Beach Lodge in Hamilton
Beach Lodge held a wonderful reception at the Scottish Rite Cathedral in Hamilton for the Grand Junior Warden on this past Tuesday night and it was very well attended - and I was happily sitting in the West when the lodge went down to "refreshment" in order to admit the guests for the evening. There was a speech delivered regarding the three-fold history of the regalia presented, and also to the Masonic career of RWBro Mark Kapitan, highlighting not only his work with the College of Freemasonry, but also his rise in the various bodies he has joined and the respect the has gained across the jurisdiction since being initiated into the Craft.
The Grand Master in his closing remarks mentioned the origins of our current Grand Lodge in England, which we traditionally understand was formed upon a meeting occurring at the Goose and Gridiron Pub on June 24th in 1717, based on a prior meeting held at the Apple Tree Tavern - yet this establishment apparently was not registered until several decades later, and thus might not have existed, according to researchers - and MWBro Cameron more importantly related the significant dates, as historians have found a newspaper advertisement calling on Freemasons to come to the Vine Tavern on Sept. 10, 1719, wondering perhaps that might have been the real start of the Premier Grand Lodge, but here we were exactly 300 years later meeting in Hamilton.
The history of Beach Lodge No 639, formerly meeting in Stoney Creek, though founded and named after a strip of sandy land between Hamilton and Burlington, is indeed a story, per their website...
"As is known, Beach Lodge did not own a temple at their inception as a Lodge on Dec. 8, 1925. Months prior to this date, our brethren went about the task of finding a suitable building to conduct meetings. A number of locations were considered, and after much discussion it was decided to meet in St. Andrew’s Church.
St. Andrew’s By-the-Lake Anglican Church building still exists. It has undergone conversion to a private residence, but it still retains most of its original architectural character. To a “Beachite” it was the “Church at Station 4”, and fulfilled an important community role. Back in the mid-20s it was blessed with a large congregation and offered up its facilities to a wide variety of community pursuits.
Our early brethren had taken note of its large seating area and so decided to approach church officials to discuss the possibility of renting the premises for use as a Masonic Lodge room. Both groups were eager to accommodate the other. Many of our Lodge brethren and their families were parishioners at St. Andrew’s and so the decision to locate there, however temporarily, was relatively problem-free.
Permissions was granted by the church for us to rent their facilities as our Lodge room. One of the conditions was that at the close of our meetings we had to immediately transform the room back into its use as a church. Fortunately, the oak pews were not fastened to the floor so were moved to the sides for lodge seating. And, of course, our Lodge furnishings had to be put in place only to be stored away at Lodge closing."
The history of Beach Lodge No 639, formerly meeting in Stoney Creek, though founded and named after a strip of sandy land between Hamilton and Burlington, is indeed a story, per their website...
"As is known, Beach Lodge did not own a temple at their inception as a Lodge on Dec. 8, 1925. Months prior to this date, our brethren went about the task of finding a suitable building to conduct meetings. A number of locations were considered, and after much discussion it was decided to meet in St. Andrew’s Church.
St. Andrew’s By-the-Lake Anglican Church building still exists. It has undergone conversion to a private residence, but it still retains most of its original architectural character. To a “Beachite” it was the “Church at Station 4”, and fulfilled an important community role. Back in the mid-20s it was blessed with a large congregation and offered up its facilities to a wide variety of community pursuits.
Our early brethren had taken note of its large seating area and so decided to approach church officials to discuss the possibility of renting the premises for use as a Masonic Lodge room. Both groups were eager to accommodate the other. Many of our Lodge brethren and their families were parishioners at St. Andrew’s and so the decision to locate there, however temporarily, was relatively problem-free.
Permissions was granted by the church for us to rent their facilities as our Lodge room. One of the conditions was that at the close of our meetings we had to immediately transform the room back into its use as a church. Fortunately, the oak pews were not fastened to the floor so were moved to the sides for lodge seating. And, of course, our Lodge furnishings had to be put in place only to be stored away at Lodge closing."
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