SDGMBurrW
WALTER B. BURR 1850-1936
Grand Master of South Dakota, 1919-1920
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BIOGRAPHY
From "The First 100 Years of the Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of South Dakota, 1875-1975", Page 104:’'
Brother Walter B. Burr was born May 13, 1850, in Middletown, Indiana. He received his education in the common schools of Henry County, Indiana. In 1871 he moved to Stockton, Cedar County, Missouri. In April, 1883, he located in Walworth County, Dakota Territory.
He was admitted to law practice in 1874 in the State of Missouri. He engaged in merchandising, farming, and the practice of law. At the time he was Grand Master he was a judge in Walworth County.
On March 31, 1878, he was married to Miss Lizzie Nippert in Wisconsin. Three children were born to this union.
He was made a Mason in Hiddenwood Lodge No. 117, Bowdle on February 23, 1895. He became a charter member of Selby Lodge No. 133 on June 11, 1902. In the York Rite he was a member of the Chapter and Council. He was a 32nd degree KCCH, Scottish Rite Mason, and a member of the Shrine.
1920
The effects of World War I were much in evidence at the forty-sixth Annual Communication of the Grand Lodge held at Pierre in 1920 with Walter B. Burr as Grand Master. l The Committee on Resolutions stated,
"We applaud the stalwart Americanism inculcated in the several reports of the Grand Officers at this Session. Masonry and the principles for which our glorious flag stands, go hand in hand, and in the World War the brethren of this jurisdiction, with those of all the other States in the Union, nobly upheld those principles on the bloody battlefields of France and Belgium, and many of them made the Supreme Sacrifice. In this time of doubt and uncertainty, when our whole land is steeped in unrest, let us hope and believe that their spirits are looking down upon us from the unseen world, and rejoicing that we have not departed from the Faith of our Fathers.<br.
"That this Grand Lodge renew its sacred pledge with the whole Masonic Fraternity, ever to uphold the Constitution and Laws of our beloved Country."
The Committee on Correspondence reported a note of warning coming from some of the Grand Lodges about "Guarding well the outer door," as an unprecedented increase in members began to show up in the lodges. This was true for the Grand Lodge of South Dakota with an increase of 1,107 members for the year.
Lodges had been constituted at Humboldt and Herrick and a dispensation had been issued for a lodge at Bristol.
The special By-laws Committee, appointed at the last Annual Meeting, presented a revised Constitution which was adopted, ordered printed, and submitted to the constituent lodges for their consideration.
