Stanley E. Pope, P.M. (Center), a warrant member of Pocono Lodge No. 780, Cresco, was presented a 50-Year Emblem of Gold by Bruce E. Fox, D.D.G.M., 50th Masonic District (left), during his official visitation to the lodge in June. Homer Jones, P.D.D.G.M. (right), and a member of Pocono Lodge, assisted Bro. Fox in the presentation. It also was Past Masters' Night, well attended by 27 past masters, 17 of whom were from Pocono lodge. Earlier in the year, 50-Year Emblems of Gold were presented to two Pocono Lodge members: George Ginther, P.M., also a warrant member, by Bros. Fox and Jones; and to Carl T. Ludden, in MacCalla Lodge No. 596, Souderton, by Jesus A. Rodriguez, D.D.G.M., 8th Masonic District.

A distinguished reception was held June 26 to celebrate the Theodore K. Warner, Jr. Professorship in Business Law made possible by a gift from the Independence Foundation, a Philadelphia-based foundation specializing in funding for nurse-managed primary health care, culture and the arts, and public interest legal services. The Warner Professorship was endowed in 1998 to honor "Ted" K. Warner, Jr. and recognize his service to the Foundation as a member of its Board of Trustees since 1991, including serving as its President and Secretary and Treasurer. Bro. Warner spent 30 years with the Pennsylvania Railroad, later Penn Central, rising to Vice President of Accounting and Taxes. He is a member of Joseph H. Brown Lodge No. 751, (Tacony) Philadelphia, a P.D.D.G.M., Masonic District D, a member of the Trustees of Title to the Masonic Temple and Other Real Estate of Grand Lodge, a former member of the Committee on Masonic Homes, and through the years has performed numerous other services for the Grand Lodge.

The borough of Oakdale threw a birthday party on July 16 for its mayor, June Earl Austin, a member of Oakdale Lodge No. 669. At age 100, Bro. Austin is heralded by his community as "the most distinguished and oldest mayor in America." He was appointed Oakdale's mayor in 1994 at the "tender age of 94." He then ran successfully for four-year terms in 1995 and 1999. In his earlier career, Bro. Austin was a conductor for the Pennsylvania Railroad, during which time he met many celebrities including President and Bro. Franklin D. Roosevelt and actress Jean Harlowe. He married his only girlfriend, Emma, on New Year's Eve, 1924. She died in 1980. He is the father of three daughters and has ten grandchildren, 13 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.