Each year the North Bend Masons, men of Unity Lodge No. 198, present a vocational scholarship in the memory of George Gaines, a good citizen of this community.
Brother Gaines worked to help his community and supported public education for all in the valley.
Here are a few of the things that he did:
- Donated land and buildings for the Community Church in North Bend.
- Donated the land for the library in North Bend.
- Planted many flowers and shrubs around the area. One summer he planted rhododendrons from North Bend to the Snoqualmie summit, 25 miles of rhododendrons along the old Sunset Highway.
When the Gaines family donated funds to the North Bend Masonic Lodge in George's name, it was natural that the Lodge would establish a scholarship fund to honor him. That fund is The Gaines Family and Unity Lodge No. 198 Memorial Scholarship Trust.
The lodge uses income from the trust to provide scholarships for vocational training to graduates of the Snoqualmie Valley and Riverview school districts.
North Bend Masons chose to support vocational training because they believe that everyone has the right to earn a living to enable them to support themselves, and, later on, their families. Not everyone cares to become and engineer, an MBA, or a PHD. A person can make a good living in a job in a trade.
To ask about the Gaines Family and Unity Lodge No. 198 Memorial Scholarship send a message to info@unity198.org.
