Just finished our January Stated Meeting, and I am very excited with our Divan and the direction we are going. Our new Potentate seems to have a lot of things he wants to try to accomplish, and his Lady wants to get back to making our Temple look a little more festive for our special events. I ask the Nobility to support both of their efforts to make this a more fun place to be. I also want to welcome Wade and Holly as our new Oriental Guide and Joey and Dana as the High Priest and Prophet. We all are looking forward to a good year. I speak for all the Divan and their ladies to offer any help or advice during your tenure. We can all give advice, y’all will just need to sort if it is good or really out there!! Seriously thank you and good luck.
Next item is the East West Shrine All Star Game on January 27th. Again, this will be over by the time you read this. So…I hope we had fun. Mat (Brunkle) has secured some gifts, decorations, and giveaways from Imperial for this. Couple it with hamburgers and hot dogs and some adult beverages — I believe it will be a winner.
The next event coming up is Divan Mid-Winter in Austin, Texas. This is February 6&7. Not sure what is on the agenda, but activities are scheduled non-stop while we are there. We are blessed by being able to have all the members of the Divan attending. It should be interesting, and I will report back on the happenings. So …. more later.
The Super Bowl Party is February 8th at the Temple. This is one of the best attended special events that we have every year. As always, it is open to Non-Shriners as well as Shriners and family. So call friends/Cousin Eddie/neighbors, and let’s have a big crowd and some fun. Bring a side dish, dessert, or any special family dish. Cooking Unit will have a brisket and a few other meat dishes to help feed the masses. Good Time to be had by all. Load some NON Shriners and come out. We will start 2-3pm and stay until it’s over!!!!!
Next event will be the Valentine’s Day (February 14th) Steak Dinner. This will be cooked by members of the Cooking Unit and friends. We will supply everything, including sides and desserts, as well as thick T-Bone steaks. The cost is $30 per person, and the bar will be open (cash). Tickets are limited to 90 dinners so …. please call Cathy for your tickets.
On February 19th, we will have our Temple Happy Hour. This is also an open event, so bring a guest if you can. Let us show off the Shrine and work on a new member. We also want to be able to visit with your Lady so open the door and let her in!!
The last Special Event in February is the Potentate’s Ball on the 28th. This is at our Temple, and it will be a SOCK HOP Dance. Wear your 50’s and/or 60’s attire. Food will be included in the $80 per couple cost. We will have a cash bar open as well. This is another event to which we can bring Non-Shriners and show them a good time. There will be more on this event as it developes. Call Cathy in the office to secure tickets.
Last is the OG Trip to Shreveport, Louisiana. We are planning to have a bus again this year. The dates are March 5-8. We will leave from the Temple about noon on 5th and return 4ish on the 8th. Again, this is open to all Shriners and NON Shriners. Call Cathy in the office for cost and reservations. There will be gambling on and off the bus, golf, and some really good food while there. We need people on the bus to make this come close to paying for the event. Hospitality suite will be open while we are there as well!!! Load’em up boys.
Sincerely,
Calvin Carlton. PP Recorder
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Well the New Year is here. 2026 – didn’t think I would live this long, but fooled them all again. Let’s start with the big news. We have a newly elected Divan that will be Installed during our January meeting. Congratulations to each one of them. Looking forward to this new year.
Item one, a new Potentate for 2026. Congratulations to John and Annette. I know you have a lot of good plans for us and our Temple, and we can’t wait to get this ball rolling. You have two big items that will be here before we know it and deserve all the attention we can give them. 1) The Potentate’s Ball February 28th at our Temple. The theme is Sock Hop. I’m sure a lot of Nobles current attire will qualify as dress for this event. More information on this upcommg/or call office for reservations and new information. 2) The Potentate’s Trip is in the process of being planned. I don’t know much, but I do know this wlll be a cruise with a boat and saltwater involved. It will be outlined in a presentation during our Happy Hour January 15th at the Temple. Good luck to our new Potentate and his Lady Annette!!
Election night was last night at our December Stated Meeting, and there are a couple of changes to the line. Joe Viavattene is our new High Priest & Prophet. We want to wish Joe all the best wishes possible for his new position. The second contested election was that of Oriental Guide, and Wade Bullock came out ahead on this position. We want to extend all of our best wishes to Wade as well. We are looking forward to working with both of these new faces on the Divan leadership board.
