The North Carolina Mason

Page 14 The North Carolina Mason July/August 2018 From the Courier's Case ■ see ARMY LODGE next page Our memorial to the Father of our Country By Steven Campbell Masonic Historian Blackmer #127 After George Washington's death, many of his Masonic effects were given to the Alexandria Washington Lodge No. 22. Unfortunately a fire in the Lodge resulted in the loss of numerous items. In 1909, Brother Charles Calla- hand purchased several lots on Alex- andria's Shuter's Hill, the site of an ancient Native American settlement, the Civil War-era Fort Ellsworth, a target practice range, and lastly a private residence, for the purpose of building a fireproof lodge. In 1910, Virginia Grand Master Joseph Eggleston called upon all U.S. Grand Masters to meet in Alexandria to plan and fund a memorial for George Washington. Twenty-six Grand Masters attended and the GW Masonic National Memorial was estab- lished. For a decade planning and fundraising continued. Inspiration was taken from the ancient Great Lighthouse in Alexandria, Egypt, as well as from Greek and Roman architecture (Doric and Corinthian). On Nov. 1, 1923, the cornerstone was laid. President Calvin Coolidge, former President Brother William Taft, as well as thousands of Free- masons and fellow citizens attended. Even with the onset of the Great Depression in 1929, work continued, and on May 12, 1932 – the bicen- tennial of George Washington's birth – President Herbert Hoover dedicated the building. e event was attended by thou- sands of people. Construction pressed onward, as did fundraising, through the trying eras of the Depression, World War II, the Korean Conflict, and other chal- lenging times. Yet, all funds raised for this worthy project came as a result of donations from Freemasons and fellow citizens, without any form of government money. In the 1950s, President Brother Harry Truman dedicated a 17-foot statue of George Washington. Artist Allyn Cox's life size murals also were installed in Memorial Hall, depicting events in Brother Wash- ington's Masonic career. is edifice serves as a symbol of freedom to all who see it. As in the past and into tomorrow, Washington's words echo through eternity: "Let prejudices and local interest yield to reason. Let us look to our national character and to things beyond the present period." Now, we are in the midst of restoring, preserving and perpetu- ating this Memorial to a most worthy man. e Landmark Century Campaign is Freemasonry's endeavor to raise funds to ensure that this beacon of faith, hope and charity will forever stay aglow. We can support this project with financial donations and by visiting the Memorial as many Brothers have done before us. A presentation on the GW Memorial is available to Lodges and other groups. For program information you may contact one of your NC Memorial Ambassadors: Brothers Michael Aycock (Elizabethtown), Brandon Penley (Claremont), and Steven Campbell (Mount Gilead). Masonry's monument to George Washington looms large over the horizon of Alex- andria, Va. Find out more at gwmemorial.org. By Jonathan Underwood Assistant to the Grand Secretary One of Freemasonry's most cher- ished axioms declares, "e Mason, indigent and destitute, may find in every clime a Brother, and in every land a home." Even in times of war, Freemasonry has flourished as a means to unite men in a common purpose. e Great War was no different. Just a century ago, as the United States and North Carolina mobi- lized for what would become known as World War I, several enlisted Freemasons from the old North State felt a military lodge would help alleviate the deprivations and angst of war. By December 1917, Grand Master Claude L. Pridgen, physician and major in the North Caro- lina National Guard, wrote Grand Secretary W.W. Wilson and ordered the preparation of a dispensation to establish a military lodge attached to the 113th Field Artillery Regi- ment at Camp Sevier outside of Greenville, S.C. Grand Master Pridgen was drafted while presiding in the East, and though removed to South Carolina on active duty, he eagerly continued to oversee the work of the Grand Lodge through his Deputy Grand Master George Norfleet. Grand Master Pridgen's official dispensation to create Army Lodge A was issued on Jan. 4, 1918, and was confirmed by the delegates of the Grand Lodge on Jan. 16. Army Lodge A was the first military lodge created by the Grand Lodge of North Carolina since 1864 when 6 lodges were created and attached to various units of the Confederate Army. e lodge first met on Jan. 12 at the Masonic Temple in Greenville, S.C., where Grand Master Pridgen, Brothers find fellowship even in wartime

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