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Greetings from the Corner Desk- January 2022

Dear Brothers,

I have been moving books from home to my office. (At home, they pile up and annoy my wife; at the office, they pile up and nobody has any say in the matter!) One of them was my copy of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. This morning, it popped open to this: Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Just be one! (10.16)

I appreciate a good discussion, of course, but there’s something to be said for simply following Nike’s advice: Just Do It!

In my line of work, I often talk with people who lament the fact they aren’t the kind of people they think they “ought” to be or the kind of people they want to be. The former is less important to me (I have limited patience for all the “What I should have done…” ), but the latter matters to me greatly. This is true especially within our Brotherhood – we exist to become better men and make the world a better place.

Without those two things, Masonry has no raison d’être – no reason to exist.

As we embark on another calendar year, let us be reminded our Brotherhood is here to help each one of
us become “all that we can be.”

Grace and peace,
Tim TenClay, Secretary

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Greetings from the South- January 2022

A happy and healthy New Year to my Brothers of Jephtha Lodge! As we head into 2022, my thoughts are darkened with concern as we see COVID cases climb, and we will again be forced into limiting groups and wearing face coverings. Who knows what 2022 will hold for us? I am reminded of the foundations of this great institution

  • Faith, Hope and Charity.

Faith, that whatever is instore for us in 2022 we have faith the Great Architect of the Universe has a plan. We may not fully understand it, but it is there, and we have our Brothers for the support we need to carry whatever load might be needed.

Hope, that the year will be a better, brighter year for us all. One filled with putting this dreaded plague behind us. That we might safely return to all our usual activities without fear.

Charity, remembering in 2022 we should make the world a little better than the one we found at the close of 2021. That we be that light that casts out the darkness of the world. That we touch someone’s life, remind our community why Masonry exists, and give reason as to why we do the things we do.

My Brothers, on top of the usual greetings of Happiness and Good Health in the New Year, I also bring you greetings of Faith, Hope and Charity to herald in the new year!

January will be a busy month in the South. The Stewards and I will be busy preparing our collation for January 10th. In addition, we have the District Deputy Grand Master’s visit on the 24th and we will be making sure we put Jephtha’s best food forward that evening. We are always looking for new Brothers to lend a hand, so if part of your New Year’s resolution is helping more around the lodge, or even learning about cooking… We can be of assistance!

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Br. William P Fenty III
Junior Warden

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Greetings from the West – January 2022

My Dear Brothers,

In November, I spoke to you of Fortitude in remembrance of Veterans Day. This January’s choice is Temperance, which is the virtue of moderation while being forgiving and patient. To me, with day-to-day stress, continual testing of our patience, increased road rage, and daily life elevated with uncertainty, Temperance is the perfect virtue to demonstrate self-control. It is perfect to add to any 2022 New Year’s resolutions since it can help us maintain balance in our lives and moderate bad habits.

Years ago, after working at Ground Zero, I decided to quit smoking, replacing my smoking habit with peppermint balls. In 2021 I found out my replacement was causing my sugar to rise, so I immediately gave them up, which was easier than giving up smoking cold turkey, and to me a perfect steppingstone to do so.

Temperance doesn’t always mean abruptly stopping a bad habit but recognizing it, substituting it for something less damaging, and eventually moderating it. Temperance gives us the free will to do so. It also means keeping stability in our lives since it doesn’t involve removing all pleasures but balancing them. Temperance shouldn’t consume our lives, but help keeping everything in check.

Let’s remember our resolutions – eating less, making more money, paying off bills, being kinder or more charitable, but always remember what led us to making these resolutions. If we are worried about bills, in most cases it’s because we have a roof over our heads, paying for a child’s college or a car loan. If we resolve to lose weight, it’s because we have food on our tables. Making a resolution to be more charitable, means we recognize what we have, and understand there are those who have less, or have bad luck in life. We all will experience difficult times or situations, but we, as Masons, have each other’s Brotherly Love and guidance to elevate us to a more spiritual level.

