Sisters and brothers,

 fall is certainly in the air with crisp fresh mornings. We held our monthly meeting in September on the 10th and celebrated our chapters 149th birthday with cake and ice cream. Reports were given on the Nile luncheon and Arcata chapter dinner provided by Ferndale Chapter as fundraisers. Our chapter recognized the office of Warder Diann Christiansen and Sentinel Kirby Bay with some flowers and acknowledgement of the work and service they give to our chapter.  

The budget report and membership reports were also given and approved as submitted. We were reminded about Grand Chapter credentials being due by the 20th of September for those attending. 

Next month our October meeting is on Wednesday the 8th with it being elections, make sure you have your name ready with 2 cosigners if you are vying for an elected office and on the dais before the meeting. I will be in charge of refreshments so expect a little Halloween fun. (Patti). We also always have a flower, and it is the calendula this month. Never heard of it but I’m sure it’s pretty.  Hope to see you all in October!

Elizabeth Carter Lorig WM

Larry Nicholson WP

Greetings from the Scottish Rite Valley of Northern California.
I would first off like to congratulate our brethren who completed their Scottish Rite
degrees on August 30 th , they are Charles Johnson, Jonathan Abidari, and Rick S.
Gibson, Ret. Sgt.Major. Active Guard Reserve. I would also Like to thank all the
Scottish Rite Masons who took part in the degrees as well as the wonderful ladies who
prepared our lunch as well as the dinner for the ring and cap ceremony. I would like to
encourage all Scottish Rite Brothers to join us at our next stated meeting which will be
September 18 th with coffee time starting at 7pm and our meeting starting at 7:30 pm. All
Masonic Brothers are invited to join us for our coffee time.

Sincerely,
Jason Akana, Venerable Master

Greetings from the Eureka York Rite Bodies,

Fellow Companions, I would like to remind all Companions of our upcoming
meeting dates and times as we will begin having Officer elections soon. The next
meetings are as follows:
Eureka Commandery #35 – September 10 th , 2025 @7pm
Humboldt Chapter #52 – October 8 th , 2025 @7pm
Pacific Council #37 – November 12 th , 2025 @7pm
Eureka Commandery #35 – December 10 th , 2025 @7pm
I would especially like to remind all Companions that we will be holding officer
elections and that we will be discussing our Christmas observance.

Sincerely,
Jason Akana, Illustrious Master, Pacific Council #37

Hello to our Masonic family,

August was filled with fun times in the Bethel.

The first weekend of August we traveled to Ukiah and had our Official Visit with Bethel No 106 Ukiah. It was fun to meet and get to know some of the new Grand Bethel Girls and talk with our Grand Guardian and Associate Grand Guardian. We had a great afternoon of chatting, making friends, eating and crafting. (1st photo)

Later that week we went on a Mystery Trip where I, as Honored Queen, got to plan a surprise destination for the Daughters. We started off in Old Town where we learned a bit of history about Eureka and explored some book shops, record shops, and met a sweet dog. Then we headed to Loleta for a behind the scenes look at how ice cream is made and got to taste some of the most creamy dessert ever! If you haven’t visited Jersey Scoops yet, I highly recommend their ice cream shop! They also sell a lot of other items such as wool, dairy, and meat products. (2nd photo)

The following week, our Bethel demonstrated the Story of the Robe for members of the Ferndale Chapter of Eastern Star at their open meeting. We learned a bit about their meetings and they learned some of ours. (3rd photo)

The next weekend some of us went to the Miss California Job’s Daughters Pageant that was held in San Francisco at the Scottish Rite center. It was interesting to listen to the Daughters who had competed in memory work, answer questions on stage in front of a lot of people! Very inspiring! (4th & 5th photos)

Coming up in September we have a big weekend ahead where Bethel No. 106 Ukiah and Bethel No. 46 Susanville are
 coming to explore the coast! We will show them our zoo with the skywalk, s’mores at the beach, and hopefully get some sleep at a sleepover.

On the same fun filled day of September 6th we are going to have a Lily of the Valley ceremony honoring Miss Hansen. It is an open ceremony and we would love for you to come witness it starting at 3 with light refreshments afterwards. Formal attire is requested.

