CAMDEN — The students in the fifth-grade class at the Camden-Rockport Middle School were feeling a lot of excitement and anticipation when they gathered in the cafeteria at a special awards ceremony April 8 for the Masonic Bikes for Books program. 

When the students entered the cafeteria, they immediately saw 18 perfectly aligned mountain bikes all transported to the school in the back of pick-up trucks by the Masons. 

Amity Lodge No. 6 and St. Paul Lodge No. 82 collaborated again this year to award 18 bikes to students who participated in a program that encourages students to read books. This year, 31 fifth-grade students participated in the reading program and they read over 300 books during a two-month period. For each book a student read, their name was entered into a drawing to win a bike. The winners in the drawing for the bikes were split evenly between nine boys and nine girls but every student who participated in the reading program was recognized with a certificate of accomplishment and received a safety helmet. 

According to Kathy Foss, CRMS Librarian, “the bikes for books program is absolutely a great incentive for the students to read books.” Foss said that the most popular books chosen by the students  included The Alchemyst, Love, Aubrey, Hunger Games and Wonder.

“The program is a win-win situation for the students and the Masons,” said Mason Jeff Sukeforth. 

The 18 bikes were all assembled by a dozen volunteers from the Masons and Amity Lodge who gathered with their tool boxes in a makeshift workshop at the Amity Lodge a few days before the award ceremony. Many of the bike assemblers also attended the ceremony including Bob Annis, Joe Corrado, Brian Gasser Walter Greenlaw, Elwood Doran and Jeff Sukeforth. 

At the end of the awards program, the bikes were transported to the school’s library for safekeeping and some of the students were planning to hit the pavement on their new bikes after school was dismissed. 

The Grand Lodge of Masons in Maine adopted the Bikes for Books program in 2006 when the first ten bikes were given to students at Madison Elementary School. Since 2006, Masonic Lodges in Maine have awarded over 5,000 bikes to middle and elementary school students who are involved with their school’s reading programs. In 2015, Maine Masons awarded over 1,500 bikes to students. Masons of Amity Lodge #6 and St. Paul’s Lodge #82 of the Rockport Masonic Center have alone awarded almost 70 bikes to students in the reading program at CRMS in the past three years. 

Sukeforth said that money for the bikes and helmets was raised by both lodges through fund raising and also through many generous donations of some of its members. Once both lodges had their required funds raised they applied for matching grants from the Grand Lodge of Maine Charitable Foundation, which provided $500.00 to each lodge from its Youth Activities grant program. 

Sukeforth concluded the awards program with a boisterous announcement “that we hope to be back here again next year.” It was evident by the applause from the students and school faculty that they hope so as well. 

Reach Sarah Shepherd at news@penbaypilot.com