Issued Ev ery Th ree Months By The Right Worsh ipful Grand lod ge o The Most Ancien t and Honorab le Fra ter nity o f Free and Acce pted Masons of Pennsylvania and Masonic Ju ri sdiction Thereu nto Belonging, throu gh its
COMMITTEE ON MASONIC CULTURE- Wil lia m E Yeager, Past Grand Master, Chair man; William E. Montgomery, G. Edward Elwe ll, Jr., Frank R. eech, William A. Carpenter, C harle s A. Young and Ashby B. Paul.
APPROVED AND AUTHORIZED TO BE PRINTED BY CHARLES H. NITSCH Right Wo rship ful Grand Moster
W ILLIA M A CA RPENTER , Edito r Mailing Address:
P.O. BOX 6 88 WA RREN , PA
Vol. IV August, 1957 No .3
Get Acquainted with The Thomas Ranken Patton Masonic Institution for Boys
To b etter a cq u a in t yo u with the man y f ea ture s and opportunitie s afford ed th e bo ys who att end Th e Th omas R anken Patton Masonic I n s tituti on f or Boys , a t El izab etht own , and with th e h opes of in spir i ng y ou as a Mas t er Maso n , t o inter ced e in beh alf of some worth y boy , the foll owin g s ke t ch of th e s ch ool is prov ided for yo ur inf o r ma tio n :
Th e Thomas Rank e n Patton Maso nic In st itution fo r Boys wa s es tabl is h ed i n 1925 It was m ad e p oss ibl e b y t he will of Th omas Ra nk en Patton who dir ec t ed , t hat as a m e m or ial t o his on ly so n , Thoma s Graham P atto n , a p orti on of hi s es tat e sh oul d be used for th e "establi shmen t an d maintenan ce of an in s ti tuti on f or the s uppo rt and edu ca tion of mal e orphan c hildr en of Mas t er Mas on s, wh o we re at t h e tim e of t h eir d ecea se members in good s t and ing in some s ub ordinate Lodge under the juri sdi ct ion of th e Gr a nd L odge of P enn sylvania. " If th ere ar e an y va canci es, th e Trus tees m ay admi t a n y other m al e or phans whose fa th er or mother is decea sed i f h e is d ee me d wo rth y
The purpose of the sc hool i s t o gi ve each boy a t h or ough tra ining in one of th e foll owin g m ech anical trad es-Machin e S h op Prac ti ce, Carpentr y or E le c troni cs, to gether wi th an academic t r aini ng eq uiva le nt t o t h a t of a good high sch oo l course The time is so div id ed th a t one-ha lf is devo t ed t o s hop wor k and one -h alf t o acad em ic s tu d ies A h igh s tandard of equipmen t i s m ain t ain ed to best ser ve t h e ends for whi ch th e scho o exis ts . The s chool and s h ops are in sess ion durin g te n mon ths f or five days per week a nd eight hours p er day T he boy's m oral , mechani ca l, and a cad emi c t ra in i ng ar e a ll given ad equat e emphasis . Each boy f ollo wing his a dmiss ion de signa te s t he r eligio us de -
nom ina ti o n of hi s ch o ice a nd i s th e rea fter
ex pe cted t o att e nd se r vices r eg ularl y at th e
n ea rb y church dur i ng h is e ntir e s tay a t t he
sch ool. Mr. P a tt o n' s will s tates t ha t all boys must be reg ul a rl y and fa i thfull y tau ght th e sacr ed truth s of th e Bible
