WilliamSewallGardner

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WILLIAM SEWALL GARDNER LODGE

Location: Lowell

Chartered By: Frank L. Simpson

Charter Date: 12/12/1928 1928-414

Precedence Date: 03/06/1928

Current Status: merged with Kilwinning Lodge to form William Sewall Gardner-Kilwinning Lodge, 04/13/2007.

PAST MASTERS

  • Garfield Davis, 1928; N
  • Lucius A. Derby, 1929, 1930
  • Walter L. Muzzey, 1931, 1932
  • Ralph P. Coates, 1933, 1934; N
  • Bertrand A. McKittrick, 1935, 1936
  • John G. Parker, 1937, 1938
  • Frank F. Hobson, 1939, 1940
  • Richard B. Walsh, 1941, 1942
  • Henry R. Walker, 1943, 1944
  • Arthur F. Woodies, 1945, 1946
  • Raymond W. McKittrick, 1947, 1948
  • Edward B. Russell, 1949, 1950
  • Joseph E. Stavely, 1951, 1952
  • Harold H. Sloan, 1953, 1954
  • Lucian H. Burns, 1955, 1956
  • Daniel C. Hanson, 1957
  • Thomas W. Critchley, 1958
  • Toure F. Larson, 1959, 1960
  • Donald E. Smith, 1961
  • Arthur L. Bennett, 1962
  • Norman L. Staveley, 1963; N
  • Ralph E. House, 1964
  • Douglas J. Logan, 1965
  • Allen C. Mello, 1966
  • Forrest H. Bourbonnie, 1967
  • John R. Kydd, Jr., 1968
  • Robert W. Pearson, 1969
  • Arthur C. Jones, 1970
  • Ronald W. Wetmore, 1971; PDDGM
  • James E. McNeill, 1972
  • Charles Mitchum, Jr., 1973
  • Robert L. Wetmore, 1974
  • Chandler J. Robinson, 1975
  • Bruce W. Sargent, 1976, 1995
  • Robert W. LaPierre, 1977; N
  • Paul D. Rideout, 1978
  • Robert E. Sutton, 1979
  • Charles M. Bade, 1980
  • Carl M. Russo, 1981
  • Richard S. Ferrell, 1982
  • Robert F. Hammond, 1983
  • Ralph H. House, 1984
  • Robert W. Carlson, 1985
  • Gary H. Ward, 1986
  • George G. Brown, Jr., 1987
  • Bruce G. Mitchell, 1988
  • Edward B. Acheson, 1989, 1992
  • Theodore S. Panek, 1990
  • Herbert W. Mitchell, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994; PDDGM
  • Alfred L. Morin, Jr., 1996, 1997
  • Roger Whitehead, 1998
  • James W. Baxter, 1999, 2000
  • Francis J. Shumbata, 2001, 2002
  • Dennis S. Sargent, 2003, 2004
  • Bruce A. Karafelis, 2005, 2006, 2007

REFERENCES IN GRAND LODGE PROCEEDINGS

  • Petition for Dispensation: 1928
  • Petition for Charter: 1928
  • Consolidation Petition (with Kilwinning Lodge): 2007

ANNIVERSARIES

  • 1953 (25th Anniversary)
  • 1978 (50th Anniversary)
  • 2003 (75th Anniversary)

VISITS BY GRAND MASTER

BY-LAW CHANGES

1933 1937 1945 1952 1960 1963 1970 1979 1982 1983 1984 1986 1988 1990 1998

HISTORY

  • 1953 (25th Anniversary History, 1953-79; see below)
  • 1978 (50th Anniversary History, 1978-4)
  • 2003 (75th Anniversary History, 2003-48)

25TH ANNIVERSARY HISTORY, MARCH 1953

From Proceedings, Page 1953-79:

By Worshipful Arthur F. Woodies.

A history of William Sewall Gardner is the autobiography of a family.

