Sangerville Masons and friends make Christmas brighter for 250 families

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    SANGERVILLE — While many people were doing some last-minute Christmas shopping on Dec. 19, volunteers from the Abner Wade Masonic Lodge were busy making sure that 250 families had a hearty holiday meal.
    For the fifth year in a row, the Masons and their friends spent the evening at the Stott-Flanders American Legion Post filling boxes with a 15-16 pound turkey and all the fixings for a family dinner, said lodge Master Blaine Nuite.

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    ASSEMBLY LINE — Volunteers and friends from the Abner Wade Masonic Lodge packed 250 Christmas dinner boxes last weekend at the Sangerville American Legion Post for needy families in Piscataquis County. Pictured, from left, are Jeff Cross, Jean Correa, Blaine Nuite, Gerald “Chummy” Jackson and Ron Smith.

    “The 250 families include 520 children,” Nuite said. “Many of us in the lodge knew hard times when we were younger, so this is our way to give back to the community.”
    The box consists of Stove Top stuffing, canned cranberries, pea, fresh squash, a 5-pound bag of potatoes and a box of brownie mix.
    The Masons use the Legion hall because it has more room, said Gerald “Chummy” Jackson. “A lot of us belong to both organizations, so we’ve been working together for quite a while,” Jackson said. “This is a real community effort.”
    The fraternal order works with the Dover-Foxcroft and Three Rivers Kiwanis clubs and the Parkman Grange on the annual project, said Past Master Lance Burgess. “We send out letters to our members and other supporters and the response has been excellent. We’ve also been fortunate to receive a grant from the Grand Lodge (state organization),” Burgess said. “It takes about two weeks to put it all together, but we don’t seem to lack for volunteers.”
    In the letter, the Abner Wade Lodge cites the Masonic principles of “brotherly love and friendship. And because we strive to be better human beings ourselves, we welcome the opportunity to share. In all our lives, there are times to give and times to receive. At the Christmas season, it is a joy for us to give to our neighbors in the community.”

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    FEEDING THE NEEDY — Ron Smith shows the contents of the Christmas dinner packages donated by the Abner Wade Masonic Lodge.