Brethren, 

Masonic Development, Fellowship, & Charity. It’s what we do.

Our stated meeting on Feb 6th was quite busy. Masonic Development is going well, as we balloted favorably on Mr John Vance & on Mr Travis McBroom. Their initiations are scheduled for March. We know fellowship is strong when we see our brothers choose to spend Super Bowl Sunday together. We were delighted to spend time dining with our ladies at the Sweethearts Night at the Sea Grill. At February’s stated meeting we heard from our Inspector representing Most Worshipful Salazar who invites us to celebrate our commitment to charity by participating in a statewide day of service March 17th followed by a Grand Lodge Festive Board on the 19th. Housekeeping – check.

Have you ever wondered what ‘Our Ancient Landmarks you are carefully to preserve’ means? I did a bit of poking around, and as with our craft there is a literal (operative) and a metaphorical (speculative) meaning. Reference to ‘landmarks’ goes back to Old Testament bible and refers to what today we would call surveyors’ markings.  In a modern context, the landmarks can be interpreted as a warning against disregarding the boundaries set by previous generations. In 1856, Bro. Albert Mackey wrote what he believed were 25 Ancient Landmarks. My favorite is 22, restated thus:  

The  Equality  of  all  Masons  is  another  Land-mark of  the  Order.  This  equality  has  no  reference to  any  subversion  of  those  gradations  of  rank which  have  been  instituted  by  the  usages  of  society. The  monarch,  the  nobleman  or  the  gentleman  is  entitled  to  all  the  influence,  and  receives  all  the respect  which  rightly  belong  to  his  exalted  position. But  the  doctrine  of  Masonic  equality  implies  that, as  children  of  one  great  Father,  we  meet in  the Lodge  upon  the  level — that  on  that  level  we  are  all traveling  to  one  predestined  goal — that  in  the  Lodge genuine  merit  shall  receive  more  respect  than boundless  wealth,  and  that  virtue  and  knowledge alone  should  be  the  basis  of  all  Masonic  honors,  and be  rewarded  with  preferment. When  the  labors of  the  Lodge  are  over,  and  the  brethren  have  retired from  their  peaceful  retreat,  to  mingle  once  more with  the  world,  each  will  then  again  resume  that social  position,  and  exercise  the  privileges  of  that rank,  to  which  the  customs  of  society  entitle  him.

In the last century, several American Grand Lodges attempted to enumerate the landmarks, ranging from West Virginia (7) and New Jersey (10) to Nevada (39) and Kentucky (54). While brothers may disagree on the speculative meaning of Landmarks I contend, nevertheless, that reading them and contemplating them ourselves is a worthwhile reflection. For those reading this on the website, here is a link to Mackey’s Landmarks.

Davin Bowerman, 

2025 Worshipful Master, Humboldt 79

Brethren, 

Masonic Development, Fellowship, & Charity. It’s what we do. On January 9th our officers and coach Bill Lambo, PM,  discussed our expectations of each other for ritual practice and development, which is always a good conversation to start the year. If you cannot be at a practice, notify Bill. If you need a substitute for a degree, ask a Past Master at least a week ahead of the night. We are scheduled to confer Bro. Sheyenne “Shiny” Stillinger a 2nd degree on Thursday January 30th. Fellowcrafts and Master masons are welcome to join us for dinner at 5:30pm and Lodge Opening at 6:30pm. 

Thank you brothers who brought 6+ prospects to our Thursday night practice yesterday! It’s our earnest desire to make every Thursday at 5:30pm a Lodge night. We’d like every brother to come grab a bite, enjoy fellowship, and if inclined and eligible watch our officers practice their ritual. 

We hope you’re looking forward to the return of Sushi Night on Saturday, January 18th. Bro Reed has taken steps to ensure that the flaws of last year don’t repeat, this will be a fantastic fellowship event to start the new year. Thank you Josh for your tireless successful efforts. There will be Taiko drummers and Karaoke to round out the sushi feed. Humboldt 79’s Ladies’ Luncheon is scheduled for 26 January at 12pm. 

Charity- The brethren elected to donate $x to the local Special Olympics to soften the blow of the theft of their sports equipment storage. 

See you at Lodge, 

Davin Bowerman, Worshipful Master

Brothers and Friends;

Please join the officers and families of Humboldt Lodge No. 79 this Saturday December 7th, 2024 at 2 o’clock for the annual installation of our officers for 2025. We expect to finish by 3pm when we will have light refreshments in the dining room. Our officer’s corp is full of enthusiasm to make the year ahead full of Fellowship, Charity, and a year to better ourselves and our community. All are welcome to this event and we look forward to your support. 

Fraternally yours, 

Davin Bowerman

Greetings brothers.  