By the grace of God, and by the directing light of an eternal flame of faith and purpose, we escaped most of the pitfalls incident to youth and adolescence, and have come to this quarter-of-a-century milestone spiritually, morally and financially sound. By any measurement it has been a good life and the reason may be found in these words: The solidarity and integrity of the family, anchored to the ageless rocks of love, respect, charity, sense of responsibility, loyalty and a common interest.

With this self-appraisal, we turn time back to the year 1928 (A.L. 5928) when were sown the seeds that today provide us bountiful harvest in sheafs of nostalgic reminiscence, proud contemplation and brave glances into the crystal ball of the future.

The Chronological Story

The year of our birth was at the threshold of an era of national economic depression. Also, in 1926, the Masonic apartments had been destroyed in the Pollard fire, and pending the erection of the present Temple, the business of Masonry was being carried on in the First Universalist Church on Hurd Street. Membership in the four existing Blue Lodges — Pentucket, Ancient York, Kilwinning and William North — was pushing the 2800 mark, and there was talk of the need of another Lodge. Much of this discussion echoed official utterances of Grand Masters in the years just preceding, when, on more than one occasion, they deplored a tendency towards large bodies.

More than any other man, first steps towards the institution of William Sewall Gardner Lodge were plotted and guided by Brother Lucius A. Derby, a member of Pentucket Lodge, our second Worshipful Master, and later on, the first recipient in Lowell of the Joseph Warren Medal, symbolic of outstanding service and devotion to the Fraternity. Signers of the petition for a new Lodge numbered fifty-two and were representative of the four Lowell Lodges and thirteen others in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and New York. The roster of signers, with Mother Lodges signified, appears elsewhere in this program.

Of the fifty-two original signers of the petition, thirty-four were in attendance at the first meeting, convened on February 29, 1928, at the First Universalist Church. Unanimously, it was voted to name the Lodge William Sewall Gardner, in perpetuation of the memory of a distinguished lawyer and jurist, a past Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Massachusetts and a Mason of high eminence and attainments.

William Sewall Gardner was a native of Hallowell, Maine. He practiced law in Lowell from 1852 to 1861, when he moved to Boston. He was made a Mason in Ancient York Lodge in 1852 and was Master of that Lodge in 1856 and 1857. He was Grand Marshal of the Grand Lodge from 1857 to 1859, District Deputy Grand Master from 1860 to 1863, Senior Grand Warden in 1864, and Most Worshipful Grand Master in 1869, 1870 and 1871. He was active in the organization of Kilwinning Lodge and served as its first Worshipful Master. Other Masonic honors were thick upon him, and today he is considered one of the most distinguished in a long line of Masons in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Worshipful Charles E. Bartlett of Kilwinning Lodge served as temporary chairman at the initial meeting, with Bro. John G. Parker, our sixth Worshipful Master, and a member of Greenpoint Lodge, No. 403, of Brooklyn, New York, as temporary Secretary. It was voted to hold stated communications of the new Lodge on the second Friday of each month, except in July and August. The fee for degrees was set at $100. Officers chosen at that time for presentation to the Grand Master for his approval were: Worshipful Master, Garfield Arthur Davis; Senior Warden, Lucius A. Derby; Junior Warden, Walter L. Muzzey.

In recognition of his work towards organization of the Lodge, Brother Derby was designated to make personal presentation of the petition to the Grand Master. A committee composed of R. W. Frank W. Dobson, Wor. Harry K. Boardman and Bro. Lucius Fairchild was named to draw up a set of by-laws. With the completion of these initial, necessary steps, the machinery of institution of our beloved Lodge was set in motion.

Upon presentation of the application to the Grand Master, a dispensation was granted March 6, 1928, under which the Lodge could work pending receipt of its charter. The dispensation was brought to the Lodge on March 31, 1928, twenty-five years ago this night, by R.W. Warren B. Goddard of Corinthian Lodge, Concord, then District Deputy Grand Master for the Lowell Twelfth Masonic District.

