Rich Palm's vell iphone is oct of acción again. Plenes use home phone, I will return tour call when  I can.

Brother Monson is home and doing well.  He is very weak and still needs some assistance.  Don't expect to see him out of the house for a while.

Please disregard the last post concerning practice for Degrees.  It was incorrect.  I will review and post the correct dates soon.

Brother Monson will be returning home this evening.  He is in good shape but will be weak for a while.  Family will be staying with him for a while to help out.  Give him another day to settle in then I'm sure he will welcome some calls and visits.

Annual Stag Fish Fry in New Castle is coming March 3rd. 

If you are interested, you much contact Rich Palm by Wednesday February 22nd, 673-0116.  I must call in reservations.  There is no cost. 

As of now, we have 9 men waiting for degrees in Petrolia Lodge and more petitions coming in.  Some have progressed as far as the second degree, most have not started at all. With our Master in the hospital, it has been a challenge to keep things going.  Some of these will be waiting for the One Day Class on May 20th.  Others want to follow the traditional path.  Some with be following a combination of both.  We need help from all Masons regardless of what lodge you are from.  We hope to have at least two complete teams of officers to keep from "burning out."  Our next practice is on February 28th at 7 PM.  We hope to have Wardens, appointed officers and conferring officers contact us to be sure we can cover all the chairs.  As in our last One Day Class, we hope to fill all chairs with officers from other lodges.  This will allow our officer and members to be mentors for the new candidates.  All other lodges are invited to bring any candidates you may have to the One Day Class.  Just remember they must be investigated, and voted on before the Class.  Lunch will be served at the One Day Class.  I assume we will confrere the First and Second, then break for lunch before the Third.  We did that last year and it worked well.  Questions, please contact Rich Palm at 814-673-0116.

Brother Monson is doing better.  All IV's are out and he is much more alert.  Still having some trouble with his heart a little out of rhythm but that apparently happens with this type of surgery.  A few visits and a lot of cards will improve his spirits.  He still has a ways to go before he comes back home.  Best guess, about a week.  Then a month or more of therapy.  Remember this brother in need in your prayers.

Brother Monson is out of ICU and in room 2419 and is ready for visitors if your are able.  I will be leaving in a few minutes to visit him and may have more later today.

Reminder - Thursday night at 7 PM, we will conferrer one Second Degree at Lodge.

Visited Brother Monson this afternoon.  He is awake now but still under some sedation.  He was sitting up in a chair and we spoke for about an hour.  He was getting tired and I didn't want to push it.

He is in fairly good sprites but my guess is he will be in the hospital for several more days.  Because he had the airway tube for so long, his speech is effected and a little difficult.  That should clear soon.  As much as many of you would like to visit or call him, I would suggest waiting for a few more days to give him a chance to build his strength.  He seems to be doing well and all is coming along as expected, but he is still weak and needs a little more time.  His family is very supportive and visit him daily.  Keep him in your prayers.

Lodge of Perfection 14th Degree Practice on the following Sunday afternoons at 2 PM.

2/12/2017
2/26/2017
3/12/2017

Other Degree practices not yet finalized.  Will post as soon as we know.

Brother Monson is awake!  I hope to visit him tomorrow if I can get there in time.  He is in Room 3108 at  St. Vincent Hospital, 232 W. 25th St. Erie PA 16544 (for cards).  He does not have a phone in his room.  More tomorrow, I hope.

Degree Practice for Members.

There are new pitetions coming in and more to coming.  Many would like to take the traditional path of one degree per month.  This is great but it will take 2 or 3 extra meetings per month.  To keep from wareing out our officer, we are going to begin practice sessions to teach anyone interested, to preform the duties of the appointed offices.  All Master Masons from any lodge are invited to attend.  This month the dates are as follows.

Sunday, February 12th at 4 PM

Tuesday, Februay 28th at 7 PM

I hope to keep these session to only one hour.  You need not attend both, but you are welcome if you like.  In addition, I will be approaching all Past Masters from all lodges to sit in as Wardens or to confer degrees.  This is not restricted to Petrolia Lodge only.  Any questions, call Rich Palm at 677-5146 or 673-0116.

We also have a One Day Class scheduled in May.  All lodges are invited to send candidates.

Monson update - Brother Jim is having some trouble.  Dennis Butler and Rich Palm visited him in St. Vincents Hospital this afternoon.  His surgery went well, his heart is functioning as expected.  His lungs are in bad shape.  He has pneumonia and his lungs are filling up.  It was necessary to sedate him and place a tube in his air way and to aspirate his lungs.  His kidneys shut down for a while but are now coming back.  The nurse said he would be sedated until at least Monday evening and would not be able to talk until probably Tuesday sometime.

He is in Room 3108, but do not try to call or visit him until at least Tuesday.  Your prayers will be the best medicine we can send him and his family.

Brother Monson is not well enough today to talk on the phone.  His daughter is on her way to Erie to see him.  We may get an update later this evening.

This message from Brother Monson's family.     He had a sucessfull quadruple bypass surgery.  He came out of surgery at 3:30 PM and vital signs were all looking great and was told the surgery went smoothly.

Going to be late this evening before he begins to wake up.  I'll try to call him tomorrow and update when I can.

Rich Palm