As Senior Warden, I experience Masonic wealth traveling to other lodges, which I have done in the past, but more so now as I move toward Master. I’m meeting new bothers while becoming even closer to ones I have known for years. It was an honor to visit our Prince Hall Bothers of African 459 Lodge #63 in Brooklyn, witnessing their installation and seeing the differences in how we do rituals. Recently, I observed de Molay installations, something I had never seen before, and it was a distinct honor. I was also present at the Truth Triangle officers’ installation, another glorious night. These young men and women are our future. Gathering with my bothers at the Past Masons’ Dinner was a beautiful night. The Gala was impressive, the speeches on how Masonry has touched all our hearts was amazing, and the fact that Santa arrived was even better. Nothing sticks out in my mind more than hearing W:. Rich Harris yell in utter
excitement, “SANTA!!!” when he arrived.

I’d like to share an anecdote I recently read: “One day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country for the sole purpose of showing his son how it was to be poor. They spent a few days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

After their return from the trip, the father asked his son how he liked the trip. “It was great, Dad,” the son replied. “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Oh Yeah,” said the son.

“So what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. The son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

“We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.”

“We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.” The boy’s father was speechless. Then his son added, “It showed me just how poor we really are.” (Author unknown, translated from the original Chinese.)

Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don’t have. What is one person’s worthless object is another’s prized possession. It is all based on one’s outlook. Sometimes it takes the perspective of a child to remind us of what is important.

Enjoy a happy and safe new year, and always remember to treat every new day as you do on New Year’s Day, resolving to be a better person and a better you.

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Michael S. Crispino, Jr
Senior Warden

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January 2022

Happy New Year my Brothers! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your friends and family.

R:. W:. Gary L. Heinmiller, Grand Historian, has officially announced Jephtha’s own W:. Ron Seifried, DSA as the Area 1 Historian for the Nassau & Suffolk Masonic Districts, which covers 26 lodges. Br. Seifried is humbled by this honor
and hopes his work with the Grand Historian, our local lodges and the other area historians in New York will be an educational experience for all New York Masons. Congratulations to Br. Seifried on this huge accomplishment.

I attended my first DeMolay installation where Tristan Schulbaum, son of Br. Brian Schulbaum, was installed Master Councilor of The Knights of Antiquity Chapter No. 33150 Order of DeMolay at Riverhead Lodge on December 5, 2021. Congratulations to the Schulbaum family on this impressive achievement!

2022 will bring more wonderful Masonic memories I cannot wait to share with you. Our second meeting of the year will be the District Deputy visit on January 24, 2022, at 7 PM. This is a very important meeting and I encourage all brothers to attend. You will meet the officers who oversee the Suffolk Masonic District and enjoy a night of Brotherly Love.

February 19, 2022, will be the Jephtha Lodge Mardi Gras event. This night is open to friends and families of Masons. It will feature New Orleans cuisine that I’m sure all will enjoy.

March 13, 2022, is the St. Patrick’s Day event at Jephtha Lodge. This event is open to all. Ticket price and time will be available soon. Please save these February and March dates.

I encourage all of you to come to Jephtha Lodge whenever you can. Travel the district and see other lodges as well. Please always follow safety guidelines and procedures while doing so. Until we meet again, health and wellness my Brothers.

Sincerely & Fraternally Yours,
W:. Jeremiah Campbell

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Fayette Gould: Photographer, Inventor, Firefighter, Postmaster… Jephtha Past Master

By W:. Ronald J. Seifried, DSA

Fayette Gould in the mid-nineteenth century

Over a thousand visiting firemen descended on Huntington’s Main Street, joined by over 7,000 residents, on a seasonably pleasant day in September 1898. Many of the firemen would participate in the annual tournament of the Suffolk County Firemen’s Association with some traveling from as far as Montauk.

Visiting companies from Cold Spring Harbor and Northport arrived in wagons, with their engines, hook and ladder trucks and hose carriages being pulled by horses. Firemen from Hicksville arrived by train and their engines came on an entirely different mode of transportation, horse-drawn wagons. The steamer “Park City” carried the Port Jefferson Fire Department, while the Oyster Bay Fire Department arrived on the steamer “Portchester.” Dozens of other Suffolk and Nassau Fire Department’s travelled on the main line of the Long Island Railroad. When all had arrived, an impressive line of firemen formed on Nassau Avenue between the train station and Huntington village.

A bearded, bespectacled older gentleman looked across the long procession of brave men, gazing admirably at how local towns were able to organize fire departments across the rural, pre-suburbia Long Island terrain. The distinguished
gentleman was very familiar with the challenges of organizing a fire department. He was Fayette Gould, organizer of the Huntington Fire Department and their First Foreman.

