I was born and raised in Stockton, CA. Through circumstances, I had a very happy childhood, learning about Art, Gardening and respect for Animals. Up until about the 3rd grade, I walked to my grade school which took me past a fascinating building, which I later understood to be the Masonic Lodge. At an early age the first funeral I attended, I heard mention the family member was a Mason and had a Masonic funeral the night before. 60 or so years later, I met a friend who was not only a Mason, however was a Past Master of the Masonic lodge here in Stockton. I began to ask him information about, what I later learned to be a Fraternity. I also asked a series of questions to determine if I myself could be involved. Not only did I become involved in the Fraternity, I was awarded the Mason of the year award for contributions made as a new member. Never in all of my years could I have expected to have personal growth on so many levels. Starting with developing compassion and greater understanding of people of diverse cultures, age groups, political opinions, etc. It's often overwhelming just trying to comprehend how such an organization could allow so many of such diverse backgrounds to come together for the betterment of man kind.

The Masonic Lodge building is the home to:

- Morning Star Masonic Lodge #19 which is getting ready to celebrate it's 175 Anniversary of service to the community.

- The Stockton Scottish Rite, which runs The Stockton Language center providing services to hearing and speech impaired children at no charge.

- The San Joaquin Shrine, which supports the efforts of The Shrine Children's Hospital to provide amazing health care services at no charge to families.

- The Almoners Warehouse, which loans out Medical equipment to anyone in need, only asking that they return it when they no longer need it.

- The Mexican Heritage Center, a vital resource for preserving and celebrating the deep roots and contributions of Mexicans in Stockton.

All seemed well until tragedy struck as a result of the heavy rains on the night of November 12, 2025. Arriving at the lodge the following morning we were greeted by water cascading down the ornate front entry and water rushing down the stairway into the lobby. After further inspection we discovered that the building had been flooded from top to bottom. I personally felt overwhelmed and devastated by the daunting task of how to restore the Lodge to what we had come to know and love. A call went out and Masonic Brothers we hadn't seen in several years showed up to offer help and support to the cause of saving our beloved Masonic Lodge and home to our many Masonic organizations. By Saturday we managed to get the water shut off and made tremendous progress in cleaning and drying out the building.

Our second tragedy happened a few days later when on the night of November 15, 2025, the Lodge building flooded once again. However, one of our Lodge members is a professional plumber and discovered the issue to be a backed up rain storm drain that was clogged, not allowing water to drain from the massive roof and diverting it into the lodge building. This entire experience has left me with many emotions, I am however hopeful that Lodge building will experience a restoration. That will allow us and all of our tenant to continue providing the many services that we offer to the community.

The three principals tenants of Masonry are Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth. Our Masonic Lodge building here in Stockton, CA. has quietly contributed to the Masonic concept of taking good men and helping us to become better for the betterment of all through our charitable programs. Our Lodge building has stood for the potential betterment of all in our community and now we have the opportunity to support the restoration of a piece of the history of our community so that it can continue to provide services for generations to come. It is with this hope and prayer that I am putting out this GoFundMe opportunity for all to contribute.

Thank You,

Joseph Osborne Schoenleber

32 Degree Scottish Mason

Officer Morning Star Masonic #19

Stockton, CA