JULY
TRESTLEBOARD
Greetings Brethren,
We are conferring degrees and with the assistance and participation of Wor. Gene Wallace and
Wor. Bob Carder from Upland/ Mt. Baldy Lodge #419 the degrees are better than average as we
are always striving for excellence. And we do appreciate the joint practices at Upland.
At this time I can only project the success of Dr. Singh's lecture on Saturday the 25th of June. We
have advertised throughout division VIII and will see the rewards Saturday. We are the new home
for members who have moved to this area and are affiliating into Ontario Lodge in positive
numbers. I will restate that if the existing member do not see fit to participate and assist in
rebuilding Ontario # 301 then we will rebuild by initiating, passing, raising and affiliating
members who do have a positive interest. We will reestablish our previous number one standing in
the Division VIII, This will just take a little longer than if the present members were active, but we
will do it with or without your help.
There is again a very positive atmosphere within the brotherhood at Ontario Lodge and this is very
refreshing. So new faces and new attitude is paying off. The proof is in the current participation of
the floor work and the supporting sideliners. Both are most important and appreciated by your
Master. Striving for excellence is not easy and takes commitment on the part of the member and
it is showing.
Fraternally,
Van C. Owen, Master
Greetings Brothers,
Our Golden Chain of Brotherhood has again been broken by the passing of two Brothers since our
last writing. I am sadden to inform you that Brother Kenneth Lee Winslow passed away May 20th
at the age of 85 years, and Brother William "Bill" Otis Gillette passed away June 17th at the age
of 92 years. Both will be missed beyond belief. Our hearts and prayers go out to their families
and friends. " Soft and safe to thee my Brothers, be thy resting place".
Congratulations to Brother Ryan Haddox on being Passed to the Degree of Fellow craft the
evening of June 21st. Ryan has been working very hard to juggle his new job with Homeland
Security and his Degree work at the same time. Needless to say he has been doing both very well.
At our June Stated meeting we installed Brothers Myronn Esden as Chaplain; Kevin Hobbs as Sr.
Steward and Rafael Fajardo as Jr. Steward. Congratulations to these gentlemen and our special
thanks to them for stepping up when they were needed.
Hall rentals have began to taper off for the summer as expected, this is normal for this time of the
year. They should pick up once again as the weather gets cooler. However, we are experiencing a
higher than usual advanced paid reservation rate for 2017 and 2018. The majority of these are
Catered and Eastern Star events.
Repeat writing: Please remember to mark your calendars for the Masonic family steak fry and
pool party on August 27th , at 4:00 PM. The event is open to all members and their families, and
will take place at the home of Past Master Bobby Thompson and his lady Debbie (continued)
located at 11726 Frontera Road in Fontana. The menu will consist of rib eye steaks cooked to
order with all the goodies, soft drinks and an adult hospitality room. All this will be provided for
the nominal donation of $25.00 per adult and $10.00 for children 12 and under. Reservations are a
must and a reservation made is a reservation paid. You can make your reservation by calling me
at 909-980-3221 or Worshipful Bobby at 909-350-8868.
Repeat writing: If you are receiving this Trestleboard by way of the US Postal Service it means
we do not have your email Address. If you have an email address and would like to receive this
Trestleboard and other Lodge communications electronically, please send your email address to
me at [email protected]. Also, if your phone numbers or address ever change, I need to
be made aware of these actions as soon as possible.
Repeat writing: Worshipful Ulrich Brosch has asked us to announce that he has a double Crypt for
sale in the Mausoleum at Belleview Cemetery in Ontario. Anyone interested should contact him
at 909-987-2841 / 909-981-1688 or email him at: [email protected].
BIT OF HISTORY
How Freemasonry Came to California and Hawaii
Free Masonry came to California and Hawaii by land and by sea. Adventurers who challenged the
wilderness and mastered it carried freemasonry overland. They trapped beaver, lived on bear and
buffalo, fought Indians and caroused away their hard earned wages. They were known as the
Mountain Men.
When the American Frontier moved swiftly from the Mississippi to the Pacific, these men were
leaders, guides, scouts, soldiers and statesmen. They displayed pragmatic wisdom about morality
and politics. Their morality did not concentrate on abstract ideas or achieving an ideal virtue.
They concentrated on human deeds and their consequences for good and evil.
Most of the mountain men came from Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
They had a long tradition of Indian fighting and pioneering behind them. But in the Rocky
Mountains everything in nature was bigger and wilder than anything their fathers had
experienced. The mountain men who survived the constant danger and hardship were toughened
to an extraordinary degree of courage, skill and physical fitness.
Among the earliest men to bring moral restraint, respect for law and justice and for the rights of
each individual human being, was Christopher "Kit" Carson. He had learned these attitudes
toward other men at the Altar of Freemasonry. Carson arrived in California in 1829. He was
made a Mason in Montezuma Lodge No. 109, in New Mexico, under the jurisdiction of the Grand
Lodge of Missouri. Carson carried the first overland mail from Taos, New Mexico to military
headquarters at Monterey, California. He was with General John C. Fremont at the capture of
Sonoma, California in 1846, ending the Bear Flag Revolt.
So far as can be determined the first Master Mason to establish permanent residence in California
was Abel Stearns, from Salem, Massachusetts. He settled and prospered in the "pueblo" of Los
Angeles. In 1842 he had the distinction of shipping the first gold mined in California to the
Philadelphia Mint. Stearns obtained the gold as payment for goods that he sold to the miners in
Los Angeles County. It is interesting to note that this discovery of gold in 1840 in amounts large
enough to send back East, caused not a bit of interest in the local area. Yet, a few years later the
discovery of a few flakes of gold at Sutter's Mill caused the mad California Gold Rush.
