History of Marine Lodge #355
In attempting to present the history of Marine Lodge, as accurately as possible, we have for the most part relied upon the recorded munutes as they exist in the files of the lodge, and references are made to them. Passages are quoted from them in chronological order.
The first record of the origin of the “Marine Lodge” is disclosed in this excerpt from the minutes of its first meeting, as follows: “Marine, Madison County, Ill., July18, 1859 – Thomas J. Prickett, William W. Pearce, George W. Fitch, William Lowry, Curtiss Blakeman, Alexander Keown, and Joseph P. Stepp, all Master Masons in good standing, met at the Academy Building in the town of Marine, in Madison County, Ills., on Saturday July 18th, A.D. 1859, A.L. 5859. A dispensation was then read emanating from the hands of Ira A.W. Buck, Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free & Accepted Masons in Illinois, authorizing the aforementioned Brethren to meet and open a lodge called Marine Lodge, U. D. and make Masons in accordance with the Ancient Constitutions and Regulations of Masonry and appointing Bro. Thomas J. Prickett, Worshipful Master; William W. Pearce, Senior Warden; George W. Fitch, Junior Warden…the by-laws were read and adopted. The W.M. then appointed Bro. Curtiss Blakeman, Treasurer; Bro. William Lowry, Secretary; Bro. A.W.W. Ness, Senior Deacon; Bro. Alexander Keown, Junior Deacon, and Joseph P. Stepp, Tyler.” Then followed the record of other business transacted, and finally: “Lodge M. M. closed in Peace and Harmony. (signed) T. J. Prickett, W. M.” The petitions of Jacob Kolb, John J. Parker, Frederick Wentz, and Henry Schmitt were received at this first meeting of Marine Lodge, U.D.
The building in which this first meeting was held, and which was referred to as the “Academy Building” was a frame school structure that originally stood on the site of what was later to become the Marine Public School, a fine new brick building erected in 1874, which still stands in this year of 1960, but is no longer occupied as a school. John j. Parker and Frederick Wentz share the honor of being the first candidates to be raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in the Marine Lodge, U.D., which occurred on November 5, 1859.
Neither at this point, nor later in the early minutes, does the wording of the records of the lodge make specific reference to the chartering of the lodge, but the charter itself was on October 3, 1860 issued to “Marine Lodge No. 355, A.F. & A.M.” by the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Illinois. After opening the meeting of October 27, 1860, the first meeting following the date of the charter, the lodge “proceeded to the Election of Officers, as follows: T.J. Prickett, W.M.; G.W. Fitch, S.W.; Wm. Clark, J.W.; Curtiss Blakeman, Treasurer and Herman Elbring, Secretary and H. Schmitt was appointed Senior Deacon; Eph. Eaton, J.D.; Fred Wentz elected to Tyler and Stuart.” A motion was then made and carried to adopt the By-Laws of Edwardsville Lodge No. 99 “for this Lodge with the alteration of them so that this Lodge meets only regularly on the Saturday evening on or next previous to every full Moon, to come in force immediately after the installation of the aforesaid elected officers.”
On December 26, 1860, the very next meeting to follow, at 4:00 P.M. the brethren met “at their Hall….and then marched to the Presbyterian Church where the officers (elected and appointed) were installed in public, “ after which the minister of the above church “Rev. West delivered an oration, and then they marched to Elbrings’s Hotel and took supper.” Thus was recorded the installation of the first corps of officers of the Marine Lodge No. 355 A.F. & A.M. – no longer “Under Dispensation.” The last minutes to show “U.D.” were those of September 29, 1860.
November 10, 1862 – “Moved and carried that Marine Lodge No. 355 rent the upper story of the German New Schoolhouse at the rate of $36.00 per year. Moved and seconded that the Treasurer and Tyler furnish the room with the necessary furniture at the cheapest rate not exceeding $50.00.” The minutes of May 3, 1863 are the first to record that Marine Lodge No. 355 A.F. & A.M. was meeting in a “regular communication at Masonic Hall.” It can be reasonably inferred that this was the first meeting to be held by the Lodge in the newly acquired quarters in the building then known as the “German School” – the building which thenceforth was to be home of Marine Lodge and where it still is situated.
