Page 323 - Cornelius Hedges Story

For This And Succeeding Generations Gardiner 310

One new lodge, Star of the West, was organized this year at Red
Lodge, in Park County, and they were given the use of the jewels
of the late Nevada Lodge, No. 4. To offset this, the members of
Bozeman Lodge, No. 18, only eight opposing, voted to surrender its
charter, and it was accepted.
The services of the Grand Lecturer were continued with satisfactory
results, and the work was exemplified by him before the Grand
Lodge, his salary continuing at $500. The usual attempt was
made to establish the system of one ballot for the three degrees,
and though this time commanding a majority, it fell short of the
two-thirds necessary. The time for the Annual Communication was
fixed to occur on the second Wednesday in October. The resolution
respecting non- affiliates, which some sister jurisdiction criticized as
unreasonable, was softened a little. Deputy Grand Master Boardman
was elected Grand Master, and the next meeting place was fixed at
Butte. There was a public installation in the evening and afterwards
a banquet and ball. It was during this Annual Communication that
the Grand Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, was organized, and its
annual meetings are always held in connection with the Grand Lodge.
Mileage and per diem showed a notable reduction to $1,465.85.
The administration of Grand Master Boardman was not signalized
by any remarkable event. The sickness that prevented Grand Master
Anderson from presiding at the Twenty-sixthAnnual Communication
proved fatal on December 1st, following, and the Grand Lodge
was convened on the 3rd in special communication to pay our last
respects to his memory and commit his mortal remains to the bosom
of Mother Earth. There was a large attendance of Grand Officers
and brethren and the whole city testified to a great common loss
by its mourning array. Brother Anderson having no family or near
relative, devised his entire estate to Missoula Lodge. The corner-
stone of Monitor Lodge Hall was laid early in the year and before its
close was dedicated. It is located at Walkerville, a suburb of Butte.
Only one new Lodge was organized during the year, and that was at
Boulder in Jefferson County, on the road between Helena and Butte.
It received a charter in October, 1891, as Boulder Lodge No. 41
and has maintained a healthy growth. Agreeable to adjournment, the
Twenty-seventh Annual Communication was held in the Masonic
Hall in Butte, beginning October 14, 1891, with a full corps of
officers, nine Past Grand Masters and representatives of all but two
of the thirty-three chartered Lodges. The preliminary report of the
Grand Secretary showed an increase of 175 in the membership, and
a total of 2008.