Th e sc hoo l is l ocat ed o n a pa rt of one o f Lan ca s te r Count y's nati on a ll y fa mo us fa rm s con ta in ing 116 ac res, wh ich is o wned b y th e sc h oo l. Th e sch oo l and farm builu i ngs, as fa r as p rac ti cal , ar e ke pt in repair by th e st ud e nt s, thus pro v id ing t he m with so me pr ac ti ca l exp eri en ce in th e ir trad es . A va r ie t y of tr ees an d s h rubs g race th e campus whi le a hi ll o f evergr een s form s a fittin g back ground to t h e sc h ool. Ac r oss th e vall ey fr om th e sc hool gr ound s ar e t h e beautifu l Go th ic bui ldi ngs an d landscaped grou n ds o f The Masoni c H omes of th e Grand Lodge of P ennsyl vania. The school i s one mil e from th e E liza be tht own s ta tion of th e Pennsylvania Ra ilroad and mid wa y bet ween Harris burg and Lan cas ter. Vi sitors ar e alwa ys welcom e . Students are admitted in Sep tembe r of eac h yea r. Appl icati on blanks ma y be secure d b y writin g to th e S uper in tend ent. Appli ca nt s mu s t hav e comple ted the ninth g rad e and be betw ee n fi fte en and eigh te en yea rs o f age at the da t e o f admi ss ion. Boys seekin g admi ssio n m u s t be of good c har ac te r a n d m en tal ity, an d ph ys icall y ca pa bl e of wo r kin g a t a trad e Eac h ca nd idate fo r entra nc e mus t s ubmit a ce r ti fica te from hi s form e r s ch ool or school s, s howing the cumul a ti ve sco pe and ch aracte r of th e wo rk d on e, th e ev ide n ce of honorabl e d ismissal or good s t anding, a nd a s ta teme nt o f m e n tal ability Eac h appl ica n t mu s t sa ti sfactorily pass th e requi red ph ys ica l exa min a ti on and necessa ry to ns il an d a de no id ope rati on s mu s t be tak en car e of prior t o e nrollme nt. The b oy's t ee th mus t be in co mpl e te re pair. E yes mus t be exa min ed a nd g lasses fitt ed if n ecess ar y
No charge is made fo r b oar d or e du ca t io n
Each b oy is ex pec ted t o prov ide hi s own s pend ing m on ey and s uc h i tems o f cl o thin g a s the school d oes n o t p r o vide Th e scho ol diploma is gra nt ed on t h e s u ccessfu l comple tion of a t hre e-ye a r course in on e of the trad e courses, to ge th er with the pres cribed a cade mic wo rk. If a boy fail s t o compl e te th e p resc r ibed wo rk sa ti s fac to r il y, h e will be give n a ce rtifica te s h ow ing wo rk ac complis he d Th e curr iculum h as th e a ppro val of t he P enn syl va ni a Depar tmen t of P u bli c I n s t r u ction.
W h en th e co urse is s u ccess fu ll y co mp le ted , th e bo ys ar e com pe te nt t o enter indus tr y in th e trades for whi ch th ey ha ve been pre pa re d , or to con ti nu e th e ir form a l edu ca ti o n. Al so, th e ir mora l an d a cad em ic tr aini ng fit s t he m to tak e th e ir pl aces as u sefu l members of socie ty. E ver y e ffor t is mad e by th e auth oriti es o f th e sch oo l a nd by the Maso ni c Fraterni ty, es pecia ll y thr o ugh t h e ho m e Lodges , to see
th at th e grad ua tes fi nd s ui ta bl e pos itio n s when th ey leave sc h ool.
The Th omas Ra n ke n Patton Mas oni c Sch ool fo r Boys is yo ur Sch o ol ope rated b y a Board of Trus tees app o inted by o ur Grand Mas ter an d fin a n ced l a rgel y out of in co m e received f rom f und s pr ovi de d und er th e will of the late Grand T rea s ur e r Thomas Rank e n P att on , s uppl e me n ted b y gran ts from th e Gran d Lodge. Thi s Sch ool gives to dese r ving orphan boys a th o r o ugh thre e- year co urse in Machin e Sh o p Prac ti ce, Ca r pentr y or Elec tronics, toge ther wi th an academi c trai nin g equ al to th a t of a good Hi gh Scho ol, all in a h ome- li ke e n vir onment.
Man y o f o ur g raduat es a re t oda y ou ts tanding c iti ze ns in their res pe cti ve communit ies and all ar e loyal al umni.
