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A Brief History Of Durant Lodge #45
Adapted from works by A.J. McCarty P.M., and J.R. Sprauge.
In 1891, a
group of Master Masons in the Durant area petitioned the Most Worshipful Grand
Lodge of Oklahoma, Indian Territory for permission to establish a new lodge. The
meeting place for this new lodge would be on the second story of a frame
building located somewhere on Main street. The exact location is lost along with
the records from that period. Regular meeting nights were to be the first
Saturday after the full moon. This would give the members plenty of light to
travel back to their homes.
On May eleventh, 1891, Most Worshipful Leo Edmund Bennett granted a dispensation
to establish a lodge to Horatio Veach, Worshipful Master, Nathaniel Arthur Sims,
Senior Warden, Charles Monroe Clark, Junior Warden, and five other Master
Masons. The new lodge was to be established at Durant. in the Indian Territory,
to be called Durant Lodge #45. On August 18, 1891, the Most Worshipful Grand
Lodge of Oklahoma, Indian Territory granted a charter to Durant Lodge #45,
loated at Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory.
In the early years, almost all of the town's leading professional and business
men belong to the lodge. Membership in the lodge almost seemed like a
requirement to be a leader in the towns development. As Durant grew, the frame
buildings were replaced with buildings of brick and mortar, and the lodge moved
meeting places several times, and these locations are also lost. Records do show
that Durant Lodge #45 met for years upstairs in a two story building located at
the south east corner of 4th street and Evergreen.
A building of their own was long a dream, and over the years there was much
discussion about their ideas about what type of building they wanted, and how
much money and what types of materials would be needed to make their dreams come
true. One evening in 1963, Brother Wallace Gates donated an acre of land valued
at the time at $1ooo, located at the corner of Gates and W. University for the
purpose of building a home for Durant Lodge #45.
The gift was the spark that was needed, and the contributions of materials,
money, time and experience that followed allowed the building to begin. In a
letter dated November 16, 1964, the finance committee reported that the
foundation and floor had been completed and the block walls were in the process
of being laid. Of the three hundred and nineteen listed members of the lodge,
sixty-five had donated money, and the brethren who were block/brick layers,
plumbers, electricians, and carpenters are doing the labor as their
contribution.
At that time, the finance committee estimated that five thousand dollars would
be needed to complete the building so that the brethren could move into a new
building free of debt.
It was also decided by the committee that anyone could donate money in one
hundred increments in memory of a deceased Master Mason, and have his named
inscribed on a plaque to be displayed in the lodge for future generations to
see. Also, lesser amounts could be contributed to the same cause, and the names
would be listed on an Honor Scroll.
Brother J. R. Sprague was the secretary at that time.
The years have passed and the building has been used and appreciated by Masons,
members of the Order of the Eastern Star, De Molay, and the International Order
of the Rainbow for girls. In the past two years, benefits have been conducted
for the express purpose of maintaining the building. Funds have been used to
remodel the kitchen, the counter and sink have raised four inches to relieve
stress on the backs of brethren washing dishes, and another counter added for
more work space. Another counter has been
added to the dining area for more serving space with storage below. Another
refrigerator with icemaker has been purchased and installed. The latest
improvement has been the replacement of the carpet on the kitchen floor with
black and white checked linoleum.
The members of the Order of the Eastern Star recently held a yard sale to raise
money for the purpose of remodeling the restrooms. This work has not been done
yet, but is anxiously anticipated.
A lot of history has been skipped over is this report, but remember, this is a
work in progress, and more will be added. If you have information or memories
that need to be listed here, please contact the lodge secretary or webmaster of
this site
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