MIJD OCTOBER
& NOVEMBER ACTIVITIES
MANITOBA
OES GENERAL GRAND CHAPTER MN
MONTANA
Manitoba
When I finally arrived in Winnipeg, (after a fun-filled nine hour day waiting at
the Denver International Airport) we drove to the temple.
Mrs. McIssac, Steven, Candace and Dana, MMJD picked me up.
Unfortunately I missed the meeting, but I did get to met a few people who
waited for me to arrive during the reception afterward.
Although the second night nobody got much sleep, Heather and Tim McIssac let me
stay at their house during my stay in Winnipeg. All day Friday we got a grand tour of Winnipeg starting off
with the Royal Canadian Mint. I was
surprised to hear that 60 percent of what the mint produces is for foreign
countries, while we were there they were making pesos for Mexico.
I enjoyed the tour and was amazed at efficiency of the whole coining
process. We had a little time after
the tour to drive around the city and saw a basilica, Mayor Glen’s monument,
and part of the downtown area. For
lunch we ate in a revolving restaurant which was a first for me.
The 360 degree windows provided a good view of the city; my favorite
sights included the two rivers and the legislative building that we toured after
lunch. Much like the capitol
buildings in the United States, the legislative building of Manitoba was
extravagant. The architecture was
very open and decorative and was complete with two massive iron buffalos (that
they had to bring in on ice!) portraits of the royal family, tons of offices and
a sweet rotunda. Our tour wrapped
up with shopping in a unique mall/market place that was packed with ethnic
stores.
That evening everyone met at the Spaghetti Factory. Of course the “young adults” sat at our own table and I
enjoyed the company of some hilarious Manitoba Job’s Daughters and a few
Demolay. My favorite part of the
trip was the sleepover at the McIssac’s.
About eight of us spent the night talking, watching movies and eating
chips and popcorn. It was a night
full of laughter as we got to know each other and I hope to keep in touch with
them in the future, eh?
Special thanks to the McIssac family (and Kevin!) for
letting me stay at your house. The
laughter we shared made the trip very memorable.
Minneapolis- General Grand Chapter Order
of the Eastern Star
The General Grand Chapter convention was extremely impressive.
It can be compared to our Supreme Session with the exception that it is
held every three years. I believe the “line” for Most Worthy Grand Matron is 18
years. Obviously a great deal of
work went into planning the convention. In
the meeting room they had set up a carpeted area on the floor for the chapter
room. It was a winter theme so
there were pine trees everywhere, two stair cases on the stage, white Christmas
lights, a replica of a small skating rink, fake snow, angles and a border of
three foot high “candles” that had been made especially for the event.
I was taken back by the decorations and the meeting room was just the
beginning.
The conference was attended by 5,000 Easter Star members and many of them had a
special place in their hearts for Job’s Daughters. A majority of the time there we got to spend at the
promotional booth talking to past Jobies, answering questions, visiting with
anyone that came by and meeting more of our Masonic Family. The Minnesota Job’s Daughters did an excellent job putting
together a display board and material to hand out. I was happy to see them at the booth and performing the flag
ceremony during the Youth Meeting. It
was beautiful and each of them did a superb job exemplifying a ceremony that
would make any Jobie proud. There
wasn’t a dry eye in the room- Great work Minnesota! J
We attended a couple of meetings while we were there including a youth meeting
and an informal opening where Erin Nicole and I were able to give brief remarks.
It was an honor to be able to speak to so many individuals who have given
so much of their time to support the Masonic family and Job’s Daughters.
I was also introduced during a business meeting as a new member.
Even the banquets were extravagant!
We attended both the California “Stars on Parade” and the Minnesota
“Evening of Elegance” banquets. I met OES members from Bolivia, Peru as well
as Minnesota and California. Entertainment
included two live groups, one an instrumental jazz/big bang group and the other
was very impressive and humorous quartet from California.
Erin MacPherson, MMJD, sat with us one evening promoting the “Erin
Squared” to “Erin Cubed”, too much fun!
Of course we were able to do a little sight seeing while we were in town.
One night the Supreme Family went to the Mall of America.
Sweet! To say that it is a
“big” mall is an understatement. If
you haven’t been, it is certainly something to experience.
The Minnesota Jobies made sure we had a good time as we went shopping
(again!) on Halloween, on a driving tour of Minneapolis and St. Paul and out to
eat at the Cheesecake Factory.
Here is a special thanks to the Minnesota Jobies for making our trip back so
memorable. You are a great group of
people and there is never a dull moment in sight. Thank you for taking time out of your schedules to spend time
with us.
Montana
Into November already?
Flying into Billings was a little bumpy- darn that Wyoming wind!
Mrs. Logan picked us up at the airport and took us out to eat with the
Humphrey’s. After Mrs. Logan and
I met, we realized that we had attended a meeting in Wyoming together when I was
Grand Bethel Honored Queen in 2004. We
enjoyed catching up and it was good to spend the rest of the day relaxing.
Erin Nicole and I stayed at Sara and Alexis Schantz’s house.
It was so nice to eat a home cooked meal and have a girl’s night
watching movies while eating ice cream and Mrs. Schantz’s magical hot fudge.
Our meeting with the girls started the next morning. Ms. Poglajen had brunch ready at 10:00. The girls and council from Billings met us there and are an
energetic and fun group. We spent
most of our time laughing, and I was happy to see the MMJD, Morgan Hurlocker,
too. Mrs. Schantz took us on a
Target run in the afternoon.
The dinner and meeting was held at the Masonic Temple.
I couldn’t believe it when girls from Bethel #29 in Lovell, Wyoming
showed up! I felt like I was home
again and it made my heart happy to see that their bethel, which was instituted
about two years ago was doing so well. Thanks
for coming up girls; it was great to see you!
Ms. Poglajen set up the seating assignments by category and Erin Nicole
and I tried to figure out what each table had in common.
Presentations were made during dinner and the meeting started promptly
afterward. The Third Messenger’s
sister was initiated so the ceremony was special for her and her family. It was good to see an initiation with many of the girls
taking on more than one part.
Back at Mrs. Schantz’s house, we dressed in our
pajamas and settled in to watch Napoleon Dynamite. Soon after, we finished packing and went to bed a little
earlier since our flight left the next morning.
I would like to thank the Schantz family, including General and Sasha for
opening up their home to us and for making me feel at ho
Jobie Love,
Erin Leigh Weisshaar
MIJD 2006-2007
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