Hopefully the snow has finally yielded to warmer weather... Spring seems to be arriving. March was a month full of activity. At our Stated Communication we received the District Blood Coordinator on the occasion of his official visit. We also had a dinner beforehand prepared by the C.A. Sinclair Council of the A.M.D. #412. That was a special evening for the AMD... they recently received their charter and at the Stated they brought a contingent including the Most Venerable Sovereign Grand Master of the A.M.D. in the U.S.A. - Ed Saunders. He presented the charter to the Sovereign Master of our new council - Edwin Elliott. He in turn presented the charter to me and the lodge. We found a nice place to hang it, right near the picture of Charmie.

     The Area Leadership Conference in Middletown was very successful. We had ten members from Manasseh Lodge attend this training with the Grand Master and his line of officers. I appreciate the support and dedication these brethren have shown for our lodge and our craft. The annual C.A. Sinclair Area Ritual School was also held on March 21st and 22nd. Once again, it was conducted by R.W. Chuck Rowell. The food on Saturday was once again provided by the Manassas R.A.C. #81. Thanks to everyone who helped make this event a success as well. This is a great way to share fellowship within our district and strengthen it at the same time.

     I'm happy to report that we raised our fourth Master Mason this year on March 14th. Your officers have really been working hard and putting on lots of degree work. To provide some perspective, we are slated to initiate a candidate on Friday, March 28th - This is the candidate we elected to receive the degrees back at our January Stated Communication. This was the first opportunity to get him started. Luckily he is still very excited - and fortunately for us we may be able to relax just a tad in April with respect to degree work. A few officers were able to visit Herndon Lodge on St. Patrick's Day - March 17th... and they passed two candidates to the Fellowcraft's Degree at their Stated Communication. It was a fun evening and it also seems to emphasize the fact that more than one lodge in our district has been swamped with candidates and degree-work this year.

     One other event that I must mention here is that our Daylight Lodge was treated to the welcome return of the Pie-man, Uel Jones. He is back and I can tell you first hand that his pies are extremely delicious. Come out on April 9th at 11am - if we are lucky he'll be there again with a plethora of pastries.

     There are two other events that are coming up in May that need to be noted. The first Chicken Dinner of 2003 has been scheduled for May 10th. We have tickets at the lodge, so contact any officer or any of the appendant bodies. This year, in conjunction with the Chicken Dinner, we are going to be holding a Yard Sale at the lodge as well. This will kick off bright and early around 6am and continue through the Chicken Dinner which will be served from noon until 2pm. So if you are doing any spring cleaning, please feel free to donate any items to the lodge to make this yard sale a success. The lodge will be open Friday evening, May 9th to drop off any donated items at the lodge. If you need help transporting items, please contact any lodge officer. The other event is this year's Ladies Night... It is going to take place on Sunday, May 18th. It will be a Ladies English Tea held at 2pm at the Lomond House rose garden at Sudley Manor. Contact our Junior Warden, Jim Kraut, for more information on this event.

• Brother Chuck Wirsing
• Brother Dale Cross
• Brother Uel Jones' Wife, Mitzi
• Brother John Cole's Wife, Betty
• Brother Lew Crites
• Rt. Wor. Ronny Dean's wife, Sandy
• Rt. Wor. Shorty Vetter's wife, Janet

     Our current set of flags will be flown January through June, 2003, in memory of Charlton E. Gnadt.