The Trestle-Board

Broad Ripple Chili Cookoff Results

The fires have been doused. The stomachs have been pumped. And the final tally has been counted. The results are in for the 6th Annual Broad Ripple Chili Cookoff.

To the victors go the spoils, while the defeated return home to lick their wounds and lay their plans for next year.

The Winners

Hottest - Allison Maguire's "Chili To Elect Tim"

Mildest - Todd Ebbert's "Mom's Chili"

Most Creative - Ken Morgan's "Ben Hur Chili"

Most Unusual - Michael Walkup's "Walkup's White Bean Chili"

Best Presentation - Ken Morgan's "Ben Hur Chili"

It Isn't Chili But I Sure Liked It - Michael Walkup's "Walkup's White Bean Chili"

Best Appearence By An Alternative Meat - Michael Walkup's "Walkup's White Bean Chili"

Best Vegetarian - Nathan Brindle's "Mac & Cheese"

Most Imaginative Name - Darren Klem's "El Oso Chili"

I Wouldn't Feed This To The Hogs - Allison Maguire's "Chili To Elect Tim"

Most Likely To Take A Life - Allison Maguire's "Chili To Elect Tim"

Probably Road Kill - Allison Maguire's "Chili To Elect Tim"

And the Winners Are..............

Tie For 2nd Place

The Evanston's "Jim's Grandma's Chili"
Chris Hodapp's "Chili For Dummies"

And finally, the Best In Show,
whose name and creation will be forever emblazoned on the bilious Scarlet Pepper Cup, where it will spend the next twelve months gloating over its vanquished competitors, is................

Ken Morgan's "Ben Hur Chili"

Many thanks to everyone who participated as chefs, judges and victims. A very special thank you to Brother Mark Haworth, SW for putting the evening together; Wbro Nathan Brindle PM and Sally for their annual contribution to the non-chili accoutréments table; the eternally cheerful and helpful Desirée Huskey for the many things she just quietly does behind the scenes without being asked; and of course, to Wbro. Jerry Cowley, for his annual contribution of major prizes for this event. This great evening could not have been a success without you.

WBro. Chris Hodapp on the Wireless

WBro. Chris was interviewed today by host Julie Kredens on WFPL-FM in Louisville's State of Affairs program. Their blurb:

Freemasonry

At one time or another we’ve all heard of the organization called the Freemasons. Maybe your grandfather or uncle is one, or a neighbor or friend; but have they ever told you what the Freemasons stand for, what their purpose is, or what goes on in their meetings? The history of Freemasonry begins in London, in June 1717, with the formation of the Grand Lodge of England. Freemasonry in America was established in the 1740’s and the first Grand Lodge of Kentucky was formed in 1788 in Lexington, four years before Kentucky was admitted into the Union. So, what is a Mason? How does one become a Mason? What’s with all the rituals and symbols? Why does Masonry seem so secretive? Join us Thursday, as we learn more about the Freemason from Chris Hodapp author of “Freemasons for Dummies”. Call us with your questions.

For those who could not listen live, the streaming audio is archived here -- click on the link for the October 19th show. An audio player capable of handling MP3 streaming audio is required.

6th Annual Chili Cookoff

Brethren, get those pots hot and that chili sauce fermenting. The Sixth Annual Broad Ripple Lodge Chili Cookoff is set for 6:00 PM on Saturday, October 21, 2006. (And no, it’s not too early to consider an entry — some of our contestants actually need to let the chili sauce ferment that long.)

Compete for the famed and coveted Scarlet Pepper Trophy, which you don’t get to take home but which will have your name emblazoned upon it should the fix not be in and you actually are voted Best Overall Chili. Or, if you don’t measure up for the top spot, there are plenty of other prizes for various and sundry “best” chilies. Exemplia gratia: Hottest, Mildest, Possibly Roadkill, Most Likely To Take A Life, and several others.

There’s even a good chance that someone else might win the big prize this year, as Erik Hiner and the Templars are sitting this one out after their threepeat last year.

So get your bragging clothes on, start the trash talk, and get chili with our cookoff. The competition is open to all, including your ladies. However, you must be present to compete and to win. And, of course, to eat.

Contestants should plan to arrive to set up their fiery concoctions at around 5:00 PM. Please note that the kitchen will not be available — your chili must be “done” when you arrive. As in past years, the Lodge will provide cooked spaghetti, hot dogs, Beano, power strips for crock pots, stomach pump, etc. (Just kidding about the stomach pump. I think.)

There is no entry fee but donations to help defray our costs will be gratefully accepted at the door.

November: Dinner to Honor PMs and Widows

Looking ahead to November, we note in the calendar a planned Family Thanksgiving Dinner on Saturday evening, November 18. We will honor our Past Masters and our Widows at this event. Reservations will be required; a mailing with more information will be forthcoming. Past Masters and Widows will be served free, a nominal fee of $10 will be required for their guests and all other attendees.