Last month was the Annual Communications and with it we welcome our new Grand Master, Most Worshipful Arthur L. Salazar Jr. And with the new grand line of officers we also saw a change in districts for all of California. Humboldt Lodge is now in the 201^st District along with Arcata and Crescent City. Ferndale and Fortuna are now part of the 203^rd district. Both new districts will have separate inspectors and schools of instruction.

As the year winds down, I would like to remind the officers that proficiencies are due. Please make an appointment with your inspector if you haven’t already.

Upcoming events:  

November 7th, Thursday – Stated Meeting at 7:00pm 

November 14th, Thursday – 3^rd Degree Proficiency for Brother Josh Reed at 6:15pm 

Respectfully,  

Dan Sarver  

Master  

Humboldt Lodge No. 79       

Greetings brothers. 

We had an incredible month which was highlighted by a Grand Lodge visit and the laying of two cornerstones in one day.

The first was at Eureka High School’s new Jay Willard gymnasium, where Grand Master G. Sean Metroka performed the ceremony to a grateful crowd. After lunch, we traveled to Blue Lake and took part in the second cornerstone ceremony for the new Hula Health Center on the Blue Lake Rancheria. It was exciting to be a part of it all, and everyone seemed to enjoy the fellowship. Thanks again to everyone that participated and helped to make the day a memorable one.

It was also a month of remembrance for the lives of two of our most distinguished brothers.

Worshipful Wayne Cooper and Worshipful Lee Astorino entered into rest and now reside with the Supreme Grand Master of the Universe. They will both be sorely missed. Thank you to all the brothers that attended their services.

Quote of the month: 

Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.  – Washington Irving

Upcoming events: 

October 3^rd, Thursday – Stated Meeting at 7:00pm

October 10^th, Thursday – 2^nd Degree Proficiency for Brother Leo Herrera at 6:00pm

October 17^th, Thursday – 3^rd Degree for Brother Leo Herrera

October 19^th, Saturday – Curtesy 3^rd for Crescent Lodge #45. More details to follow.

October 25^th-27^th – Annual Communications (Grand Lodge)

Respectfully, 

Dan Sarver 
Master 
Humboldt Lodge No. 79      

Greetings brothers.  

 September is here and we have a few events coming up, including a 3^rd degree for Brother Toland. Please see below for details. 

 Quote of the month:  

Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend. – Theophrastus.   

Upcoming events:    

September 5^th, Thursday – Stated Meeting 

September 8^th, Saturday – Yard cleanup at the Lambos. Brothers, if you are free on the 8^th, please consider visiting with the Lambos starting at 11:30am to help with some yard and garden cleanup. 

September 12^th, Thursday – Brother Toland Proficiency and 3^rd degree practice at 6pm. 

September 14^th, Saturday – Humboldt Lodge Open House at 12pm to 3pm 

September 19^th, Thursday – 3^rd degree for Brother Toland at 6:30pm 

September 26^th, Thursday – Cornerstone Meeting at 6pm. All lodge officers are invited. 

September 28^th, Saturday – Cornerstone ceremony. Grand Lodge opening at Humboldt Lodge No. 79 starting at 9am. 

Respectfully,  

Dan Sarver  
Master
Humboldt Lodge No. 79       

Greetings, brethren.

The days are flying by and it’s August already. The Perfect Ashlar Society has a big project in front of us and brothers, I need your help.

We have purchased 252 bicycles that will be donated to Toys 4 Toys, and they’ll be given as Christmas gifts this year. The only catch is that the bicycles will need to be inspected and some minor repairs performed as required. A few of the bikes will also need to be assembled.  If you are willing to join the team and have metric tools, we meet at the Toys 4 Tots warehouse on the weekends and spend a few hours working on the bikes. Please reach out to me for details and I look forward to seeing you there.

My contact information:

dvsarver@gmail.com

You can also reach me through the lodge or iMember.

Quote of the month:

Until you value yourself, you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it. -M. Scott Peck

Upcoming events:

August 11^th – Sunday, 12pm, Masonic Picnic at Rohnerville Park in Fortuna. This is a free event and the whole family is welcome. Come out and enjoy the day with the whole North Coast Masonic Family.

August 8^th – Thursday, 6pm, Officer’s Rehearsal – advanced stations

August 15^th – Thursday, 6pm, Officer’s Rehearsal – advanced stations

August 22^nd – Thursday, 6:30pm, First Degree for Mr. Jace Baldosser.

August 29^th – Thursday, 6:30pm, First Degree for Mr. Damon Ladousier.

We all know how important the First Degree is, so please join me as we welcome two new brothers to our fraternity.

