At the December 19th communication, Kosciuszko Lodge’s new Bible was placed on the altar for the first time. The original Lodge Bible, from 1927, was re-leathered and restored about ten years ago, but the Lodge didn’t enjoy the fruits of that effort for very long. During the move to our current Lodge Room, the Bible was lost under circumstances, which, to this day, are not clear. The replacement Bible that was used dated from 1901 and was understood to be temporary until such time as the original Bible would be found.

Several weeks ago a Masonic Altar Bible from 1931 appeared at auction on e-Bay. A picture and description of it attested to the fact that the Bible was in excellent condition, with leather-bound wood end covers, gilded edging, many illustrations, definitions of Masonic terms as well as a historical outline of Freemasonry. In short, this was probably as close as one could come to having a reproduction of the original Kosciuszko Lodge Bible of eighty years ago.

Because time was of the essence, it was not possible to have a discussion with the Brethren as to how much should be offered for the Bible, so our Master and Secretary took it upon themselves to bid for it.

Happily, they were able to win at auction and at the December communication the new Bible – the Great Light in Freemasonry – shone for the first time on our altar.

 

 

 

 

Brothers Mark Bochen and Mieczyslaw Rudek took it upon themselves to reimburse the Lodge treasury for the purchase price of the new Bible. This is yet another instance of our Brothers’ generosity in financial assistance to the Lodge and we are very grateful to them.

After perusing through the initial pages of the Bible, it was discovered that this Bible was given as a Christmas present in 1938 - by his parents - to Bro. Artur Robert Poleski !!! And so, history had come full circle in sixty-nine years. A Bible, which formerly was the possession of a Polish Freemason, was placed on the altar of the oldest Polish Lodge in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

FELLOWCRAFT DEGREE - 11/28/2007

 

Kosciuszko Lodge No.1085 held its November 28^th Communication in the beautiful Gothic Room of Grand Lodge on 23rd Street. The main order of business was the conferral of the Fellowcraft degree on three Brothers, two of whom are members of Kosciuszko Lodge: Bro. Waldemar Polak and Bro. John Wroblewski. Bro. Michael Grenadier of Samaritan-Eternal Lodge was also advanced to the 2^nd degree that evening.

 

We are grateful to all brothers who participated in making this a memorable ritual:

R.·.W.·. Philip J. Selikoff, Grand Steward, who, as Master, conferred the degree; R.·.W.·. Joseph Zimmerman, who presented the working tools and acted as conductor, along with Bro. Paul Silva and R.·.W.·. Duncan Stalker, DDGM of 2^nd Westchester/Putnam district; R.·.W.·. Kenneth J. Fischer, who delivered an outstanding Middle Chamber Lecture; Bro. Thomas Mueller and W.·. Wayne Wyatt who acted as Masters of Ceremony; R.·.W.·. Arnold Auerbach, who served as prompter; W.·. Christopher Winnicki, who was Senior Warden in place of the ailing W.·. Pawel Bednarek and presented the Questions and Answers together with W.·. Janusz Krajnik, who also served as Senior Deacon; Bro. Michael Jachimczyk who fulfilled the station of Junior Warden; Bro: Mark Bochen who acted as Marshal; W.·. Andrew Podbielski, Chaplain; Bro. Derrick Komorowski, who worked as Tyler; and W.·. Jan Jozef Wnek, who provided the music for the ritual and delivered the Charge.

We were also happy to have with us R.·.W.·. Kasem Shaban and our affiliate member from the San Francisco bay area of California, Bro. Andrew Filipek, who was visiting our Lodge for the first time.

 

Following the closing of the Lodge, many of the brothers repaired to a local eatery for a fine collation and some fraternal socializing.

 

We congratulate our three Brothers on their advancement to Fellowcraft and wish them well as they continue to seek “more light in Masonry.”

