My Year In The Grand West

I was honoured to sit in the West for the Installation of the new WM at Birch Cliff Lodge, on Friday the 13th, WBro George Baraki, and during the Investiture of his Officers for the ensuing twelve moneths, with RWBro Peter Sialtsis doing a great job as the IM this evening at the old East Toronto Masonic Temple, aka Chisholm Temple, in Toronto East District. The Beaches Lodge and Birch Cliff shared the same temple - "our home"  at Queen and Balsam in The Beach - for many decades prior to the erection of the now-sold Scarborough Masonic Temple, where I was initiated, passed and raised, and where both lodges used to also meet. Birch Cliff Lodge was founded in 1922 as a daughter Lodge of Wilson Lodge No. 86, which was located in Toronto and named for William Mercer Wilson, the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Canada in The Province of Ontario. Birch Cliff held their first meeting under "Dispensation" on September 8th, 1922 in a renovated house on Birchcliff A...

Birch Cliff Lodge and The Beaches Lodge (my Mother Lodge) have enjoyed a long history together - from the early days of "East Toronto" - having once shared the same temple on Balsam at Queen in which they met for over five decades, before each moved to the new temple in Scarborough in the early 1960s. On Friday evening, Birch Cliff No 612 members proudly held a reception for RWBro Peter Sialtsis, who since the forming of their lodge is their first from among them to be elected to the Board of General Purposes at Grand Lodge. Peter is a truly wonderful Mason - and sets a great example for our young Masons - and who sits on Grand Lodge committees providing his expertise in the realm of law, and is also a very active and knowledgeable member of many concordant bodies, and known throughout our Jurisdiction for his superlative ritual work. His parents attended the reception, as did many other friends and family members, not to mention Masons who have known Peter and his contri...