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Long Beach Lodge began when Long Beach was just a little city near the beach on a floor above a bank in 1896.

May is a month marked by meaningful observances—Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Armed Forces Day, and Memorial Day—each deserving of our attention and respect.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory over French forces in 1862, a reminder of resilience and determination in the face of adversity.

Mother’s Day is set aside to honor the women who give life, who raise children.

I encourage you to read The DeMolay Flower Talk,

The Order of DeMolay teaches many beautiful lessons, but none is more important than honor and true respect for womanhood, and more especially for motherhood. It is fitting, therefore, that you have been called upon to stand again before this Altar in a few moments of special emphasis upon the virtue which has been given first place among the jewels adorning the Crown of Youth — Filial love.

For my purpose now, this Altar is dedicated to our mothers whose love never fails. You may rise to positions of great influence in commercial, political or professional life, but you can never reach the heights of your mother’s secret hopes for you. You may sink into the lowest depths of infamy and degradation but never below the reach of her love. The memory of it will always stir your heart. There is no man so entirely base, so completely vile, so utterly low that he does not hold in his heart a shrine sacred and apart for the memory of his mother’s love. Were I to draw you a picture of love divine it would not be that of A stately angel With a form that is full of grace, but a tired and toil-worn mother with a grave and tender face. It was your mother who loved you before you were born – who carried you for long months close to her heart and in the fullness of time took God’s hand in hers and passed through the valley of shadows to give you life. It was she who cared for you during the helpless years of infancy and the scarcely less dependent years of childhood. As you have grown less dependent, she has done the countless, thoughtful, trouble-healing, helpful and encouraging things which somehow only mothers seem to know how to do. You may have accepted these attentions more or less as matters of course and perhaps without conscious gratitude or any expressions of your appreciation. You are rapidly approaching the time in life when you will be entirely independent of your mother. The ties with which dependency has bound you to her may be severed as you grow older, but the tie of mother-love can never be broken. Thinking back upon the years of your life when you have reached the threshold of manhood, your mother might well say in the words of the poet: “My body fed your body, son, But birth’s a swift thing,

Compared to one and twenty years Of feeding you with spirit’s tears. I could not make your mind and soul, But my glad hands have kept you whole. Your groping hands

Bound me to life with ruthless bands And all my living became a prayer, While all my days built up a stair For your young feet that trod behind.

That you an aspiring way should find. Think you that life can give you pain Which does not stab in me again? Think you that life can give you shame Which does not make my pride go lame? And you can do no evil thing Which sears not me with poisoned sting. Because of all that I have done, Remember me in life, O son. Keep that proud body fine and fair, My life is monumented there. For my life make no woman weep, For my life hold no woman cheap, and see you give no woman scorn For that dark night when you were born.” These flowers which you see on our Altar are symbols of that mother-love – the white, the love of the mother who has gone — and the red, the mother who still lives to bless your life.

Far in the dim recesses of her heart Where all is hushed and still She keeps a shrine.

‘Tis here she kneels in prayer

While from above long shafts of light Upon her shine.

Her heart is flower fragrant as she prays. Aquiver like a candle flame, each prayer takes wing. To bless the world she works among, To leave the radiance of the candles there.

We want each of you to take a flower from this Altar. If your mother has passed over to the other shore, you will choose a white flower and keep it always sacred to her memory. May the sight of it always quicken every tender memory of her and strengthen you anew in your efforts to be worthy of her hopes and aspirations for you. If your mother is living, you will choose a red flower. When you go home tonight, give it to your mother. Tell her it is our recognition of God’s best gift to a man — his mother’s love.

Armed Forces Day stands as a time to recognize those who have committed themselves to service—men and women who accepted the weight of a solemn obligation, knowing the cost could be everything. Each one made a deliberate choice to stand in defense of their beliefs and their nation. All gave some… and some gave all.

Memorial Day is observed with quiet reverence. It is a day marked by the wearing of the poppy, a symbol of remembrance and mourning for the servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country. Their loss will not be forgotten.

