A HISTORY OF KEENE LODGE A.F. & A.M. No. 374 G.R.C. Keene Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 374 G.R.C. meetings were held, from the very first meeting in 1879, in the third floor of a General Store owned by James McNeil (one of the first two candidates of the Lodge) and his partner Tom Campbell (a Charter member of Keene Lodge). It
had an interesting location in that the Lodge members could enter their
third floor Lodge rooms from the ground level due to the fact that the
three-storey structure had been built into a steep bank. The third floor
rooms continued in use for fifty years until 1930 when a new opportunity
arose.
On 25 May 1875 the cornerstone was laid for the new red brick Methodist church in the presence of a large concourse of spectators. A case was placed beneath the stone containing a number of items of the time. The church is of red brick, of a light gothic architecture, fifty-six feet long by thirty-six feet wide. – D. Gayle Nelson, A History of the Congregations of Otonabee
Churches, 1988, p. 13. In
1930 Keene Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 374 G.R.C. bought and remodelled
the former Methodist church. The purchase price of the land (100 feet
by 84 feet) and solid brick structure was $ 500.00. The
First Hundred Years
of
Keene
Lodge A.F. & A.M.
No.
374 G.R.C.
Early Days By the time Keene Lodge received its Warrant in 1879,
the Village of Keene had been settled for fifty years. Otonabee Township,
in which Keene is the central and largest village, was surveyed by Richard
Birdsall in 1819. The colonization of the Township followed the same
pattern as the rest of Peterborough County. Retired officers
of the British Army and Navy, whose service had terminated with the
defeat of Napoleon in 1815 and whose commuted pensions took the form
of Grants of large acreages in Upper Canada, were among the first settlers
to arrive. As well, the private Scottish and English emigration societies
sponsored those who had little hope of prosperity at home and were willing
to emigrate to the undeveloped Colonial Upper Canada. Peter Robinson
brought some 2000 emigrants to Peterborough County in 1825, of which
some 200 came to Otonabee Township. In 1820 Thomas
and Andrew Carr arrived and owned all the land north and south of Main
Street and east and west of High Street, which is the sixth Concession
of the Township and is also the main street of Keene. The Gilchrist
and Burnham families were [United] Empire Loyalists who came to settle in Cobourg
soon after 1800. Dr. John Gilchrist came to Otonabee in 1825 from Keene,
New Hampshire, and built the first Grist Mill in 1827, a Saw Mill by
1830 and also a General Store soon thereafter. For several years the
village was called “Gilchrist Mills” but John Gilchrist changed the
name himself to Keene after his home town in New Hampshire. Three miles
to the north, the village of Allandale (today called Lang, the site
of the Century Village) came into being about 1832 when William Lang
established a Carding Mill, a Saw Mill and a Shingle Mill. By 1851 the
Carding Mill was producing 5300 pounds of wool and 1200 yards of cloth.
The Saw Mill was added to the Carding Mill in 1872 and Wm. Lang turned
over the operation of the mills, by lease, to his son-in-law Richard
Hope. Richard was born in 1831 and became a carpenter and millwright.
He was the first Candidate to be Initiated into Keene Lodge on May 1,
1879 at the age of 48. He was W.M. in 1895 and passed to the Grand Lodge Above in February 1911.
His grandson,
John Hope (W.M. 1944) operated the Saw Mill from 1930 until 1967 and
today he lives in happy retirement nearby. The Otonabee Region Conservation
Authority purchased Hope Mill in 1967 to preserve it as an Historical
Site and today it operates as originally: by water power from Indian
River. John’s nephew,
Harold Hope, who presently farms on the 6th line north of Keene, was
W.M. in 1972. Hope is the only family name to date that has had three
generations of direct descendants representing Keene Lodge as W.M. We shall see
later that there were several family names repeated in the list of Past
Masters, which shows the lasting roots that some of the early settlers
put down in Keene and Otonabee Township. Lodge Formation Keene Lodge received its Dispensation from
the Grand Lodge of Canada in the Province of Ontario, on
January 31, 1879. There were many Lodges being formed in those years.
