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PWM Viola C. Harrod, O.E.S. P.H.A.a.k.a. Donna's Eastern Star HomePage
PWM Viola C. Harrod, O.E.S. P.H.A.In the first week of December, 1995, I drove the Adm. Gracie from Freeman Lake to Washington, DC. I spent most of my ten days there living in the house on Kenyon Street, where Donna, my grandmother, lived from 1965 until her death in 1990. During that week, I sorted through the debris at the bottom of the drawers and in the corners of closets. Among the clutter, I found gold.
![[40donna.gif]](../carter/40donna.gif)
My paternal grandmother, Viola Carter Harrod (Donna),
was a Past Worthy Matron of the Order of the Eastern Star,
Prince Hall Affiliation. In other words, she was the female
equivalent of a Freemason. I had
never realized the signifigance of her Eastern Star affiliation
until her funeral, when her sisters, all clothed in white, performed
their traditional ceremony.
(My own Path to Glory reached its peak when I acheived Vigil Honor in the Order of the Arrow at the age of 16 … my "following act" to becoming an Eagle Scout at the age of 12. :-)
While sorting her jewelry, collecting all of the watches into one box, the broken earrings into another, etc., I set aside all of her Eastern Star jewelry, and gave it to my sister before I returned. OTOH, I kept all of her certificates, letters, and O.E.S. related documentation.
Through reading her diaries and minutes of meetings, I have come to know a woman about whom I was Totally Clueless, a Worthy Anscestor whose Legacy deserves a place of Honor, so that she will not be forgotten by those who are not yet born.
This page is a placeholder for now, but watch it grow as I gather more about this remarkable woman, my father's mother.
So, anyway, one of the last things I did before leaving DC (one of the reasons why I stayed an extra day) was to contact the local Prince Hall Masonic Temple and get the name of a contact in the Boston Area. I have the address and phone number of the Worshipful Master of the F.A.M. Lodge in Ayer, MA, which is the geographically closest Lodge to me. Since it is so close to FT. Devens, I would not be surprised to find that it was once a Travelling Lodge associated with either the 366th Infantry Regiment, or the 92nd Division. Dig it, bro … a Buffalo Soldier's Masonic Lodge that dates back to World War One, or perhaps even the Civil War. I mean, like Prince Hall got his Charter from a British Army Regimental Travelling Lodge. But that's a tell for Some Other Time.
That is all I have to say. -=DAH=- 27-Dec-95
And we do further invest said apointee with full power and authority to do and perform the duties appertaining to said office in accordance with the Constitution, Rules and Regulations approved by this conference.
We do hereby request that said officer be accorded all the rights, privileges and prerogatives of said office and be received and acknowkedged as such by all true Sisters and Brothers of the Order wherever dispursed.
Signed this 11th day of March , A.D., 19 53
<signed> Fannie E. Lee
International Grand Worthy Matron
<signed> Walter Z. Martin
International Grand Worthy Patron
[ Affixed is the seal of the INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF GRAND CHAPTERS, O.E.S. ]
ELENOR P. LEWIS
Grand Worthy Matron
P.M. MINNIE L. BANKS
Chairman of Awards
JOSEPH N YEARWOOD, JR
Grand Worthy Patron
ATTEST: ALICE J. WILLIS
Grand Secretary
[ Affixed is a gold O.E.S. seal with a ribbon of blue, yellow, white, green, and red ]
Last update: 18-Jan-96 by dennette@wiz-worx.com <Who is this "Dennette" person?>