If you kn o w of a deserving orphan (at leastone parent deceased - the so n of a Mas ter Maso n is give n p r iori t y) , wh o has c ompleted the ninth g rad e, t a lk wi th him and ascertain whe ther h e wo uld be in teres ted in s uch an op po rtunit y Yo u may also write or h ave your Lod ge Secre tar y wr ite to: The Superint e nd ent o f Th e Thomas Ran ke n P a tton Maso nic Ins tituti on for Boys, Eliza be tht o wn , Pennsyl vania.
Masonic Law in Pennsy l vania
By GEORGE A.
AvERY
R ight W orshipful Gra nd Secretary
HOW TO REAFFILIATE WHEN SUSPENDED FOR NON-PAYMENT OF DUES
A member of a Lodge in Penns y lvania who ha s been s u s p e nded for n on-pa yment of dues and d esir e s to reaffiliate w i t h the Lodge in wh ch h e s tand s s uspend e d ma y if h e pay s the delinquent due s w th in e leve n months of the d ate of his s u spension , be R es tor e d to Membe rship b y a two-thirds vote of the m e mb e rs pres en t at the s tate d n1cetin g at w hi c h act on i s had on th e motion to •·cs to •·e him.
S u c h Re s t o ration t o Mcm b e s hip 1nust be cons ummate d b v vote of the Lod g e wi th in one year of t h e date of s u s p e n s ion. lna s nHt c h a s the n1otion to re s tore m u s t he l a id o vct· for one month h e f o re ac ti on can be tak e n o n it th e delinq uent d u es mu s t be paid a nd th e n1otio n mad e w i t h i n e l e v e n month s of he d ate of s usp e n s i o n. A s u s pend e d m e mber who h as not b e en Restored t o Membe r s hip w i t hin t he y ear, but s ub sequ e ntl y d es ires t o r eaffili ate, mu s t fi r s t pa y the d e lin quent · due s owed a t t h e tim e of his s u s p e n s ion , w h e r eupon h e ma y b e R esto red to G ood Ma s onic S tanding b y a majority vote o f the Lodge He ma y then pt·ese nt a petition for m e mbers hip to the Lod g e from wh i c h h e wa s s u spended , or to an y othe r Lod g e o f h s cho i ce, in hi s or any recognized juri sdiction. A un anirnow< h a llo t i s neces s ar y for his e ect ion to m e mber s hip, at l e ast so fat· a s Pe nnsy l vania Lod ges ar e concern e d.
FREEMASON
A Message from Our Grand Master
In th e Au g us t 1956 iss u e o f The P e nnsylvan ia Freema so n we t old you h ow th e Grand Mas te r s pe nds his time. It is thou ght you ma y be interes t ed i n k no wing h ow his tim e has been s pent s in ce that time
Vis its to Othe r Grand Jurisdictions
October 1, 2 , 3 , 4- Gra nd Lodge o f Delawa re-Wilmin gton, Del awa re
October 15 , 16, 17-Gra nd Lodge of Ken tu ck y- Lou isville, Ken t u ck y
N o vemb er 19 , 20 , 21- Grand Lodge o f Mar yland- Baltimore
Ma r yla nd
Decemb er 18, 19-Grand Lodge D is tri c t of Columbi aWas hing ton , D. C
Februar y 10, 11 12, 13-G rand Lodge of Lou isian a- Ne w Orl ean s, Louisian a
Ma r ch 1, 2- Gra n d Lod ge of The Ne t h e rl a nd s-The HagueHolla n d.
Apri l 2, 3 4- Gra n d Lod ge o f Conn ec ticut-Ha rtford, Conn ec t ic ut
April 16 , 17, 18-Grand Lodg e o f Ne w Jersey, Atl antic City, N J.
May 6 7, 8 , 9- Gra nd Lodge of Ne w Yo rk-New Yor k, N.Y.
May 13 , 14, 15 -Grand Lodge of Ne w Hamps hir e- Manch es te r Ne w Ha mps hi re
May 19 20, 21-Gra nd Lo dge of Rh ode I sland- Providen ce, Rh od e Is la nd.