The nearest Lodge numbers were: Copestone Lodge
No. 373 in Welland — Dispensation granted January 8, 1879 and Lorne
Lodge No. 375 in Omemee – Dispensation granted February 1, 1879. The Charter
Officers of Keene Lodge No. 374 and their respective affiliations were:
M.M.P. Dean -
W.M. From Corinthian
No. 101
Peterborough Amos McCrea -
S.W. From
Corinthian No. 101
Peterborough Richard Prout -
J.W. From
Peterborough No. 155 PeterboroughThomas Campbell -
M.M. From Corinthian
No. 101
Peterborough Levi Walker
- M.M. From
Peterborough No. 155 Peterborough
George Read -
M.M. From Corinthian
No. 101
Peterborough Robert Boucher -
M.M. From Corinthian
No. 101
Peterborough John James Lundy -
M.M. From Corinthian
No. 101
Peterborough Chas. D. Macdonnell -
P.D.D.G.M. From Ancient
St. John’s No. 3, Kingston Edward Harry Hall -
D.D.G.M. From Corinthian
No. 101
Peterborough Robert Elder
- P.M. From
Peterborough No. 155
Peterborough Samuel White -
M.M. From Peterborough
No. 155
Peterborough Henry C. Winch
- P.M. From
Corinthian No. 101
Peterborough There were
four Candidates for Initiation in 1879. On that same May 1st night James
McNeil was Initiated with Richard Hope. He became W.M. in 1884 for the
first time, and he was re-elected to that same Office for 4 more terms
in 1907, 1909, 1913 and 1915. He was honoured with a Life Membership
in 1914 and he passed to the Grand Lodge Above in 1920.
The third Candidate in Keene’s first year of practising
Freemasonry was Robert N. English. He was Initiated on November 6, 1879
and was elected W.M. in 1885. He passed to the Grand Lodge Above on
The fourth and last Candidate of 1879 was Robt. J. McCamus. He was Initiated on December 27, and he was elected W.M. for the first time in 1890. A faithful and long-lived Mason, he served as W.M. six more terms in 1892, 1897, 1908, 1921, 1922 and 1923. He also brought honour to Keene Lodge by serving as D.D.G.M. in 1931. He was a Mason for sixty-two years at the time of his death on April 11, 1941 and was regarded with highest esteem by his Keene Brethren. In 1879 there were 17,587 members of A.F. & A.M.
across the Province and Keene Lodge had thirteen Charter Members. In
his report published in the Proceedings R.W. Bro. E. Peplow, D.D.G.M.
of Ontario District 12, reported: “At my recommendation, Dispensations have been issued
for two new Lodges in Ontario District during the year. One in the Village of Keene, County
of Peterborough called “Keene’ Lodge and the other in the Village of Omemee, County Victoria
called ‘Lorne’ Lodge. The books of these Lodges will be submitted to Grand
Lodge and as they are working well, I take pleasure in recommending that Warrants be granted
to them”. R.W. Bro. Peplow’s recommendation was consummated as
Warrants to both Keene Lodge No. 374 and Lorne Lodge No. 375 were issued
on September 10, 1879.
In 1880 there were thirty-one Lodges in Ontario District
12. The D.D.G.M. that year was R.W. Bro. G.H.F. Dartnell and he visited
twenty of the Lodges in his District, of which Keene was not one. But
he “had heard that the other eleven Lodges were doing well”. D.D.G.M.’s
were busy men in those days ! [and didn’t have the advantage of modern transportation forms.] 25 Years In 1904, R.W.