A fortnight after receipt of the dispensation, on Friday, April 13, 1928, the first regular communication of William Sewall Gardner Lodge was held at the First Universalist Church and first applications for degrees were received. In order of their presentation, they were those of: Frank Foster Hobson, Edward Hobbs Brigham, Charles Edward Dowrey, John A. Simpson (deceased), and Ralph Stilman Charles. Jewels worn by the officers at the first meeting were loaned by Pentucket Lodge.

The first degree ritual performed by the Lodge was on May 11, 1928, when the first section of the Entered Apprentice Degree was worked on Frank F. Hobson by Wor. Garfield A. Davis. Others received as Entered Apprentices that night were Edward H. Brigham, John A. Simpson and Charles E. Dowrey. The Holy Bible used by the Lodge at this meeting was the gift of Brother Edward B. Carney of Kilwinning Lodge in memory of his father, Brother George James Carney, who was a close and personal friend of Most Worshipful William Sewall Gardner. A container in which to preserve the Bible was presented to the Lodge by Brother Albert F. French of Ancient York Lodge. A marshal's baton was presented to the Lodge by Brother Lucius A. Derby. It was fashioned from a piece of lignum vitae.

The fifth of the first class of candidates, Ralph S. Charles, was given the Entered Apprentice and Fellow Craft Degrees at special communications held respectively on July 20 and August 17, 1928. On September 14, 1928, Brother Charles was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason, the first so raised in William Sewall Gardner Lodge.

It was on September 8 of that same year that William Sewall Gardner Lodge participated in its first Masonic procession and formal observance. The occasion was the laying of the cornerstone of the Temple on Dutton Street.

Straight Was The Way

An incident of this celebration set the pattern, if you please, of William Sewall Gardner Lodge's strict attention to detail and meticulous compliance with orders. Being the youngest Lodge in Lowell, we headed the procession to the Temple from the Elks Club, where a special communication had been opened. Because Worshipful Albert D. Milliken, Lodge Marshal, was marching as Commander of Pilgrim Commandery, the duties of that office were assumed by Bro. Ralph P. Coates, then Senior Deacon. At the head of the procession was a band. At the conclusion of the corner-stone laying ceremonies, the line re-formed to proceed to the Genoa Club quarters in the Knights of Columbus building on Dutton Street. The band swung into a stirring march and turned east on Merrimack Street. But not William Sewall Gardner Lodge! Under the Coates baton, they went straight ahead and reached their destination just as the band, all by itself, was passing St. Anne's Church. Music or no music, William Sewall Gardner Lodge had a place to go, and they went. So it has been through the years!

Placed in the corner-stone by the Lodge were a photograph of William Sewall Gardner and a history of his Masonic life, a list of charter members, a copy of the first printed notice, a list of officers who served during the period of dispensation, a group picture of them and a copy of the records of the meeting at which dispensation was granted.

The by-laws of the Lodge were approved at the meeting of November 9,1928, and at the December communication, officers were elected as follows:

  • Garfield A. Davis, Worshipful Master
  • Lucius A. Derby, Senior Warden
  • Walter L. Muzzey, Junior Warden
  • Charles F. Langley, Treasurer
  • Leslie A. Secor, Secretary

The first fraternal visitation to William Sewall Gardner Lodge by a District Deputy Grand Master occurred on February 8, 1929, when the Lodge received Right Worshipful Alvah H. Weaver.

A Lodge is Born

On Thursday, February 28, 1929, Most Worshipful Herbert W. Dean, Grand Master, and thirty-one Grand Lodge officers, came to Lowell to formally constitute William Sewall Gardner Lodge. The attendance was 378, including forty-four charter members, eight who had received the degrees in the Lodge since its institution and 326 visitors. Music was furnished by the orchestra of the Lowell Electric Light Corporation. The charge was one written by William Sewall Gardner while he was Grand Master, and the entire program was one of impressive dignity. Officers installed at the constitution were:

  • Wor. Garfield A. Davis, Master
  • Bro. Lucius A. Derby, Senior Warden
  • Bro. Walter L. Muzzey, Junior Warden
  • Bro. Charles F. Langley, Treasurer
  • Bro. Leslie A. Secor, Secretary
  • R. W. Frank W. Dobson, Chaplain
  • Wor. Albert D. Milliken, Marshal
  • Bro. Ralph P. Coates, Senior Deacon
  • Albert E. Jones, Junior Deacon
  • Harold E. Ayer, Senior Steward
  • Bertrand A. McKittrick, Junior Steward
  • John G. Parker, Inside Sentinel
  • Frank B. Hill, Organist
  • Wor. George W. Randall, Tyler

First annual reports were read at the meeting on June 14, 1929. They showed substantial progress in the course of a single year, with savings bank deposits of $1,043.58; total membership of 65, with 15 initiated and 12 raised; and donations of $164 to the Masonic Hospital in Shrewsbury. Also at that meeting a photograph of William Sewall Gardner was presented to the Lodge by Bro. C. Oliver Barnes. From it an engraving was made for use on the cover of Lodge notices, as well as upon the medallion that is part of our Past Master's jewel.

A special meeting was convened on October 8, 1929, for the purpose of assisting in the dedication of the present Temple. Three days later, on the 11th, we held our first meeting in Egyptian Hall. Before the next regular communication, R. W. Harry G. Pollard presented the Lodge the silver Square and Compasses still used on our altar. Later, trestle boards were presented by Bro. Herbert C. Taft, entering tools by Bro. Philip A. Richardson, in behalf of a class of candidates, and an hour glass by Brother Derby.

On November 14, 1930, we instituted a custom that has come down through the years, whereby all members raised are presented Masonic Bibles by the Lodge. Wor. Bro. Derby, then presiding Master, made the custom retroactive to include all Brothers previously raised.

A special meeting of the Lodge was held October 1, 1931, to celebrate the birthday anniversary of William Sewall Gardner, a custom that was followed for a number of years.

The first presentation in Lowell of a Joseph Warren Medal, symbolic of outstanding service to the Craft, was made to Wor. Bro. Derby on November 13, 1931, by R.W. Harold D. MacDonald, then District Deputy Grand Master. The Medal had been struck only a year previous and William Sewall Gardner Lodge shared fully in the honor conferred upon Brother Derby.

An amendment to the by-laws, reducing the membership fee from $30 to $10 was approved on March 10, 1933.

Continuing evidence of the great love held for the Lodge by Wor. Bro. Derby marked the meeting of June 1, 1933, when he presented us a tyler's sword and a 24-inch gauge fashioned of ivory.

An Old Timers' Night was celebrated in December of 1935, at which time the chairs were filled in the same order as when the Lodge was working under dispensation, and R.W. Garfield A. Davis gave a condensed historical sketch of our first seven years.

The fee for life membership in the Lodge was increased to $200 on November 13, 1936.

On May 13, 1938, the fee for the degrees was reduced from $100 to $65, an amount that became standard in all Lowell Lodges.

All past District Deputy Grand Masters and fifty past Masters in the Lowell Twelfth District were guests of the Lodge on September 9, 1938, on which occasion the principal address was given by Most Worshipful Arthur Dow Prince. This meeting also marked the first use of the amplifying system in the banquet-hall.

Dawn of a New Era

When Worshipful Frank F. Hobson was installed as Master in June of 1939, the event symbolized a new era in the life of the Lodge. He was the first candidate initiated in 1928 and therefore, the first of the "new crop," so to speak, to go through the chairs to the East. The six Masters who preceded him were charter members and in line at the time the Lodge was formed. Also at that meeting, Bro. Leslie A. Secor resigned as Secretary and was succeeded by our present Secretary, R. W. Ralph Porter Coates.

It was on December 8, 1939, that the Lodge received the Boaz and Jachin pillars used in the Fellow Craft Degree. They were designed and procured by Worshipful Richard B. Walsh.

