Janet Silvera, Gleaner Writer
At Left: Master of the Hope Lodge, Joseph Smith (second left) and his wife Evelyn (left) enjoy a moment of light-hearted laughter with former sprint queen, Deon Hemmings McCatty (second right) and her husband Michael at the Hope Lodge installation on Saturday night.
At Right: Ladies of Hope from left - Resident Magistrate for the Savanna-la-Mar court, Alayne Wallace; Susan Hammond, Dacia Dhanpaul, Charlotte Wallace and Evelyn Smith, acting general manager of Point Village Negril, admire the special token given to them by senior warden of the Hope Lodge, Joseph Smith. - PHOTOS BY JANET SILVERA
WESTERN BUREAU:
TWO MONTHS ago acting general manager of Point Village Resort in Negril, Evelyn Smith commenced lessons in learning the words 'My Worshipful'. Last Saturday night she accomplished the phrase with the word: 'Master'.
Her husband Joseph, after being installed as Master of the 105-year-old Hope Lodge of Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, with a huge smile on his face, stood diligently as his wife repeated the phrase.
Throughout an evening oversubscribed by Freemasons who chanted high and low notes with equal gusto, the interesting cast of characters made going to the dinner theatre seem unimportant.
MEN IN BLACK
Dressed to the nines in black suits, they were dead ringers for the cast of the movie 'Men in Black', the only accessory missing were the dark shades.
Savanna-la-Mar was playing host to some of the island's most handsome married men who had journeyed from as far as Kingston to the western parish to support the young master. In fact, with the oversubscription, many members of Hope Lodge had to give up their seats.
It was an evening filled with an exciting and long list of toasts including: to the Queen, the Craft, the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Grand Lodges of Ireland, Scotland and Jamaica, District Grand Officers and the Ladies of Hope. However, the highlight was Evelyn Smith's toast to her husband.
"Freemasonry is, and I should hope that I am reliably informed, strive to make good men better. It is a tradition that has survived for centuries and yet is often given a bad rap and is misunderstood in society," said Mrs. Smith.
She said, the tradition continues because it fulfils a need that has and will always exist and which is particularly relevant in Jamaica today. "There is an urgent need for good men and good men to be made better, so they will form the worthy examples for the men of tomorrow."
Out to witness their son's big night were Joseph Smith's parents, Clynice and Joseph Smith as well as his sister Elizabeth Smith; Hon. D. Owen Sinclair, Custos of Westmoreland, Major General Rudolf Green; Desmond Whittingham, Asst. Comm. Linton Latty; SSP Jasmine Tomlinson Brown; Linton Walters; Walter Scott; Hon. Patrick Brooks; Novar McDonald; Trevor Jones; Russell Hammond and wife Susan; Lloyd Bent; Rev. Hartley Perrin; Jennifer Baugh; Barbara Stewart; Cargill Brown and wife Hyacinth; Sam James; Vandyke McKenzie; Roy Hutchinson; Paul Fraser; Michael Erskine; Oneil Brown and wife Tanya; the Wallace family including Manley, Carey, Brian, and Charlotte; Ossie and Aldane Clarke; George Palmer; Kenric Davis; Hartley Nesbeth; Rex and Bridgite Gadsby; Mckeith Neufville; Peter Massey; Howard Powell; Hoyp Gregory; Eric Lawrence; Fitzroy Pinnock Sr and Jr.; Balvin Leslie and Cecil Watt.