Bro. John Moffatt, D.D.G.M. of Ontario District 12, gave his report
on Keene Lodge (he was W.M. of Keene Lodge in 1894) as follows: “This is the Lodge of which I am a member and, as I
have been Secretary for a very long time, Keene Lodge had shown modest growth in twenty-five years,
for the original membership of thirteen had swelled to thirty-one. Twelve
Regular Meetings had been held along with two Emergent Meetings. Average
attendance was fourteen.
At this juncture it should be recorded that Lodge meetings
were held, from the very first meeting in 1879, in the third floor of
a General Store owned by James McNeil (previously mentioned as one of
the first two candidates) and his partner Tom Campbell, (a Charter member
of Keene Lodge). This building was located on the north-east corner
of the junction of Water and North Streets in the Village of Keene.
It had an interesting location in that the Lodge members could enter
their third floor Lodge Rooms from ground level due to the fact that
the three-storey structure had been built into a steep bank which rose
from the Indian River. It was only a few hundred yards downstream from
the original Grist Mill and Saw Mill built by James Gilchrist mentioned
earlier. This building changed hands several times but the third floor
rooms continued in use for fifty years until 1930 when a new opportunity
arose. 50 Years Grand Lodge Proceedings reported that membership in Keene
Lodge for the year ending December 31, 1929 stood at forty-six; an increase
of two from 1930, D.D.G.M. R.W. Bro. Arthur Jemison reported: “During this year Keene Lodge No.
374 Keene, our smallest Lodge with less than 50 members, bought and remodelled a
Church not in use. The Brethren now have a Lodge room for all ordinary
occasions and a good sized assembly hall [below] which
should prove a source of revenue. The ceremony of dedicating the new Lodge room at Keene
took place on May 30th and was performed by the Deputy Grand Master, Rt. Wor. Bro.
W.S. Herrington assisted by others. The Brethren of Keene Lodge had made ample provisions
for all in the banquet hall where about
150 sat down. Rt. Wor. Bro. Herrington gave two very instructive
and interesting addresses;
one in the Lodge Room on the history and meaning of Dedication
and one in the banquet hall on
Symbolism”. An early account
of the beginnings of our present Temple appears in the book “Peterborough, Land of Shining Waters”
and reads as follows: “The Methodist Church in Keene began in 1825-26 as
part of the Rice Lake circuit, later part of Cavan circuit and in 1855 a Keene circuit
was organized. The first Church was built about 1860. The brick Church [our Temple] was built
in 1875 and, after Church Union in 1925, this building was empty until the Masonic Society bought
it”. Indeed, the
empty Church was finally deeded to Keene Lodge on October 21, 1935.
Two of the six Trustees of the United Church were Masons: Robert Nelson
and D.D. Brown and they must have had some interesting negotiations
with the Lodge Trustees: Gilbert Howson, Samuel Comrie and William Renwick
to consummate the sale. The purchase price of the land (100’ x 84’)
and solid brick structure (55’ x 44’) was $ 500. It should be noted
that the Keene Brethren had occupied the Old Methodist Church for five
years before acquiring the deed of ownership. Furthermore, the minutes
of several meetings date back to March 1928 where the notification to
the Brethren of possible availability was given. A committee was formed
to look into the matter and it was recorded that at least two offers
were made. Funds for conversion from empty Church to operating Lodge
rooms were raised by subscription to $ 500 worth of Bonds redeemable
once a year at the discretion of the Lodge. To redeem the Bonds, a Sinking
Fund was established using one half of all Initiation Fees collected.
The value of the Buildings, land and furnishings was declared in the
December 1930 Auditor’s Report at $ 1,610.87 while the outstanding bonds,
interest and cash balance owing on the new building was $ 833.60. 75 Years and Onward From the 1955
Proceedings we read an excerpt of R.W. Bro. Ivan L.H. Gray’s D.D.G.M.
report for Peterborough District: “Third — my Official Visitations to Keene Lodge No.
