MASONIC CALENDAR
February
FEBRUARY 1
In 1901 at
Hadiz, OH was born Bro. William Clark Gable, legendary movie star. His first
film, "The Painted Desert," was made in 1931 when talking films were replacing
silent films. Bro. Gable won an Academy Award for his role in "It happened one
Night," which established him as a romantic, national screen idol. For more than
30 years he played leading roles in more than 70 films. He was also in the
enormously successful "Gone with the Wind." In 1933 he was initiated in Beverly
Hills Lodge No. 528,. in Beverly Hills California. He died November 16, 1960, at
Hollywood , CA, shortly after finishing his last film, Arthur Miller's "The
Misfits," in which he starred with Marilyn Monroe.
FEBRUARY 2
In 1936, five
charter members of Baseball's new Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, NY, were
announced. Of 226 ballots cast Bro. Ty Cobb was named on 222, Babe Ruth on 215;
Bro. Honus Wagner on 215; Christy Mattewson on 205 and Walter Johnson on 189. A
total of 178 votes were necessary to be voted to the Hall.
FEBRUARY 3
In 1943 four
chaplains of different faiths gave their life jackets to soldiers off Greenland
from torpedoed troop ship "Dorchester" and, in so doing, knowingly sacrificed
their own lives. One of the four was Lt. and Bro. George Landsing Fox of Moose
River Lodge 82, Concord, Vt. (The others were Alexander Cook, Clark Poling and
John Washington.) A commemorative pin is available for $8 with net profits going
to Moose River Lodge No. 82 in Vermont and the Knights Templar Eye Foundation.
FEBRUARY 4
In 1899 Bro.
William McKinley, 25th President of the US, challenged Philippine violation of
the terms of the Treaty of Paris, signed on December 10,1998, wherein Spain
ceded the Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico to the U.S. in return for 20
million dollars. Rather than see one colonial ruler replaced by another,
revolutionary leader Emilio Aguinaldo called for the Filipinos to declare their
independence. The tense situation was sparked into open warfare by a skirmish
just outside Manila on February 4, 1899. It took three years of extraordinarily
brutal warfare for 126,000 U.S. soldiers to subdue the Philippine independence
fighters.
In 1902, born
at Detroit, MI was Bro. Charles Augustus Lindberg, first man to fly solo and
non-stop over the Atlantic Ocean, New York to Paris, May 20-21, 1927. He did
this flying the Spirit of St. Louis. Bro. Lindberg belonged to Keystone Lodge
243, Saint Louis, MO.
In February
1945, with Allied armies rapidly advancing into Germany and final victory over
the Nazis well within sight, the leaders of the U.S., Great Britain, and the
Soviet Union met to discuss postwar arrangements for central Europe. The meeting
among Bro. Franklin Roosevelt, Bro. Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin took
place from February 4th to 11th in Yalta, the former palace of Czar Nicholas on
the southern shore of the Black Sea. The "Big Three" agreed to divide Germany
into four occupation zones. In effect, the Yalta Conference established the
physical structure of the cold war: the "Iron Curtain" that would divide Europe
for the next 45 years. At Yalta Roosevelt also secured Stalin's pledge that
Russia would join the Allies in the war against Japan. While some critics have
said that Bro. Roosevelt's physical weakness (he died two months after the
conference) caused him to negotiate weakly, most historians believe that the
agreement that emerged from Yalta was an accurate reflection of the military
realities.
FEBRUARY 5
In 1938 Bro.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , then President of the US. proposed increasing the
number of Supreme Court justices. Critics charged Bro. Roosevelt was attempting
to "pack" the court.
FEBRUARY 6
In
1778, American diplomats led by Bro. Benjamin Franklin met with the French, and
on February 6, 1778, in Paris, France and the newly established United States of
America signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance.
.France began secretly aiding the American colonists in their rebellion against
Britain as early as 1775. The motivation was chiefly resentment over the loss of
North American territory to Britain during the French and Indian War
(1754-1763). Beyond the secret aid, however, the American revolutionaries sought
to secure a formal alliance with France. It was the American victory over the
British in the Battle of Saratoga in October, 1777 that convinced the French
that the Americans were worthy partners. France officially recognized the U.S.
as an independent nation and promoted trade between the U.S. and France. The
Treaty of Alliance created a military alliance against the common enemy: Great
Britain. French participation was enormously helpful, perhaps even decisive in
the Americans' ultimate victory. As many as 12,000 French soldiers and 32,000
French sailors joined the fight against Britain. However, the cost of
contributing to the war effort resulted in a depletion of the French treasury
that precipitated the French Revolution and the downfall of the French monarchy.
