Chemainus Lodge No.114
Last updated, Tuesday February 25th, 2003
Our History in Perspective
During the past seventy-five
years approximately 400 worthy men have petitioned Chemainus Lodge for
membership in our honourable fraternity.
In the year 2001/02 we celebrated not only 75 years of Freemasonry
within Chemainus Lodge, but the lives and memory of the great men who have
passed through the very chairs we now occupy.
There are, thankfully, brethren still present, who can claim the honour
of having known Freemasons of the ilk of John Lund Parkinson, John Alexander
Humbird, and James Cuthbert Adam. For
the rest of us, our memories of the founders of Chemainus Lodge are limited to
the priceless documents left behind in the form of the minutes of their Regular
and Emergent Communications.
The history of Chemainus Lodge
has been painstakingly reviewed and recorded by Wor. Bro. Frank Merritt from
its genesis in a Masonic gathering on February 10th, 1926, in the
Chemainus Recreation Hall Reading Room, through the construction of one of the
most beautiful Masonic Halls of its time and on to the painfully difficult
decision to sell the Lodge property and meet in the neighbouring St. John’s
Masonic Hall in Ladysmith.
Additionally, the personal memories of Wor. Bro. Albee assisted me
greatly in this brief history in perspective.
It had been 3 short years
since the disastrous fire which completely destroyed the Chemainus Sawmill and
sent all the young, single men of the community travelling in search of
work. There were four Freemasons living
and working in Chemainus at the time, in the persons of Earl Miles Cook, a
Baptist minister, Joshua Freeman Marshall, timber cruiser, Edmond James Palmer,
mill manager and a Mr. “Gus” Gustoferson, carpenter and woodworker. The return of the young skilled labourers
and the arrival of a number of Masonic brethren was guaranteed with the
investment of 2.5 million dollars into the re-construction of what was to be
one of the largest sawmills in the world.
Young John Humbird, a Freemason, replaced an ailing Edmund Palmer, as
mill manager. The next few years saw
great expansion and the community rebounded.
Alexander Malcolm Manson was
the 47th Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia, in the
year the Masonic brethren of Chemainus petitioned for Dispensation to form a
Lodge. It had been 86 years since the 1st
meeting of Masons in the British Colony of Vancouver’s Island, and 55 years
since the formation of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia. On April 21, 1926, our gracious Majesty,
Queen Elizabeth II was born. Later that
year the British Empire became the British Commonwealth.
A Masonic gathering was called
in the Chemainus Recreation Hall Reading Room on February 10th of
1926. Bro. James Cuthbert Adam, who
called the meeting to order, pushed for a decision on the advisability of
forming a Lodge in Chemainus as there were many brethren in the community and
it was inconvenient to continue travelling to Duncan and Ladysmith. Bro. James Cook motioned and Bro. Harold
Evans seconded that Bro. John Parkinson, the senior Freemason present, take the
Chair. A register of those at this
formative meeting totalled twenty six.
Bro. Parkinson informed the brethren of the steps that would be required
to Constitute a Masonic Lodge.
William Lyon McKenzie King was
prime minister of Canada...twice, in 1926, his Liberals losing power for very
short time that year to Arthur Meighan
and the Conservatives. The Conservative
government of Stanley Baldwin held a large majority in the British Parliament
and his Chancellor of the Exchequer, young Winston Churchill, would play a
prominent role in the defeat of the general strike called by the Trades Union
Congress which sent two million workers to the streets. Joseph Stalin won his battle for control of
the Soviet Union, ousting Trotsky from the party and Calvin Coolidge was the
president of the United States.
Having adopted the name of
Chemainus Lodge, on March 6th, 1926, the Chemainus Masons sent a
letter to St. John's Lodge in Ladysmith, along with their Petition to Grand
Lodge, requesting support for the Chemainus effort to form a Lodge. Fifteen Chemainus Masons subsequently
attended two meetings at St. John's Lodge, the second on Friday, April 2, when
it was requisite on them to demonstrate their skills in Masonic ritual. As a result of this last visit Bro.
Parkinson received a letter of recommendation supporting the request for
Dispensation. On
April 9th, the Chemainus brethren passed a motion setting dues at $6,
and sufficient funds were raised to cover the monetary requirements of forming
a Lodge. With the average wage being
40 cents an hour, Freemasonry was within the budgets of the local brethren.
The National Hockey League
approved the addition of 3 new franchises.
The Detroit Cougars, Chicago Blackhawks, and New York Rangers joined
Boston and Pittsburgh to form the American Division of the 10 team league. The Ottawa Senators would oust the Boston
Bruins in 4 games to win the Stanley Cup.
Gene Tunney defeated Jack Dempsey twice, in 1926 & 27, to become the
heavyweight boxing champ of the world.
On April 10th, 1926, a
letter was written to D.D.G.M. Cokely of Courtenay which included a money order
for $50 to cover the charge exacted by Grand Lodge for the Petition. The letter included the list of brethren
petitioning Grand Lodge, which had already grown by six from those who had
originally come together to create the lodge.
The list of Freemasons in and around Chemainus now numbered 29. Shortly thereafter, the Brethren of
Chemainus Lodge were granted Dispensation to perform the functions of a
Lodge. It did so with a vigorous
enthusiasm, the likes of which were hard to imagine. In the period of one year, while anticipating the arrival of
their charter, Chemainus Lodge initiated, passed and raised 15 new adherents to
the Craft. There was rarely a
Communication which did not include the ritual of degree. An Emergent Communication on 16 July, 1927,
records that the Charter had been received and the Lodge numbered 114 on the
registry of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia. Most Wor.
Bro. Frank Sumner McKee was the 49th Grand Master.
Bob Hope, the son of an English
stonemason was 23. He would often quip
that he left England at 4 years of age when he found out he couldn’t become
king. The Rhythm Boys were created and
Bing Crosby performed his first solo “Muddy Waters”. 1926 also saw their premiere performances of Sweet Lil/Ain’t She
Sweet, My Blue Heaven, Missouri Waltz and That’s Grandma. Charlie Chaplin’s silent movie “The Gold
Rush” had been released a year earlier.
Norma Jeane Mortenson was born June 1st, 1926. She would become much more familiar to the
world after adopting her mother’s family name of Monroe and assuming the
identity of “Marilyn”. As one life of
prominence was beginning, another was about to end. Harry Houdini, the “Handcuff King” would pass away on October 31st,
1926.
John Lund Parkinson had been elected the
first Worshipful Master of Chemainus Lodge and Harold Evans elected
Secretary. Bro. Parkinson was a Past
Master of United Services Lodge of Victoria and it was largely on this basis
that he was honoured with the chair of the new Lodge. The new Lodge adopted the Emulation Ritual of his mother
Lodge. John Humbert was elected Senior
Warden and James Adam was to become the first Junior Warden. Bro. Adam was the Chief Engineer of the
sawmill and had a good reputation in the community by providing jobs for needy
men. He would arrange for a few hours
paid work to enable those in need to afford a hot meal and the strength to move
on to the possibility of another job.
Bro. Parkinson was well skilled as the mill Pattern Maker and an expert
at cutting wood. He was a lover of the Craft and a staunch
follower of Masonic traditions and teaching.
Wor.
Bro. John Lund Parkinson