374 and Havelock Lodge No. 435. Prior to the Work and Inspection of the evening, each
of these Lodges gave a banquet unsurpassed everywhere, along with entertainment. It was an expression
of their sincere respect and honour for their Grand Master through his representative. Keene Lodge
celebrated its 75th Anniversary and
Rt. Wor. Bro. R.F. Downey who I am sorry to report,
has been quite ill this Spring but recovering slowly, gave an interesting outline of early history of Masonry in that locality”. R.W. Bro. Downey
was W.M. of Corinthian Lodge No. 101 in 1921 and was that Lodge’s secretary
for more than forty-four years. At the end
of 1954, Keene Lodge’s membership stood at sixty-nine. During that Anniversary
year one new member was added to bring the membership to seventy. Older
members remember that there were District picnics, baseball and, more
recently, golf tournaments and other social gatherings at which Keene
was usually a participant. Our members have enjoyed visiting other Lodges
in the District and we have always welcomed visiting Brethren warmly
at our Regular Meetings. One such social gathering resulted in a lasting
Inter-Lodge friendship. It was recorded in our 1962 Minutes that Orono
Lodge No. 325 of Ontario District had invited us to attend their Regular
Meeting on June 12th. This visit took place and was a result of making
the acquaintance of some of the Orono members the year before at a picnic
our Lodge had attended in Orono. We have visited each other’s Lodge
on alternate years since then and have put on a Degree for the host
Lodge’s candidate. In 1973 the
Otonabee Township Library Board approached our officers concerning the
possible use of the vacant lower floor of our Temple into which to expand
the Township Public Library facilities. Although D.D.G.M. R.W. Bro.
Jemison speculated in 1930 that the lower floor could be a source of
revenue for the Lodge, the revenue generated was minimal. Six dollars
income was recorded in 1931 for rental of the downstairs to a local
group. However, the opportunity to assist our Community presented itself
as a result of the Library Board’s inquiry. In 1973, a ten-year rent-free
lease was signed and the Library moved in and expanded. An oil furnace
heating system was added first and later washroom facilities were provided
downstairs for the use of Library Patrons and Lodge Brethren. All of
the Library facilities were installed at Library Board expense on the
Lodge’s behalf as owners. In 1974 we
carried out some much needed renovations to our Lodge meeting room.
A new tile ceiling was installed and additional wiring, lights, switches,
etc., were added to make operation of lights during degree work more
convenient. New incoming electrical service was added also as the Library’s
electricity needs were growing too. An electric heavy duty stove was
installed and a propane space heater replaced an old wood-fired stove
in the Lodge Ante–Room. In 1977 our
Lodge floor beams were inspected and found wanting for structural strength.
We undertook the strengthening of the upper floor and at the same time
we increased the usable Library floor space by about thirty-five percent.
Some $ 14,000 was spent and Provincial Grant Assistance was obtained
for about half of that amount. The rest of the funds were raised by
donations from the Keene Brethren; a remarkable achievement for a membership
of eighty-three. This debt was cleared in 1978. The Otonabee
Township Public Library presently serves 4,500 Township residents and
approximately 900 patrons use the facility. It has an inventory of some
12,000 books and periodicals and operates one evening and three afternoons
every week, year-round. Needless to say, we are more than pleased to
be able to put this one hundred and four year-old former Methodist Church
to such good use; upstairs for the Fraternal benefit of our Order and
downstairs for the Cultural benefit of our Community. In perusing
the list of Past Masters of Keene Lodge, we notice repetition of some
family names. We have already mentioned the three generations of the Hope name, but there were several others. Our oldest
living member, W. Bro. Samuel Mather (96 this year on January 29th)
was Initiated on February 14, 1924. He was elected and served as W.M.
in 1928. His nephew, W. Bro. D. Ross Cromrie was W.M. in 1940 and he
served as Secretary for nineteen years from 1958 to 1976. His grandson,
W. Bro. James Samuel Sexsmith was W.M. in 1975. W. Bro. Hugh
Fife was W.M. in 1905 and his cousin W. Bro. Fred Fife was W.M. in 1941.
