The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-11-22

The dedication OF the new Castle
Hall of Mankato lodge No. 36, Knights
of Pythias, by the officers of the
grand lodge of the grand domain OF
Minnesota, Thursday was a grand
success in every respect. The night
was fine, the attendance was large,
and all of the features of the program
passed off without hitch, except foI
such delays as are incident to such
occasions and are seldom avoided in
the execution of so varied a program
as was presented to the guests last
night.
The lodge hall and rooms have al
ready been fully described in these
columns. and presented more than
usually brilliant sight last night under
the blaze of innumerable gas jets and
filled with a thTong of the elite of
Mankato and vicinity. The various
rooms were tastefully, not extrava-
gently, decorated with emblems and
colors of the order, red, blue and yell
low, while blooming chrysanthemums
everywhere cast fragrance and the
charm of flowers upon the scene. The
latter were kindly loaned by the
ladies of the Presbyterian church.
The guests began to arrive early and
polite ushers showed the way to the
dressing rooms, after which members
of the committee on reception and in
PRODUCTION led the guests through
the maze of ante rooms to the beau
tiful and richly furnished lodge room,
the pride of No. 36. { Here extra seats
had been arranged and the seating ca
pacity of 27O was nearly exhausted by
the time the last arrivals had en-
tered. Owing to the pardonable
hardness of majority of the guests
in arriving, the commencement Of
the program was delayed over half an
hour.
Concordia orchestra opened the
program of exercises with beautiful
overture. This organization has i'm
proved in remarkable degree during
the last few months under the able
leadership of Chas. Schwanenberg,
and can now truthfully be classed
among the.very best orchestras in the
state.
The formal dedicatory ceremonies
followed. Grand Chancellor Milham
was delayed in North Dakota yester-
day fourteen hours by a train wreck,
and was unfortunately unable to be
present, butt telegraphed his regrets.
Grand Keeper of Records and Seals
Fred e. Wheaton, of St. Paul, was
present and filled the office of grand
chancellor for the occasion, having
held that office for three terms. r. o.
Philpot, of Owatonna, was present
and filled the grand vice chancellor's
chair, Grand cPrelate Talbert. was
present and A. J. Stobbart, of Twin
City lodge, ST. Paul, who acted as
grand master at arms. The dedica-
tory ceremonies were of beautiful
and instructive nature, and the lodge
hall was duly declared to be dedicated
to the preservation and extension of
the principles of the order, friend
ship, charity and benevolence.
At this station, ChancellorComman
der G. A. Lewis, who had again taken
the chair vacated by the grand chan
cellor, asked Supreme Representative
L. P. Hunt to act as master of cere-
monies during the remainder of the
evening. On taking the 'chair, Mr..
Hunt made some appropriate and
pithy remarks, giving a little early
history of the lodge, and referring es.
pecially to the first meeting and the
sensation which it created among the
wives of the charter members.
Mr. Wheaton was the first speaker,
and while always interesting, he was
particularly entertaining on this oc-
casion, and put in many good words
for the order, speaking of it's benefits
TO the members. He complimented
Mankato and It's active lodge of
Knights of Pythias, and said that
there are numerous other live and
active lodges in the state, and that
the order is prospecting greatly, with
membership of half a million.
Mr.. Stobbert made a good speech, in
which he referred more particularly
to the objects sought in the formation
of the order. He said that it was
started at Washington, ID. c., during
the last days of the war to bind to-
gether the North and South, which it