Page 149 - Cornelius Hedges Story

For This And Succeeding Generations Gardiner 136

“We are told that in the prairies of South America there grows
a flower that always inclines in the same direction. A traveler who
has lost his way while going across theses prairies may meet no
friendly guide; he may have no sun or star to direct him, but in this
plant he will always find a compass. No matter how the wind may
blow in the opposite direction, this plant always turns its leaves and
petals to the north. The compass of our sorrowing hearts is pointed
to the darkened place, the symbolic north of Masonry, to the vacant
chair of one who filled so well the role of parent to all his Masonic
children for nearly four decades of the life of our Grand Lodge. The
heart-throbs of our love and veneration for him will never find meet
expression in the language of man; nor can numberless encomiums
paint with human speech the beloved character of our departed
Brother Hedges.”434

There were so many facets to Cornelius Hedges’ Masonic
activities that it is most convenient to discuss each as a separate
subtopic. The subtopics will be Blue Lodge, Grand Lodge, York Rite,
Scottish Rite, Order of Eastern Star, Masonic Writings, Masonic
Home Efforts, and a section including sundry Masonic pursuits such
as Shrine and the Rite of Memphis. Cornelius Hedges was initiated,
passed, and raised in Independence Lodge No. 87, at Independence,
Iowa, in 1858. He was made a Master Mason on October 27, 1858,
in the evening before his 27th birthday.435

With reference to all of his Masonic accomplishments, the
memorial committee of the Grand Lodge at his death wrote the
following:

“He was per-eminently a Blue Lodge Mason, and was best
known by Masons by reason of the zeal with which he taught and
practiced the principles inculcated by the Blue Lodge degrees.
He not only knew the ritual but appreciated, as few men do, its
underlying principles.”436

Hedges, in 1870 in his Grand Master’s Address, said,
“To be a Master Mason ought to be title enough for the ambition
of anyone, as it ought to be a sufficient passport anywhere.”437
After arrival in Montana, one of the first things Hedges did
was attend Masonic Lodge, probably Virginia City #43.438 When
Hedges returned to New England for the period 1860 to 1863,
he must have dimitted from his home lodge and affiliated with a
Connecticut Lodge, because on February 17, 1864, he noted in his