Jun e 9, 10 , 11 12-Grand Lodge of So uth Dakota- Rapid Cit y, South Dakota
Jul y 16, 17, 18- Grand Lo dg e of Canada in the Provin ce of Ontario, Tor ont o, Ontario , Cana da .
Augus t 25 , 26 , 27-Gran d Lodge of W y oming- Ne wcas tl e , W yoming
New Dist ri ct D e puty Grand Masters
Seve n n ew Di s tr ict Deputies we re introd u ced b y yo ur Grand Maste r.
March 30 - John Harper i n Philade lphia.
April 5- Ri ch a rd E. S h a ffer in Bedfor d.
April 20- Paul G. P e n singer in Gett ysburg
May 4- Minor M. Dain in Pho enixville
May 11 - J . W at so n Harme ier in Pitts burgh.
May 11 - Ray mo nd H. Gri mm in Pittsburgh.
May 21- W i lliam E. Fle th in Scranton
N e w Lodge
February 9- Cons titute d Lo wth er Manor Lodge No. 781 of Camp Hill (Co ns titution Cerem o n ies in Harri s burg) .
C onference of Gr a nd Ma s t e r s of Ma s ons in North Amer i ca
February 18, 19, 20, 2 1, 22 in W ash ing to n D C
Grand Bodie s in Pennsyl vania Decemb er 6 - Grand Ho ly Royal Arch Chapte r o f P enns yl va n ia, Phi ladelp hi a Apr il 13 - Gra nd Im peria l Council Red Cro ss of Cons tanti neBl oo msbu r g. Ap ril 2 1, 22 , 23- Grand Coun cil Ro yal & Select Mas ter s of P e nnsylvan ia , Pittsburgh. Ma y 27, 28, 29- Grand Commander y of Kni ghts Templ ar of Pennsy lvania, Phil ad elph ia.
C orn e t·ston e L ay ing
Se p temb er 2 2-La id Co rne r s ton e of Col es to ck High S choolT itusv i lle
Ju ly 20- Lai d Corne r s ton e of Mas on ic T emp le o f Ever e tt · Lodge N o. 524, Ever e tt.
P e nn sy lvani a M as on Juven ile Co urt I n st itute
Dece mb er 9-0p e nin g o f Fo urth Session - P itts b urgh . Decemb er of Fou rt h Sessio n - P i tts burgh.
Ja nuar y 23 - 0p ening o f Fifth Sessio n- P itts burgh. Ja nua r y 27-Cl osing o f F if th Sess ion - P itt s burgh.
Jul y 28- 0 pe ni ng o f S ix th Sess io n- P itt s burgh. Aug us t 1- Cl osing of S ix th Sess ion- Pitts burgh O th er Vis itat ions
Septe mb e r 10- Cresce n t Lodge No 493-Phi ladelphi a Se ptemb er 13 - Geo rge W. Gu th ri e Lodge No. 6 9 1- Pitt sburgh Septe mber 19-E ur e ka Lodge No 302, Me chanicsburg-100th An n iversa r y Sept em'ber 22-Titusv ille Lodge No 78 3, Ti t usville to c el ebrate • 100 yea rs of Masonr y in Tit usv ill e Sep tember 29 - W aver ly Lodge N o 3 0 1, Cla rk s S u mmit100th Anni ve rsa r y. O ctober 1- Willia m L. Elkins Lodge N o 646, Philadel ph i a50th Anni versar y
October 9- William C. Hami lto n Lodge N o. 5 00- Phil ad elphia . Octob er 10 - Red Lion Lodge No. 649, Red Lion50th Anni ve rsar y Octob er 11 - S unbur y Lodge No. 713-Sunbur y Octoq er 13 - Mun cy Lodg e No. 299-Muncy . Oct ober 18- 0 r ie nt a l R.A. Cha pte r No 183 , Philad elphia100th Anni ver sar y
October 20 - George W. Ba rtr am Lodge N o 298 , Med ia100th Anni ve rsar y .
