Letter of the month: September 1996

Date: Sun, 15 Sep 1996 08:43:38 -0700
From: Randy & Pat 
To: dryfoo@MIT.EDU
Subject: Gift for my brother


My brother has recently been initiated as the Grand Master of the Lodge 
in Tremont, Illinois.  I am looking for an appropriate gift to honor him 
for the occasion.  Can you offer suggestions?  My e-mail address is: 
rebus@ibm.net   Many thanks!   Pat Goller


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To: Randy & Pat 
Subject: Re: Gift for my brother 
In-reply-to: Your message of "Sun, 15 Sep 1996 08:43:38 PDT."
             <323C242A.105D@ibm.net> 
--------

} My brother has recently been initiated as the Grand Master of the Lodge 
} in Tremont, Illinois.  I am looking for an appropriate gift to honor him 
} for the occasion.  Can you offer suggestions?  My e-mail address is: 
} rebus@ibm.net   Many thanks!   Pat Goller

Congratulations!  Due to the way you phrased it, I must ask: He's the
new Grand Master of all Masons in the State of Illinois, or he's the new
Master of a single lodge, in Tremont IL?  (If he's a master, he'll be
embarrassed if you keep telling people he's the Grand Master.  There's a
just a little difference between the two :-)

In either case, you can 1) ask members of his lodge or 2) look through a
Masonic catalog.

A traditional gift for a new master is his own personal gavel, but in
some lodges it is the custom for the lodge officers to buy that for him,
while in others, the custom is for his family to do it.

A master in most jurisdictions wears a top-hat.  If he hasn't got his
own, again ask a friend of his in the lodge if that would be a good
gift.

Another possibility would be a Masonic book or set of books.  If he
likes to read, but hasn't had much chance to read Masonic books before,
there are two nice sets that have traditionally been popular, Coil's
Masonic Encyclopedia (revised this year, in one volume), and a very
attractive set "The Little Masonic Library" in five small volumes,
(either is about $65 or $70).  If he's a real reader and has already
read both of those, and others besides, there's a new book about Masonry
in the early USA by an author named Bullock.

You can find out about the Bullock book at back my web-site.  Go to
http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/www/Masons/ and look for "Special book offer!"

You can find all the other stuff (books, hats, gavels, and a bunch more)
in the Macoy catalog:

	Macoy Publishing & Masonic Supply Co., Inc
	3011 Old Dumbarton Road
	P.O. Box 9759
	Richmond, VA  23228-0759
	804.262-6551, 800.637-4640

You can call them and ask them to send their catalog.  You can look
through it for ideas (maybe Masonic ring or watch?) but again, it
wouldn't be a bad idea to talk to one of his friends in the lodge before
deciding.

On the other hand, if he really is the Grand Master of all of Illinois,
I have no idea what would be a good gift.  You could talk to one of the
other Grand Officers (Grand Secretary, one of the Grand Wardens) and get
an idea from them.

Good luck,

+---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Gary L. Dryfoos     ofc: 617.253-0184 fax: 617.253-8665
| P.O.Box 505, Cambridge, MA 02142    http://web.mit.edu/dryfoo/www/Masons/
| Master, Mt. Scopus Lodge AF&AM, Malden, Mass. (1994-present)
| P.M. Ocean Lodge AF&AM, Winthrop, Mass. (1988-90, 1991-93)
| Member, Masonic Brotherhood of the Blue Forget-Me-Not
|    "...one sacred band, or society of Friends and Brothers, among
|     whom no contention should ever exist, save that noble contention,
|     or rather emulation, of who best can work and best agree."
+===========================================================================