Beginning with the meeting of June 27, 1863, and for at least twenty subsequent meetings, the Lodge was being opened at 9:00 P.M. Much work was taking place during those early years – some minutes show the conferring of First, Second, and Third degrees on the same night. The high spot was reached when the Brethren conferred one First degree, one Second degree, and two Third degrees at the same meeting. New by-laws were adopted in the meeting of January 27, 1866.
The records have now been carrying us through the Civil War years, and in the meeting of May 26, 1866 we read a significant item: that the Worshipful Master recommended “the 24th day of June, the anniversary of St. John the Baptist, as a festival, on account of peace being restored to the country. On motion it was ordered by the Lodge that the Secretary write to the different Lodges in the vicinity recommending Edwardsville as a suitable place for such a festival.”
A desire for the formation of additional Masonic Lodges in the surrounding area was manifesting itself, and on July 15, 1867 there is recorded the receipt of a petition by Masons in our neighboring city of Highland, directed to the Grand Lodge of Illinois, for recommendation by Marine Lodge for the establishment of a Lodge in Highland, and the recommendation was granted by Marine Lodge unanimous vote. A few months later the minutes of October 2, 1867 record a request for a recommendation to the Grand Lodge of Illinois for the start of a Lodge at Troy, our neighbor to the southwest, which was granted by Marine Lodge.
Marine Lodge, during this time, as recorded in minutes after minutes, was continuously and loyally responding to the appeals sent out by other Lodges in widely scattered sections of the country, asking for the assistance of the Brethren in distressed or dire circumstances. Donations were invariably made, although the lodge itself had but meager funds in its treasury. In November 1875 a contribution was made to the Washington National Monument Society.
In the meeting of February 24, 1885, the Committee appointed to negotiate the purchase of the building in which the Lodge had been meeting for the past years, reported that they had bought it at public auction for the sum of $251.00. The deed for the same was executed on Monday, March 2, 1885. In the meeting of March 28, 1885, a motion was made and carried to rent the lower floor of the two-story building to one of the Brethren of the Lodge for a paint shop for a rental of $1.50 per month. Brother Fred Wentz, the Treasurer, was asked to personally advance the balance of the amount needed for the purchase of the building, he to be reimbursed “as he needs it” – there being not enough money in the treasury to pay for the building at that time. The Lodge was short of funds during this time, and strenuous efforts were recorded in the minutes of the various meetings to collect back dues and current dues from members – at the same time the Lodge was endeavoring to meet again, from a depleted Treasury, the appeals for help from distressed members of outside Lodges. The last of the money that had been advanced by Bro. Fred Wentz was ordered to be repaid to him in the minutes of the meeting of January 16, 1886. In the minutes of the meeting of February 13, 1886, the balance in the treasury as of January 16, 1886, was reported to be $16.27.
In the meeting of May 15, 1886 a new set of by-laws, again revised, was adopted. On January 9, 1889 a contribution was made to the brethren of the distressed area in the State of Pennsylvania. A sixteen-foot two-story frame addition with metal imitation brick siding was built onto the North wall of the original brick building in the latter part of the year 1900. In the construction of that addition, there was included a wide stairway leading to the second floor.
The minutes of October 23, 1901 record a set of resolutions on the death of “Hon. William B. McKinley, the 25th President of the United States, and an illustrious member of our Fraternity,” duly presented by a committee appointed for that purpose. In 1906 records show that a donation was made to “the San Francisco Sufferers, “and in the minutes of the meeting of March 31, 1909 is recorded a contribution made to the “Washington Memorial Association at Fredericksburg, Virginia, towards the erection of a Masonic temple there in memory of George Washington,” a distinguished member of our Fraternity, and the father of this great country of ours.
The minutes of January 23, 1913 record the move to install “electric lights, in case we get an electric lighting system in town,” and later the minutes of May 6, 1914 show that the wiring of electric lights in the building had been complete. This was an event, as up until that date kerosene lights and carbide light fixtures had been used. In the meeting of March 24, 1915 a set of revised by-laws had been submitted , and in the next regular meeting in April, they were adopted.
In the intervening period from April 1913 to May 1927, contributions were recorder to have been forwarded for the Flood Relief Sufferers in Southern Illinois, to the Grand Secretary for the “War Fund,” to the “George Washington Memorial Fund,” for the sufferers in the tornado which occurred in Southern Illinois, and later for the victims in the Mississippi Valley Flood Disaster.
More to follow -