FEBRUARY 7
In 1883 was
born James Hubert "Eubie" Blake, American composer and pianist, writer of nearly
1,000- songs (including "I'm Just Wild About Harry" and "Memories of You." Born
at Baltimore, MD., he was recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in
1981. His last professional performance was in January, 1982. He died five days
after his 100th birthday on February 12, 1983.
In 1940 Walt
Disney's animated film "Pinocchio" premiered in theaters around the world. Based
on a 19th-century story by Italian writer Carlo Collodi, "Pinocchio" is
considered one of Disney's best movies. It's about a wooden marionette's many
misadventures during his quest to become a real boy. .Although Pinocchio
promises the Blue Fairy he'll be good, temptation can be a powerful force for
any boy. Curious and naive, Gepetto's "little woodenhead" has got a solid thirst
for adventure but a shaky sense of what's right and wrong, despite the advice of
his "conscience," Jimminy Cricket. It is known that Disney was a Senior DeMolay.
It is believed he was initiated into Masonry but did not progress further.
FEBRUARY 8
In 1915, D. W.
Griffith's monumental silent film epic, originally titled "The Clansman," was
released, then quickly re-titled "The Birth of a Nation." The movie had a mixed
reception. Some called it "the single most important film of all time," while
others denounced it for its overt racism. Bro. Griffith was a member of
St.Cecile Lodge 568, New York City. Freemasons featured in the film included
Bro. Henry B. Walthall 1878-1936, Beverly Hills No. 528; Bro. Donald Crisp
1880-1974, Henry S. Orme No. 458; Bro. Elmo Lincoln 1889-1952, Elysian No. 418,
and Bro. Ralph Lewis 1862-1937. Lodge unknown.
FEBRUARY 9
FEBRUARY 10
In 1846 Bro.
Brigham Young began leading members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints (the Mormons) on an exodus to Salt Lake, Utah from Nauvoo, Illinois. The
American Mormon leader had succeeded Bro. Joseph Smith as head of the Mormon
Church in 1844 after Bro. Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by an
angry mob at a Carthage, Ill. jail on June 27, 1844.
In 1863, the
great showman Bro. P. T. Barnum staged an extravagant wedding for two of his
human exhibits, the very small people "Tom Thumb" (Bro. Charles Sherwood
Stratton) and Lavinia Warren. The newlyweds received their 2,000 guests while
standing on a grand piano. Bro. Stratton was a member of St. John' s Lodge No. 3
Bridgeport, CT.
FEBRUARY 11
In 1945, Bro.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the US, Bro. Winston Churchill, Prime
Minister of England, and Josef Stalin, Soviet Leader, signed an agreement at
Yalta, a Soviet city on the Black Sea, calling for new blows at the heart of
Germany, and for occupying Germany at the end of World War II. It also called
for a meeting in San Francisco to draft a charter for the United Nations.
FEBRUARY 12
In 1733, led by
philanthropist Bro. James Edward Oglethorpe, the first English colonists arrived
in Georgia, at the site of Savannah. Most of the founders had been debtors in
London prisons who had been granted 10,000 pounds by Parliament - and
considerably more by English Freemasons - to start life anew in the new world.
Bro. Oglethorpe, then a Major General in the British Army, had energized the
idea. The new colony was named Georgia in honor the British monarch. In 1735,
the Grand Lodge of England issued a warrant for the establishment of King
Solomon's Lodge No. 1 at Savannah (now Solomon's No. 1).Bro. Oglethorpe was its
first Master and served for nine years. This Lodge was organized by Bro.
Oglethorpe under the spreading branches of an oak tree from which a chair was
later made and presented to the Lodge on June 21, 1866.
In 1889,
American labor leader John Llewellyn Lewis was born near Lucas, IA. His parents
came to the US from Welsh mining towns, and Lewis left school after the 8th
grade to become a miner himself. He was to become leader of the United Mine
Workers of America and champion of all miners' causes. Bro. Lewis joined Good
Shepherd Lodge 414 in Lucas, IA in 1902, becoming Junior Warden in 1907. He
later moved to Illinois and shifted his affiliation to Ancient Landmarks Lodge
319 in Indianapolis, then, on his return to Lucas, with Paul Revere Lodge 638
(Good Shepherd Lodge no longer existed. Bro. Lewis died at Washington, DC on
June 11, 1969.