At the June communication in 1940, it was noted that savings bank deposits had risen to $2,144.58, an increase of $1,101.00 since the first treasurer's report in 1929.

The membership of the Lodge stood at sixty when Brother Walsh was installed as Worshipful Master in June of 1941. The war years were then upon us, and in many ways, William Sewall Gardner Lodge fulfilled its obligations of service. Members were active in respect to the Masonic Service Center in Ayer, and its field agent, Bro. Sam Wilbur, was a visitor at the Lowell Temple on a number of occasions. Not only did members of the Lodge, with their wives, volunteer for snack-bar duty, but the Lodge as a whole established an enviable record in its contributions to the Masonic Military Service Association. Our per capita subscription of $6.39 was far in excess of any other Lodge in the Lowell Twelfth Masonic District and was exceeded in the State by only four Lodges.

Members of William Sewall Gardner Lodge who served in the armed forces in World War II were Brothers Rufus H. Gould, Carl F. McKittrick, Vernon R. McKittrick, William D. Phelps and Asa R. Plaisted.

Presently serving with the Marine Corps in Korea is Brother Kenneth Edmund Vinal.

On September 10, 1943, in commemoration of the founding of the Lodge, specially designed lapel buttons were presented to all charter members who at that time still retained membership in William Sewall Gardner Lodge. The buttons were of gold and carried on their face a facsimile of the Lodge seal, with the entire button circled in blue. They were designed by Wor. Bro. John G. Parker. Fourteen of the twenty-one charter members entitled were present at the meeting to share in the personal presentations, while buttons were sent to the seven who were absent. The first button was presented to R.W. Harry G. Pollard by R.W. Garfield A. Davis.

An incident worthy of historical notation occurred on March 9, 1945, when, at a meeting of the 32nd Lodge of Instruction, Most Worshipful Samuel H. Wragg presented the Joseph Warren Medal to Worshipful Richard Brabrook Walsh. It was in recognition of his service to the Craft in preparing the material which comprised a large part of the manual of instruction adopted for use in Lodges of Instruction throughout the state. His response to the presentation will forever have a special niche in the archives of William Sewall Gardner Lodge . . . "Most Worshipful Sir and Brethren, I am dumfounded."

Continuing the upward spiral, at the annual meeting in June of 1945, savings bank deposits totalled $3,136.25.

In 1948 the four McKittrick brothers, Bertrand, Raymond, Carl and Vernon, presented to the Lodge bound copies of the by-laws in memory of their father, Bro. Francis George Wellington McKittrick, who died in 1946. The attractive booklets also contained a biographical sketch of William Sewall Gardner, a Lodge history, lists of charter members, officers installed at the constitution, and an alphabetical roster of members as of February 27, 1948.

At the regular communication on September 10, 1948, the Lodge dedicated a new Bible in memory of Worshipful Bro. Walsh. The Great Light had been purchased with money voluntarily contributed by the Brethren and is a fitting memorial to our eighth presiding Master.

In 1949, in response to a request by Rev. Bro. Elton W. Brown, who had left his Chelmsford Church to take up missionary work in the Philippine Islands, the Lodge contributed some $60 towards the purchase of an organ to be installed in the reconstructed Temple of Sarangani Lodge No. 50, Davao City, Mindanao. Their previous Temple had been destroyed during the Japanese invasion of the Islands in 1942.

Since its constitution, William Sewall Gardner Lodge has had twelve 33rd Degree Masons in its membership, as well as thirteen High Priests of Mt. Horeb Royal Arch Chapter, thirteen Illustrious Masters of Ahasuerus Council, twenty Commanders of Pilgrim Commandery, seven Thrice Potent Masters of Lowell Lodge of Perfection, two Sovereign Princes of Lowell Council, Princes of Jerusalem, and eight Most Wise Masters of Mount Calvary Chapter of Rose Croix.