He was also a local Freemason for 34 years and three-time Past Master of Jephtha Lodge No. 494. But Fire Department Foreman and Freemason are a fraction of the complete biography of Fayette Gould. Born in Huntington in March 1824, the son of Edward E. Gould, he was an especially gifted person. By his early 20’s, Gould was a local jeweler, watchmaker, and western Suffolk’s first photographer. The photo studio, Gould & Fancher, was located atop a staircase adjoining the Suffolk Hotel parlor on the southwest corner of Main Street and New York Avenue. A talented musician, Gould was the choir master of the Central Presbyterian Church in Huntington, and constructed pipe organs for many of the local churches.

Fayette Gould, 1898

In 1848, Gould started plans to create a new, unincorporated Fire Protection Company with limited resources of equipment, including ladders and leather buckets. Later known as the Father of the Fire Department, Gould expanded the organization in 1858 by securing the approval from the Town Board. His inspiration to form the Fire
Department was to avoid jury duty. After serving on a jury in Riverhead for a week, preventing him to operate his store and costing him income, Gould realized that volunteer firefighters were exempt from jury duty. Their public service was invaluable to residents, and their time would be limited to a fraction of the time serving on a jury.

His engineering skills contributed to his years as a local machinist. The holder of five U.S. Patents filed between 1858 and 1883, his creations included an improved door lock, new calipers, a steering apparatus upgrade for vessels,
improvement in rowlocks and a final patent for a speaking-tube attachment.

Proclaimed “A Huntington Genius” by the local press in 1900, Gould repurposed an item from Masonic Brother and Jephtha Past Master, Captain Hewlett J. Long. Discovered on a South Carolina battlefield near Charleston during the Civil War, Captain Long brought back pieces of a land mine and had them fitted into a clock, which kept good time for many years. After Brother Long’s death in 1899, Gould purchased the clock at the estate sale and reconstructed the clock to include the day’s date, day of the week, month, and year, each on separate dials.

Raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason of Jephtha Lodge in 1864, W:. Gould was elected to three consecutive terms in the East, between 1881 and 1883. Gould passed away at the Flushing home of his son, Edward E. Gould, in 1906 and is interred in Huntington Rural Cemetery.

One of Fayette Gould’s patents for an improved lock, published in Scientific American, December 18, 1858

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Greetings from the Corner Desk- December 2021

It is that time again; the time you have all been waiting for, dues time.

If you have not yet received your dues notice, you will be soon. Jephtha’s dues are among the lowest on Long Island, but they are an essential part of our budget. Please pay them by the end of the year, if at all possible. (If you are in a
situation of financial hardship, let me or one of our officers know. No one at Jephtha wants dues to create a problem for you or your family. Your presence and participation at lodge is more important, and if you need help keeping your dues up to date, we would like to see what we can do.)

As you know, we have tried our best to move away from cash usage at the lodge; this policy remains consistent for our dues collections. We prefer not to receive any dues payments in cash. The best option is to pay through PayPal at: www.jephtha.com/dues, you can also pay by check sent directly to the lodge PO Box: Jephtha Lodge, No 494 F. & A. M. PO Box 20243 Huntington Station, NY 11746.

If you believe your dues notice was incorrect, please contact me directly at: jephthasecretary@gmail.com

I would also like to offer my annual reminders that:

1) You will not be getting a new dues card. The Grand Lodge moved to permanent dues cards several
years ago. If you have lost yours and need a new one, please let me know.

2) If you have changed address, phone number, or email, please let me know so that I can keep our
database as up to date as possible.

Thanks!

Happy Holidays, my Brothers,
Tim TenClay, Secretary

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Greetings from the South- December 2021

My Brothers, I bring you holiday greetings as we head into the end of 2021. I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Happy Kwanza and a Happy, Healthy New Year!

Jephtha Lodge has been getting out to the district of late. In November we attended the District Deputy Grand Master’s visit to the Babylon lodge where Jephtha made an impressive showing with 8 brothers. It was a wonderful event and the hospitality of W:. Chano Rivera, the Wardens and Brothers of Babylon Lodge #793 was warm and inviting.