In 1909, Bro.
W.E.B. DuBois and Ida Wells-Barnett, among others, founded the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) at Niagara Falls,
Canada. Its purpose was to wage a militant campaign against lynching and other
forms of racial oppression. Its legal wing brought many lawsuits that
successfully challenged segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. When six African
Americans were killed and 200 others driven out of town in race riots in
Springfield, Illinois in the summer of 1908, many Americans were shocked,
because they associated such violence only with racism in the south. Springfield
was not only a northern city, but the home of Abraham Lincoln. Three people,
Mary Ovington, William E. Walling, and Dr. Henry Moskowitz, alarmed at the
deterioration of race relations, decided to open a campaign to oppose the
pervasive discrimination against racial minorities. They issued a call for a
national conference on "the Negro question", and for its symbolic value, they
chose the centennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, February 12, 1909, as the
date for the conference. Held in New York City, it drew an interracial group of
60 distinguished citizens, including DuBois, who formulated plans for a
permanent organization devoted to fighting all forms of racial discrimination.
That organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP), was established the following year. The NAACP is the oldest and
largest civil rights organization in the U.S. With more than 2,200 branches
across the country, it has been in the forefront of the struggle for voting
rights, and an end to discrimination in housing, employment, and education. Bro.
William Edward Burghard DuBois' Masonic affiliation was Prince Hall.
FEBRUARY 13
IN 1741, in
Philadelphia, three days before Bro. Benjamin Franklin could produce the first
issue of his "General Magazine," Andrew Bradford and former Franklin editor John
Webb published the first issue of their "American Magazine". Bro. Franklin is
said to have felt betrayed, and never mentioned the project in his
autobiography. Neither magazine was successful: Bradford's magazine ceased
publication after three issues; Franklin's folded after six. Because newspapers
and books were considered necessities, they appeared very early in colonial
America. Magazines, on the other hand, were luxury items: not enough people had
extra money to buy them or extra leisure time to read them. Thus, the magazine
was the last of the print media to appear in America, in the early 1740s. The
founding of many "learned societies" resulted in the publication of numerous new
journals and scientific periodicals, such as the Buffalo Medical and Surgical
Journal.
In 1935 a
Flemington, New Jersey jury found Bruno Hauptman guilty of the kidnapping and
murder of the infant son of Bro. Charles and Ann Lindberg. Hauptman was
sentenced to die in the electric chair. Bro. Charles (Lucky) Lindberg, was the
first man to solo the Atlantic Ocean, New York to Paris, May 20-21, 1927. Bro.
Lindberg belonged to Keystone Lodge 243, Saint Louis, MO.
FEBRUARY 14
In 1849, Bro.
James Polk became the first US President to be photographed while in office. The
photographer was Mathew B. Brady, who would become famous for his photographs
during the Civil War.
IN 1895, Bro.
Oscar Wilde's last play "The Importance of Being Earnest" opened to acclaim at
the St. James Theater in London. The Irish poet, wit and dramatist whose full
name was Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde became notorious not only for his
creative works (which were many) but for his aesthetic eccentricities. He was
tried and convicted on a charge of sodomy and jailed from 1895 to 1897. He lived
in Paris after his release from jail under an assumed name (Sebastian Malmouth)
where he wrote "The Ballad of Reading Gaol," reflecting his tragic experiences.
Bro. Wilde was raised May 25, 1875 in Apollo University Lodge No. 357, Oxford,
England.
FEBRUARY 15
In 1933, at Bay
Front Park, Miami, FL., Bro. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then President of the
US, escaped an assassin's bullet meant for him but which, instead, hit and
killed Anton J. Cermak, then Mayor of Chicago. Joseph Zangara, the 32-year-old
assassin, was electrocuted on March 20, 1933, at the Raiford, Fl State Prison.
In 1941, Bro.
Duke Ellington and his orchestra recorded "Take the "A" Train" for the first
time. The African -American jazz musician as composer, arranger and pianist was
a significant figure in American 20th Century music. He was initiated into
Social Security Lodge No. 1, Washington, D.C. Prince Hall Affiliation. His
impression of initiation were recorded in his song, "I'm beginning to see the
light," sung by the incomparable Bro. Louis Armstrong, also a Prince Hall Mason.
IN 1965, Bro.
Nat "King" Cole died of complications following surgery for lung cancer at the
age of 48. This African-American singer and pianist proved an outstanding
entertainer. Bro. Cole was initiated into Thomas Waller Lodge No. 49,. Los
Angeles, CA, Prince Hall Affiliation.