October 22- Col umb ia Lodge No 9 1-Philad elphia
October 27- Go od Samara tan Lodge N o 33 6- Ge ttys burg. Octob er 29 - La n ca s ter Co mma nd ery No. 13, K .T . La n ca s t er , 100t h Anni ve rsar y . (Cont nued on page 2 )
From Our Grand Secretary's Office
OUR JUNE QUARTERLY COMMUNICATION
Proposed Amendment to Permit Lod ges to Meet in the Masonic Temple a the Homes at Elizabethtown
The item of bu siness which pr oved to be of the greates t ge n er a l interes t to the Repre s enta. tives of the 188 Lodges present at th e Jun e Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge was the p rop osed Amendme nt to Article XVII of the Ahiman Rezo n , presented b y Broth e r Scott S. Le ib y, Right Wors hipful P as t Grand Master, which, if adopted at the De cembe r Quarte rl y Communication, will make it poss ible for any Subo rdinat e Lodge in thi s Jurisdiction to hold a meeting in th e new Masonic Temple of the Mas onic Homes at Elizabethtown.
Without doubt, the reaction to thi s Amend. ment on the part of the great majority of the members of th e Craft throughout the Jurisdi ctio n will be s imilar t o that of those who were in attendance at the June Qua rterly Communi cation. Therefore, so that all may know just what its provi s ions a re, we quote it in full:
"Article XV II, Section 31. Any Lodge of Free and Acce pt ed Masons wi thin t his Jurisdi cti on, afte r h av in g se cure d the appro va l of the Grand Mas ter and th e Committee on Maso ni c Hom es, may, under such co ndit ions, rules and re gulati ons as sh all be determin ed u pon by th e Commi tt ee on Maso ni c Homes, and u pon due notice, hold a mee ti ng in the Ma son ic Tem pl e of th e Mason ic Homes at Elizabethtow n, Penn sylva nia, and confe r degree s up on dul y appro ved ca ndidates with th e same re spons ibilit y upon th e Wo rsh ipful Mas t er of the Lodge for the prope r co nduct of th e meeti ng th a t wo uld be h is for a meeting conducted at the reg ul ar place of meeting of his Lodge. "
Other Amendments to Ahiman Rezon Proposed
Three additional Am endments to the Ahima n Rezon were propo s ed, wh ich will likew ise be acted on at the Dece mbe r Quarterly Communication of Grand Lodge. On e provi de s for the Amendm ent of Article XVII, Section 30 which auth or izes any Lodge in thi s Jurisdicti on, und er the condition s th er e in s et f orth, to hold a " s pe cial" me etin g in th e George Was hington Masoni c Nat iona l Me m orial Building a t Ale x andri a, Vir ginia, by s triking therefrom th e word "s pe ci al " p r e ceding the word "mee ting, " s o th at said S ec tion, a s am ende d , sh all read as foll ows :
" Se cti on 30. Any Lo dge of Fr ee and Accepted Maso ns wi th in this juris di ction ... , may upon due no tice hold a meeting in the Sy mb oli c Lodge Room of the Geor ge Was hin gton Masonic Nati on al Memo ri al Building ...."
The deletion of th e word "special" will bring this Section of th e Ahiman Re zo n into conformity with Grand Lodge law a s it refer s to the .meetings of th e Subordinate Lodges Deci s ion 371 of the Diges t of Decis ion s r eads as follow s :
"Extra meetin gs are called for conferring Degrees, Pass in g to the Chai r and In stall ati on of Offi cers. Specia l meetings are called for s pecial purposes, s uch as perfo rmi ng Masonic Burial Servi ce and actin g on a resolution to chan ge the place of meeting of a Lod ge. "
Broth e r Rob ert A. Lamberton who was Grand Master at the time, iss ued this Decis ion in 1871. In all probability h e was not introducing an innovati on in our use of the words "special " and "extra," but was recognizing a u sage that had been r egarded as correct for years prior t o 187 1.