The Brothers of Jephtha lodge also made a strong showing at the Installation of the officers of Truth Triangle #31. Lead by W:. Jeremiah Campbell, many of the line officers were present for what truly was an inspired evening as the Truth Triangles installed their Beloved Queen, Lilyonna Morales, for her second term. The young ladies of the Truth Triangle #31 presented an exceptional ceremony with outstanding floor and ritual work. We also had present two of Jephtha Lodge’s very own DeMolays, Tristan Schulbaum and Dillon Sloop. It was a great evening and I encourage our brothers to continue showing strong support for our Masonic Youth. They are our future.

In December, Jephtha Lodge will be supporting the Long Island Past Masters Association Holiday Gala on December 13th. This association has long been a supporting body for Suffolk Masons, and our new District Deputy, R:.W:. Jeffrey G. Santorello, made a special request to support this event. Jephtha will answer that call.

We will end the year with a bang with Jephtha Lodge’s New Year’s Eve Party. Details are being planned as of this writing.

2021 has been a trying year. Continued pandemic concerns, a changing economy, apprehension and uncertainty have weighed heavily upon everyone. Jephtha Lodge has continued to do what it always does, be a beacon light in the darkness. As we begin the holiday season and see the festive decorations and lights, we should remember those less fortunate than ourselves. Remember our duty to contribute to helping all members of our community. To support this endeavor, the Benevolence Committee will continue to collect coats, nonperishable foods and toys through the Holiday Party on November 27th. If you have not yet contributed by then, please bring a donation to the party.

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Br. William P Fenty III
Junior Warden

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Greetings from the West – December 2021

My dear Brothers,

Growing up believing in Santa, and still believing in him, it has come to my realization he is indeed a Freemason. Like all of us he is worthy & well qualified, charitable, and caring of all mankind. Like me, he is overweight, and filled with
secrecy who meets in a special place with his brethren, his beloved elves. Santa is the reason for Toys for Tots and delivers his share in vast numbers in a limited amount of time while keeping his identity a mystery and avoiding any type of public display. He shows love for all.

On his yearly route I have concluded he starts from the North Pole in an easterly direction, and that is where we embark on our great Journey in Masonry the moment we become Entered Apprentices, the Northeast Corner of the Lodge.

St. Nicholas, on whom Santa is based, was a wealthy fourth century bishop from Turkey. The legend of Santa coming down the chimney began when St. Nicholas climbed upon the roof of a poor family’s home who couldn’t afford a wedding for the three daughters. He threw three gold coins down the chimney which landed in their stocking hanging by the fireplace and thus enabling them to get married. What differentiates this from my personal Santa experiences is the girls received gold, I usually received coal!

This event is why St. Nicholas has become the Patron Saint of Children. Every December 6th Saint Nicholas visits children on a white horse and asks how they have behaved the previous year. All children leave a pair of shoes with a carrot and hay for St. Nicholas’ horse, and the good children are rewarded with candy and small presents.

These traditions were bought to us by the Dutch settlers. About 150 years later, the poem “The Night Before Christmas,” also known as “A Visit from St. Nicholas” by Clement Clarke Moore, was written with all the details in which we believe today, including flying reindeer with names, with the newest reindeer, Rudolph, added by Robert L. May in 1939.

In my most humble opinion, Santa Claus is a Freemason, not just because of what is mentioned above, but because of the joy and hope he brings to all the world, especially to his cherished children. Although Santa is a Christian belief celebrating the greatest gift God has given us, the birth of his Son, Jesus, other important holidays are also celebrated this time of year – Diwali with lights, gifts, and toys; Hanukkah with its lights and gifts celebrating peace; the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe with singing, dancing and the blessing of roses; Kwanza with art, food and light; and the feast of St. John the Evangelist, one of the two Patron Saints of Freemasonry. We have many traditions in common and what a perfect way to end the year with family and brotherhood, gifts, wonderful food and good cheer.

I especially love the process of choosing the perfect gifts for those I hold dear. Please look at my Facebook page and see the Christmas Village I assisted my daughter in planning, a tradition I love, dedicated to friends & loved ones.

I thank all my Brothers at Jephtha Lodge for a wonderful 2021, and I look forward to a fabulous 2022 together. Enjoy a safe and Happy Holiday Season and a Happy New Year.

Sincerely and Fraternally,
Michael S. Crispino, Jr
Senior Warden

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December 2021

Happy belated Diwali, Happy Hanukkah & Merry Christmas!

