The John H. Mills Masonic Lodge 624 in Epsom is having a barbecue fundraiser coming up on April 2, and Jeremy Hetrick, local lodge secretary, said tickets are on sale now from any lodge member.
Hetrick spoke with John C. Rose and Bill Harris about the upcoming event on Tuesday’s The Local Skinny! One-pound containers of pork barbecue will be ready for pickup at the lodge on Saturday, April 2 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tickets are $10. The lodge is located on NC Hwy 39 in Epsom, just across from the fire department.
Proceeds will benefit lodge activities and the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford.
Hetrick is retired from the U.S. Army and currently is commander of the Department of American Legion Division 1. He works full-time at Henderson Collegiate Charter School and also is a member of the Henderson Masonic Lodge.
The Henderson and Epsom lodges are in the same 13th district of the Division 1, which includes a total of 49 lodges from Person County all the way to the Outer Banks and toward the Wilson area, he said.
The Epsom lodge was founded in 1935 by local farmers who decided to name it after a local minister and Mason, who was instrumental in the founding of the orphanage in Oxford.
Hetrick explained that it was Mills who recognized the need for a home for the numerous orphans at the end of the Civil War.
The group is being a little conservative this year with how many pounds of barbecue they’re producing, largely due to the fact that the fundraiser hasn’t been held in a couple of years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re only going to do 500 this year,” Hetrick said, about half the amount as in previous pre-COVID-19 years.
He encourages anyone interested in purchasing a ticket to do so now – there won’t be many left as the April 2 event day nears. Lodge members will oversee the cooking, which will begin by mid-afternoon on Friday. The pork butts will cook all night and then will be chopped and put in containers Saturday morning in time for pickup.
For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Hetrick at 252.204.4742.
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