FEBRUARY 16
In 1804, Lt.
and Bro. Stephen Decatur led a successful raid into Tripoli Harbor to burn the
U.S. Navy frigate "Philadelphia," which had fallen into the hands of Tripoli
pirates. Commodore and Bro. Edward Prebble had to return later to force the
release of the Philadelphia's captain and 306-man crew.
FEBRUARY 17
In 1776, Bro.
Edward Gibbons published the first of six volumes of "The Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire." The first of the six volumes was an instant success, with the
entire first printing selling out almost immediately. Gibbon's skeptical
attitude to religion, and his claim that Christianity was a major cause of the
Roman empire's decline troubled many readers, but the range and depth of his
scholarship and the wit and elegance of his literary style were universally
acknowledged. By 1788, when the work was complete, "Decline and Fall" ran to
about a million and a half words, with close to 8000 footnotes. Although the
book was written more than two hundred years ago, and modern historical research
has called many of its conclusions into question, "Decline and Fall" is perhaps
the only Western historical work of more than a century old that continues to be
read frequently by the non-specialized educated public.
FEBRUARY 18
In 1885 "The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was published for the first time to became one
of Bro. Samuel Longhorn Clemens'(better known as Mark Twain) most loved, most
influential, and most controversial books. It was banned from the Concord Public
Library in 1885, the year of its publication, and "Huckleberry Finn" ranks
number five in the American Library Association's list of the most frequently
challenged books of the 1990s. But in 1935, Ernest Hemingway wrote that "all
modern American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry
Finn... All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There
has been nothing as good since." Bro. Clemens had been a member of Polar Star
Lodge No. 79, St. Louis, MO, from which he was once suspended, then reinstated
on April 4, 1867.
In 1892, born
at Elwood, IN was Bro. Wendell Lewis Willkie, American lawyer, author, public
utility executive and 1940 US Presidential nominee of the Republican Party. At
Philadelphia in 1940 the Republican Party chose Willkie rather than Bro. Thomas
Dewey as their presidential candidate. During the campaign Bro. Willkie attacked
the New Deal as being inefficient and wasteful. Although he did better than
expected, Bro. Franklin D. Roosevelt beat Bro. Willkie by 27,244,160 votes to
22,305,198. Bro. Willkie was an idealistic internationalist and was a strong
opponent of American isolationism. Bro. Franklin D. Roosevelt had a great deal
of respect for Bro. Willkie and in 1941 appointed him as his special
representative. During the Second World War he visited England and the Far East.
Bro. Willkie played an active role in the American Committee for Russian War
Relief. Along with Bro. Fiorello La Guardia, Charlie Chaplin, Vito Marcantonio,
Orson Welles, Rockwell Kent and Pearl Buck, Bro. Willkie also campaigned during
the summer of 1942 for the opening of a second-front in Europe. In 1943 Bro.
Willkie published his book "One World" where he called for a post-war world
which was a union of free nations. The book, which was a best seller, laid the
groundwork for the United Nations. He followed this with "An American Program"
(1944). Bro. Willkie was Initiated September 9, 1913, in Quincy Lodge No.
230,Elwood, IN. In 1920 he became a charter member of Coventry Lodge No. 665,
Akron OH. Bro. Wendell Willkie died of a coronary thrombosis in New York City,
October 8, 1944.
In 1922 Bro. Ed
Wynn became first big vaudeville star to sign on as a radio talent. He became
known throughout America as "The Fire Chief." Bro.Wynn's real name was Leopold.
He was born November 9, 1886 in Philadelphia, PA. He spent 11 years with Keith
Vaudeville then did two years with the Ziegfield Follies. Bro. Wynn became a big
name on the stage and in the movies. During world wars I and II he played in
camps and at military hospitals. He gained his greatest fame on radio as the
"Fire Chief." He was a Mason but his affiliation is not known at this time.
FEBRUARY 19
FEBRUARY 20
In 1792, Bro.
and President George Washington signed the Postal Service Act, establishing a
permanent Postal Service with a detailed set of rules and procedures. A
temporary Service had been in existence since 1775. Bro. Benjamin Franklin was
named the first Postmaster. On July 26, 1775, members of the Second Continental
Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, agreed ". . . that a Postmaster General be
appointed for the United States, who shall hold his office at Philadelphia, and
shall be allowed a salary of 1,000 dollars per annum . . ." That simple
statement signaled the birth of the Post Office Department, the predecessor of
the United States Postal Service and the second oldest department or agency of
the present United States of America.
