Pythagorean

PYTHAGOREAN LODGE

Location: Marion

Chartered By: William T. Coolidge

Charter Date: 06/10/1863 VI-456

Precedence Date: 07/13/1861

Current Status: Active

PAST MASTERS

John D. Allen, 1861, 1862
Joseph S. Luce, 1863-1866, 1878
George L. Luce, 1867, 1868
Joseph L. Meigs, 1869
Job A. T. Eddy, 1870-1873
Joseph Blankenship, 1874, 1875
Joseph L. Cole, 1876, 1877, 1881
B. A. Conroy, 1879, 1880
George B. Nye, 1882
Frank B. Coggeshall, 1883, 1884, 1890-1894, 1897
Frederick P. Vose, 1885-1887
Horace J. Glynn, 1888, 1889
Henry C. Dreyer, 1895
Charles H. Gurney, 1896
George H. Brown, 1898-1900
George S. Briggs, 1901, 1902
Frank E. Parlow, 1903, 1904
Reuben R. Chase, 1905
John Allanach, 1906; SN
William A. Andrew, 1907, 1908
George I. Luce, 1909
Nathan C. Hamblin, 1910
Frederick B. Barden, 1911, 1912
John Allanach, 1913
George C. Sabins, 1914
Thomas A. Oglesby, 1915
Chester A. Vose, 1916
Bismarck Ladauer, 1917
Francis Whitworth, 1918
Levi Wing, 1919
Charles M. Blankenship, 1920
Edward G. Decoff, 1921
Reid D. Macafee, 1922
Viggo V. Petersen, 1923
Lee S. Bethel, 1924
Austin L. Pierce, 1925
William Newton, 1926
Edwin C. Blankinship, 1927
Maurice E. Caldwell, 1928, 1929
Arthur B. Robinson, 1930
James F. Peebles, 1931
Franklin B. Allen, 1932
Edward O. Snow, 1933
Delano F. Griffith, 1934
Homer B. Robinson, 1935
Charles R. Washburn, 1936
James R. Dougall, 1937
Lester E. Stowell, 1938
Lauris J. Bradbury, 1939
Luen M. Johnson, 1940
Viggo V. Petersen, 1941
Franklin A. Winters, 1942
Clifton E. Burgess, 1943
Guy F. Hudson, 1944
Joseph Dawes, 1945; N
Rodney W. Perkins, 1946
Howard L. Morss, 1947
Henry J. Barnes, 1948
Joseph T. Carson, 1949
Kenneth M. Wood, 1950
Fred Harvey Armstrong, 1951
Fred G. Heald, 1952
Milton L. Smythe, 1953, 1959; N
Harold F. Nye, 1954; N
Melvin M. Wood, 1955
Nelson M. Adams, Jr., 1956
William F. Burrell, 1957
William L. Sylvia, 1958
Arthur C. Thompson, Jr., 1960, 1961
Arthur E. Radcliffe, 1962
Lewis R. Knight, 1963
Alan H. Perkins, 1964
Robert I. Wing, 1965, 1995, 1996, 2004; PDDGM
William Coulson, III, 1966
Greenwood Hartley, Jr., 1967
Gerald T. Smith, 1968
Ernest B. Dorr, 1969
R. Stanley Ennis, 1970
Maurice M. Gifford, 1971, 1975
Giles H. Dunn, 1972; N
O. Max Schlaegel, 1973
Frank R. McClelland, 1974
Everett F. Eaton, 1976
G. Bradley Hellyer, 1977
Frank J. Linhares, 1978
Arve Waagen, 1979
Charles T. Briggs, 1980
Charles R. Young, 1981
Donald C. Sargent, 1982, 1984, 1985; PDDGM
Ronald L. Knight, 1983
Daniel H. Schroth, 1986
Thomas O. Dexter, 1987, 2011, 2012
Randy L. Parker, 1988
Frank R. Peterson, 1989
Searl. L. Root, 1990
Robert D. Wing, 1991
Timothy F. Alden, 1993, 1994
Christian W. Butler, 1997
Edmund L. Gordon, 1998; DDGM
N. Douglas Schneider, 1999
Mark D.L. Sherwin, 2000
Fred J. Avery, 2001
John C. Platt, 2002, 2003
Eric L. Radin, 2005
Norman R. Duchesneau, 2006
Charles R. Phillips, III, 2007
Arthur E. Schneider, 2008
Dennis E. Haworth, 2009
Fredric C. Danhauser, 2010
James F. Verni, Jr., 2013