Our Bethel meetings restart on Sept 15 at 7 PM at the Humboldt Masonic center in Eureka. We meet the 1st & 3rd Monday of each month. Though with Labor Day this first Monday, we are meeting on Sept 29.  If you know of a girl between the ages of 8 and 20 who might be interested in making new friends, gaining leadership skills, and having a lot of fun, please contact the Bethel Guardian, Leia Pollard at bethel86@cajdi.org

Bethel love,
Logan P.
Honored Queen
Bethel No. 86 Eureka

We have a first degree scheduled for the 27th of August, and a third degree scheduled for september.  It’s nice to see this much activity in new members wanting to join the Lodge.  The median age is somewhere near the late sixties, and the need for some  more new and younger bodies is critical.  Those who have taken the degrees recently, fortunately, have  taken to the fraternity like ducks to water.  The need for additional sideliners to help with the running of the Lodge, and to take vacant officer chairs, while not critical, is certainly needed.  If you would like to fill a officer position and get more involved in the Lodge we would welcome you.  This is where you start to become the Master of the Lodge, an honor you will be proud of all the rest of your life.

Enough for now

Come to Lodge

Theodore B. Lichti WM. 

Greetings sisters and brothers,

We held our August 13th meeting where we recognized our Jobs daughters and Rainbow girls. Each group gave a small presentation, and we intern gave a presentation to them sharing a little about the heroines of our order. The girls all received a small eastern star charm to add to their bracelets. They seemed to enjoy themselves and we certainly enjoyed having them. (see picture below). we kept the meeting short. We discussed the Nile luncheon and the chapter dinner for Arcata, watch for emails with further information. September meeting is the 10th; it’s our Chapter birthday month and budget presentation.  The budget committee will need to get together and do the proposed budget for the September meeting. They are Deanna Bay, Peggy Meecham Carlotti and Helene Nicholson. The flower is forget- me- nots. Please bring school supplies to the meeting to be distributed to a local school.     

 Hope you are all enjoying the beautiful warm weather we have been having.

One of the best things

a person can have up their sleeve is a funny bone.

Elizabeth Carter Lorig WM

Larry Nicholson WP

Dear sisters and brothers, it is hard to believe that we are already about to enter the month of July but here we go.

Our June meeting was friendship night and memorial. We had a room full of members who came to celebrate the lives of those we have lost this past year and our friendship with our subordinate officers from other chapters. There was also a surprise honor night for DGD Helene Nicholson who didn’t want anything. The officers of all the chapters in District one read an honor ceremony called you are my sunshine and was presented a handmade bicycle made of wood with a clock in the spokes of the back wheel. It was lovingly made by PGP Marton Anderson of Oregon. It is Beautiful. The Northern Stars also presented her with a bouquet of flowers. I think we were successful in pulling off our surprise. On June 14th Flag Day we finally held our long awaited Ableskiver  breakfast at the community center. We fed about 150, which was lower than previous years.  There was also a boutique table with handmade items from our members. Next month July 4th is the annual 4th of July parade we always participate in. The parade starts at noon, but we start assembling around 10 at the Ferndale masonic center. Our meeting is July 9th it is Our brothers night, western wear (Jeans are great). It will be long form and Larkspur and Water Lilys are the flowers of the month. Come see what’s in store. Also, July 20th is the first annual Lee Astorino Tea, there will be a guest speaker there to tell us about the outreach that Lee believed so strongly in. More information at our July meetings.

Always remember it might only take a smile to make someones day!

Elizabeth Carter Lorig WM

Larry Nicholson WP

Bethel No. 86 Eureka is enjoying Grand Bethel as of this writing.  It is a very exciting convention this year with our own Brooke Hansen receiving a Lily of the Valley Award!  This is an award the recipient cannot know anything about, so she was really taken by surprise!  

Our own newest Past Honored Queen Betsy was selected as Grand Bethel 2nd Messenger for 2025-2026.  Extra interesting, that was her mother Virginia’s office several years ago.  Betsy was wearing her mother’s Grand Bethel Officer sheet dress on Friday night when she learned which office she was drawn for.  

