Eastern Star members gather in Cape

Slightly more than a thousand men and women gathered at the Show Me Center for the annual state meeting of the Missouri Order of the Eastern Star, a co-ed organization that spawned from Freemasonry.

The annual state meeting is always held the second week of October and attracts chapters from across the state and representatives from several other states.

The convention started Sunday and ended Wednesday night with the inauguration of the new officers, or grand matron and grand patron.

"Some of [the people] have been here since Friday," Cape Girardeau resident and Eastern Star member Kristi Nitsch said. "So they're pumping a lot of money in here."

Both men and women are allowed to join the Eastern Star, but they must have a Masonic connection to be considered. The Order of the Eastern Star was created in 1850 by Dr. Rob Morris, a poet laureate of Masonry who believed Masonry should be for the whole family.

Freemasonry has always been closed to women and the Order of the Eastern Star was a way for the wives, sisters and daughters of the men to get involved.

Nitsch joined the Easter Star shortly after her 18th birthday and is a member of the Oak Ridge Chapter 310 in Millersville. For her and other members, it is a family tradition.

"I've been involved in Eastern Star since I was a baby," she said. The men in her family have been active in Freemasonry, so it was natural for the women to become involved in the Order of the Eastern Star.

"That's my mom," Nitsch said pointing to a woman sitting at the registration table. "And over there, that's my dad's sister."

She said even the men and women who aren't related feel like family.

"I could call anybody here for help and they'd be here as soon as their car could take them."

Next to family and friendship, members list charity as the organization's main goal. Last year they raised almost $50,000 for charity. The money went to cancer research, Missouri Child Identification Program and autism, among other causes.

"It's a good organization," Jean Corse said Wednesday. Corse belongs to the Perryville chapter and will be a 50-year member in 2008.

On Wednesday night current members were honored and the new officers were sworn in during the closing ceremony of the 2007 meeting.

Aside from installing the new grand matron and grand patron, the yearly meeting serves as a time to "update" the rules and rituals of the Eastern Star.

"The organization is ancient," Marjorie Cook said. The four-day meeting allows members to gather, catch up with each other, present chapter reports and receive new bylaws.

charris@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246