Sunday, March 22, 2015

The History of Ellensburg Lodge #39 F&AM of Washington

This little blog is an attempt to gather and consolidate the historical information relating to the Lodge.  Mostly the members.  The Lodge is really the people, the building is termed the Masonic Temple.


The true website for Ellensburg #39 can be found here:  www.eburgmasons.com

 Here are a few other pictures of this historic building:
Knights Templar in front in 1909


This picture seems to have been taken in the 1960s



This picture seems to have been taken in the 1980s


Calling card........


This is a drawing of the first Masonic Temple in Ellensburg.
 It was on the corner of 4th and and Pine.  
It was completed in April of 1889 - just in time to
burn to the ground in the July 4th, 1889 fire that leveled most of Ellensburgh.



This picture is striking visually, of course, but if you know the background history it tells a more profound story.  

How did this group of 20 or so men get the money together to build a two story brick building, and how did they feel looking at the burnt-out shell?  

The fact that they built the building, and quickly rebuilt the current building speaks to the importance that these men placed on their masonic membership.

For a more detailed discussion of the history of the buildings the Lodge has called home, click here to go to the #39 website.




Saturday, March 21, 2015

Ellensburg #39 Lodge Officer Installation photos - 1965 and 2015!

Separated by 50 years, the lodge looks very similar in these two photos..


That is by design, we staged the second photo, the actual installation of officers in the fall of 2014 to look as much like the picture taken in the fall of 1964 as possible.  The postures of the officers, the deacon's rod leaning in the doorway to the left and even the people having a conversation in the doorway.

We found the old photo in the Fred Breckon colletion.  What a jewel.

The Tyler's register from that installation ceremony still exists and a photo of it is below:



The register helps to figure out who the men in the photo are... and this was written on the back of the actual photo:


It seems strange, to me at least, that the first position from the left is blank.  That chair is usually occupied by the Brother to be installed as Master for the next year, and that person is in fact wearing the Master's Jewel of Office:

WB Jack Burrows - Master 1965.
Jack passed away a few years ago, but I did get to meet him and talk to him.  He maintained his membership after moving to Seattle and now and then drove over for a lodge meeting when the weather was favorable.

Jack is probably wearing the same officer's jewel that the current master wears.


One other thing that has not changed...  The Lodge Bible:

This is a recent photo of the title page of the Lodge Bible.  It was donated to the Lodge by Erich A. Brattkus - Master of the Lodge in 1950


The men seated in this photo, from left are Marc Thompson, Chris Beyer, Nick Henderson, Wayne Erickson, Patrick Stanton, Austin Marshall, Bob Johnson, Ron Graham, Tedd Hansen, Scott Randall and Andrew Caveness.

Barely visible in the doorway are Aaron Carlton (#39) and Kyle Nickolson (WM of CleElum #139)