Widows Night
BYKOTA LODGE No.333 Widows Night Dinner
The Broken Column | AUGUST 19, 2023 6:00 PM to 7:30 pm
SPEAKER | Ill Roy D. Strohacker
Member of Gulf Stream Masonic Lodge No. 245; Master of Gulf Stream Masonic Lodge No. 245 in 2008; District Instructor for the 32nd Masonic District in 2009-2010, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2023-2024; District Deputy Grand Master of the 32nd Masonic District in 2015; Zone Chairman for Masonic Leadership Training from 2010 to 2014, out for one year to serve as DDGM, then appointed Zone Chairman again in 2016, and 2017; Came up with the idea of a 32nd Masonic District Toy Drive in 2008 which has raised over 7,000 toys for the needy children as of 2022 (played the role of Santa Claus representing the fraternity in raising and delivering toys and at other functions); Grand Tyler of the Grand Lodge of Florida at the 2018 Grand Communication; Received his 50 year certificate of membership in 2020; Lake Worth Chapter Order of Eastern Star; Initiated on 12/06/73; Worthy Patron in 1979, 2005, 2008, 2011, 2022, and 2023; Grand Representative to Oregon in 2007 and 2008; Grand Chapter Credentials Committee from 2012 to 2014, 2018 to 2021, and 2022 to 2024; Grand Instructor for the 22nd Eastern Star District in 2023; Served on the Advisory Board of Lake Worth Assembly #15, Order of Rainbow for Girls; Recipient of the Rainbow Grand Cross of Color.
Broken Column Explained
There are numerous Masonic widow pin presentations which may accompany the Masonic broken column pin, Masonic broken column brooch which is presented to the widow of a Freemason.
Meaning of the Broken Column:
The broken column memorializes the end of our earthly life. Surrounding the broken column are acacia leaves, symbolic of our eternal life.
“In Freemasonry, the broken column is, as Master Freemasons well know, the emblem of the fall of one of the chief supporters of the Craft.
The use of the column or pillars as a monument erected over a tomb was a very ancient custom, and was a very significant symbol of the character and spirit of the person interred.
It is accredited to Jeremy L. Cross that he first introduced the Broken Column into the ceremonies, but this may not be true (see Monument). Monument: Mackey’s Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, 1929, page 678…This shows that the idea of a monument to mark the grave of the Temple Architect was introduced into Freemasonry at least as early as 1782.
