Red Wing Lodge #8 Cleans Up

Photo by Shawn Carrick

In 2021 Red Wing Lodge made a five-year commitment to the state of Minnesota-Goodhue County Adopt a Highway program. We adopted a two-mile stretch of Highway 61 on the eastward approach to the city of Red Wing. The Lodge schedules two picks dates each year, in the Spring and again in the Fall. We try to pick a nice day in the Spring and another pleasant day in the Fall, but scheduling around Minnesota weather is a challenge.

 The state has erected two beautiful signs along the highway to mark our pic up boundaries, plus the signs inform the public that Red Wing Masonic Lodge provides for the cleanup for that portion of the highway.

 On September 29, 2024, the members of Red Wing Lodge gathered for our bi-annual Adopt a Highway trash collection day. We have found that clearing trash is a small act that provides many expected and unexpected benefits.

 In 2023, Minnesota volunteers like us spent 99,960 hours picking up litter on state roadways and volunteers collectively gathered 42,170 bags of trash. These efforts saved the state, county and local governments millions of dollars that normally would be spent on cleaning these roadways.

 The two-mile stretch of highway 61 assigned to the Lodge is in the countryside filled with farms, fields, and a country church. Our efforts enhance the natural beauty of the landscape making the travel more enjoyable for all the tourists, day trippers, and motorcyclists who visit the Red Wing area.

 As we were getting some exercise by walking and picking up trash, it was also a great time for the brothers to connect. Two newer members joined us for this pick up, so we had a beautiful day talking and learning more about each other.

 Our Lodge has a Fellowcraft degree scheduled in the next few weeks, so as we walked two brothers worked on the interrogatives, while another brother listened to a brother practiced the Staircase Lecture. I listened intently and acted as Tyler.

 Afterwards we visited a local establishment for refreshments, and our Worshipful Master conducted an Officer meeting.

 It was a day that provided a sense of accomplishment and brotherly fellowship plus a good time had by all.