Gene Dennis Bowerman, age 76, of Swanton, passed away unexpectedly at his residence early Thursday morning, August 24, 2023.  He was born on August 18, 1947 in Wauseon to the late Harold Bowerman and Kathryn (Galbraith) Bowerman. Gene graduated from Delta High School in 1965, shortly after high school he enlisted in the United States Army and served during the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1972. On April 3, 1970, he married Shirley Battig and together they shared 53 years of marriage and were blessed with three children, Tyson, Jon and Tatum.  In 1976, Gene along with his wife, Shirley started their family business, Bowerman Carpet / Wallpaper; which still operates today.  Gene was a member and past Master of Fulton Lodge #248 F&A.M.  He was also an active member of the Delta Eagles, Delta American Legion Post #373 and Hope Church of Delta (previously Delta United Methodist Church).  Gene enjoyed spending time camping with his family at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park in Fremont, IN and recently, Marble Lake; where he captained the pontoon boat and drove his grandchildren and trusted canine companion, “Lu Lu” on his motor scooter.  He loved supporting and following his children in their various sporting and school activities.  Gene was an avid fan of The OSU Buckeyes, Cleveland Browns and Cleveland Indians and proud supporter of the Delta Public Schools.  In addition to the passing of his parents, Gene was preceded in death by his daughter, Tatum Bowerman- Hummel on August 20, 2016 and brother, Edwin Bowerman on October 9, 2002. He is survived by his wife, Shirley; sons, Tyson (Amy) Bowerman of Swanton; Jon (Becky) Bowerman of Florida, son-in-law, Chris Hummel and grandchildren, Courtney, Claudia, Abby, Amanda, Tristen, Gavin, Clayton, Michaela, Katie and Oliver and sister-in-law, Donna Bowerman.  Friends and family will be received from 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM on Monday, August 28, 2023 at Barnes Funeral Chapel and Crematory, 5825 St. Hwy. 109 in Delta.  A funeral service honoring Gene’s life will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, August 29, 2023 also at the funeral home.  Those wishing a show of sympathy are asked to consider memorial contributions to the Fulton County Humane Society, 22450 Co Rd F, Archbold, Ohio 43502, or Sara’s Garden, 620 W. Leggett Street Wauseon, Ohio 43567 in Gene’s memory.  Online condolences may be sent to the family through our website at www.barnesfuneralchapel.com

We had the opportunity and privilege to honor WB Don Gerdes for 50 years of service to the fraternity. Thank you RWB McKibben for being available on short notice. Don treated us to some stories from his time in the East and gave us an update on his health and wellness. It was good to see you again brother, save travels back to Florida!

Thanks brothers for your help this morning with putting railings on the float trailer. That is a sharp shade of blue!

Excuse the delay in getting this newsletter assembled and sent out, time got away from me.

First, a round of thank-you’s to our Stewards and everyone else who helped with the Steak Fry on May 16^th. It was very well attended, we had some amazing steaks provided, and we rounded the evening with a great Entered Apprentice degree for a new candidate.

On May 19^th we had the opportunity to attend the Fifth District Association Awards Dinner at Leisure Time Winery. Fulton Lodge was honored with the Grand Master’s Reception Attendance award, having more brothers and spouses in attendance than any other lodge. I would also note that we had the most brothers turn out for the Awards Dinner, 13 in all with spouses.  Thanks for participating in a great night of fellowship.

For our Wardens and anyone else who would be interested, Paul Weglage, the DGM for the Grand Lodge of Ohio, has released his rollout program schedule.  The closest will be Wood County Lodge in Bowling Green on July 31. 

The next stated meeting on June 6 will be our Strawberry Shortcake Social at 6 pm, followed by our stated meeting at 7:30 pm. This is the last stated meeting before we go dark for the summer.

Traditionally, the Past Masters have provided strawberries, and everyone else should bring shortcakes, angel food cakes, toppings, etc. I’ll work on an announcement after this is sent out. The stated meeting which follows at 7:30pm will have us without our Worshipful Master, so the Senior Warden is stepping in and is asking all other line officers to move forward one chair for the evening.

Grand Lodge Communications will be held on October 20, 2023 at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky. Online registration will be available on July 1 at www.glohio2023.com. Wardens and the Master are expected to attend, but it is available to all master masons. If you have never had a chance to attend Grand Lodge Communications, this is about as close as it gets in Sandusky. It’s an easy day trip out, and if you are only attending the general session and not staying overnight, no registration is necessary.