On a little bit of business, we have plans to clean out the storge building for several reasons. First, we have equipment in there that we are paying insurance on and these items are not being used. There are a couple of saddles, the train, Calliope, and several other items. We will offer to sell these things to Nobles first before we look outside. This is one of the things we are doing to lower insurance cost.
We are planning to have a Watch Party for the East West Shrine All Star Game on January 27th at the Temple. We will have attemdees bring a dish for some food–more on this as it develops. Save the date.The bar open for this.
We will have a Super Bowl Party on February 9th at the Temple. It is open to visitors and kids, so talk to your friends and family and bring them out. We will cook a little meat, and everyone bring a side and/or dessert. This is a big event for the year but NOT a money maker. It’s just fun.
One more time, our OG Trip is scheduled for March 5-8 in Shreveport, Louisiana. We are going to have a fundraiser to defer the cost of the bus. We feel the bus is as much fun as the trip. Again, there will be a lot more on this as it continues to develop.
Another event we are planning is the T-Bone Dinner at the Temple scheduled for February 14th. These are large steaks, and we will have all the sides and trimmings for this deal. Cost is $30 per person. Not a bad deal if you have eaten a steak in the real world lately. Oasis will be open as well. There is a 100 person limit so call Cathy and make reservations for this one!!!
Happy Hour in January is on the 15th. Come and have a New Year adult beverage with some friends — oh and Shriners will also be there.
Sincerely,
Calvin Carlton, PP Recorder
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Well this is the last article this year. I hope these have proved to be informative and useful so let’s get started.
First I wish to congratulate all the Nobles that received their Service Awards last month. There were 11 Nobles that attended the Stated Meeting to receive their awards. Glad you were able to attend, and wish I could have been there. Just wait another 5 years
and you will get another one and I’ll be there.
The High Tea was held at the Temple October 18th; and, as usual, the food was great and the adult punch flowed. There was a few open seats because of several reasons, but the people attending were treated like the Queens that they are!! We were still able to raise enough money to send the Texas Shrine Hospital for Children $1,000. Thanks to Jerry and Bev Sloan for the hard work and getting this event put together.
The other event in October was the Rib Cook. We had 6-8 Shriners and 2 Elk members cooking the ribs all day. If you didn’t get any you really missed out. Terry Martin and the crew really did an outstanding job. This was a Temple fundraiser, and we cleared $1,806.77. Not bad for a one day event. Thanks to all Shriners that cooked and purchased these first class ribs. I might add a really big thank you to the two Elks for their help and the use of their cooker also.
Next fundraiser was the Gun Raffle. The drawing was held during our last Stated Meeting. This was a fundraiser for the Temple repairs and maintenance. We sold $21,300 in tickets with $7,000 in the cost of guns for a profit of $14,300 for Maskat repairs. We need to thank Jerry Sloan for the idea and execution of this event. Thanks Boss!!
You will notice, if you go to the Temple, our Christmas decorations are very sparse if at all. The problem is getting Nobles to come out and help put the trees and decorations up. We have plans to better coordinate these efforts next year!! SORRY.
We will have Temple elections at our December Stated Meeting. Please attend if you plan to run for any office and vote to support the Temple.
Maskat will be closed for the Christmas Holiday December 23-26. The removal of decorations on the 27th is cancelled as well.
The December Happy Hour will be held on the 18th of December. please attend and bid your fellow Nobles and Ladies a Happy Holiday.
Other dates for events:
The Golf Unit will host the Polar Bear Outing on December 31 t at Weeks Park Golf Course.
The Super Bowl Party, held at the Temple, will be on February 2nd. Bring a dish and some board money!!
The 2026 Potentate’s Ball will be at the Temple on February 28, 2026. Much more on this later…
We will have a East-West Shrine Bowl Watch Party in the Oasis January 27, 2026.
There were 39 Nobles attending our November Stated Meeting. Hope to increase that in December for the Temple elections.