The poem by Col. John McCroe”, “Flanders Fields”, is said to be the inspiration for the the poppy:

In Flanders Fields The poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row

That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead, short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved and now we lie In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe To you, from failing hands, we throw The torch, be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us, who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders Fields

Fraternally,
Craig E. Miller
Worshipful Master, 2026

Greetings Brethren, Masonic Family and friends, I hope all is well with you and yours. To continue my series of Masonic Education articles, I’m submitting an article I wrote in April of 2017 about the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences. It will be presented in two parts—the first is below and the second part will be provided in the June Trestleboard. I hope you enjoy!
Sincerely and Fraternally, Bro. Marshall R. Goodman, Sr.
The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences
Part 1
The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences are an integral component in the process of becoming a proficient Freemason. They are: Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy. They are found within the philosophies of many Ancient and modern Peoples, but the predominant source for the Western world is Greco-Romans. This article will address the first three which are referred to, by the previously mentioned source, as the Trivium. The remaining four are referred to as the Quadrivium, and they will be addressed in the second of this two-part article series.
The first three of the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, referred to as the Trivium, correlate to the first three degrees of Freemasonry in multiple ways, but particularly in the process of spiritual progression. It can be argued that the progression from EA to MM is a transformation from a material or earthly existence, to that of an immaterial or spiritual existence. The Masonic process of making, passing, and raising can be seen as the honing of a Freemason’s spiritual being. In this way, the first three of the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences provide the Freemason tools to better engage the spiritual components of his existence. These tools—Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic—provide the Freemason an ability to better interpret the allegories and symbols associated with the Ancient Wisdom passed down through initiatory groups that share—among other things—a belief in a Creator, and a belief that the Creator is Righteous and Good. From antiquity to modern times, many groups of People participate in this process and most religions—from antiquity to modern times—have several degrees, or levels, of ordained members that dedicate their lives to this form of study.
Grammar can be seen as the foundation for studying symbology and allegory, and is the initiatory step toward the goal of accessing and applying Logic—it can be seen as the making or creation stage, and creation correlates fluently with Beauty, as all things brought to being by the Creator are of the same spirit as Him and are therefore endowed with Beauty. In this first stage of deciphering symbols and allegory, tools and/or instruments are a necessary component. Being that the most used instruments in symbology have typically been graphemes—alphabet and number systems—it is important, as a first step, to understand the sets of rules for using these systems of expression. Therefore, Grammar is a set of rules which are used to assemble letters from an alphabet to make words; then, the words are assembled to make sentences; and finally, sentences are used to convey thoughts and ideas. This Liberal Art provides the initiate a system of which he will need to be proficient, and in turn will have an opportunity to comprehend the next stage of this progressive learning process.
Once proficient in Grammar, the initiate is prepared to pass to the next stage which is Rhetoric. Rhetoric provides the initiate Strength.This Liberal Art establishes the ability to compose concise and persuasive thoughts using words and sentences under the rules designated by Grammar: Concise, because one has to become versed in the structure of this means of communication which allows a direct transfer of thoughts and ideas to the receiver; Persuasive, because time is taken to develop and relay unbiased communication that may easily be deemed as factual due to its refinement and purity. Once one becomes proficient in Rhetoric, knowledge is an attainable attribute that may lead to the raising or Establishment of one’s spirit through the attainment of Wisdom.
Finally, Logic is the third Liberal Art and the stage where Wisdom may be Established through the Strength of Rhetoric, and in turn may cause the initiate’s spirit to be Raised. This process provides the initiate the ability to securely function, in Righteousness, within and without the material realm. Logic can be viewed as the process of endeavoring to assess the root of things using the concise, persuasive, refined, and pure methods attained through becoming proficient in Rhetoric. Also, the act of diligently seeking Righteousness and Truth—that which has been lost—without the assurance that it may ever be found, bestows on the initiate an opportunity to gain knowledge while continually improving himself. This process, in turn, provides the initiate access to a place where Wisdom can be realized and attained.
The first three Liberal Arts and Sciences, or Trivium, can be viewed as instruction and training to decipher meaning that has been hidden within the material world, and the use of the Quadrivium—Mathematics, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy—allows one to endeavor to find that which has been hidden and/or lost.

All the best to you and yours,
Marshall R. Goodman, Sr.
Senior Warden

Greetings from the South!
Another month is upon us Brothers which means more opportunity for us to share in comradery and brotherly love through working the craft we are in. Thus working Brothers need to eat so I shall mention the menu for the Stated Meeting of May. In celebration of Cinco de mayo we will be having a Taco Bar fully loaded with Al pastor, asada, chicken, mini mexican sweet bread, grilled onions, rice, beans and all the fixings you could want! Also please feel free to invite your family and friends. for we should be thankful for the time we take from them to be at Lodge.

Fraternally,
David Kinnison
Junior Warden

 

Brethren of Long Beach Lodge,

Our Membership Dues for 2026 are $163.00
You can pay online at freemason.org for just a few more dollars.