Richardson Lodge in Stouffville
I have known WBro Nitin Pande for only a few years - via King Cyrus Chapter, of which RWBro Al Dvorak is also a companion - and I had never visited Richardson Lodge prior. So it was quite a pleasure to sit in the West for the Installation of Nitin the other night and watch the smile grow wider, with great pride, at every turn in the ceremony. Impressed he was. It was also one of my first post-op visits with sidekick RWBro Mark Kapitan as well.
Also in attendance was MWBro Terry Shand who pulled me aside afterward to note, privately, that I had made a small error in my work of the evening, which had made him smile, when I'd answered the WM when closing in the third by bluntly stating "No"to begin - though followed by the appropriate sentences - when asked if we had discovered anything. It was a moment that reminded me when I was a young EA and was signing the Tyler's Register at a lodge I was visiting with "Beaches Lodge" and MWBro C Edwin Drew, who was behind me, stated bluntly and boldly: "It's The Beaches Lodge", and I have never forgotten that fact or that moment.
According to their website, in the late 1850's there was sufficient interest in Masonry around Stouffville to warrant the formation of a lodge in the area. An application was made to the Grand Lodge of Canada West, and on June 15, 1860 Richardson Lodge held its first meeting. The Lodge's charter was issued and signed by M.Wor.Bro. T.D. Harington whose portrait hangs in our building.
The first lodge room was situated at Cashel, on the northeast corner of what is now 18th Ave. and Kennedy Road. It was above the livery stable and barn of an Inn.
The first candidate for admission was Samuel Mighton, the keeper of that Inn. The Lodge was named after Right Worshipful Brother Francis Richardson, a Past Grand Senior Warden and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Canada West.
Traveling was often difficult and initiations few in the early years at Cashel, so in 1866 the Lodge was moved to Knill's Hall in Stouffville. This building was opposite what is now the post office. Meetings were held there for the next ten years, when a fire razed the building. Daley's Hall was the next home. It was on Main Street opposite the clock tower. The lodge remained there until April, 1955 when it moved to its present site. It was a proud occasion for Richardson Masonic Lodge finally to own its own building.
The Lodge has weathered lean times and savoured prosperous ones. It has grown with our community. We still enjoy the atmosphere of familiar fellowship which thrives in a country lodge. May we continue to uphold the aspirations and ideals of our predecessors, and practice and guard the landmarks they established.
In the spring of 2010, the Richardson Masonic Hall Corporation renovated the outside of our building to mark the 150th anniversary of our Lodge. The large monument / sundial was also added to mark the occasion.
According to their website, in the late 1850's there was sufficient interest in Masonry around Stouffville to warrant the formation of a lodge in the area. An application was made to the Grand Lodge of Canada West, and on June 15, 1860 Richardson Lodge held its first meeting. The Lodge's charter was issued and signed by M.Wor.Bro. T.D. Harington whose portrait hangs in our building.
The first lodge room was situated at Cashel, on the northeast corner of what is now 18th Ave. and Kennedy Road. It was above the livery stable and barn of an Inn.
The first candidate for admission was Samuel Mighton, the keeper of that Inn. The Lodge was named after Right Worshipful Brother Francis Richardson, a Past Grand Senior Warden and Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Canada West.
Traveling was often difficult and initiations few in the early years at Cashel, so in 1866 the Lodge was moved to Knill's Hall in Stouffville. This building was opposite what is now the post office. Meetings were held there for the next ten years, when a fire razed the building. Daley's Hall was the next home. It was on Main Street opposite the clock tower. The lodge remained there until April, 1955 when it moved to its present site. It was a proud occasion for Richardson Masonic Lodge finally to own its own building.
The Lodge has weathered lean times and savoured prosperous ones. It has grown with our community. We still enjoy the atmosphere of familiar fellowship which thrives in a country lodge. May we continue to uphold the aspirations and ideals of our predecessors, and practice and guard the landmarks they established.
In the spring of 2010, the Richardson Masonic Hall Corporation renovated the outside of our building to mark the 150th anniversary of our Lodge. The large monument / sundial was also added to mark the occasion.
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