Meetings of Pennsylvania Lodges at the George Was hington Mas onic National Memorial at Alexandria are always called for conferring Degrees, and co n sequent ly are not "special" meetings
The two remaining Amendments to the Ahiman R ezon were prese nt ed by the Committee on Landmark s :
The fir s t of these, to Ar ticl e XIII S ection 9, i s de s ign ed to add th e Ri ght Wo r shipful Senior Grand Warden and the Ri ght W o r s hipful Junior Grand W arden to th e me mber ship of the Committee on Landmarks
The second , to Article X III, Sec tion 20 increas e s the memb er s hip of the Comm ittee on Fina nc e to not l ess than 9 , nor mor e than 11 and adds a s members of th at Commit te e, the Right Wors hipful Grand Master, th e Right Wors hipful Depu t y Grand Mas ter, the Ri ght Wors hipful Senior Grand Warden an d the Ri ght Wors hipful Juni or Grand W a rd en.
Pension Plan of Grand Lodge Revised
Appended to th e r eport of the Comm ittee on Finance were two r esolutions which wer e un a nim ous ly adopt ed.
The fir s t , re commended aft er more than a y ear of s tud y and cons idera tion by the Trus te es of the P en sion Plan, e ffec t s certain changes and m odification s therein The Plan now prov ides f or the s ur v iv ing s pous e o f a pen s ioner, and als o for th e s urvi v ing s pouse of an emplo yee not rece iving a pe ns ion , who di es after fift ee n or m ore y ears of continuous se r vi ce
Further more, in th e old plan pens ions we re b as ed u pon the e mplo yee's average m on thl y s alar y for th e five years preceding th e sixtyfifth birthday Th ey are no w base d up on the hi gh es t aver age m o nthl y s alar y p lus perqui-
s ites during any five consecutive years within the employee's period of continuous se rvice up to retirement.
Contributions to the George Washington Masonic National Memorial
The second re sol ution re cognize s the completion by Grand Lodge of the Watres Memorial Library in the George Was hingt on Mason ic National Memorial at Alexandria, Virginia, and provides f or the continuation of the solicitation of members who have not yet contributed, and of all new members of the subordinate Lodges, of at least One Dollar each. The Secretary of ea ch Lodge s hall keep a record of all such donations, and remit them to the Grand S ecretar y annually. It is earnestly enjoi ned upon the Worshipful Masters and the Secretaries of th e subordinate Lodges that they solicit their n ew members for a contribution of at leas t One Dollar each for the Memorial at Ale x andria. For a considerable number of years the total annual contrib ution in dollars for this purpos e has been less than fifty percent of the total number of initiates. Some Lodges have given nothing during all the years the fund has been in existence. If for no other r easo n than to preserve th e honor of Freema sonry, our Lodges shoul d participate in the support of th e Memorial. Ou r Grand Masters ha ve cons is tently rul ed that, if the Lodge do es not desire t o s oli cit its new members for th ese con tributions, they may be made from Lodge f unds . Mi scellane ous Matters
In a dditi on to th e matters alre ad y di sc ussed, other items of bus iness included req u es t s for Fraternal recognition fr om the Grand Lodge of France and from th e newl y-o r ganized Grand Lodge of Japan, wh ich were r e fe rr ed to the Committee on Corres pondence; an appeal b y a Trial Committee from the act ion of the Lodge in re fu s ing to ac ce pt th e verdict of guilty, with the recomm enda tion of expul s ion in the trial of one of its m emb ers , which was r e ferred t o the Committee on App eals ; a r eques t from a Lodge to Grand Lodge to rem ove · the s uspens ion of one of it s membe r s, co nvi cted Jun e l , 1948 of Gross Unmaso n ic Conduct, whi ch was referred to the Committee on App eal s; and th e a pproval of th e report of the Committ ee on By- Laws; Th e Right Wors hipful Gra nd Mas t er, Brother Charl es H. N tsc h , informed Gra nd Lodge of th e Dedi catio n of the New H osp ital Wing, and th e co mpletely r enovated Hos pita l a t th e Maso nic Homes at Elizabethtown, on Saturday , May 25
Noteworthy Masonic .Meeting Places
III-THE LODGE HALL AT LANCASTER
By WILLIAM E. MoNTGOMERY
In previous articles of this series on Noteworthy Masonic Meeting Places in Pennsylvania, reference has been made to {l) The Free Quaker Meeting H ou se (th e oldes t Lo dge hall in service, 1790-1 799 of the Grand Lodge of Penn sylvania that is s till in ex iste nce) and (2) Ind ependence Hall (the most famous of all m eeting places of Fr eemasons in the Ke ys tone State). The current article will describe the Lodge Hall at Lancaster, the oldest which is s till being u s ed for Masonic purpos es in this Juri sd iction, and in certain respects, one of the most unique. Lodge No 43 at Lancaster Penn sylvania was constituted on September 14, 1785 During the first ten years of its existence the meetings wer e held at five or six locations, but, in common with so many lodges, its mem bers had a great desire to possess a place of meeting whi ch they could call th ei r own.