In 1962,
Astronaut and Bro. John Glenn, 40, became the first American to orbit the Earth.
During the 4-hour, 55-minute flight, he completed three orbits aboard
"Friendship 7" at an altitude of 100-162 miles. Bro. Glenn was a US Marine
Lieutenant Colonel at the time. Bro. Glenn won election to the US Senate from
Ohio in 1974, and was re-elected in 1980, and 1986. He was to take another space
junket at age 77. Bro. Glenn was a member of Concord Lodge 688, at Concord, OH.
New York Grand Lodge presented him with the Grand Lodge Distinguished Service
Award in 1980. This is the highest award of honor which can be given by the
craft in New York.
FEBRUARY 21
In 1885, the
National Monument Society completed the 585-foot-tall Washington Monument to
celebrate the 100th anniversary of Bro. George Washington's birth. The
cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1848 in Masonic ceremony with the same trowel
Bro. Washington used to lay the cornerstone of the Capitol Building. The
monument weighs 81,120 tons And cost $1.3-million. It is thought to be the
world's tallest monument.
FEBRUARY 22
In 1732 was
born in Westmoreland County, VA,. the Mason who was to become first President of
the United States, Bro. George Washington. The date is the new style (the old
style being February 11). He died at Mt. Vernon, VA on December 14, 1799. The
hero of American independence was initiated November 4, 1752 in the Lodge at
Fredericksburg, VA; passed March 3, 1753, and raised there in 1753 at age 20.
In 1918 was
born at Alton, IL Bro. Robert Pershing Wadlow, the Mason who was to become the
tallest man in recorded history. Though only nine pounds at birth, by age 10,
Bro. Wadlow already stood over 6 feet tall and weighed 210 pounds. When he died
at age 22, he stood a remarkable 8 feet, 11 inches tall, and weighed 490 pounds.
His gentle, friendly manner in the face of constant public attention earned him
the name of "Gentle Giant." Bro. Wadlow died July 15, 1940 at Manistee, MI, of
complications resulting from a foot infection. Bro. Wadlow was made a Mason in
Franklin Lodge 25 at Alton, IL. in 1939.
FEBRUARY 23
In 1836, 187
Texans - many of them Masons - took on 5,000 Mexican troops led by General Santa
Ana. For 12 days the Mexican forces bombarded the fortress with intense
artillery fire, reducing the old mission to a ruin. On March 6 Santa Ana's
forces began a frontal attack that left a thousand Mexican casualties on the
battlefield, but within an hour had killed all 187 defenders . Among them Bro.
and Col. Jim Bowie, Bro. Davey Crockett, Masonic Brothers James Bonham, Jim
Almaron Dickenson and Col. William Barrett Travis. Their bodies were found
mutilated.
In 1868 was
born Bro. William Edward Burghardt DuBois, American educator and leader of the
movement for Black equality. He was born at Great Barrington, MA, and died at
Accra, in Ghana, Africa on August 27, 1963. He ws one of the founders of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). His Masonry
was Prince Hall Affiliated.
FEBRUARY 24
In 1803, in the
case of Marbury vs. Madison, Bro. John Marshall's U.S. Supreme Court ruled that
the final interpreter of constitutional issues is the Supreme Court. This ruling
set an important precedent allowing judicial review of the constitutionality of
laws. Just as George Washington helped shape the actual form that the executive
branch would take, so the third chief justice, Bro. John Marshall, shaped the
role that the courts would play. The new chief justice, John Marshall's decision
in this case has been hailed as a judicial tour de force. In essence, he
declared that the Judiciary Act of 1789 gave the Supreme Court the power to
issue writs of mandamus exceeding the authority allotted the Court under Article
III of the Constitution, and was therefore null and void., yet would not create
a situation in which a court order would be flouted. Bro. Marshall was a member
of Richmond Lodge 13, Richmond ,VA.
In 1836, Bro.
Samuel Colt received a patent for the revolver associated with his name. He was
only 21 at the time. From early childhood, Bro. Samuel Colt was fascinated by
the mechanics of firearms. As a teenager he worked as a shipping hand, and at
the age of 16, aboard a ship bound for India, he carved a wooden model of a
handgun with a revolving chamber. The idea was suggested to him by the wheel of
the ship, with its mechanism of spokes aligned by a clutch. After five years of
development and refinement of his "revolver", he patented a working model in
England and France, and the following year, on February 25, 1836, he received a
U.S. patent. However, sales of the early revolvers were slow, and the company
that was marketing them went bankrupt. Bro. Colt's fortunes brightened in 1847
when the U.S. Army ordered 1,000 of the handguns for use in the Mexican War.