I sincerely hope you enjoyed Thanksgiving with your family and friends. During the holiday season our brethren embrace charity and display it to the world. Jephtha continues to help our Veterans and our fellow man with our generous donations. In the midst of a pandemic, we were able to make a difference in the world with our Food and Coat Drive by helping the less fortunate. My brothers, this teaches us that even in the darkest night, our Masonic light shines bright. I thank you all for your continuing support and love of our Craft.

December brings even more joyous events as we embark upon year’s end. Our stated communication of December 13, 2021, will not be at the lodge this year. Jephtha will join the Masonic Suffolk District Long Island Past Masters Association in Sayville for a Holiday Gala. There is a cost for attending this event so please contact our secretary if you plan on attending as seats are limited.

Jephtha will end 2021 with a blast as we bring back New Year’s Eve on December 31, 2021, from 8 PM until midnight, at Jephtha Lodge. All lodges, friends & families of Masons are invited. I hope to see many of you there to ring in the New Year! Health and wellness are all I wish for you and your families. May brotherly love prevail!

See you all again in 2022!

Sincerely & Fraternally Yours,
W:. Jeremiah Campbell

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The Masonic Service Center at Jephtha Lodge

By W:. Ronald J. Seifried, DSA

The month of November has one day set aside to honor all the military veterans who have served the United States Armed Forces. November 11th was chosen for Veterans Day to mark the end of World War I, which was on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Originally named Armistice Day, major U.S. veteran organizations petitioned to rename it Veterans Day in 1954.

Recreation Room at the Bethpage Lodge No. 975 Masonic Service Center in Farmingdale.

It’s no secret Freemasons support those who serve in the military. Many Masons were veterans themselves, and the fraternity had its strongest membership growth in the postwar years, including the Civil War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War. The Masonic Service Association dates to the First World War, when Masons and the federal government were looking to combine their efforts in the support for American troops. The Masonic Service Association was created to be a conduit between the government and the 49 U.S. Grand Lodges operating at the time. The Association expanded into four separate sub-groups: Education, Disaster Relief, Media Relations, and VA Hospital Visitation.

A bearded, bespectacled older gentleman looked across the long procession of brave men, gazing admirably at how local towns were able to organize fire departments across the rural, pre-suburbia

Masonic community activities during World War II included the creation of a national network of U.S.O.- like service clubs by state grand lodges and the Masonic Service Association. During World War II, 90 Masonic Service Centers were formed to service the military throughout the U.S. In the State of New York, eleven Masonic Service Centers were active during the war, each supplying a place that provided meals, recreation, transportation, letter-writing material, and free long-distance phone calls for the servicemen.

The program was developed by Masonic Service Center director Carl H. Claudy and Missouri Past Grand Master, Senator Harry S. Truman.

Brother Truman was raised a Master Mason in 1909 in Belton Lodge, Missouri. He was a charter member of Grandview Lodge and served as its first Worshipful Master. In 1940, during his Senate reelection campaign, Truman was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Missouri. Truman later stated that his election as Grand Master assured his victory in the general election, one further step
closer toward the Presidency. Active in several concordant bodies, including 33° Sovereign Grand Inspector General and an Honorary Member of the Supreme Council at the Supreme Council A.A.S.R. Southern Jurisdiction; member of the Shriners and the Royal Order of Jesters.

Raised as a Master Mason in 1908 in Lodge Harmony No. 17 in Washington D.C., Claudy later served as its Master in 1932 and was elected Grand Master of the District of Columbia in 1943. A prolific author on aviation and photography, Claudy authored over 350 Masonic Talk Bulletins, over a dozen Masonic books
and was the associate editor of the Masonic Service Association magazine, The Master Mason for several years.

But it was the future President who became the national spokesperson of Freemasonry’s support of the war effort, quietly sending out the Masonic signal of distress to all brothers in the nations time of need.