Happy Holidays,
Calvin Carlton PP, Recorder
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Let me start by thanking a few people that stepped in and covered my area during the last meetmg: John Priddis, Dooby Fox and, of course, Greg Stockton. I am sure there were others that I am unaware of or have forgotten. If so, thank you as well. It took about a week to heal from something that usually takes a couple of days. Another one of the joys of old age creeping up. Just like when I retired–one day you are running the place, and the next day you are replaced. The world keeps turning. Anyway thanks again to all.
We just finished one of the more popular events for the ladies–the High Tea. Once again, Jerry and Bev Sloan, with the help of a handful of Very Willing Ladies, had the tables looking like a picture from Southern Living. Your team of volunteers really set that event apart from anything we usually try to put on. The food was First Class in both presentation and quality. Greg, Griffin, and Jimmy Bames are the wagon bosses of that train, and it was moving forward all day long!! Jerry lined up the servers who were clad in bow ties, white shirts, and black pants, with a towel draped over their arms. Very impressive bunch when lined up as well as serving all the tables full of ladies. The proceeds this year will go to Shrine Texas Hospitals for Children in Galveston. Still working on the expenses and income for a good bottom line–more later.
The Rib Cook is our next fund raising event. October 25th will be the cooking and pickup date. These are the famous Terry Martin and crew ribs. At $25 per slab, it is quite a deal at today’s pricing. We will spend more on the ribs and make it up on paying the crew much less (if possible). There are a few slabs remaining. I am sure we will sell out this week. Hope everyone ordered some. Again more on this next month.
At our next Stated Meeting, we will draw for the guns Jerry and his team have been selling. Not sure about the number of tickets sold at this point, but it is safe to say it is a money maker. There should be several thousand dollars to place into our maintenance fund for the Temple building. I want to thank Jerry Sloan for this idea and getting the ball rolling on this fundraiser. May we all have the energy Jerry has when we gain a few more years.
Our next gathering is Unit Council/Divan meeting. This meeting will be November 5th, 6-ishpm in the Oasis. Food will be supplied to spark conversation. All other libations will be sold at our usual discount (full retail). Come out and be a part of this epic conversation.
Speaking of units, should anyone have an idea of a new unit they would like to see us involved in, please come by and let someone know. We need good and bad ideas, don’t be scared.
Speaking of new ideas, Joel took it upon himself to call the last 20 new members before the Stated Meeting to make sure they knew we wanted and needed them there. It worked. We need to stay in touch with everyone to remind them of any meeting or special event. Joel may be calling for some help on this. Thank you my friend! You are committed and very special. AND I don’t mean short bus special!!
Our next Stated Meeting will be November 11th at the Temple. Please write it down on your calendar, grab another Shriner– come early and stay late. We will have dinner, cooked by the cooking unit, at 6:30pm. All you want for $10. Meeting will start at 7:30pm. Hope to see a lot of you guys there.
FYI —Maskat Shrine Temple will be closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday on November 26 and 27 and reopen on December 1.
Fraternally,
Calvin Carlton P.P Recorder
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lt was good to see all that attended the Stated Meeting last night. Never thought but you guys were mised. We had a fair attendance for the first meeting back. 32-34 Nobles signed in and possibly missed a few cooks that were there verly early. Speaking of cooks, we had one of the best meals that was ever served in our Temple. Shrimp Alfredo, salad, green beans, corn bread, Pepper’s butter beans, and for desert Banana Pudding. OMG it was good. Hats off to all of the cooking team for a job well done !! Rumors of prime Rib next month, Come out and see ??
The Cooking Unit cooked pulled pork chips for 125 Legacy freshman football players and their coaches last Thursday. We served them at 11am so they could depart town going to Amarillo at noon for their game. These were some hungry boys. This was in an effort to promote the Shrine Oil Bowl for 2026. Big thank you to those who helped in this special event. We made a difference.
The Provost Guard has their Fall lnvitational upcoming September 26 and 27 in San Angelo, Suez Temple. Good Luck to the boys and the GIRLS attending. Make us proud !!
The Golf Unit will have their Christmas outing October 10th and 11th in Granbury. This is very popular event for the golfers and the Ladies (good shopping my bride tells me ). I know you will have a good time.