From then on demand soared, and Colt set up the world's largest armory in his
hometown of Hartford, Connecticut. Colt Firearms Company helped the South to
build up its firearm supply prior to the Civil War, but once the war broke out,
the company was fully devoted to supplying the Union Army. Samuel Colt died in
1862; his invention and company have since become American legends. Bro. Colt's
Masonic activities were centered in Harford, CT.
In 1867, the US
House of Representatives voted to impeach President and Bro. Andrew Johnson, in
a showdown over reconstruction policy following the Civil War. The battle began
when Bro. Johnson dismissed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton over an effort to
divide the conquered South into five military districts that were to take their
orders from General U.S. Grant, the head of the armies, rather than from the
President, the Commander in Chief. Congress then passed the Tenure of Office Act
which would prevent the President from dismissing any political appointee
approved by the Senate. Stanton's dismissal was to test the constitutionality of
the Act.
In 1942,
President and Bro. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, just 79 days after the U.S.
entered WWII, authorized the U.S. Foreign Information Service (FIS) to use the
British Broadcasting Service transmitters to beam its first broadcast to Europe.
Announcer William Harlan Hale opened the German language program by saying,
"Here speaks a voice from America." It became the standard introduction for all
FIS broadcasts, and eventually the official name of the service: Voice of
America (VOA). The VOA played a major role in America's cultural policy during
the Cold War, with broadcasts to listeners behind the Iron Curtain and in
developing countries. Currently the VOA broadcasts in English and 42 other
languages, with Internet service supplementing radio transmission.
FEBRUARY 25
In 1870, Bro.
Hiram R. Revels, (R-Miss,) became the first African-American member of US Senate
when he was sworn in to serve out the unexpired term of Jefferson Davis. A
Prince Hall Freemason, he served as Grand Chaplain of the Prince Hall Grand
Lodge of Ohio. At the outbreak of the Civil War he helped organize the first two
African-American regiments in Maryland. He also served as Chaplain of one of
these regiments. He died January 16, 1901.
FEBRUARY 26
In 1846 was
born at Scott County, IA, Bro. William Frederick (Buffalo Bill) Cody,
Frontiersman, who claimed to have killed more than 4,000 buffalo to feed the
railroad workers pushing west. Subject to many heroic Wild West yarns, Bro. Cody
became successful first as a Pony Express rider and Indian scout, then as a
showman, bringing his acts across the US to Europe. He died January 10, 1917, at
Denver, Co. Bro. Cody was raised in Platte Valley Lodge No. 15, Platte Valley,
NE, and remained an active Mason all his life.
In 1934, Bro.
and then US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered the creation of the
Federal Communications Commission , which was created by Congress on June 19 of
that year to oversee communications by radio, wire, or cable. TV and satellite
communications later became part of its charge.
FEBRUARY 27
FEBRUARY 28
In 1933, Bro.
and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Frances Perkins to the
position of Secretary of Labor, making her the first female ever appointed to a
cabinet position. Republicans strongly opposed her nomination, both because of
her sex and her pro-labor opinions. Completing her master's degree in social
work she surveyed conditions in slum neighborhoods of New York City. She worked
in settlement homes. She took part in the commission that investigated the
exploitative labor practices and unsafe working conditions that caused the
Triangle Shirt Company Fire, one of the era's worst industrial tragedies. She
was appointed to New York State's Industrial Commission, and served as its head
when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was governor of New York. Perkins was an
effective Secretary of Labor, and served for 12 years, the longest term of any
Secretary. She was a remarkably effective and influential member of the cabinet,
and played a major role in drafting many of the key New Deal reform acts,
notably the Social Security Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. She resigned
her cabinet post in 1945 after the death of Bro. Franklin Roosevelt and served
in the Civil Service Commission under President and Bro. Harry Truman. In honor
of Frances Perkins's contributions to the welfare of working Americans, the
Department of Labor Headquarters was named after her in 1980.
FEBRUARY 29
In 1944, Bro.
and General Douglas MacArthur accompanied the first units to land on Los Negros
Island, in the Admiralty Islands, The Momote Airfield was taken with little
resistance but was not held. And the beachhead was reduced overnight. Bro.
MacArthur visited the fields personally and gave orders that the position had to
be held. In spite of a Japanese counterattack the beachhead was maintained.
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