In one radio address early in the war, Brother Truman stated “In the last war, we had 49 Grand Lodges trying to do the work of one. In unity there is strength. This time when our boys come marching home victorious, none will look askance and say where was Freemasonry in this hour of need? Approximately 10% of the boys in the service are Freemasons. Another 15% are close kin of Freemasons. Through the Association, Freemasonry is meeting the challenge of their great need. At this very moment in foxholes and on shipboard, beneath the sea and in the air, countless hands are being clasped in fraternal recognition as brothers find one another in the darkness as well as in the daylight. And countless fathers bravely wishing Godspeed to their departing sons are saying ‘Boy, when your hour of darkness and loneliness come, find a Freemason, and tell him you are the son of a Freemason, and you will find a friend.’ “

“And through our great Association the flower of Freemasonry is being made to bloom in the rocky soil of war’s desolation. And the fruits of Freemasonry are being shared by every boy and girl who wears the uniform. There’s nothing for sale in Masonic service centers. Neither mineral nor metal is the price of Freemasonry service to our boys, and yet our centers are supported without fanfare or public appeal because in our heart glows the great light of charity; unostentatious, but sincere. Each of us giving generously because we have seen the light and heard the cry of the widow’s son.”

The Masonic Service Centers were open to all service members, no matter if they were Freemasons or related to a brother. The Centers were not used as a recruitment center for prospective members, but a place where recreation and community events would help the soldiers keep their minds off the war and enjoy some fellowship. The volunteer hosts and hostesses at the Service Centers would also write thousands of letters to Masonic brothers overseas, offering words of encouragement and support.

Only two Masonic Service Centers were on Long Island for military servicemen: Bethpage No. 975 in Farmingdale and Jephtha No. 494 in Huntington. The Bethpage lodge was co-sponsored with the Bethpage O.E.S. No. 651, and for the duration of the war, thousands of servicemen were entertained with coffee, cake, books, and games by the Farmingdale Service Organization (F.S.O.). All the items were donated to the Service Center and the Bethpage
brothers received letters of gratitude from the deployed servicemen for many years.

The second Service Center on Long Island was only eleven miles away in Huntington Village, where Jephtha No. 494 entertained 6,447 servicemen.

W:. Dana Tuthill

First proposed by Junior Past Master W:. Dana J. Tuthill at the October 27, 1942, Stated Communication, he spoke “of the boys in the Armed Service and their recreation while on a pass on furlough while in Huntington.” Tuthill proposed the second-floor recreation room could be used for the local servicemen. A motion was made and seconded the room was to be used by the men in the armed services, the Temple be properly posted, and to have hostesses and members of the lodge to supervise. On Saturday, November 7, 1942, the Jephtha Lodge Recreation Room was first open to the servicemen, with hours set for reading between 9AM-11AM and recreation from 2PM-11PM.

Within two weeks, the local Service Center was becoming very popular, with up to 200 servicemen spending time at the lodge on a weekly basis. The Trustees realized the 37-year-old lodge building needed some touching up and got to work cleaning the walls, painting the tiled ceiling, installing wainscotting (still in the recreation room today), removing old pictures and even donating a stuffed deer head to the local Elks Lodge. The Trustees spent $500, which is the equivalent of $8,400 in 2021, a tidy sum for a rural, all-volunteer organization dependent on donations.

By February 1943, two new Army-Navy Schools were setup near Huntington, and the local servicemen needed places to go during their downtime. More volunteers were needed to maintain the now, very active lodge building. By the spring of 1943, the local hostesses approached the Trustees for permission to have a “tea dance” on Sunday afternoons. The Service Center hostesses offered to pay fifty cents each to raise funds for one dance with each serviceman. The Jephtha brothers were opposed to the plan as presented and offered to cover all financial obligations for any dance for the servicemen.

Tuthill reported over 300 sailors and soldiers visited the building during June 1943, leading to the need of a portable lunch counter, which was followed by a donation of an ice box by Brother Raymond Brush.

Final page of the Jephtha Lodge Masonic Service Center register,
October 3, 1945

Preserved in the Jephtha archives is a visitors’ register, signed by thousands of servicemen between September 1943 and October 1945. Each signature carries a story of the brave sailors and soldiers who defended our great nation
during World War II. The servicemen were not just local Long Islanders, but others who travelled a great distance to be entertained at Jephtha Lodge during some well-deserved R&R. Cities of Phoenix, San Francisco and Cleveland were
represented, as well as the small towns of Metcalf, Illinois and Ellensburg, Washington.

The fraternal bonds between these once strangers became much stronger during their time in the service, which is briefly captured in the final entry of the register from the “Northport U.S.O. Commandos,” survivors of the campaigns in Africa and Sicily.

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