates are moving along nicely and Br. Caron and the
Foundation has several projects planned for the summer. It
looks like the front porch will be getting a new coat of paint
and the fire pit along with the horse shoe pit in the back is
moving along quite nicely. We look forward to years of new
memories back there!

See everyone on the 11th!
​
Daniel Rzewuski, P.M.
Secretary , Franklin Lodge #20

Wardens and Brethren,
Greetings Brethren,

First off, thank you to all the brethren that
attended Hope Lodge’s District Deputy Visitation.
We had 10 brethren attend and I heard a Hope
Lodge brother comment “There’s Franklin’s
Army”. Music to one’s ears. We had a great EA
degree done at Charity Lodge in March for two of
our candidates and have one coming up at
Franklin in April for an additional candidate,
making 3 EA’s. May’s meeting is RWDDGM Gil
Fontes Visitation to Franklin Lodge, so PLEASE
mark your calendar. We need a full house to
support Gil and his GMC Jason Nystrom. Some
things coming up in the next few months include
our annual CHIP event at the Westerly Y.M.C.A,
an Open House, and a Table Lodge. But a big
challenge that faces us is to fill the shoes of a
Brother who has moved down to Texas. W.
Leverett F. Andrews, Jr. has been our Musical
Director for many years. When he is absent,
meetings just do not have the warmth and grace
that they do when his hands are on the ebony
and ivory. We will miss him dearly but hope he
has many joyful years ahead down in the warmth
of Texas and I plan to visit once he gets affiliated
with a lodge.
​
I hope the warming weather is seeing you all in
good health,

Fraternally,
Brett Marggraff
Master, Franklin Lodge #20

Wardens and Brethren,

Greetings.

We have three challenges coming up, two of
which are a big part of Franklin Lodge being
able to earn the Grand Master’s Award,
those being visitations by the Right
Worshipful District Deputy Grand Master Gil
Fontes and his Grand master of Ceremonies
Worshipful Jason Nystrom. The first one is
Hope Lodges Visitation on Wednesday
March 13th. Then our good friends at Charity
Lodge have their Visitation on Thursday April
18th. Those two events are two of the three
most difficult for Franklin, but with planning
and some praying I know we can get it done.
I will be going over some additional small
projects that we need to do which can most
probably be done by just a couple brethren
attacking each task. I will also will be
reviewing Franklin’s annual “Clam Bake”
with some possible options. And last but not
least will be reviewing upcoming candidate
ritual work as well as assigning Trestle
Board parts. They should be the same parts
that you previously had, so no memorizing of
new text.

May the Great Architect of the Universal
watch over us, guide us and make us all
better Masons and gentlemen.
​
Fraternally,
Brett Marggraff
Master, Franklin Lodge #20

Wardens and Brethren,

As our January regular communication
approaches, I have the pleasure of wishing
you all a very Happy New Year even as my
Masonic year comes to a close. But
although we are almost done with the labors,
there is yet one more thing to do.

In our January meeting, we will be raising
Brother Patrick Mahoney-Balestrucci to the
sublime degree of Master Mason. As the
Brothers and I have been working diligently
to squeeze in what practices we can during
the holidays and our own time, I have had
ample opportunity to reflect on the manifold
meanings of our greatest ritual. I think I can
speak for all the present officers when I say
that this is a labor of love and sacrifice,
much like that of our lost Grand Master.

As Solomon's temple bound Israel to God in
both a physical and spiritual way, so too, I
think, does our recapitulation of the story of
its construction bind us all closer together as
Brothers, and to the Great Creator in the
Heavens.

I eagerly look forward to your attendance
and participation in this degree!
Fraternally,
​
Joseph Giancaspro
Master, Franklin Lodge #20