PAGE 4
THURSDAY. MAY 9, 1940
ILLINOIS VALLEY NEWS
WHERE MASONS HELI) LODGE IN EARLY DAYS
WHEEL ALIGNING ...
Famous "BEAR" AXLE and FRAME EQUIPMENT Guarantees
You a Good Job.
MOTOR REPAIR
STANDARD PRODUCTS
TOMMIE'S
6th .nd L STREETS
When Kerbyville, as it was known in “them thar days,” was a young town
the Masons could not find a room in which to hold their meetings, so they
fixed up the hay loft of the old barn and regular meetings were held there.
Above is a picture of the old barn, and the original photo of it hangs on the
wall of the present lodge building of Belt Lodge No. 18, A. F. & A. M.
MASONIC ORDER CHARTERS FIRST
LODGE IN KERBYVILLE IN 1854
One of the most interesting bits
of history of the valley is that of
Belt Lodge No. 18, A. F. & A. M. In
the early days there were two Mason
ic lodges in the valley, one at Brown
town called Belt Lodge No. 26, and
the other at Kerbyville, called West
ern Star Lodge No. 18. It appears
from the records that Western Star
Lodge was the older of the two, hav
ing for its number 18, while that of
Belt Lodge was 26.
From old records of the two lodges
the following resolution was presented
to the members of Belt Lodge No. 26,
Browntown; at a stated comunication
of June 4, 1864:
“That we, members of Belt Lodge
No. 26, A. F. & M., on condition of
the union of Belt and Western Star
lodges, do hereby surrender to the
W. M. Grand Lodge of Oregon our
charter dated June 14, 1859, and
that we request the Grand Lodge to
permit us to retain our monies and
property for the use of the consolidat
ed lodge.
“Provided, however, that in case
the consolidation be not affected,
then we do not desire to surrender
our charter.” The resolution was
unanimously adopted.
It appears then, that Belt Lodge
no. 26 and Western Star Lodge No.
18 were consolidated and the new
name was established as Belt Lodge
No. 18, taking the Belt Lodge name
and the Western Star number.
The first meeting place was in the
hay loft of an old barn which was
owned by W’m. Chapman, an ardent
member of the order; this was the
meeting place for many years until
the lodge finally purchased a building
situated where the Hitz Tavern (Ker
by) now stands. In 1907 Belt Lodge
constructed the present building in
Kerby, and they moved into it in 1908
and have met there since.
The old records show that George
Thrasher (then spelled Trasher), the
grandfather of our own George
Thrasher, wan an early master of
Belt Lodge No. 26 of Browntown
having been installed July 2nd, 1859.
On the date of the consolidation, Wil
liam Evans was the master of Belt
Lodge at Browntown and Thomas F.
Floyd, father of Frank Floyd of Ker
by, was master of Western Star
Lodge at Kerbyville. He served for
three years, 1863-65.
The date of consolidation from re
cords was apparently June 4, 1864.
This date is the last record of minutes
of Belt Lodge No. 26 of Browntown.
The next meeting of the lodges shows
the Belt Lodge No. 18 was held in
Kerbyville on July 6, 1864. The on
ly mention of the consolidation made
in the minutes of Belt Lodge No. 18
states: “A called meeting of Belt
Lodge No. 18, A. F. & A. M., (the
name of Western Star lodge having
been changed to that of Belt Lodge
by consent of the Grand Lodge which
convened at Portland on the 20th of
June, 1864) was held at Kerbyville
on the 6th day of July, 1864 . . .”
This history of one of the oldest
Masonic lodges in the state is of great
interest to the members of the organ
ization, for there has often been con
siderable discussion as to what trans
pired between the two lodges and
when the consolidation was actually
consummated.
■........— o-—.- ■
Private Water Group
To Supply Cave City
Last year several citizens of the
city of Cave Junction organized a
water company and drilled a deep
water well for water to supply their
needs and the needs of others who
desired to connect up with the sys
tem.
For the lack of funds the work
ceased, and it was not until Mrs. Min
nie Cosson stepped into the picture
that the company could see the light
of day financially. Now, however,
the well has been finished and a big
pump installed that pumps a gallon
of water every stroke, a high pressure
tank that holds 1400 gallons of water
and mains have now been laid to 12
business houses and meters installed
for every one. This work will be
be pushed much fartehr and it is ex
pected before summer that all those
desiring to connect up with the water
system will be given the opportunity.
24 HOUR
SERVICE
Wrecker
Phone 167
GRANTS PASS
BECK'S
for QUALITY
SERVING
SOUTHERN OREGON
FOR SALE—
• Country Homes with Acreage under the Ditch
• Business I»ts on Sixth Street, Grants Pass.
706 So. Sixth Street
Giants Pass, Ore.
Congratulations
on your
4th Anniversary
We, too, are Pioneers...
HODGEN-BREWSTER FEEDS
have been used in Southern Oregon for over 10 years
We will Not Sacrifice Quality to Meet Price but maintain an
economical Competitive Price at all times.
Grants Pass Seed & Feed Co.
FEEDS - SEEDS - FERTILIZERS
Neat to Cold Storage on F Street
PHONE
Grant« Pa»«, Oregon
12