 

 

 

 

 

HISTORICAL VISIT

 

History was made on Thursday, March 22, 2007 as American Revolutionary War generals Tadeusz Kosciuszko and George Washington met once again, Masonically speaking! Accepting an invitation from the Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No.22 in Alexandria, Virginia, W.·. Robert G. Watkins Jr., which was facilitated through the efforts of R.·.W.·. Sheldon Richman, who is a member of both our Lodge and Alexandria-Washington No.22, our Master, W.·. Janusz Krajnik arrived with a delegation from Kosciuszko Lodge No.1085 consisting of R.·.W.·. Phillip Selikoff, Grand Steward of the Grand Lodge of the State of New York Free and Accepted Masons and an honorary member of Kosciuszko Lodge, Secretary W.·. Christopher Winnicki and Chaplain W.·. Jan Józef Wnek. After a brief tour of the magnificent George Washington Masonic National Monument, which is the seat of both Alexandria-Washington Lodge No.22 and Andrew Jackson Lodge, the Brothers of Kosciuszko took a short walking tour of old Alexandria. The well-preserved 18th and 19th-century buildings were most impressive.  Following collation, which included Polish "goodies" brought by the Brothers from New York, Alexandria-Washington's stated communication took place, which featured a presentation on the recently expanded website of the Grand Lodge of Virginia. 

A wonderful time was had by all, and the Brothers of Alexandria-Washington Lodge were invited by our Master to pay us a visit if they should be in the New York area.

 

 

 

From left to right: R.·.W.·. Sheldon B. Richman, R.·.W.·. Phillip Selikoff – Grand Steward, W.·. Robert George Watkins Jr. - Master of Alexandria-Washington Lodge No. 22, W.·. Janusz J. Krajnik – Master of Kosciuszko Lodge No. 1085, W.·. Christopher Winnicki – Secretary of Kosciuszko Lodge, W.·. Jan. J. Wnek - Chaplain and immediate Past Master of Kosciuszko Lodge

 

 

 

It is with profound sorrow that we, the Brethren of Kosciuszko Lodge No. 1085, announce the passing of our beloved Brother, W.·.Henry Piencinski D.S.A., to the great Celestial Lodge on February 27, 2007, his 89th birthday, after a series of health-related complications.

W.·.Bro. Piencinski was a graduate of Brooklyn Tech and the Pratt Institute, with a certificate in electrical engineering, and worked for the federal government as an employee of OSHA. He and his late wife Sophie, were both active musicians - Henry played the violin and Sophie was a professional pianist and teacher. The two were also avid bowlers.

A veteran of the U.S. Army in World War Two, W..Bro. Piencinski was initiated in Kosciuszko Lodge on November 11, 1946, passed on February 2, 1947 and raised on April 23, 1947. W.·.Bro. Piencinski was elected Master in 1953. As a Brother who was completely dedicated to his mother lodge, W.·.Bro. Piencinski had, for many years, until his recent hospitalization, served as the treasurer of Kosciuszko Lodge and was responsible, both administratively and by his financial contributions, for guiding the lodge to safety in times of "stormy weather". For this, the brothers of Kosciuszko Lodge will always be grateful. Last year, W.·.Bro. Piencinski was the 2006 recipient of the Dedicated Service Award, which was presented to him by then-DDGM, R.·.W.·.Joseph Zimmerman for 59 years of dedicated service to his Lodge and to Masonry.

A Masonic service was held on Sunday, March 4th, at Gleason's Funeral Home in Bayside, NY with Brothers from Kosciuszko Lodge as well as other Bronx District lodges present. Internment took place on March 5th at the military cemetery in Calverton, Long Island.

W.·.Bro. Piencinski is survived by his daughter, Diane, son-in-law, Roger Feingold and grandson Westin.

 

 

On January 14th, 2007 W.·. Janusz Krajnik and W.·. Christopher Winnicki visited Bro. Joseph Walla at his home in Brentwood, Long Island and presented him with the newly-issued 50-year medal from the Grand Lodge of the State of New York. Bro. Walla, who was always a very active member of Kosciuszko Lodge until his hospitalization, which required the amputation of one of his legs, is now recuperating at home while awaiting a prosthesis. Our Master and Secretary also had the pleasure of meeting Bro. Walla's Lady, Bronislawa ("Blanche"), who has been his "better half" for 63 years and lovingly takes care of him. Brother Walla, who celebrated his 20th birthday just 3 days before Pearl Harbor and shortly thereafter enlisted in the Merchant Marine, served on convoy duty in the Atlantic. As a member of "the greatest generation", he had many interesting anecdotes and stories to share related to his service during World War II. We extend our congratulations and best wishes to Bro. Walla and his wife.