On Januar y 13, 1796 a re sol ution was adopted for the appointment of a committee " t o wa it upon the corpo rat io n of thi s Borough in orde r to know whether the y will allow thi s Lodge th e privilege of erecting a Lodge room over the market house." A l ot h ad been deeded for market purpos es, located on W est King S t re e t just off Penn Squar e, and the borough corporati on at that tim e was giving cons idera tion to the erection of a market hous e ther eon. The l odge was unable to s ecure a favorabl e ans wer but i t would not g ve up the id ea and refu sed th e offer of sev eral other s ites in the hop e that eventuall y a lo cation on or n ear P enn Square could be se cured.
Two ye ars later th e Corporation acceded to the Lodge's desire and und er dat e of March 22, l 'i'98 it was agre ed: " Corporation to build Pillars and arches s uffici entl y s tron g to s upport th e s up ers tru cture and ro of" a t the ex pense of the corporation and " the Lodge to build the Sup er s tructure, and Roof, floor and ci el th e building. " The agre em e nt al s o provided that " The R oom s h all always be r eserved f or th e u se of me etings of the c orporati on , all other public u ses of the Rooms t o be at the opti on of th e Lodge." The Committee in charge es timate d that the work of th e Lodge wo uld cos t $ 1,393. , the principal item s being carpente r work $400.; mason wor k, $ 114.; b ri cks, $200. ; plas t ering, $200.; s hin gles, $ 120. ; boards, $1 00.
room for th e Corporation and other public u se.
Next on the wes t was the large room intended for lodge meetings, while at the extreme west were two s mall rooms, one for the t y ler and the other for u s e as a preparing room. The building was bounded on th e north by Market Square, on the east by th e lot now occupied by City Hall, on th e so uth by Wes t Kin g Street, and on th e west by Union Court (which ha s s ince been closed and is now owned b y the Lodge).
In October 1800 the Lodge was asked to rent the lodge-room for the November term of the County Court. This was agreed to, and for sometime afterwards the Courts were held ther e Various local organizations were also granted the use of the Lodge s fa cilities, in accordance with a resolution, "wh en the Lodge can conve ni ently ac co rnodate their fellow citizens, Subs criber s or others, with a t emporar y use of th e Lodge Room , without inte rfering with th e meeting of the Lodge, that it would be liberal , a nd honorable , to do so "
This wa s not onl y a kindl y attitude , but doubtle ss had the additional advantage of s e curing a s mall amount of we lc ome in come. In undertaking this project, Lodge No. 43 experienced the same difficulties which beset almos t all Mas onic o rganiza tions in those early d ays in attempting to secure a home of th eir own. Intere s t waned, the pay ment of s ub scriptions wa s s low, and th e du es o f n umerous members were in arre ars Cons equ entl y in June 1803, when th e Reg ister -General a nd ComptrollerGenera l of th e Comm on wealth de s ired to re nt the Lodge premis es, th e owners were happy to comply, an d made arrangeme nts t o sec ur e a meeting-place a t the Indi a n Kin g located on the s outhwes t corner of Queen and German Stree ts. This continue d until Jun e 24, 1809 when the Lodge re-occupied its ow n quarters. In 1854 th e ri ghts of Lodge No. 43 in the pro perty were ques tioned by the Count y Cornmissioner s and it was dis c ove r ed tJ;l a t th e ori ginal agr eement betwee n th e Corporation a nd the Lodge had n eve r been re'cord ed.
