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Sesquicentennial Minute

1866-1916
ADDRESSES AND EXERCISES
AT THE SEMI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF
THE GRAND LODGE AF&AM OF MONTANA
August 31, 1916
Remarks by the Chairman, M. W. Brother H. S. Hepner.
In the eternal revolving cycle of time, two score years and ten is but an in nitesimal
period of space or time, yet this number of years in the life of a nation or in the life of an
individual may be fraught with events that leave their impress upon all humanity. A little
more than this number of years ago, amidst the gulches within the fastnesses of these vast
mountains of ours, there assembled a throng of human beings the like of which had never
theretofore assembled anywhere upon God’s footstool. e golden shores of California during
the days of the nding of its vast stores of gold within her bosom, never attracted mankind
as these gulches of Montana attracted adventurous spirits a little over y years ago. e
lure of gold, the desire for wealth brought those men here. From all portions of our Union;
from the highly civilized New England states; from the chivalrous states of the south; from
the shores of California; from the cold climates of the north; from the scenes of carnage then
being waged in the way of a civil strife in our nation- from everywhere they came hither, and
in the absence of facilities for communication with the civilized world, distant from the state
of organized government, they quickly resolved themselves into a committee of safety, and
with the birth of certain organizations law and order at once became the rule of the people.
An unknown force of men sprang forth, secret in a measure, yet potent and powerful in
its in uence for restoring order and some sort of civilization. It is the birth of one of these
organizations- the Masonic institution- within the boundaries of our commonwealth over
y years ago, it is the birth of the Grand Lodge, that we celebrate tonight- that is coeval
with the restoration of law and order, that made possible during these y years of time the
splendid and magni cent state of ours. As the years go by, as the memory of the Vigilantes
becomes more and more a memory yet the story of the birth and growth of the Grand
Lodge of Masons in Montana will stand forward in the forefront as a beacon to show the
people where light came from in those days of darkness and chaos. And as the years came
down these y steps, this Grand Lodge of ours has from time to time elevated to the
highest position in its gi , members who have stood foremost in Masonry’s history, men who
were strong forces in this commonwealth, among whom we have had Sanders, Hull, Star,
Hedges - men of whom we are proud and who have guided our destinies this half century.

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