CONGRATULATIONS both to Betsy and to Miss Hansen!

Our May meeting was a lovely evening with the Worthy Grand Matron, Grand Chaplain and his wife and our Deputy present, and enough visitors to fill in every office and still have some sideliners!  It was quite a sight from the East!  Thank you to EVERYONE who came, participated, observed. 

We had our Memorial to remember Lee Astorino, Judy Pflueger, and Gene Chancellier.  Unfortunately, because I had a bit of a coughing fit when I should have been making my remarks, I did not have the opportunity to say that the poem I read during Memorial was a slightly altered version of “She is Gone” by David Harkins. Thank you to our lovely Conductresses and Chaplain for doing their work so beautifully. 

Also thank you to Sister Karen Parlato who played for us at this special meeting.  

There was a report on delivering the prizes and donation to the library.  There were 8 prizes, 2 each for varying age groups, for the Humboldt County Library Summer Reading Program on display at our meeting so everyone could see them.  Sister Peggy and I took them to the Library with the check the following Tuesday to deliver them, and they were – as always – well and gratefully received.  The Children’s Librarian said she’d save them for the grand prize drawing! 

Coming up is our meeting on July 2, and it is a BIG one!  It is our Deputy’s Official Visit (finally!), so we will be proving the Chapter and Balloting.  I need everyone who can possibly come to be there because there are so many moving parts to this meeting that have to be members of Camellia Star!  
In addition, it is Friendship Night!  I look forward to seeing our visitors on this special occasion.  

Our Deputy wants a brief practice at 6:30.  Then, if there is time before the meeting, refreshments will be at 7:00, meeting at 7:30.  If we do not have time for refreshments before the meeting, we will have them afterward.  

The theme this meeting is International Joke Day (July 1) and What’s Your Favorite Dad Joke?  We’d love it if you would share some jokes with us.  Attire is casual.  Opening is short form.  (We have had long form meetings all year so far; it is time to relax a bit.) 

In addition, this is the night our members are to bring all the things they want to add to a basket to be auctioned at the special tea in July.  We are planning two baskets.  One has more of a garden theme, and the other is more of a tea theme.  Camellia Star members are asked to bring something to contribute to one basket or the other!  Sister Jaelen has volunteered to make the baskets all pretty for display at the tea. 

Speaking of which, the First Annual Lee Astorino Memorial Tea is on Sunday, July 20, at 2:00 in Fortuna.  We will need lots of help with setting up and cleaning up, so please put the date on your calendar and plan to help if you can.  It would be greatly appreciated.  

Our August meeting has a Game Show Night theme to it.  More information to come.   See you all soon! 
Star Love, 
Joni L. Hewston, WM 

PHOTOS: 

#1 – Donation to the Humboldt County Library Summer Reading Program

#2 – Worthy Grand Matron’s Official Visit to Camellia Star 

🌸 Kicking Off a New Year of Fun!

With our officers installed in April, we’re stepping into a new chapter with energy, excitement, and a whole lot of creativity. As the warmer months roll in, we’re embracing a season of sunshine, celebration, and connection. Our June, July, and August meetings are packed with personality — and you won’t want to miss a single one!

🌼 June: Sips & Sunshine
Meeting Date: June 26 at 7:30 PM
Summer is officially on, and we’re kicking it off with a lighthearted evening full of sunny vibes and cheerful spirits.

🎆 July: Star-Spangled Shenanigans
Meeting Date: July 24 at 7:30 PM
Patriotism with a twist! Let’s celebrate the red, white, and blue with a meeting that sparkles just like the fireworks. A little Americana flair and a lot of heart make this a summer highlight.

✏️ August: Recess Revival
Meeting Date: August 28 at 7:30 PM
We’re heading back to school — in spirit only! Bring your best back-to-school energy, your favorite recess memories, and maybe even a juice box or two. This meeting promises to be a nostalgic nod to the days of play and simplicity.

No matter which month you join us, each gathering is a chance to celebrate friendship, community, and a little themed fun. We can’t wait to see you there!

JoAnna Matlock, Royal Matron
Michael Biesen, Royal Patron