Robert L. Dluge, Jr., R.W. Grand Master (2000-2001)

At an age when many eye retirement, Brother Robert L. Dluge, Jr., R.W. Past Grand Master, is busy as ever with family, work, community service and of course, Freemasonry. Brother Bob and his wife, Debra, are the proud parents of three daughters with demanding careers and growing families. Dawn and Jennifer are physician’s assistants, and Stephanie is a teacher. They’ve blessed their parents with five grandchildren between the ages of 1 – 11 who keep Debra busy as the family’s “on-call professional baby sitter.”

A partner with Diehl, Dluge, Michetti and Michetti in Elysburg, Brother Bob practices law in the areas of estate planning, business and personal planning and real estate. His experience includes having worked for both the Pennsylvania and U.S. Senates, as well as in law enforcement during his college, post-graduate and law school years. All of his firm’s partners are also members of the fraternity, and three out of the four principals, including Brother Bob, are Past Masters. Brother Hugh Jones, P.D.D.G.M., was a partner until January 2016, when he assumed the role of judge of the Northumberland Court of Common Pleas. Their Masonic bond translates into their work ethic, as they share a similar philosophy for practicing law: their primary goal is to help people.

Besides Freemasonry, Brother Bob is also an Eagle Scout, and has served in various capacities at the local and district level of the Boy Scouts of America, including as a current board member of the Executive Board of the Susquehanna Council. He is a member of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church of Elysburg, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Northumberland County Bar Association. He has been an Assistant Chief of the Elysburg Fire Company for many years and a member of the Northumberland County Fire Chiefs’ Association. An avid hunter, Brother Bob is also a member of the Valley Gun and Country Club in Elysburg.

Reflecting on his term as Grand Master, Brother Bob is most proud of the programs he instituted that became adopted internationally. One was the matching grant program, which enabled the placement of 400 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) throughout Pennsylvania. The Grand Lodge donated an AED to the state Capitol in Harrisburg, the first in that facility. Another was the development of the national Daniel Carter Beard Award, which is presented to adult Scouters who are also members of the Masonic Fraternity. Third was the development of the Pennsylvania Masonic Youth Foundation’s “LifeSkills” program, which teaches inner strength training and what it takes to live in the real world. The fourth was the Academy of Freemasonry, comprised of three parts: Masonic Schools of Instruction; a leadership program for lodge wardens, started by Edward O. Weisser, R.W. Past Grand Master; and the Academy of Masonic Knowledge, spearheaded by Thomas W. Jackson, R.W. Past Grand Secretary. The companion to the Academy is the Pennsylvania Lodge of Research, warranted and constituted by Grand Master Dluge. Additionally, the Mentor Program was created with assistance from then-Junior Grand Warden Ronald A. Aungst, Sr. and Brother and Dr. Elvin Warfel. Brother Bob also created service awards for “unseen” heroes, including a life-saving award, the Thomson Award, named for John Thomson, R.W. Past Grand Master, who had saved several people from drowning in the Delaware River.

Also during his term, the Grand Lodge dedicated the new Little League Volunteer Stadium in a traditional Masonic cornerstone laying, provided a scoreboard, dedicated a statue at the park’s entrance to Little League’s founder, Brother Carl Stotz, and held a big name entertainment charity event.

The most memorable event during Brother Bob’s administration was the 9/11 terrorist attacks. As part of Grand Lodge’s response, Brother Bob tasked Rev. and Brother A. Preston Van Deursen, Grand Chaplain, to develop a prayer to present in all Lodges, and the Office of Mission Advancement and Development to establish a charitable fund to aid any brethren from Pennsylvania or other jurisdictions, who suffered loss in that tragedy. As a result, the Grand Lodge raised over $300,000 to support victims of the tragedy.

A lifelong resident of the Elysburg area, Brother Bob was made a Mason in Elysburg Lodge No. 414, in 1972. He continues to serve on several Grand Lodge committees, helps with special projects and is Scottish Rite’s deputy representative for the Valley of Bloomsburg. His love of Freemasonry has remained strong. Over the years, as he has traveled to other jurisdictions, including Russia, England and France, he is always amazed to see men of goodwill throughout the world. “The only thing that separates us is a language, but we all speak the common language of Freemasonry,” he says.