We have a very special event happening October 18th at the Temple. The Jerry and Bev High Tea. If your lady has not attended this they are missing a special event. All the stops are pulled. Fresh flowers, fine china, champagne, a gourmet meal cooked by your gourmet cooking unit. The price is $30 per lady and worth every penny for an afternoon of fine dining and fun !! Theproceeds will go to our Shrine Hospitalsof Texas. Come out for a good time and a great cause.
Well, we are cooking ribs again. October 25th pickup at noon and at 5pm. $25 a slab for the famous Terry Martin Ribs (with all his assistants ). These are great ribs at a very good cost. We have been taking orders thru the office. Please call Cathy. There is a limit of 180 slabs that will be sold. First to call first to eat !!
Last item, keep in mind elections are coming soon. If you have interest in running for the O.G. spot or have any questions, please reach out to any Divan member.
Fraternally,
CaMn Carlton PP Recorder
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Writing another article without a previous stated meeting. Just a little like flying blind (again) !! This will not take long to read, so here we go.
Let me touch on the gun raffle that Jerry Sloan is selling. Proceeds will go to the Maskat Shrine Building Maintenance Fund. 5 guns will be in the drawing, as outlined on the front of last months Wildcat. Tickets are $100.00 each. Only 250 will be sold and the drawing will be at the November 11, stated meeting. You do not need to be present to win. If you don’t have a ticket contact Jerry or Cathy at the office 940-7664511. Please help Jerry help us !!
The Provost Guard will have their Fall lnvitational here at Maskat Temple land on Hatton Road September 26th and 27th. If you are not participating and would like to be of some help Please contact Brian Gaylor at 803-795-2400, any member of Provost Guard, or Cathy at the Temple office.
Other upcoming events, October 18th there will be a High Tea for the Ladies here at Maskat Temple. The proceeds will go to the Texas Shrine Hospital in Galveston. If you want to support the Hospital and your Lady have a great time, this is it. Tickets can be secured in the office by calling Cathy at 766-4511. Also –we will be having a RIB COOK (to go) on October 25th. they are being sold for $25.00 per slab. These are Terry Martin ribs (and his staff ). Call Cathy and secure your order ASAP. Pick-up times are Oct 25th noon and 5:30. Limited to 180 slabs in total.
Please don’t overlook our new members we installed in June. Let’s get them involved in our Units and special events. Cathy has all contact information. We need these guys involved !!
I began asking for all to start thinking about a Oriental Guide for 2026. If anyone is interested, please contact any Divan member. We can answer any questions.
Last item is the passing of PP Ronnie James yesterday 8-18-2025. In my 15 years in the Shrine Ronnie was one of the most involved past Potentates I have had the pleasure of calling my brother. I am sure there will be a large turnout for his services this upcoming Friday. He will be missed.
Fraternally,
Calvin Carlton, PP Recorder
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JULY ARTICLE -Well Nobles, it’s here, summer I speak of. Haven’t had the hot temps, but we all know it’s coming. The rain has been nice and the grass is thick. So with that being said, we know it is time for our summer break. Had our last meeting last night until we resume in September. We had a total of 34 signing the attendance sheet with one new Noble coming in last night also. AND a free meal on top of it all. Good night “tater”. Let’s get into some meat.
Our Shrine Golf Tournament finally was played on the 30th of May. Attendance was better than last year, food was GREAT (street tacos), and weather was perfect. The Tournament was played in Honor of our good friend and very solid supporter BIG ED HALL!! He will be missed for a long time, and I will miss him dearly. Pam, thanks for attending (and working). You are welcome to attend anything, anytime. Oh by the way, we did make $6,800 on this tournament. Thanks to all and Great job.
On to the Oil Bowl week. Let’s start with Volleyball and Basketball. Attendance was fairiy good for both but certainly room for improvement. Now football, we had big problems just getting enough players to even have two teams. Hats off to Yoshi for keeping his foot on the gas until game time. We were adding players until the day before the game. These were all very polite and well-mannered kids. We identified several shortcomings in our process and the area of invited players. With this and the two new high schools being a little more firmly planted, we fully expect a firm bounce back (pun intended) with players. More players = more people in the stands. With all that being said, we made $7100 with just a few remaining small expenses. We pulled it out of the fire!!