Extra-Curricular Landmarks

It long has been a tradition in William Sewall Gardner Lodge that every candidate shall receive full and adequate instruction in the principles of Freemasonry and that all of its activities shall be directed towards the objects of the Craft. This was well set forth by William Sewall Gardner himself when he declared: "We shall dedicate ourselves to the conservation of the beauty of our ritual and the cultivation of a spirit of good-fellowship among our members."

In the furtherance of these ideals, we point with pride to the passage of a motion at the communication of February 8, 1929, when it was voted that William Sewall Gardner Lodge request of the Most Worshipful Grand Master a dispensation to form a Lodge of Instruction in the Lowell Twelfth Masonic District (now known and designated as the 32nd Lodge of Instruction).

Ever mindful of the value of good-fellowship and friendly communion and motivated by a strong belief that only in a Lodge of comparatively small numerical proportions can such be obtained, the Lodge, on October 12, 1945, voted to change the by-laws by limiting the overall membership to 150, with the additional provision that no more than nine initiates would be accepted in any given year. In May of 1952 Grand Lodge approved another change in the by-laws whereby the membership limit was raised from 150 to 200, but maintaining the same prohibition on the number of initiates.

Friendships have been built up in William Sewall Gardner Lodge that are as enduring as the rocks of time and most of them have come into full flower through the medium of Sunday night get-togethers. In respect to these, our Lodge is unique. They were instituted by Richard Brabrook Walsh, our eighth Worshipful Master, in 1934, when his home at 197 Parkview Avenue, Lowell, became the incubator of all of our plans and the focal point of most of our activities outside of the Temple itself. There all candidates, their sponsors and teachers met on Sunday evenings to receive instruction in the degree lectures, and there, also, was born the tremendous spirit of comradeship that has been a hallmark of our success down through the years.

Brabrook loved those Sunday evenings and allowed nothing to interfere with them. As time went on and their popularity grew, he converted his basement into a lounge, known and dedicated as the William Sewall Gardner room. Until his death on April 24, 1948, he maintained it for the Lodge and none who entered ever left without a feeling that he had reconsecrated himself to a spirit of brotherly love and affection.

William Sewall Gardner Landmark No. 1: One Hundred and Ninety-Seven Parkview Avenue, Lowell, Massachusetts.

In the minds of all of us, a perpetuation of our extra-curricular Masonic way of life was necessary, and it is to the everlasting credit of Worshipful Joseph Edgar Staveley, our thirteenth presiding Master, that he picked up the torch and held it high. Almost overnight, the focal point was transferred to the Staveley home in Chelmsford, where another William Sewall Gardner room has been carved out of the upper reaches of the Staveley barn, and where on Sunday evenings the same questions are being asked and the same answers returned as before.

William Sewall Gardner Landmark No. 2: Twenty-Eight Westford Road, Chelmsford Centre, Massachusetts.

Addenda

Since its inception, William Sewall Gardner Lodge has endeavored to maintain a balance between ritualistic and social activities. It is our boast that every member knows every other by his first name. The adhesion of the cement of brotherly love and affection has been strong.

In the following paragraphs we will try to give a summation of our out-of-lodge-room peregrinations, as well as our usually successful attempts to satisfy man's innate desire for good food and plenty of it.

W. S. G. began to "go social" in 1936. The motivation is more or less veiled in antiquity, but once we tried out our fledgling wings and found ourselves airborne, we took off. We have taken our fun where we found it, and for the most part, we have found it wherever we happened to be.

It would seem that we adopted four principal avenues of escape from the humdrum. They were Leap Year parties, outings, public installations and family-style picnics.

Our first attempt at organized hilarity was in 1936, when our initial Leap Year party was held on February 29 at the Nashua Country Club. Bert McKittrick was the Master. Records are scanty, but Coates has chronicled the fact that "the fun was fast and furious" and that Walsh, Woodies and Gordy Williams set the tempo with hair-raising races across a highly polished floor on overturned chairs. That also was the year of the introduction of "the door that leads nowhere."

