(by Amanda Marrazzo, Northwest Herald, December 26, 2022)
About 50 recruits from the Great Lakes Naval Base were hosted on Christmas Day at the McHenry Masonic Lodge 158 A.F. & A.M. where Frank Heabler said they cooked up at least 150 eggs and 240 sausage links and 350 pancakes for breakfast.
For many of the sailors in boot camp at the North Chicago base, who came from across the country, this is their first Christmas away from home, said Heabler, the worshipful master of the lodge, built in 1854, where Christmas Day has been hosted for the recruits since 2003.
Recruits such as Dylan Rumantier, 19, who is experiencing his first Christmas away from his family in Riverside, California. He is missing not only Christmas but a number of birthday parties that his “huge family” of more than 100 relatives gathers for this time of year, including his great grandmother’s birthday on Dec. 31. He also said…
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