Historian's Report
Oasis Lodge #41

Oasis Lodge kicked off the 2008 – 2009 year with a fantastic installation ceremony for our new Worshipful Master, Frank Bolshazy, as well as the other officers. The ritual work was solemn and dignified, reminding us all of our commitment and dedication to the Masons. Our Worshipful Master laid out his vision for the new year, focusing on brotherhood, family, education and charity. He explained his plan to host family nights as well as continuing the scholarship program for graduating high school seniors. While none of this is new to us, it is great to have a clear focus for the year. All our work as Masons should be geared towards increasing brotherhood among all people, strengthening our own families and the families in our communities, promoting education with our children and the children in our city, and giving as much as we can of our time and resources to worthy charities and charitable organizations.

Family Events

Family is a very important part of Masonic Brotherhood. Our time at the Lodge is special and important, but it also takes away from our time spent with our own families. The times we included our wives and children in our Lodge activities brings the two most important elements of our lives together. The Installation Ceremony included wives and children in one of our most solemn celebrations, and honored our Lodge in a significant way. It is crucial for us to be explicit about the importance of our Masonic Lodge in our lives, especially with our children, so they will grow to understand the important role Masons have played in history and the importance Masons will continue to play in history.

$C:\Documents and Settings\BechtDE\Desktop\SK32.jpg$ Over the Presidents’ Day long weekend we invited Lodge members to bring their families to enjoy a pot luck dinner and a movie. It was a joint venture with Nellis Lodge; they provided a great dinner and we offered cherry pies with ice cream. For the big eaters of the Lodge, it was a slice of heaven! The movie was an excellent history of the life of George Washington, one of our most illustrious Masons. The dinner and movie provided Lodge members and their families a great opportunity to meet new friends, reconnect with old friends, and share a meal.

In keeping with Worshipful Master Bolshazy’s focus on fraternity and family, our Lodge deepened the association with the Rainbow Girls and DeMolay. Working with these two youth groups, populated with daughters and sons of Masons, will spread the word of Freemason’s focus on brotherhood, education, family, and charity. These groups also offer us an opportunity to help young adults discover their leadership potential, and bring us all together in community and learning. In conjunction with the Rainbow Girls, we offered a Shadow Night for our Lodge members, giving our members the opportunity to witness the work of the Rainbow Girls firsthand. This experience increased the awareness of our brothers in what the Rainbow Girls do and how they implement the ideologies of the Masons, and will make promoting the Rainbow Girls as a service organization more likely in future discussions with young girls.

$C:\Documents and Settings\BechtDE\Desktop\CIMG1499.JPG$ The DeMolay Boys visited our Lodge this year as well. The focus of this group is to increase the knowledge of the Masons through the sons of Masons, with attention paid to developing leadership skills and individual abilities among the members. The boys were presenting a fundraising pitch to the members, selling advertising space in their Yearbook. P.M. James Beggs, in the photo, is the liaison between our Lodge and the DeMolays. He works closely with the boys, including hosting parties, dances, and fundraisers. This fundraiser pays for the expenses incurred by their Conclave, held in Reno, along with the DeMolay Congress. As always, our brothers believe in this organization and did their best to help defray the costs of the trips and gatherings.

$C:\Documents and Settings\BechtDE\Desktop\SK26.jpg$ One of our brothers and P.M., Scott Kelley, left us for a tour of duty with the army in Afghanistan. Family and friends of Scott joined brothers at the Lodge for a delicious chicken dinner, presentations of gifts for Scott, and a heartfelt prayer for his safety in Afghanistan and the safety of his family here in Las Vegas.

$C:\Documents and Settings\BechtDE\Desktop\SK30.jpg$ Scott was honored by the presence of seven Past Masters, and roasted a bit during the presentation of gifts. Scott isn’t a man of many words—definitely a man of action—so the few words of thanks he shared with us were touching and meaningful. Since he was always active in our Lodge, his absence is noticeable. Currently he stays in contact with our Lodge through email updates, and he knows that he and his family are always in our prayers. These updates are read monthly at our Stated Meetings, and are filled with Scott’s unique brand of humor. His experiences as a soldier in the desert sand of Afghanistan are hilarious, as many former military brothers can relate to his escapades. Most of all though, we miss Scott’s lectures during ritual work. Our Lodge is filled with brothers who bring a level of intensity and passion to the ritual work, but Scott’s expertise stands out as exemplary. His absence has been filled by worthy brothers, who have dedicated the necessary time and attention to mastering the ritual work and performing to the high level that is the standard of our Lodge.

Education Series

$C:\Documents and Settings\BechtDE\My Documents\My Pictures\iPhoto Library\Originals\Freemasons\Freemasons\CIMG1393.JPG$ Education is very important to us; the education of the children of our city as well as our own education. To further our knowledge of the crafts, we held monthly lectures on a variety of Masonic topics, presented by members of our Lodge. Topics ranged from educational to humorous, and all deepened our sense of brotherhood and increased our commitment to personal and community educational goals. The history of Masonry is detailed and extensive; learning about our forefathers brings a sense of pride and connection to the Masons who have come before us. In the photo, P.M. David Laino presents one of his excellent lectures which contributed to everyone’s understanding of Mason history and the great leaders in American history who were a part of our Masonic tradition. A tremendous amount of research went into each lecture and presentation, so we thank every brother who contributed to our Lodge in this manner.