Fred’s son, W. Bro. Maxwell S. Fife was W.M. in 1946 and another cousin
of Fred’s, W. Bro. Robert (Bert) M. Fife was W.M. in 1962. W. Bro. R.
Andrew Nelson was W.M. from 1916 to 1920. His son-in-law, V.W. Bro.
John Frederick Nelson was W.M. in 1950 and was appointed a Grand Steward
in 1958. John Frederick’s son, W. Bro. William A. Nelson was W.M. in
1973. W. Bro. John
Arthur McIntyre was W.M. in 1945 and his brother W. Bro. David Nelson
McIntyre was W.M. in 1951. David’s son, W. Bro. Keith McIntyre was W.M.
in 1969. W. Bro. Jack
W. Gall was W.M. in 1948 and his brother W. Bro. Charles Frederick Gall
was W.M. in 1971. W. Bro. David
H. Kempt was W.M. in 1954 and his nephew, W. Bro. Harold Kempt was W.M.
in 1968. W. Bro. Stephen
H. Elmhirst was W.M. in 1960 and his nephew, W. Bro. Percy W. Elmhirst
was W.M. in 1965. Percy’s cousin W. Bro. James A. Emhirst was W.M. in
1978. And finally,
R.W. Bro. D. Herbert Macfarlane was W.M. in 1936 and was appointed a
Grand Steward in 1944. He was elected D.D.G.M. of Peterborough District
in 1957. His brother, W. Bro. John A. Macfarlane was W.M. in 1947 and
John’s son W. Bro. Donald H. Macfarlane is our Ruling Master in 1979. There were
two hundred and twelve Initiations and thirty Affiliations into Keene
Lodge in our first hundred years. Present membership stands at eighty-six.
We look back
on a history of steady growth, strong membership support and ongoing
family ties in Keene Lodge. We look forward to another hundred years
of practising the Fundamental Principles of Freemasonry: Brotherly Love,
Relief and Truth. Compiled
by W. Bro. Frank E. Lucas, January 1979, the one hundredth anniversary
of Keene Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 374 G.R.C.. Keene
Lodge A.F. & A.M. No.
374 G.R.C. History
Update May
1996 The following is a brief history of Keene Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 374 G.R.C. beginning in 1980, its one hundred and first year, to and including 1996. It is fitting that our Lodge, considering its strong family ties should begin its second hundred years when W. Bro. Roy Stewart assumed the gavel and acted as Installing Master as his son, W. Bro. William Stewart, became Master of the Lodge. We began our second century with eighty-eight members, up from the original thirteen charter members in 1879. There is no doubt that the chief employment in our Lodge has been the conferring of degrees. In the past seventeen years we have initiated thirty-four new members, passed forty-eight brethren to the second degree and raised thirty-seven brethren to the third degree. Our present membership seems to be holding steady at about seventy-five members with an attendance of twenty-five to thirty brethren at our regular meetings. The purchase of the old Methodist Church in Keene in 1935 has proven to be a wise investment, as the Otonabee Township Library Board has proven to be an excellent tenant and has helped greatly in defraying the cost of operating and maintaining the building. A new roof in 1987, a wheel chair entrance in 1995 and redecorating of our Temple by Bro. Ted Post and Bro. Wayne Lackey in the summer of 1995 has left our Lodge Building in good condition and it should continue to serve the community as a Masonic Temple and Library for many years to come. One of our annual events of the Lodge began in 1980 when W. Bro. Don Macfarlane invited the brethren to hold a Pork Barbeque at his farm to celebrate the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of Grand Lodge. This barbeque evolved into a Ladies’ Night and has been held annually ever since. It has been attended by as many as a hundred couples and has raised many thousands of dollars for our Lodge. Our alternate visits with Orono Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 325 G.R.C., in