The first American settler in the Napa Valley, famous today for its grapes and wines, was George
Yount. Yount received the Degrees of masonry in Benicia Lodge No. 5 and from 1856 to 1865
and served as Grand Bible Bearer of the Grand lodge of California.
The Reverend Saschel Woods, a Cumberland Presbyterian minister and a member of Wakanda
Lodge No. 52 of Carollton, Missouri, brought the first Masonic Charter carried to California. The
Charter was for Western Star Lodge No. 98 of the Grand Lodge of Missouri, and was dated May
10, 1848. The Lodge was to be opened in Benton City, California. Woods traveled to California
with Peter Lassen, who was named Junior Warden in the Charter. In 1848 Peter Lassen was the
leader of an immigrant train of twelve wagons, whose owner planned to settle on Deer Creek in
California. The route they followed was impractical, and the party endured many trials until they
were finally rescued. Between this first charter and 1850 some fifteen other charters and
dispensations found their way to California.
Many of the outstanding leaders of early California came from Masonic ranks. Benjamin Wilson
arrived in 1841 and became the second Mayor of Los Angeles and a member of Los Angeles
Lodge No. 42. Dr. Robert Semple came to California in 1844 and affiliated with Benicia Lodge
No. 5. He served as the President of the first California State Constitutional Convention held in
Monterey in 1849. Nine of the 48 delegates to that Convention were Master Masons. Their
influence far outweighed their numbers. They brought California into the Union as a free state,
and they adopted a strong public education platform.

This bit of Masonic history will be continued in our August Trestleboard. Be sure to read
it, extremely informative. This information is based on a paper by MW S. Hopp, Past
Grand Master of Masons in California and Hawaii, February 14, 1975, published in the
April 1975 issue of the Philalethes Magazine.
Yours in good fellowship,
Ken Miller, PM – Secretary
JULY CALENDAR
SUN
03
MON
04
INDEPENDENCE
DAY
10
11
TUE
05
Stated
Meeting
07:30 PM
06
12
13
Possible
Degree
Night
TBD
17
18
19
Possible
Degree
Night
TBD
24
25
26
Possible
Degree
Night
TBD
31
WED
THUR
FRI
SAT
07
08
09
14
15
16
Stardust
Chapter 145
Special
Event
Evening
7:30-10 PM
Zula Grotto
Dark
Hall
Rented for
Ritz
Catering
Party
All Day
No
Meeting
This
month
20
21
22
23
28
29
30
Stardust
145 Chapter
Meeting
7:30 PM
27
Kenneth A. Wilson
5th
Neale G. Ramos
6th
Adam Stites-Hallett
6th
Richard R. Bumstead Jr.
7th
Patrick G. Marine
7th
Paul R. Gardner Jr.
9th
Ronald W. Johnson II
14th
Joe D. Salee, PM
14th
John L. Navarro
14th
Richard M. Geyer, PM
17th
Raul Sanchez
18th
Van C. Owen, PM
20th
Donald E. Wisdom
25th
Robert H. Scheller
31st
MASTER MASON ANNIVERSARY
Joseph J. Chancey, PM
09 Years
Kerven W. Carter III, PM
07 Years
Michael D. Winters
21 Years
Gary W. Webster
41 Years
Wayne F. Nelson, PM
59 Years
Clyde Gibson
65 Years
Sam G. Rollos
66 Years
"Congratulations Brothers"
SPECIAL THANKS
TO OUR WORK PARTY MEMBERS:
We meet every first Saturday of each month from 08:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Please, join us!
BRAZILIAN BBQ!
AUGUST 13TH - SATURDAY
STARTS AT 04:00 PM.
Don't miss our Annual Family Brazilian BBQ, specially
prepared by our Brother Jales De Mello.
Bring your family, friends & neighbor.
$10.00 per person.
Tickets will be available at our Ontario Lodge.
LODGE OFFICERS
Van C. Owen; Master of the Lodge.............(909) 241-3989
Ulrich O. Brosch; Junior Warden...............(909) 987-2841
Daniel R. Jones; Treasurer..........................(909) 224-9610
Ken E. Miller; Secretary..............................(909) 714-6883
Jales A. De Mello; Senior Deacon..............(909) 510-2663
Gilles B. Nanfang; Junior Deacon............. (424) 240-0426
Robert C. Barrett; Marshal.........................(951) 314-0679
James M. Garrett; Tyler...............................(714) 630-4235
Bobby Fox; Organist
HALL ASSOCIATION MEMBERS:
Van Owen
Ken Miller
Jales De Mello
Al Barilla
Gilles Nanfang
Daniel Jones
Bobby L. Thompson Jr.
HALL RENTAL INFORMATION:
Contact: Ken Miller - Secretary
Lodge (909) 986-1815
Mobile (909) 980-3221
Email: [email protected]
For Catering Information:
RITZ CATERING
http://ritzcatering.com/
Phone: (877) 242-0748
Ontario Lodge 301
1025 North Vine Avenue
Ontario - California , USA 91762
www.ontariomasoniclodge301.org
Stay Connected
(909) 986-1815
Trowel
Used to spread the
cement of brotherly
love and
affection which
unites us as a band
of brothers.