Area Freemasons were among a group of 110 selected to receive the Thirty-third Degree, the highest honor of Scottish Rite Freemasonry. The ceremony took place in Boston recently during the annual meeting of the Scottish Rite Supreme Council. The degree is awarded for outstanding service to freemasonry or for significant contributions to humanity that reflect credit upon the fraternity. The 2009 recipients were chosen from 15 northeast and midwestern states that comprise the 210,000-member Northern Jurisdiction of the United States. Those from the area are, from left, Wallace H. Berger of Lehighton, retired residential/industrial electrician; Jerry J. Hamilton of Maple Glen, retired automotive manufacturer's representative; and Kenneth W. McCarty of Doylestown, retired high school educator/administrator.