Dues notices mailed

We mailed dues notices at the end of the third week of September. You’ve probably noticed the envelope in your stack — why not sit down right now, beat the end-of-the-year dues rush, and send your check today? Dues are, as always, due no later than January 1, 2007, and are in arrears after that date.

Several brethren have been very prompt and have been issued the first 11 dues cards of the year (beginning with number 55, as the life members got 1-10 and 50-year members got 11-54), and they are as follows: Brothers Melvin Long, Josh Williams, Lee Hargitt, P.M., David Cuppy, Dennis Lashinsky, Richard Pipkin, Eric Williams, John Keeler, Roy Kimbrel, William Borneman, and Dick Reed, P.M. (this being the list of those paid through Wednesday, October 4, 2006). These brothers’ prompt attention in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Brother Borneman also added a generous donation to the Masonic Angel Fund, for which our fulsome thanks.

50 Year Award presented

Our Rusty Nail Degree was somewhat lightly attended, but we made up for it that evening by presenting a long-overdue 50 Year Award of Gold to Brother L. D. Taylor, Jr., who was raised in Broad Ripple Lodge on November 11, 1955. Brother Taylor was unable to attend Lodge to receive the award earlier due to health problems being suffered by his lady Carolyn, who is recovering at home from two small strokes late last year. We were pleased to have Brother Taylor in lodge with us that night and pray for the continuing recovery to good health of his wife.

The brethren of Broad Ripple Lodge who have attained the Award of Gold in 2006 are Brothers James Thomas Rafferty, James Godwin Campbell, John William Talbott, John William Talbott, and Donald Frank Hunter.

Whereabouts

The Secretary has lost track of the following members of the Lodge:

Byron David Graves

Kevin Elbert Moore

Petar Gaurilo Vicovac

William Frederic Waymire, Jr.

Some of these brethren have been missing for nearly five years and are about to be turned in as “lost” to Grand Lodge, per standard procedure. If anyone knows the whereabouts of any of those listed, please contact the Secretary (or have the brother contact the Secretary) as soon as possible.

Mustard Grave Visitation

The Worshipful Master, accompanied by SW Mark Haworth and Secretary Nathan Brindle, P.M., visited Union Chapel Cemetery on Saturday, September 30, in our annual pilgrimage to honor our benefactors J.S. and Cassandra Mustard, who provided property that was sold to raise the money to build our original 1907 Temple in Broad Ripple.

Local PM makes good

WBro. Chris Hodapp, Master of Broad Ripple Lodge in 2001, and current sitting Master of Lodge Vitruvian #767, has a “best seller” in Freemasons for Dummies. Chris reports that the book is one of the largest-selling numbers ever in the “For Dummies” catalog, having sold some 30,000 copies to date. More recently, Ulysses Press announced the upcoming publication of WBro. Hodapp’s Solomon’s Builders: Freemasons, Founding Fathers and the Secrets of Washington D.C. This new book will probably be available after the first of the year, if our author can get it finished and off to the printers. Part of the delay is due to Chris’s busy work schedule, combined with his many recent visits to Grand Lodges across the country to talk about Freemasons for Dummies.

Cribbing from Amazon.Com, we find that

Solomon’s Builders transports the reader back to the birth of a radical new nation and tells how a secretive society influenced and inspired the formation of what would become the most powerful nation on earth.

A history that reads like a thriller, it follows George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and the other Founding Fathers who transformed the lessons of their Masonic lodge rooms into models for a new democracy. In the process, it pieces together the still-visible clues of the Freemasons as it uncovers the mystical Masonic symbolism hidden in the design of the city and in its monuments, statues and buildings.

From “all-seeing eyes,” pentagrams, and Egyptian-inspired obelisks to the imposing and mysterious Masonic temples of the “Widow’s Sons,” Solomon’s Builders guides readers on a Freemason’s tour of Washington, D.C. as it separates fact from myth and reveals the background of the sequel to The Da Vinci Code.

Seems like a worthy follow-on to Freemasons for Dummies. Well done, WBro. Chris!

Newest Master Mason

In the following photograph, the Worshipful Master greets our newest Master Mason, Matt Davis, on the evening of his raising. We have three more candidates in waiting and a few petitions to follow them.

Brother Matt’s degrees were all conferred by his father, WBro. Denny Davis, a Past Master of Terre Coupee Lodge No. 204. Brother Matt is a sixth-generation Mason.

Passage to the Lodge Above

Passage to the Lodge Above

We note the passing of the following brethren of this Lodge in 2006:

Van Wyck Croshier, on February 4, 2006
William James Boice, on April 3, 2006
James Parker Fair, on May 3, 2006
Fredrick Amos Wright, on July 7, 2006
David Warren Bosworth, P.M., honorary member, on September 6, 2006
Robert Lee Crose, on September 18, 2006

“Well done, good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joys of thy Lord.”