GEORGE A. AVE RY, Grand Secretary
The hall was ready fo r o ccupancy in Augus t of 1800, and th e fir s t m eetin g in th e " n ew Lodge Ro om" was held on September lO th of that year. The premi ses cons isted of four room s an d an entry or hallway runnin g th e entir e l ength of the building on the north s ide , the entrance b eing by a s tairwa y lo cat ed at the n orth- eas t corner of the s tructur e Th e long h allway wa s used for banquet purposes as we ll as a passage -way At t he eas t end was a
Annual Conclave of Grand Commandery Held in Philadelphia
At the Annual Conclave of th e Grand Commandery of Knig hts T emplar of Pennsylvania h eld in Philadelphia on Ma y 28 , 195 7, the follow ing officers were elected: Grand Commander
WALTERS. CASSEL, Souderton D eputy Grand Commander
R oBERT W. MICHAEL, Scranton Grand Generalissi mo HARRY F. HosTETLER, Lewis town Grand Captain General HARRISON C. HARTLINE, Erie Grand Senior Warden P ER RY L. LA BARR, Pittsburgh Grand ] unior Warden
J o HN B. CoTTRELL Media S ir Knights Ray m ond F Hoffmann , P.G.C., Pitts burgh , and John W. Laird, Philadelphia, we re re -elect ed Grand Treasurer and Grand Recorde r respect ive ly - W.E.M.
Fortunately the borough r ecords we r e quit e complete , and after being certified reco rded th e matter was terminated by an opinion of th e Presi dent Ju dge of t h e County Courts to th e effect that the title of th e Lodge mus t be r ecognized as va lid. T wo years later, when Union Co urt (th e open s tre e t bounding the Market on the west) was vacat ed th e Lodge purchas ed th e ground fro m the cit y and erect ed thereon a three-s tor y b r ic k building, the fir s t floor to be rented as a s tore-r oo m and t he upper s tories to be u sed for Mas onic purposes The partitions which separat ed th e Lodge room from th e long passag e-way and from th e s m all a nte-ro oms were r emo ve d. P rovi s ion was th en m ad e fo r ant e-rooms on the third fl oor of the new building, while the second floor was use d as a banquet-hall In 1884 the old s tairway was remo ve d and the prese nt entrance on West King Street was provided. At later dates two properties to the east were purchased and improved, providing (among oth er thin gs) additional dining space and an armor y for the Comrnandery. In 1932 , the cit y and the Lodge cooperated in the erection of a small addition to th e old original s tructure and in the stre ngthen ing of the entire building. In conjunction with this undertaking, the Lodge- room was redecorated. S ketche s were s ubmitted by a number of prominent artists. The one finally selected was entitled "Triumph of Maso nry" and is thus described in "the History of Lodge No. 43" {from which mos t of the facts contained in this article have been obtained): "The painting as a whole represent s Masonry Triumphant, guided by th e Eagle to hi gher ideals, with Just ice and Perseverence following, while Old Father Time acknowledges the achievement and progress of the same. Masonry s r ep re sented by the Eye of God {the All-Seeing E ye ), an expressive emblem, which will remind all Maso ns that th e Deit y s watching over all mankind , and will weigh in the balance of truth ever y action, thought, and word." The painting wa s done on canvas in oil and lead- and s urel y is a work of art. The coloring is s uperb and the pre sent writer is always fa scinated by th e beauty of th e des ign-and freque ntl y has difficulty in turning his gaze from the ceiling, upo n his v isits to this lovely a nd his toric old Lodge Room. Certainl y it de se rve s to r ank hi gh am ong the not ewo rthy Mas onic meeting places in this great Commonwea lth b y reason of its age, its unique owners hip background and i ts unu s ual bea ut y
