History of Landmark Masonic Lodge, No. 244

Transcription

1 History of Landmark Masonic Lodge, No. 244 September 12, th Anniversary Landmark Masonic Lodge, like most lodges, presents to the world a façade of stone, wood or steel, but within its walls is the treasured history and records of times and events past. When one quietly contemplates on what a Lodge represents, each has a different feeling, each has different thoughts. We, in the privacy of our minds, hear the laughter and the quiet thoughtful conversations. We reflect on the good times and the sad times. We remember the sad passing of those Brothers who came before us and we think of those who will come after us. We remember the past and speculate on the future, we contemplate old and celebrated traditions.. Today, we have gathered to celebrate one of those cherished traditions - the commemoration of 100 years of Masonic Brotherhood at Landmark Lodge, and to rededicate this Lodge to the time-honored beliefs of our Fraternity. When Freemasonry first came to northern Wisconsin around the turn of the twentieth century, life was considerably different than it is today. Today, we have a diversified economy based on farming, manufacturing, tourism, and logging. However, this has not always been the case. In the mid-18 th Century, logging was the chief occupation and the loggers who cut off the massive pine forests that covered the northern third of our state were primarily German and Scandinavian immigrants, who like so many continue to do, came to a new world with the hope of a better life. Page 1 of 5

2 At its peak in 1892, 4 billion board feet of pine logs were sent down the Wisconsin, Chippewa and Wolf Rivers to sawmills and eventfully to markets throughout the country. Local travel was done by horse and buggy or foot, as the invention of the automobile was still, if one will excuse the pun, a ways down the road; and the roads, if they existed, were little more than rutted logging trails. Travel outside of one s immediate area was done either by river or railroad. Individuals worked and socialized close to their homes or in the town where they lived. As this part of Wisconsin was settled and towns came into existence, Masonic Lodges also appeared and became a very prominent part of the local community. Within a span of fifty-three years, four lodges came into existence in our area: Osceola Lodge, No. 134, charted in 1862 Grantsburg Lodge, No. 244, chartered in 1891 St. Croix Falls Lodge, No. 275, chartered in 1901 Frederic Lodge, No. 308, chartered in 1915 As you will see, each of these Lodges has had an impact on Landmark Masonic Lodge. The town of Osceola was 18 years old when the first Masonic lodge meeting was held in May of When you walked into a lodge at this time, it was common to see sawdust on the Lodge room floor and spittoons. At that time, Masonic lodges usually initiated only one or two members at a meeting, but there were exceptions. Reading the Minutes Page 2 of 5

3 of Osceola Lodge, we find that on May 28, 1862, Osceola Lodge, even before it received its permanent Charter from the Grand Lodge of Wisconsin, conferred the Entered Apprentice Degree on 15 new members, an incredible number in any time. The Lodge received its Charter the following month and Osceola Lodge No. 134 became a reality. The next Lodge to be chartered was in Grantsburg. There were many Freemasons from Grantsburg who attended Lodge meetings in Osceola, but to attend Lodge meetings, the Brothers from Grantsburg had to travel by horseback forty-two miles from Grantsburg, which in the 1890s was no small effort. In 1890, the Grantsburg Masons requested permission from the Grand Lodge to start their own Lodge and on June 24, 1891, a Charter was presented to Grantsburg Lodge No The first Master was Brother Gustavus Olson who had been born in Sweden. In 1900, once again, twenty members of Osceola Lodge, with the Lodge s agreement, requested and were given permission by the Grand Lodge to form a new Lodge in St. Croix Falls, and in 1901 St. Croix Lodge received its Charter. In May of 1913, a group of Masons at Frederic requested permission and received a dispensation to form a lodge from Grand Master David Green. Frederic Lodge received its Charter in June The first Master was Louis Copeland, the local bank president. The secretary, J. W. Blackston, was the publisher of the Frederic Star, the local newspaper. The first Lodge meetings were held in the International Order of Odd Fellows Hall, a building that still stands on the west end of Main Street. Page 3 of 5

4 In 1918, the Brothers purchased their first building, located on Wisconsin Avenue, for $650 and spent $550 for furnishings. This became the home for Frederic Lodge for the next 64 years. Over the years, Brothers Jens and John Fossum remodeled the building, as it had been previously used as a feed store and classroom for Frederic Schools. The Lodge Minutes tell us that the Brothers employed a janitor and paid him the princely sum $1.50 for a three-month period and paid the wife of a Lodge Brother 10 cents to clean the initiatory clothing. In 1982, we sold our first home and met in the Lewis Methodist Church, with the Degrees of our Fraternity being conferred at the Grantsburg and Spooner Lodges until a new Lodge building was designed and constructed. In 1983, a lot was purchased from the Village of Frederic for $4,500. Throughout that fall and winter, and with donated labor and funds from our membership, our new Lodge was built. The cornerstone was laid and the building dedicated on July 28, 1984 by Grand Master Darrel Aderman, a Brother of Shell Lake Lodge. Over the years times changed, and several of the Lodges in this area eventually voted to merge. After the closing of the Osceola Air Force Station in 1974, the membership of Osceola Lodge slowly declined and in 1990, the Lodge, the first one chartered in our area, merged with St. Croix Falls Lodge. In 1989, the Masons of Grantsburg Lodge voted to merge with Frederic and the combined Lodge was renamed Frederic/Grantsburg Lodge No There was to be one more consolidation - in 2001, Osceola/St. Croix Falls consolidated with Frederic/Grantsburg Lodge, No. Page 4 of 5

5 244. Because of the wide geographical area represented by the four merged Lodges, in 2004 the Brothers voted to change the name to Landmark Lodge, the name it holds today. While today marks a very special and remarkable event in the history of Landmark Lodge, it also reminds us of those traditions and foundation of our Fraternity that have served us for over four hundred years, and will continue to serve as the foundation upon which another 100 years of history and honored tradition can be built. Page 5 of 5