Tonight we had the privilege of visiting Handley Lodge. It was a pretty great experience! They had, up to this point, been the holders of the GLoTX 64th District Traveling Gavel. This was a program that was originally started by my lodge (148). In order to capture the gavel, your lodge has to show up with 7 or more brothers. The visit can be either during a stated meeting, or a called meeting. If multiple lodge attempt a capture, whichever lodge has the most lodges present takes it home, with a coin toss being the method used to break ties.
The brothers from Handley welcomed us with open arms and we had an absolutely great time. This was a very well-attended stated meeting! Even Arlington Lodge (438, I think) sent a contingent of brothers in their own attempt to make a capture. At one point, someone from Sweet Home Lodge tried to see if there were enough plural members of Sweet Home Lodoge for them to take it! That would have been a very difficult retrieval as they only open lodge in the Master’s Degree, and as such, would require us to send only our Master Masons.
The food was great – the OES chapter at Handley really knows how to knock it out of the park.
Here we are with the Worshipful Master of Handley Lodge, Haskell Rogers III:
For more information on the Traveling Gavel, check out the 64th district’s page on it. I sincerely urge anyone in the 64th district to “COME AND TAKE IT,” so to speak, as we will try our damndest to take it right back.