A little FYI -we leave for TSA in the morning, 6-12-25, for a couple of days. Tyler is the host this year. Looking forward to an informative and fun trip. More on this later. Also, Imperial starts on the 30th of June and runs thru July 3rd. It is being held in Atlanta, Georgia this year. Thanks to Bill and Kathy Hammack for representing Maskat Temple. It’s a long trip and a short stay. We will get more from Bill when he returns.
We will have Happy Hour this month, and l’m sure in August as well.. Third Thursday!! Going Dark, call if needed.
Fraternally,
Calvin Carlton
Recorder and PP
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AUGUST ARTICLE -Well Nobles it’s about time to get back into the groove. The temps have been very reasonable so far this summer, and I have been on my pony. Ready to be home and see some of you lovely Nobles again. Our Stated Meeting is not until September 9th; but this break in the Wildcat article for a month and then returning does seem like things are starting to get back to normal. So …. Iet’s get it started.
As stated in the June Wildcat, we had our Ceremonial Saturday May 17th. We had a total of eight Nobles go through the Ceremonial that day. Pictures were in the last Wildcat. As you can tell, it was fairly well attended by our Nobles and all members of the Divan. Food was supplied and paid for by the Cooking Unit. With this being said, let’s be sure to get ALL of these new members involved. Be sure to invite them all to everything so they may find the Unit/Units that they find fun and interesting. We can’t bring them in the front door and lose them out the back. As soon as they got in we went Dark!!! So guys, lets start now making contact with these new Nobles and let them know what’s going on. You NEW NOBLES, if you are reading this please don’t hesitate to call Cathy in the office or contact any Noble or Divan member for any information you need. We want to be what you are looking for!!!
The Oil Bowl is over, and we made a little bit of money. We have been talking about things we did right and some things that we need help with. We welcome any input you may have. There is plenty of time so begin making some adjustments and getting some new blood and ideas for next year. Feel free to visit with Yoshi or any Divan member. Remember it is the LONGEST running high school All-Star Football Game in the Country. That is something very solid to build on.
The week after the Oil Bowl your Divan and a few others traveled to Tyler for TSA (Texas State Association of Shriners). We were able to visit with a lot of lmperials and Nobles from other temples. We will report on the highlights of the meeting in our September Stated Meeting.
We Have kept up with having our Happy Hour at the Temple on the third Thursday of the month in the Oasis. We had one last night (7-17-25 ) with about 20 Nobles and Ladies in attendance with cold drinks and snacks in abundance. The next one will be August 21, 2025, again in our Oasis. Please come and join us with some cold drinks and SOME new stories.
We will have our next unit council meeting on September 3rd, 2025 in the Oasis. This meeting is open to all nobles, and each unit does need to be in attendance. Our Stated Meeting will be the following Tuesday, September 9th, 2025. Dinner at 6:30 and the meeting starting at 7:30. Please make plans to attend both if possible.
Last item–it’s time to begin thinking of running for the O.G. position. I know I start this early but if there are any questions please ask a member of the Divan or a Past Potentate. I can assure you things are not what you think or have been told. I have been on the Divan over 10 years and Greg Stockton has been on a lot longer. Again any questions, reach out.
Fraternally,
Calvin Carlton
Recorder and PP
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Hard to believe but we are getting close to the summer break. It’s been a mild spring so get ready for a warm summer (and dry). I have just a few items so let’s get started.
First we have our Ceremonial coming this Saturday 17th of May at 2pm. I know it will be over by the time we get this beside the big chair. It has been postponed several times and it’s good to know it is going full steam. There are
a good number of new members that haven’t been through this. I am hoping we will have a good showing of Nobles. Cooking Unit is providing snacks for everyone. We’ll see what happens Saturday. Please stay in touch with our new members. More later.
Next, the BIG one. We have the Oil Bowl starting June 4th. Yoshi and Cathy have been working hard on this for a while and are far from being done. Volleyball and Basketball are full but we need more Football players. Working hard on this and hoping for the best. ALSO need some help taking tickets and serving meals to players. Speaking of food, Sherry Landrum has offered to help with the food this year again, with Mat Spradlin shadowing her and learning how and what to do for next year. If you can spare some time during Oil Bowl we could use the help, call Cathy at the office.
