At 1:00PM on April 10, 2021, The Grand Lodge of Minnesota
held its 169th Public Installation of Officers at the Minnesota Masonic
Heritage Center in Bloomington, Minnesota.
In this COVID environment, that we are still living in,
there have been many safety measures instituted to ensure a safe gathering for
everyone attending. These safety procedures ranged from assigned social
distanced seating to limit the number of attendees (95), simulcasting of the
Annual Communications and Installation of Officers to various locations,
mandatory masks, and a selection of scented and unscented hand sanitizer strategically
placed around the building.
The secure live video feed was sent to ten Lodges and
Masonic Centers across Minnesota, (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester, Mankato,
Windom, Litchfield, Detroit Lakes, Bemidji, Hibbing and Duluth). This way all
Minnesota Masons across the state had the opportunity to view the Grand Lodge
activities. This video feed took a lot of work by many dedicated Brothers, and
my hat is off to you...Thank you!
This year the newly installed Most Worshipful Grand Master
of Minnesota Masons is Rolf M. Widstrand. MWB Rolf has a special kind of
history. First he is a Lewis (a Son of a Master Mason), but Rolf also follows
in his Father’s footsteps for Rolf's father, William W. Widstrand, was the
Minnesota Most Worshipful Grand Master of Minnesota Masons in 1971. To think
that MWB Rolf was installed fifty years to the day that his father was
installed is very special.
Here is an unfair photo of my Grandmaster just moments after
his installation. I will dutifully post his official portrait when I receive
it.
As a duty-bound permanent member of the Grand Lodge I sat in
my assigned seat at the installation. As I was waiting for the installation to
be begin, I began looking around. I noticed that the seat directly in front of
me had a brass name tag which meant that one of the Brothers donated money to
Minnesota Masonic Charities to sponsor a seat in the beauitful auditorium. When
I read the name on the plate I had to chuckle. Here is the photo.
Our Minnesota Annual Communication is a special time for me,
though, over the decades, I have been to most. The format each year is the
same, but it's hard to describe how they are all different, and special in
their individual way. Last year when the pandemic was at its height, we were
unable to gather, and I felt that something was missing from my life. This year
even with the restrictions, and not having the opportunity to spend time with
my Bothers, it feels fulfilling to be able to attend in person.
I will admit, even with the restrictions, I still snuck in a
few handshakes, and managed a hug or two when no one was looking.