As part of our Public School Observance, this school year our Lodge gave away two scholarships of $500.00 each, to Las Vegas high school seniors. Daylight Lodge also gave two scholarships of $500.00 each to two high school seniors. Our Lodge hosted the Scholarship Night with the Daylight Lodge, and we brought in a jazz band from Lied Middle School to add to the festivities. Our Lodge gave a scholarship to one senior from Basic High School and one senior from Valley High School. Both students were selected based on their giving nature, academic achievement, and outstanding contributions to family and community, all of which are cornerstones of Masonic life. They were very thankful for this financial contribution in their pursuit of a college degree.

Visitors to the Lodge

Throughout the year we hosted many visiting brothers from the Las Vegas valley, the state of Nevada, and even the greater world. We were graced with a visit from brothers from Germany, England, the Philippines, and New Zealand. Visitors to Oasis Lodge are given a first time visitor’s pin, a long-standing tradition within our Lodge. This year, Worshipful Master Bolshazy had commemorative poker chips created to give to our visitors as well. These were extremely popular with our out of town guests, as a unique memento that few other lodges could provide. At times we were visited by brothers from other lodges, who came to watch and learn from our ritual work and Lodge procedures. Many of our Lodge members are asked to travel around the state because of their expertise and experience in Masonry ritual and procedures. It is an honor for our Lodge to be exemplary and a guide for other Mason Lodges.

$C:\Documents and Settings\BechtDE\My Documents\My Pictures\iPhoto Library\Originals\Freemasons\Freemasons\CIMG1395.JPG$ Beyond out of town visitors, our Lodge was visited by other Masonic bodies, promoting fraterniy, soliciting membership, or help with projects. Oasis Lodge has very active brothers, and we are proud of the work they do in our Blue Lodge. We are equally proud though of the fact that so many of our brothers are involved in other Masonic bodies as well. We hosted a visiting delegation of Shriners who joined us that evening to promote a social event to be held at the Zelzah Shrine. In discussions with the visiting Shriner delegation, it was good to learn what their mission is and how they serve the Las Vegas community. This year we also participated in the joint Scottish Rite Reunion between Nevada and Illinois. Oasis Lodge had several members raised to the 32^nd Degree during the weekend-long reunion, and our Lodge distributed commemorative Oasis Lodge baseball caps to all participants.

$C:\Documents and Settings\BechtDE\Desktop\GM's visit 05.jpg$ Perhaps our greatest visit this year came from Most Worshipful David O. Martinez, Grand Master of Masons in Nevada, as well as the other officers from Grand Lodge. Having Grand Lodge come to visit is an exciting time but also a stressful time; we worked very hard to make sure our ritual work was perfect for this delegation. During this visit we were treated to Most Worshipful Martinez’s vision for Masonry in Nevada; he is an excellent speaker and very dignified. Throughout his presentation he encouraged us to make the Masonic principles evident in our daily lives through our words and actions; he exhorted us to focus on fraternity, family and education. He provides us with a great example of how current day Freemans live, behave and work in their communities.

Ritual Work

Throughout the year our Lodge has been involved in the raising of several Master Masons, taking those brothers through all three degrees. We have always taken great pride in our degree work, maintaining high standards. This year we have pushed ourselves to branch out and learn parts that were unknown. Officers were expected to learn parts that were above their stations, which allowed brothers to cover positions if someone fell ill or was not able to make the meeting. This procedure helped us maintain consistency in our ritual work, since we all took responsibility for the continuity of our Lodge, from the newest of our brothers to the most senior members of our Lodge. To paraphrase what our Worshipful Master Bolshazy says at the opening of Lodge, it’s the touch of a Master that makes all the difference in a Lodge. Oasis Lodge is blessed with regular attendance and participation from a vast number of Past Masters, not only from our Lodge but from the state of Nevada as well as the United States of America. We learn so much from their wisdom and guidance; it is a major part of what makes Oasis Lodge unique and steadfast.

Conclusion

There is no conclusion to Freemasons—ours is a history that will continue to the end of time. With that goal, Oasis Lodge is planning for the future with an eye on our illustrious history. Our work will continue in service to our community and a special focus on the youth of Las Vegas. On September 20^th, 2009, many of our brothers will participate in the Crowning of the Worthy Advisor of Las Vegas Assembly #9 for the Rainbow Girls. We have a family night and bar-b-que planned for the members of Oasis Lodge, as a welcome back celebration.

$C:\Documents and Settings\BechtDE\Desktop\CIMG0157.JPG$ This last photograph is a great example of the brotherhood of Freemasons and the Oasis Lodge. Joey Hofilena, raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason, with his father and extended family members in attendance, demonstrates the familial bonds that make up Masonry. Our grandfathers, fathers, uncles, and brothers have been Masons, and it is up to us to continue the work and tradition of making good men better.