Grand Lodge of Hawaii

At 7:30 am Sunday morning, Beth and I arrived home after a six and a half hour flight and one hour drive back to the Matanuska Valley from Anchorage. We were dead tired from traveling all night, although I suspect I will not garner much sympathy, as we were traveling from Honolulu where I attended the Grand Lodge of Hawaii’s Annual Communication. The session began at 2:00 pm on Friday, April 17 at the beautiful Scottish Rite Cathedral in Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii. The following is a list of Distinguished Guests from other jurisdictions that were present:

MW John R. “Bo” Cline, GM (Grand Lodge of Alaska)
MW Thomas O. Mickey, PGM (Grand Lodge of Alaska)
RW Donald Frizzell, PDDGM (Grand Lodge of BC/Yukon)
MW Richard Hopper, PGM (Grand Lodge of California)
W Cline “Cub” Jack Jr., Asst Grand Lecturer Div VI (Grand Lodge of California)
MW John Livie, PGM (Grand Lodge of Oregon)
RW Michael Sanders, JGW (Grand Lodge of Washington)
MW Fredric Collins, PGM (Grand Lodge of Japan)

It was great to visit with many old friends like Past Grand Masters Phillips, Skinner, Hager, Wieckowicz, Bonnell, and Jayme and to make many new friends. I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to MW Dennis S.A. Ing, Grand Master of Masons in Hawaii for the many courtesies extended during my visit.

At 11:00 am on Saturday, April 18 the elections of Grand Lodge Officers for 2009 – 2010 was completed and found MW Marty P. Alexander advanced to the Oriental East. RW Charles Wegener was elected Deputy Grand Master, RW Monty Glover was elected Senior Grand Warden, and RW Antonio Ligaya was elected Junior Grand Warden.

Following lunch, the new Grand Lodge Officers were installed into their various stations and places. A highlight of the installation was the Hawaiian Blessing ceremony, performed by members of the Royal Order of Kamehameha. This was a beautiful and moving ceremony where water was poured into koa wood bowels held by the Worshipful Masters of each of the constituent lodges, while the Royal Order cantor sang. The water was then poured by each Worshipful Master into another bowel held by the newly installed Grand Master, symbolizing unity.

My only regret is that Beth and I were unable to stay for the Installation Banquet which followed. We were off to the airport for our flight back to Alaska.