The Lodge will be entering a float in the 2023 Delta Chicken Festival Parade on July 15. The parade’s start time is 11am and we could use as many brothers and their families to come out and be part of the event. Remember to wear your masonic shirts/polos and dress for the weather (shorts are fine). Pat Lambert is spearheading this effort and needs your help! We need to gather misc stuffed animals and individually wrapped hard candy to hand out to kids along the parade route. Please bring anything you can to the June stated meeting. Pat informed me he is making a few adjustments to the float trailer, but I am sure he would accept any help you might be able to offer. The theme for the Chicken Fest Parade is “It’s all Fun & Games”.  I am not sure how we incorporate that, but please bring your ideas to the June Meeting!

We still have some handsome matted prints available for purchase either in an acetate sleeve for $25 or framed for $40. The overall dimensions are 8in x 10in with matting. The print is based on a historic photo of Fulton Lodge from the early 1900s.  Proceeds from the sale of these prints will go towards our Lodge's Historic Marker Fund. Please contact the secretary or treasurer if you are interested in purchasing one of these amazingly detailed prints.

Did you Know?

A few items of interest, especially for our newer brothers:

1. I have restocked blank petitions in the dining room. They are in a purple folder on the side table where we normally have communications.  Please grab one or two and keep one in your glove compartment. 
2. Next, there is a binder on the same table that has past minutes and financial summaries, as well as other useful lodge information, and it is appropriately named “Lodge Information”. 
3. Check our http://fultonlodge.org/resources">new resources page.  It has a list of recommended stores, sites, information portals, etc. If you have an Internet resource you want to see here, please send it my way!
4. Last, there is a new email reflector I have built that allows any of our lodge brothers to send an email to all other brothers from a single address.  If you have an item of importance to share, there is no need to run it through the secretary, you can send to fulton248@fultonlodge.org">mailto:fulton248@fultonlodge.org" style="color:blue; text-decoration:underline">fulton248@fultonlodge.org and it will be sent to all of our brothers.

Dates to remember:

• June 6: Strawberry Social and Stated Meeting
• June 20: Bryan/Edon Table Lodge
• June 28: Wauseon Table Lodge
• July 1: Registration for Grand Lodge 2023 Opens
• July 22: Outdoor MM Degree, Liberty Center 9am
• July 31: 7pm DGM Rollout – Wood County Lodge in BG
• Sept 30: District Annual Meeting @ Sycamore 10am

Our next stated meeting is June 6^th. We hope to see you then!

As always, like our Facebook page facebook.com/fulton248 and our main website fultonlodge.org.

Fraternally Yours,

Craig Szczublewski

 A little bit of history on one of our 70+ year members, Nelson Bell. Raised in 1950 at Pickaway Lodge No. 23 in the 8th District, Nelson became a member of Fulton Lodge in 1983. While I am not sure if he still making replicas, it's always fun to come across pictures and stores of our brothers in publications.

From the article: TWO FAIR SHOWINGS Submitted by Nelson Bell of Toledo, Ohio. As a boy, Nelson took a Shropshire lamb to the Circleville Pumpkin Show, a festival held in Circleville, Ohio, in 1943 and won a blue ribbon. Fifty years later he submitted this detailed replica of a general store he recalled from his childhood and won Best in Show in the woodworking class at the Fulton County Fair in Wauseon, Ohio.

We are pleased to announce our annual Jiggs Dinner on Tuesday, March 21.  Dinner will be 6:00pm, dress is business casual and families/guests/friends are most certainly invited. Our stewards will be providing the main entree and vegetables, but all other officers should plan on sides, breads, and desserts (see assignment list at end of this message). After dinner, we expect to hold a special meeting with a FC degree. Dinner is a freewill donation, but RSVPs ARE A MUST and are due in by March 7 to secretary@fultonlodge.org. Our stewards will begin cooking at noon, so feel free to join them for a little fellowship and company before dinner! 

Assignments:

WM: Garnishes (Sauerkraut/Horseradish)
SW/JW: Breads and Butter
SD/JD: Side Dishes
Tres/Sec: Salads/Relishes
Tyl/Chap/All others: Desserts

Welcome your new line officers for 2023: WM: Sean Griewahn, SW: David Claar, JW: Hunter Osenbaugh, Tres: Rick McKibben, Sec: Craig Szczublewksi, SD: Craig Miller, JD: Pat Lambert, SS: Matt Taylor, JS: Rey Armstrong, Tyler: Shawn Griffin, LEO: Bill Pacak