The next week we have TSA in Tyler, Texas. If you haven’t signed up Cathy may be able to get you in. Remember the Temple will pay 1/2 of registration fee. Please come for a little fun on a road trip.
Also Imperial is June 29th to July 3rd. Hope there are a few going. Please call Cathy in the office with any questions.
Last, we will go dark in July and August. We may have Happy Hour at the Temple while dark. There will be additional information coming next month to firm up.
Next Unit Council meeting is June 3rd. Hope to see ya there. We will feed you something and share an adult beverage.
Fraternally,
Calvin Carlton
Recorder and PP
====================
Spring is here and so is the hail…
Easter Egg Hunt was April 19th. We were looking for a good response and hope everybody brought friends and family out. It’s a good way to showcase our Temple and what we do.
Again when you get this the Shrimp Boil will be over and we have had a good response. Last time this was a huge event and a lot of fun. Hope everyone was able to attend. Thanks to the Nobles and Ladies that helped put this event on.
Shrine Golf Tournament is May 2n3 at 1:00 pm at River Creek Golf Course. Want to thank all the Nobles and Ladies who have helped to put this event together. This is one of the biggest fund raisers of the year and is always a good time. Thanks to Gordy and his team for their continued efforts.
Shrine Happy Hour is May 15th at 5:00 pm in the Oasis. Hope to see everyone at this event.
Roof Update. By the time thisis published we will have a new coating on our roof. Mark Weeks and his company have really jumped through hoops to get this done properly andin a timely manner before the big Spring rains. He has also replaced the worst stained and damaged ceiling tiles. This was done at no additional cost to the Temple.
Last Item. Our Spring Ceremonial is May 17th at 2:00 pm at the Temple. We have several new members that will be paticipating. Snacks wil be served afterwards. Cash bar will be opened. Hope to see everyone at this event.
Fraternally,
PP and Recorder
Calvin Carlton
==========================
There is a lot to cover so let’s get started.
By the time you get this it will be over but our O. G. Trip is happening. March 20th to Shreveport. There will be no bus because of low participation. We had other Temples interested but there was no response from them when to the wire. We will report on the trip later.
Also may be past is the Provost Guard Mid-Winter here March 29 & 30. We are holding this for another Temple. Our Cooking Unit will be involved in a meal for the masses for participants during that time frame, I believe Saturday night.
The Potentate Trip is coming April 10-13 going to The Galveston Hospital for a Red Carpet Tour. Our Potentate has worked hard to get this put together and should be a World Class Tour!! Support him if at all-possible,
Another big one upcoming is the Easter Egg Hunt at the Hatton Rd land April 19th (Saturday). This is again an open event to everyone. Again we would like to get our Blue Lodges out as well as anyone in the community. We have 2,000 eggs to hide for the kids. Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, chips, and cookies will be served free of charge to anyone. This is a good one so grab your children or grandchildren and come out for a good time.
May 2nd is our Shrine Golf Tournament at River Creek. This is always a great time. Gordy and his team really make this one happen. Grab your team and tell some friends and let’s make this a good one. Weather should be good and food after is the best–Street Tacos!! Gordy does need a little help so if you can’t or don’t play please pitch in and give us help putting this on.
Another big one upcoming is the Oil Bowl. Dates are June 4-7 and as always we need help to put on a special event of this size. With football, basketball, and volleyball competition it is a large task. Please stay in touch with Cathy and Yoshi on this. The ladies are not only welcome but needed. Just let us know what you want or can do.
We will have our spring Ceremonial on May 17th, 1 pm at the Temple. We have a sizeable group that haven’t gone thru this so we expect a crowd. We will have more information later.
Best for last, the Temple will have a FREE shrimp and all for fixins Boil April 26. This is again Open to any of our friends. We want to let all Blue Lodges to be informed and invited. There will be a Cash Bar for those interested. We had a great crowd last time. We really want this to be fun for the Nobility, families, and friends. Grab some friends and come enjoy. Again it’s FREE I!!
Fraternally,
PP and Recorder
Calvin Carlton
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