Ortonville Masonic Lodge #339 F & AM

06/02/2026

For your asphalt needs!

05/30/2026

Melvin Jerome "Mel" Blanc was an American voice and comic actor.

Blanc was born in San Francisco, California on May 30th, 1908. His parents were of Russian-Jewish descent, Frederick and Eva Blank. He graduated from Lincoln High School in Portland Oregon. He claimed to have changed the spelling of his name when he was 16. A teacher in his high school told him he'd amount to his name a "blank". Blanc joined the Order of DeMolay and is a member of the DeMolay Hall of Fame. Blanc graduated from high school in 1927. He spent his time conducting an orchestra, he was the youngest orchestra conductor in the country at the age of 19. He also performed in vaudeville.

Also in 1927, Blanc began working in radio. He worked at various radio stations and on several programs up through World War II. One of the shows he appeared on regularly was The Jack Benny Show. Blanc made the transition to television with Benny as well. Although Blanc had many characters with Jack Benny, his most famous character was "Sy, the Little Mexican." Sy only answered with a single word. When the two men performed the act, sometimes referred to as the "Sy...Si...Sue...Sew" always got laughs due to Blanc's and Benny's comic timing.

By 1936, Blanc began working in cartoons. The first cartoon he voiced came out in 1937 when he voiced a drunken bull. In 1940 he voiced for the first time his most recognizable character Bugs Bunny. To keep his timing correct while voicing Bugs he bit a carrot, which he immediately spit into a spittoon. It has been claimed Blanc was allergic to carrots, Blanc himself denied it. Blanc briefly voiced Woody Woodpecker, developing Woody's signature laugh. After signing an exclusive contract with Warner Brothers, he stopped working for Universal who owned Woody Woodpecker.

After Blanc's exclusive contract with Warner Brothers ended in the 1960's, Blanc began doing voices for other cartoons. He worked for Hanna-Barbera voicing such well known characters as Barney Rubble from The Flintstones and Cosmo Spacely from The Jetson's.

In 1961, Blanc was involved with a serious head on collision which put him into a coma for two weeks. His neurologist took the odd tactic of working with Blanc by addressing various of Blanc's more famous alter-egos. His first question of this nature was “How are you feeling today, Bugs Bunny?” to which Blanc, after a pause responded, "Eh... just fine, Doc. How are you?" The doctor went on to Tweetie and other characters. When the accident occurred, Blanc was voicing Barney Rubble, he missed only two episodes after the studio moved recording equipment first into his hospital room and then into his home so he could work from there. Often during this time, Blanc was voicing his characters while in a full body cast laying on his back. After the initial accident, Blanc revealed later, his son "ghosted" several Warner Brothers characters during his recovery.

Blanc, who started smoking at age 9 and did not quit until the age of 77, passed away on July 10th, 1989. He passed away from Coronary Disease. On his headstone is his famous Porky Pig line, "That's all folks!"

Blanc was a member of Mid Day Lodge No. 188 in Oregon.

This article provided by Brother Eric C. Steele.

04/18/2026

Ortonville #339 is proud to help sponsor Michigan Blackhawks 11U Baseball!

02/25/2026

Thank you for your service, Brother!

Last evening during the State of the Union Address, a powerful moment of history and fraternity quietly unfolded.

President Trump recognized 99-year-old World War II veteran George “Buddy” Taggart of Castleton, Vermont. As he was honored before the nation, Brother Taggart wore two pins on his lapel the American flag, and just beneath it, his Masonic pin.

Brother Taggart is a longtime member of Lee Lodge No. 30 in Castleton, Vermont, and was proudly wearing his Grand Lodge of Vermont 70-Year Service pin. Approaching his 100th birthday on July 4th, he is soon to receive his 75-Year Service pin a remarkable testament to a lifetime of dedication to our Craft, his country, and his community.

Adding even deeper Masonic significance to the evening, George Washington’s Masonic gavel was prominently displayed beside House Speaker Mike Johnson. That very gavel was used by Brother George Washington to lay the cornerstone of the United States Capitol in 1793. The gavel is preserved by Potomac Lodge No. 5 , Washington’s lodge, and was specially arranged to be present for the address.

From the founding of our nation to the Greatest Generation, the quiet influence of Freemasonry continues to be woven into the fabric of American history.

Smithfield Masonic Lodge proudly recognizes Brother Taggart for his service, longevity, and steadfast example of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.

Happy early 100th Birthday, Brother. 🇺🇸🗝️

02/25/2026

02/22/2026

Today is George Washington’s birthday! Though we celebrated it last Monday as part of the holiday commonly called Presidents Day, Washington was actually born in Westmoreland County, Virginia on February 22, 1732. Well, kind of. On the day of his birth, the calendar read February 11. In 1752 – when Washington was 20 – the British Empire and all its colonies switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, which moved Washington's birthday 11 days to February 22. If you're confused, that's okay. During his life, Washington rarely celebrated his own birthday. There are no mentions of a birthday party while he lived at Mount Vernon. Late in his life, he attended birthday celebrations that were held on February 11. When Congress celebrated Washington’s 100th birthday in 1832, they did it on February 22.

Regardless of what date he was born on, the extraordinary life that followed is what we remember most about Washington. Raised on his family’s Virginia plantation, he distinguished himself in the Colonial Militia during the French and Indian War. Formally joining the cause of colonial independence in 1775, Washington was appointed Commander in Chief by the Continental Congress. Washington faced some initial losses but learned from his mistakes and put people in positions to succeed. With the help of the French, Washington trapped British General Charles Cornwallis and forced him to surrender at Yorktown in 1781, effectively winning the Revolutionary War.