Ontario District, began in 1962 and continues to the present day and are looked forward to by the brethren of both Lodges. It is interesting to note that V.W. Bro. Fred Nelson of Keene Lodge and R.W. Bro. Norman Allan of Orono Lodge who helped to begin this visitation are both still active in their respective Lodges. Another interesting aspect of this visitation occurred in 1991 when W. Bro. Gerald Garnett, W.M. of Orono Lodge, brought his degree team to Keene, where he had received his own second degree, and assumed the gavel and sat in the East where his father, W. Bro. Harry Garnett, had sat as Master of Keene Lodge in 1943. As with most Lodges, Keene Lodge has always had a nucleus of long serving and dedicated Masons, a few of which are listed here: W. Bro. Samuel Mather Comrie, who passed to
the Grand Lodge Above in 1985 at the age of one hundred and three years,
W.M. in 1928 and sixty-one years a Mason. W. Bro. Harry M. Garnett passed to the Grand Lodge Above in 1989 at the age of eighty-eight years, W.M. in 1943, sixty-three years a Mason. W. Bro. John M. Hope, who passed to the Grand Lodge Above in 1993 at the age of one hundred years, W.M. in 1944, fifty-seven years a Mason. W. Bro. Fred Gall who passed to the Grand Lodge Above in 1995, served as W.M. in 1971 and was a Mason for thirty-five years. W. Bro. Gall had the distinction of achieving thirty years of perfect attendance at Lodge. R.W. Bro. William Braden, who passed to the Grand Lodge Above in 1994, served as W.M. in 1953 and as D.D.G.M. in 1972, fifty-one years a Mason. He also served as Chaplain in Keene Lodge for twenty years. Other members who have brought honour to our Lodge by attaining rank in Grand Lodge are: R.W. Bro. Don Weir who was D.D.G.M. in 1982-83 and V.W. Bro. Harold Hope, Grand Steward in 1983, and finally R.W. Bro. Frank Lucas, our present D.D.G.M. in 1995-96 and his secretary, W. Bro. Don Howson. As Grand Lodge officers, they have devoted many hours of their time to the good of Masonry and helped to promote uniformity in the Lodges of the District and across the Province. It is perhaps fitting that during his term as D.D.G.M., R.W. Bro. Frank Lucas had the pleasure of assisting in the ceremonies while his son, Bro. Richard Lucas, received his three degrees in late 1995 and early 1996, demonstrating that in Keene Lodge our genuine tenets are indeed transmitted from generation to generation. Recorded by: W. Bro. Archie Davidson, Historian, Keene Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 374 G.R.C., May 1996. PostscriptApril 2002 Keene Lodge A,F, & A.M. No. 374 G.R.C. experienced the loss of four of its members in 1998 to the Grand Lodge Above: Bro. F. Gary King, W. Bro. William Millar, V.W. Bro. Fred Nelson and V.W. Bro. Harold Hope. It
is also with great sadness that we report the passing to the Grand Lodge
Above of: W. Bro. Roy Maxwell Todd on 05 January 2001, having been Initiated
into Keene Lodge No. 374 on 17 June 1976 and serving as W.M. in 1985;
the passing to the Grand Lodge Above of Bro. Howard Franklin Babcooke
on 30 March 2002, having been Initiated on 17 April 1997; and the passing
to the Grand Lodge Above of W. Bro. Roy Alexander Stewart on 10 April
2002, having been Initiated on 18 June 1953 and serving as W.M. in 1967.
In
1987, W. Bro. John H. Weir, son of R.W. Bro. Donald D. Weir, became
Worshipful Master of Keene Lodge No. 374, and served again in the East
in 1989. As
well, W. Bro. Richard Lucas, son of
R.W. Bro. Frank E. Lucas was Worshipful Master of Keene Lodge
in 2001. We
all look forward to celebrating the one hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary
of Keene Lodge A.F. & A.M. No. 374 G.R.C. in 2004. –
W. Bro. Robert C. McBride,
Worshipful Master, 2002 – 2003.
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