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

Petition for Dispensation: 1861
Petition for Charter: 1862 (continued); 1863 (granted)

ANNIVERSARIES

1961 (Centenary)
2011 (150th Anniversary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

1863 (Parkman; Constitution of Lodge; not in Proceedings; see below)
1908 (Blake; Masonic Hall cornerstone laying; Special Communication)
1911 (Flanders; Masonic Hall dedication; Special Communication)
1912 (Benton)
1913 (Benton)
1961 (Deputy Grand Master Booth; Centenary; Special Communication)
1991 (Darling; installation)
2011 (Stewart; 150th Anniversary)
2012 (Stewart)

BY-LAW CHANGES

1873 1889 1899 1906 1913 1920 1922 1928 1937 1942 1950 1953 1955 1966 1976 1977 1982 1997 2009

HISTORY

1961 (Centenary History, 1961-94; see below)

CENTENARY HISTORY, JUNE 1961

From Proceedings, Page 1961-94:

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members were imbued with the true spirit of Masonry and subscribed themselves wholeheartedly to "the most excellent tenets of our profession; friendship, morality and brotherly love."

So it was that by 1908 all the Brethren of our Lodge were deeply conscious of the pressing need for more suitable apartments in which to teach the virtues of Masonry to yet more men desiring light in this sense. In that year the cornerstone of our present edifice was laid with appropriate ceremonies. The financial assets of the Lodge were then less than $300.00. Nevertheless, its intangible assets being immeasurable, this building was completed in 1911 at a cost of approximately $22,000.00. In less than one year $18,000.00 was raised by public subscription. There was a mortgage which was steadily amortized until, in 1937, it was wiped out completely. Since that date, 24 years ago, Pythagorean Lodge has had a home entirely free from any encumbrance. We today owe a debt of gratitude to the membership and officers of those days, many of whom are still active in the Lodge. That debt can never be paid in money and that is very likely the way that they would like to leave it.

The total membership of the Lodge is now 205. In recent years we have been fortunate in gaining many new members from Mattapoisett, and we have also obtained many new Brothers by the process of affiliation. Generations change, however, and we realize fully that we must never relax our diligence in promoting the interests of our beloved fraternity so that it may impart the secrets of Masonry to men yet unborn.

It is with a feeling of real accomplishment that we arrive tonight at our centennial milestone, accompanied as it is with a deep feeling of gratitude and esteem for the long line of Brothers — Masters and laborers in the vineyard — who have made it all possible. No history of any Lodge would be complete, in my opinion, without paying tribute to the steady, unremitting devotion of the hundreds of dedicated Masons, past and present, in our membership who are almost never in the limelight, but whose regular attendance, payment of dues and faithful interest in Lodge affairs keep the light of Masonry burning brightly. Therefore, Pythagorean Lodge does hereby publicly render tribute to these faithful Brethren, as well as to our four Brothers who were honored by appointment as District Deputy Grand Masters by the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts in the last fifty years.

Now, as we enter upon our second century of teaching and using the principles of Masonry, we have unswerving faith that the Supreme Architect of the Universe will continue to guide us truly in our path here on earth as He has guided Pythagorean Lodge for the past one hundred years — and to Him shall be all the glory and the praise forever.

OTHER

1901 (Petition to reduce fees; rejected: 1901-32)

EVENTS

CONSTITUTION OF LODGE, AUGUST 1863

From Moore's Freemason's Monthly, Vol. XXII, No. 10, July 1863, Page 320:

Pythagorean Lodge, at Marion, in the county of Plymouth, was constituted, and its officers were installed, "according to ancient usage," on the 14th ultimo. The ceremonies were performed by the M. W. Grand Master, assisted by the competent number of Grand Officers, in a very able and satisfactory manner. At the installation of the officers the doors of the Lodge-room were thrown open to the admission of the ladies of the village, and a large number availed themselves of the privilege, and for the first time witnessed a Masonic ceremony. They seemed to be well pleased with what they saw and heard, as the Brethren were by their presence. The Hall has been neatly and safely fitted up, and the members of the Lodge are confident in their ability to sustain it. Wc wish them all the success and happiness in their new undertaking which they can reasonably hope for and expect to realize.