 

 

 

 

During our November (2006) Communication we conferred the Fellowcraft Degree on our Brother Marcio Diniz. Congatulations to Marcio and the whole degree team which, under the leadership of W.·. Chris Winnicki, did a fantastic job that night. We had the pleasure of enjoying a very poetic and beautiful rendition of the Middle Chamber Lecture given by our guest R.·.W.·. Cass Shaban.

 

Congratulations once again to all participants in the Degree work. This was really a great and proud moment for our Lodge.

 

During our October (2006) communication we presented W.·. Jan Wnek with the apron and jewel of Past Master as a token of our appreciation for the great job he did last year guiding our Lodge to a better future. That whole night practically belonged to W.·. Jan Wnek who entertained us with his presentation: “Masonry and music – celebrating 250th birthday of W.A. Mozart”. We heard stories about Mozart and times he lived in, listened to the music written by him for many Lodge functions and events. Our presenter didn’t even have a chance to include the famous opera “Magic Flute” in his lecture. He promised to dedicate the second part of his presentation exclusively to “Magic Flute”. This will take place most likely during one of our early spring meetings. Thank you Brother.

 

 

During our September (2006) communication we participated in the “In-Lodge Rededication Program”. We all renewed our obligations for each Degree to return all of us to that spirit of dedication, which stirred us all when we first took our Degrees.

The ceremony was made even more special by the presence of the few guests from the Bronx District, including District Deputy Grand Master R.·.W.·. Efrain Hernandez, Vice-President of the District Masters and Past Masters Association R.·.W.·. Leon Weinstein and, as usual – and ever faithful to Kosciuszko, our honorary member R.·.W.·. Philip Selikoff. Thank you Brothers for being with us that night.

 

 

On September 10, 2006 the Bronx District held the Interfaith Service at the Woodlawn Chapel in Woodlawn Cemetery. This interfaith service, 9/11 memorial and the flag presentation was one of the highlights of the Grand Lodge’s 225^th anniversary celebration. Our Lodge was represented by W.·. Chris Winnicki and W.·. Janusz Krajnik. R.·.W.·. Philip Selikoff was the chairman of the event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brothers,

We had a wonderful evening on June 21, 2006. Many thanks to all Brothers who came to the Lodge and made this meeting so special.

In the first part, the Past DDGM of the Bronx District R.·.W.·. Joseph Zimmerman presented our W.·. Henry Piencinski (on the right) with the apron, certificate and pin of the Dedicated Service Award (DSA).

 

 

 

 

W.·. Piencinski was raised on April 27, 1947.  He served as the Master of the Kosciuszko Lodge for the first time in 1953 and for the past few years has been the Treasurer.

Congratulations Bro. Piencinski from all the Brothers of the Lodge!

 

In the second part of the evening we had the Installation of the Officers. It was a real treat and pleasure to watch R.·.W.·. Philip Selikoff and R.·.W.·. Sheldon Richman conduct the ritual. They not only worked great together but also entertained us with their wonderful sense of humor. Thank you for a fantastic display of Masonic work.

 

 

 

 

 

A historical event took place in our Lodge during our last April (2006) communication. For the first time in the history of our Lodge we had a honor and pleasure of hosting the Master of the Kopernik Lodge from Paris (National Grand Lodge of France), a Polish lodge in France, W.·. Tomasz Pieniążek. Our distinguished guest took even part in the First Degree Ritual.

 

 

Standing from the left: Bro. Marek Bochen, S.W. Janusz Krajnik, W.M. Jan J. Wnęk, Treasurer Henry Piencinski, just initiated Entered Apprentice Marcio J. Diniz, Master of the Kopernik Lodge Tomasz Pieniążek, Secretary Christopher Winnicki and J.W. Paweł Bednarek.

W.·. Henry Piencinski is wearing his Past Master’s apron, which he received in 1954.

 

On March 13th, W.·. Jan Józef Wnęk and W.·. Christopher Winnicki had the great pleasure of visiting Bro. Joseph Walla, who is recuperating from surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Northport, NY, and presenting him with a 50-year certificate and pin. Bro. Walla, a veteran of the Merchant Marine in World War II, who celebrated his 20th birthday just three days before Pearl Harbor and enlisted shortly thereafter, served on convoy duty in the Atlantic. He related many interesting stories and anecdotes regarding this period in the course of the visit.  We wish Bro. Walla a speedy recovery and return home. Hopefully, we will soon see him at one of our upcoming communications. Godspeed, Bro. Walla!