After the war, Washington was the most admired man in his new country. Instead of seizing power, Washington retired. Soon called back to public service, he was elected President of the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and then the first President of the United States in 1789. After serving two terms and setting many important precedents, he spent his final years at Mount Vernon before passing away on December 14, 1799.

To honor and memorialize all of the things George Washington did for his country, the Washington Monument was completed in 1884. It stands 555-feet-tall, towering over Washington D.C., just like Washington himself looms over our nation’s history.

02/21/2026

There is a chair in the East that most people will never understand.

It isn’t special because of how it looks. It isn’t powerful because of where it sits. And it sure as hell isn’t comfortable. The Master’s Chair is heavy—not with wood or fabric, but with responsibility, doubt, sacrifice, and expectation.

When a man is placed into that chair, something changes. Not because he’s better than the Brothers around him—but because from that moment on, he carries them. Their harmony. Their disagreements. Their hopes for the Lodge. Their frustrations when things don’t go right. Every empty seat on the sidelines. Every Brother who drifts away. Every one who stays.

That chair does not elevate a man—it exposes him.

It exposes his patience when it runs thin. His temper when tested. His humility when pride whispers. It forces him to make decisions that won’t make everyone happy. It forces him to choose what is right over what is easy. And sometimes, it forces him to sit alone with those choices long after the lights are off and the doors are locked.

There are nights when the Lodge feels quiet. Too quiet. Nights when you look out and see empty chairs and wonder what more you could have done. Nights when you question whether you were strong enough, wise enough, or even worthy enough to sit where so many good men sat before you.

No one tells you that part.

No one tells you about the weight you feel when you raise the gavel for the first time—or the lump in your throat the last time you set it down. No one tells you how much of yourself you will give, or how little recognition you will ever receive for it. And no one tells you how deeply it will change you.

The Master’s Chair demands everything you have—and then asks for more.

It asks you to lead men who are older than you, men who know more than you, men who may not agree with you. It asks you to stay calm when emotions run high. To protect the harmony of the Lodge even when your own spirit feels worn down. To put the Lodge first, even when life outside its walls is heavy.

And still—you show up.

Because Masonry was never about comfort. It was never about titles. It was about service, even when service hurts.

When you sit in that Chair, you don’t sit alone. You sit with the ghosts of every Master who came before you—the ones who struggled, the ones who failed, the ones who gave everything they had. You feel their presence whether you realize it or not. You feel the unspoken expectation: leave it better than you found it.

And when your year is done, when the apron is folded and the gavel is passed on, you don’t walk away unchanged. A piece of you stays in that Chair. In the floor you walked. In the Lodge you worried over. In the Brothers you tried to lead the best way you knew how.

The Master’s Chair doesn’t make a man great.

But it will break him down.
It will humble him.
It will test him.
And if he’s honest about the experience—it will make him better.

So when you see a Brother in the East, don’t see a man seeking power. See a man carrying weight. A man who chose responsibility over recognition. A man who sat in a chair that demanded more than it ever gave back.

And if you’ve ever sat there yourself—you already know.

02/01/2026

Today in Masonic History we discuss King Solomon's Temple.

King Solomon's Temple is a biblical structure built in Jerusalem during the reign of King Solomon.

King Solomon's Temple, here after simply called the Temple or the First Temple, is believed to have been built some time around the 9th or 10th century B.C.E. Most of the details known about the Temple come from the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament.

The dimensions of the Temple are given in cubits. A cubit is roughly the distance from the tip of your middle finger to the base of the elbow. In fact the word cubit in English comes from the Latin word cubitum which means elbow. The Temple is described as being 20 cubits wide, 60 cubits long and 30 cubits high. It consisted of three areas inside the structure and two courts which surrounded the Temple where priests and others assembled for prayer. There were also chambers built on the south, west and north side of the Temple. The chambers were believed to be for storage of some kind.

The three inside areas of the Temple consisted of the Porch or Vestibule, the Holy Place or Great House and the Holy of Holies or Inner House.

The Porch is described as 20 cubits in width with two great pillars standing on either side of the porch. It was 10 cubits deep. The Porch is stated to have been 120 cubits high. It is unclear by the descriptions given in the Bible whether a wall separated the Porch from the Great House.

The Great House was 30 cubits high, 40 cubits in length and 20 cubits in width. The walls were wooden and covered in gold. They had carvings of palm trees, flowers in bloom and cherubim.

The final and most sacred portion of the Temple was the Holy of Holies, the inner most room of the Temple. The room is described as being a perfect cube, 20 cubits in width height and length. The discrepancy of the missing 10 cubits from the height has been explained by the belief the Holy of Holies was actually elevated and there was a space underneath. The Holy of Holies is believed to have contained all of the sacred relics of the time. This included the seven branched candlestick and more importantly the Ark of the Covenant.

There is no archaeological evidence the Temple ever existed. Most scholars agree it did exist and when, roughly, it was built. There has been no real excavation of the Temple Mount since the late 1800's. This is due to the religious conflicts existing in the region.

For Freemasonry Solomon's Temple has become a metaphor for the building up of the individual into a better person and member of society. The stones used in the building of the Temple become metaphors for the good deeds and knowledge one gains in life and through positive life experiences.

01/18/2026

If anyone is ever in need of towing or recovering services, this is an honest and trustworthy service.