And now, in his own words, I’d like to introduce you to Brother Joseph Freedman:

I was born in İstanbul Türkiye, came to America as a baby, and grew up in Humboldt County. I’m a dual citizen.

I have a big family in Türkiye on my mother’s side, and also family in Australia, Hawaii, and San Francisco on my father’s side. I am single and have no kids.

I am currently a student taking classes in math & computer science, and I make and sell pens. In the beginning of the year I had finished building a robot/CNC that fully automates the pen-turning process. Starting from rough pen blanks to finished pen barrels, from the press of a button on my phone.

I have also been building a quantitative hedge fund called Fintron. In a nutshell, it involves various technologies for identifying and exploiting market inefficiencies autonomously, similar to the concept of a self-driving car, though for finance. It involves a lot of programming, math, statistics, machine learning, and most of all, dealing with data!

Besides building machines for making pens and software applications, I like to throw knives in my spare time, and go out in nature. I used to play video games a lot and I still miss them. Skyrim, GTA 5, and World of Warcraft were my go-to. I and my family also like traveling.

One of the special interests I’ve had, particularly as a teenager in the Boy Scouts, is bushcraft & survival skills. Building shelters, fires, tools, etc. Right now my focus is on modern and future technology, but primitive technology is also really important to me and I will come back to it more in the future.

I smashed my PS4 in November of 2021, because I loved playing video games too much, 5+ hours a day. I realized I was wasting so much time, and I decided to start learning programming instead.

The main reason I joined Freemasonry is that I’ve always been curious about ancient wisdom and philosophy, and I wanted to learn more about it through Freemasonry. The brotherhood aspect is also great and I’ve met very interesting people that I wouldn’t have met otherwise.

My message to all of you is to embrace your uniqueness. We all have flaws that we’re working on, and I am no exception to that. But our weaknesses are often on the other side of our strengths, two sides of the same coin.

Some weaknesses are worth fixing, while others can be complemented by the strengths of our fellow team members. The wisdom is, knowing which ones to fix, and which ones to accept.

Work on your weaknesses, to navigate the world more effectively, while tripling down on your strengths. Your difference is what makes a difference in the world.

Respectfully,
Dan Sarver
Master
Humboldt Lodge No. 79    

Who are these young guys? These are the members of the senior softball team, Senior Moments, the team that Humboldt lodge has sponsored for the past seven seasons. The members are 60 plus years in age. They want to thank the lodge for their support and hope that the lodge will support them in the years to come.

Greetings, brothers. It is July and that means it’s time to break out the grill! Our lodge had an enjoyable day at the Crabs baseball game and barbecue with over 60 guests in attendance. It is an event that I look forward to every year and this time, I had the pleasure of manning the grill. Excellent weather and good company made for a great day. And the Crabs came from behind and won in the 11^th inning. What a game! I hope you all are enjoying the summer. 

Quote of the month: 

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” —Winston Churchill 

July events: 

July 4^th – Thursday – Humboldt lodge is dark for the July 4^th Holiday 

July 11^th – Thursday – Stated Meeting @ 7pm 

July 18^th – Thursday – 3^rd degree rehearsal @ 6pm 

July 20^th – Saturday – Masonic Race Day Barbecue at the Samoa Drag Strip @ 11am. We will need volunteers to help with set-up, packing and cleanup. 

July 25^th – Thursday – 3^rd degree for Brother Tom Lazio @ 6:30pm 

July 27 – Saturday – Coffee with the Master @ 9am 

And now, I would like to introduce you to Brother Jesse Hindbaugh. 

Jesse was born in Illinois and grew up in the Midwest. He spent time in the Sierra Nevada’s and then moved to Humboldt County.  

He worked for a time as a microbiologist but now likes to try new things that interest him. One thing he mentioned was that he has his own ammunition company, which lead me to think that he is a hunter. And I was right. Jesse loves hunting season and the great outdoors. He also likes hiking, which is understandable since. Humboldt County has some of the finest trails to be found on the west coast.  

Jesse is also the adventurous type that likes to ride motorcycles, 4 wheelers, and jet skis. When pushing the limits of his vehicles, he sometimes went a little too fast which led him to break a few bones. About 76 of them! Hey Jesse, are you moonlighting as a Hollywood stuntman?  

Golfing is another favorite pastime and while he admits that he will never be the greatest golfer, his goal is to be the best dressed golfer.  

When I asked Jesse what he most enjoys about masonry, he said it is the strong friendships he has made over the years; how his brothers are always there to lend a helping hand if needed and how everyone gets along. “I wouldn’t trade masons for anything. I just really like this group.” 

Jesse lives in McKinleyville with his wife Erica, and three teen daughters. 

Respectfully, 

Daniel Sarver 
Master
Humboldt Lodge No. 79

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