The year 1940, again being divisible by four, naturally fell into the Leap Year pattern and on February 29 we again gathered at the Nashua Club. This time we had things better organized and a special notice was printed containing "Rules of Behavior and Information," plus a dissertation on the menu. The "Rules of Behavior" included such pertinent information as: "Brethren are expected to keep their wives entertained and happy, but wives must remember that Masonry permits no distinction among friends and brothers."

It was in 1940, also, that we inaugurated our famous giveaway routine, which during subsequent years included eight-foot stepladders, live rabbits, patented mouse traps, steak and butter when they were hard to get, roses frozen into punch bowls of gleaming ice, non-skid zippers and foolproof handy ticket kits. The McKittrick brand of color movies also made its appearance in that year.

In 1944 we were back again, this time to receive and greet William Sewall Gardner, "in person," who watched the proceedings of the evening with benign eye from his wheel chair vantage point. While the Most Worshipful Sir had little if anything to say, for the years were heavy upon him, there could be detected on his kindly face from time to time, little wrinkles of pride, mirth and satisfaction.

Kings and queens were crowned, professional entertainment and orchestral music formed background for the fun, while through it all, year after year, rained down the always present Parker snowballs. Happy days!

Charter members were toasted in champagne at the 20th anniversary dinner in 1948, where gardenias for the ladies, bushels of apples, filet mignon, rope skipping, Virginia reels and a twenty-candle birthday cake all contributed to a memorable evening.

The 1952 Leap Year party found us at the Andover Country Club, with an attendance of more than 200 and an evening as crowded with surprising events as was the dance floor with gliding couples.

Public installations, ladies' nights and after-meeting programs of entertainment have rounded out the indoor social cycle.

Big outings from little cookouts grew. Steaks first were broiled on the Staveley terrace on July 8, 1942, and the die was cast. The experiment was repeated the following year, but in 1944, full scale summer outings were inaugurated and have been yearly features ever since, first at the McKittrick hideaway on Cobbett's Pond, and beginning in 1946, at Brig's estate at Long-Soughi-For. If space would allow, each is worthy of a chapter of its own, but let it suffice that never have horse shoes been thrown with such abandon, never has the Hanson brand of green corn been equalled in succulence, never have steamed clams tasted so good ($12 for half a barrel), never has there been, anywhere, anytime, such aqua-planing or demonstrations of seamanship, and never have men had better times together.

Later on came the family picnics at the French cottage on the knee-deep sands of Happy Hampton, with the temperature of the Atlantic at thirty-two, give or take a degree either way, but always the sort of informal, happy get-togethers that have been the hallmark of our social prestige.

The truism that William Sewall Gardner Lodge and good food are synonymous dates back to our early years. We have run the gastronomical gamut from ham and beans to venison steaks and caviar and back again, with detours for whole broiled salmon, exotic dishes from the Scandinavian Peninsula, salads of our chef's own tossing, honey from our own hives, lobsters, fried chicken and the choicest of meats. Whatever we wanted, we got.

Names come crowding to mind :

  • Myer, with his jewel of Grand Commissar
  • the Dahl touch on the Smorgasbord
  • steaks from Herm Gordon and the Demogenes
  • Martin, Osborn, Walsh, and his man Friday, Ray Hoag
  • Bert McKittrick and his bow and arrow
  • Ed. Russell, Staveley, Tommy Brooks, Don McNeill, Ray McKittrick, Henry Walker


. . . we could go on and on and on. Thanks for the memories!

And so in every respect, a review of the highlights of our first twenty-five years brings to the surface irrefutable evidence that William Sewall Gardner Lodge is ready for the future and for whatever the years may bring. We may view with pride our propagation of true Masonic principles, and as we contemplate the past, we are content that upon this firm foundation future generations of Friends and Brothers may build 'till time shall be no more.

OTHER

  • 1938 (Petition for reduction of fees)

GRAND LODGE OFFICERS

DISTRICTS

1928: District 12 (Lowell)

2003: District 12

LINKS

Massachusetts Lodges

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