Worthington

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WORTHINGTON LODGE

Location: Worthington

Dispensation presented to: Curtis Chipman, 08/24/1932

Current Status: dispensation declined, 11/17/1932


Pictures provided by courtesy of the Worthington Historical Society. We are obliged to Ms. Dianne Brenner for making them available.

QUEST FOR A NEW LODGE

In the summer of 1932, a group of fifteen Masons in Worthington, MA, a small town of about 500 located in the western part of the state about equidistant from Northampton and Pittsfield, gathered in order to prepare a petition for a new lodge to be held in their town. The group was chaired by Brother J. Herbert Owen, and it chose Wor. Bro. F. A. Robinson to be the Master for the new lodge, to be called Worthington Lodge.

A petition was sent to the Grand Master in due form on 24 August, bearing the signatures of these Brothers, as well as a letter signed by a five-person committee (including Brothers Robinson and Owen, as well as Bro. Fred G. Sears, Jr., Bro. Wells W. Magargal and Wor. Bro. Merwin F. Packard). In their correspondence with M. W. Bro. Curtis Chipman, they pointed out the advantages of erecting a lodge in their town: that roads and weather made it difficult for Worthington brothers (particularly those who were farmers) to reach lodge meetings in towns such as Hinsdale, Huntington or Dalton; that all of the petitioners had offered to contribute an additional $10 to help build up the general fund; and that they could have use of Lyceum Hall in Worthington rent-free, similar to the beneficial arrangement used there by the Grange and the Royal Arcanum.

Worthington_Lyceum1950.jpg
The Lyceum Building, 1950

Grand Master Chipman's initial reaction was receptive, and in correspondence with Wor. Bro. Robinson he gave some indication that there might be a possibility of granting a dispensation to work. 1932 was a difficult year for the Masonic Fraternity, mirroring the serious economic situation beyond the tyled door: in June the Grand Lodge had refused to grant a charter to Trimount Lodge, then working under dispensation on Dorchester, which was certainly larger and wealthier than a small-town lodge in the Berkshires.

Accordingly, the Grand Master moved slowly and carefully in considering the petition. He wrote to District Deputy Grand Masters in the vicinity, particularly Rt. Wor. Bro. Edward Sitzer (Pittsfield 16th District) and Rt. Wor. Bro. Harold E. Hartwell (Springfield 18th District) regarding the potential for such a lodge. Neither was particularly encouraging.

On October 10, Bro. Hartwell wrote that his "first reactions are that Worthington is not large enough to support a Lodge and that the effect on Huntington Lodge will be bad." What was more, he suspected that this movement arose as a result of dissatisfaction among a group of Huntington brothers (including three of the five committee members) regarding the situation at Huntington - where the lodge was in the control of a "faction" from Woronoco - home to the Strathmore Paper Company. "In the past nine years," he wrote, "six of the nine Masters have come from Woronoco. The present Master, the Junior Warden, Senior Deacon and Senior Steward come from Woronoco. They are excellent officers with more than the average degree of ability." He noted that Huntington Lodge's membership decline might continue even if there was no new lodge formed, but that the lodge needed "the support of all the towns in its present territory."

Brother Sitzer's letter of October 25 was more positive. He noted that the Worthington committee had realized the peril of trying to build a structure of their own and had chosen to do volunteer work to add to Lyceum Hall, which seemed a prudent course; that the lodges in Hinsdale (Globe) and Dalton (Unity) had no objection, but that he had not yet spoken to the Master of Huntington Lodge. In general, though, while Rt. Wor. Bro. Hartwell was dubious on the project, Rt. Wor. Bro. Sitzer saw merit in it and more or less endorsed it.

Grand Master Chipman might have already made up his mind when he wrote to Brother Robinson on November 4, informing him that he would be giving an address in Holyoke on November 10, commemorating the 200th birthday of George Washington, and - weather and roads permitting - would journey to Huntington and then to Worthington to discuss the matter personally. It is also possible that he had reserved judgment before speaking personally with the Master of Huntington Lodge (Wor. Bro. Ira Lindsey) and a Past Master, Wor. Joseph Oliver (who wrote on November 7 who told Bro. Chipman that he was glad to "note you are invading Western Massachusetts".) He may have even been undecided by the time he reached Worthington on Friday, November 11, when he met with Dr. Robinson and the rest of the Worthington committee. The details of that meeting are lost to history (except that Dr. Robinson, after the fact, wrote to the Grand Master with personal regret for "the attitude of one member of the committee", noting that he did not personally agree with it. Likely whomever let his feelings be known to Grand Master Chipman did the project no favors, though as noted, the Grand Master might have already decided by the time the meeting took place.

Whatever the case, he concluded that it was simply a non-starter. "I have made careful investigation through various channels of the situation in Worthington," he wrote. "I have come to the conclusion that in view of present business conditions . . . it does not seem expedient at this time to issue the dispensation requested." He hoped that whatever situation existed in Huntington Lodge that the Worthington brethren could "make themselves happy and contented."

PETITIONERS FOR WORTHINGTON LODGE

Most of the petitioners lived in Worthington, and many were raised in Huntington Lodge. In a few cases the Brothers were suspended from Masonry, but mostly they remained in Huntington Lodge. Whether they were "happy and contented" is unknown.

  • ARLIN T. COLE 1889-1978
    • Farmer; lived in Chesterfield (later in So. Worthington)
    • MM 1930, Huntington
  • HORACE STANLEY COLE, JR. 1892-1938
    • Forester; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1919, Huntington
  • LELAND P. COLE 1896-1968
    • Farmer; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1922, Huntington
  • WALTER W. DAVIS 1889-1945?
    • Plumber; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1922, Lake Drummond #178, Cradock, Virginia
    • Did not affiliate in Massachusetts
  • PHILIP S. DODGE 1902-1980
    • Carpenter; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1924, Huntington; suspended 1941
  • WELLS W. MARGARGAL 1892-1967 Committee
    • Carpenter; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1922, Huntington (dimitted 8/31/1932)
    • Affiliated 1933, WM 1939, Globe
  • JOHN HERBERT OWEN (REV.) 1893-1974 Committee
    • Clergyman; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1928, Hampshire (dimitted)
    • Member 1929, Liberty
  • MERWIN F. PACKARD 1898-1982 Committee
    • Merchant, postmaster; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1929, WM 1939, Huntington
  • JOHN REID 1871-1943
    • Farmer; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1918, Huntington

Worthington_DrRobinson1935.jpg
Dr. Francis Robinson, about 1935

  • FRANCIS A. ROBINSON (DR.) 1869-1950 Committee
    • Doctor; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1897, WM 1901, 1902, Globe
  • FRED G. SEARS 1869-1952 Committee
    • Farmer; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1901, Unity

Worthington_HenrySnyder1940.jpg
Henry Snyder, about 1940

  • HENRY H. SNYDER 1895-1986
    • Farmer, expressman; lived in Worthington
    • MM 1921, Huntington
  • CLIFFORD C. TINKER 1903-1979
    • Farmer, lived in West Worthington
    • MM 1926, Huntington; suspended 1941

DISTRICT DEPUTY GRAND MASTERS


LINKS

Worthington Historical Society

Grand Master Chipman

Massachusetts Lodges