St. Charles man to celebrate 60 years as a Mason
Members of the Unity Masonic Lodge #48 in Geneva are certain Jerry Hope of St. Charles represents a rare breed among them. He's likely the first of their members to reach 60 years of service with the Masons.
They are calling it Hope's "60th Masonic birthday," and a celebration will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 3, at Batavia Lodge #404 because it is a bigger facility than Geneva's.
None of this is lost on the 82-year-old Hope, who has lived in St. Charles since 1970 and organized a Masonic Lodge in Missouri prior to moving to Illinois.
He owes a bit more to the masons than just being a part of an organization that helps all charities and has its roots in strong religious values.
"I have a history of Masonic fathers and grandfathers, so I am at least a fourth-generation Mason," Hope said.
But his joining at the age of 22 while attending Washington University in St. Louis had a life-changing twist to it.
"When I joined, I did it with one of my fraternity brothers," he said. "I had to call an instructor for my fraternity brother to ask a question about the Masons and a young girl answered the phone."
That young girl was the instructor's niece.
"And she ended up being my wife," Hope said of the call that ultimately turned into a courtship for a life partner and a membership in a Masonic Lodge.
As part of his 60th anniversary, members will make a donation on Hope's behalf to his favorite charity. That was an easy choice for Hope.
"I'm a naturalist at heart," he said. "So I picked the Kane County Audubon Society to contribute to."
A history that dates back to King Solomon, believed to have the first Masonic Lodge in his temple, has evolved over time to go beyond Freemasons and include businessmen from all walks of life.
Through all of that time, one has to believe Jerry Hope is among the very few who has devoted 60 years to the Masons and its charitable work.
Mayors add new twist:
Even though my work schedule doesn't allow me to attend the Tri-Cities Exchange Club meetings at the moment, I keep tabs on the service club I was a member of for more than 20 years.
One of the best programs the club takes part in is the Accepting the Challenge of Excellence, or ACE, awards breakfast, in which area high school students who have overcome challenges in their lives to reach academic and personal goals are given monetary rewards to use for further education.
You might call these kids the type who generally flew under the radar at a school because they weren't at the higher echelon of honors, or participated in numerous programs.
More likely, they had physical, emotional or family challenges that called for their attention to be put elsewhere. Their climb to achievement often comes with a few more obstacles or moments of doubt.
School officials nominate the kids for this honor and attend the breakfast honoring the achievements.
But for the first time, the club is pleased it has invited the Tri-Cities mayors, and they are planning on attending the May 8 event.
This may generate a shrug of the shoulders from some observers, but here's the reality: These kids have likely never brushed shoulders with city leaders, nor figured any of them would give them the time of day.
This is that time. The chance to talk to the mayors and hear what they have to say about being good students and citizens is easily worth the time and effort they have put in to reach those goals.
The transformation begins:
The plywood is off the front of the building, and that's a good sign.
After the legal questions were finally resolved, workers can get busy on the former Dominick's grocery store site on Randall Road in Geneva and convert it to the Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market and Burlington Coat Factory businesses coming into that location.
It revitalizes that particular strip nicely, with Best Buy on the north end and the new At Home home décor store on the south end.
If we did a flashback to more than 20 years ago, we'd be amazed to recall that it was a Venture store on that south end and an Eagle grocery store on the north end.
But what would be the oddest recollection? That area residents complained that Venture's parking lot lights were too bright and stood out like floodlights on a Randall Road otherwise lacking in the bright lights of retail locations.
Still helping Haiti:
Eight years after suffering its devastating earthquake, Haiti remains in need of help. The Hope for Haitians organization continues to raise money to rebuild villages and send the children in those villages to school.
The group is planning its 5K Walk/Run for Education at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 12, at the Kane County Government Center in Geneva.
The $25 ($30 on race day) entry fee helps the organization continue its mission of building sturdy homes for those in extreme poverty.
The event is free for children younger than 12, and a face-painter will be on hand for the very young ones.
Registration is at hopeforhaitians.org and more information is available by contacting amy@hopeforhaitians.org.
Stars in St. Charles:
We can say that Olympic star Michael Phelps and golf champion Jason Day don't mind taking time out of their busy schedules to spend a Sunday and Monday in St. Charles.
The two super star athletes will be in town again May 20 and 21 for the second Golf. Give. Gala event to raise funds for their respective foundations.
After a silent and live auction at the Hotel Baker and a concert at the Arcada the evening of May 20, Phelps and Day will participate in a celebrity golf event at St. Charles Country Club on May 21.
Steel Beam's journey:
It would be difficult to find another theater in which the audience is so connected to the performers on stage. In the intimate setting of Steel Beam Theatre in downtown St. Charles, one of the major pleasures during its 17 years of operation is feeling as if you are on the stage as well.
But being small has its challenges, the most significant being funds to keep providing popular children's and adult stage productions.
It makes the "SBT Spotlight: Sentimental Journey" gala fundraiser Friday, May 4, at Eagle Brook Country Club the key event of the year.
Theater operators are hoping to see more than 150 people at the dinner, silent auction and raffles that will be part of the evening.
Information about the event, or donating to the theater, is available on the SteelBeamTheatre.com website.
dheun@sbcglobal.net