Evening star., 1908-01-25

Stirling Kerr, Jr.
He is a member and an officer of Temple
Lodge. No. -. L. A. A. NJ. and of other
Masonic bodies of the jurisdiction. but
his Masonic work has been mainly in the
several local bodies of the Scottish Rite.
He is also member of other fraternities,
including Rathbone- Superior Lodge No.
%, Knights of Pythias.
The illustrated souvenir prepared by
Secretary A. II. Vandeusen of the Ma
sonic Veterans Association of WASH
ington. for the thirtieth year of it's or
ganiZation. is an attractive pamphlet of
twenty pages, neatly printed and bound
and contains much information concern
ing this organization of the older MaSons
of Was Shington. 1t is embelliShed with
portraits. of all the presidents of the as
sociation. excepting Judge William H.
Upton, and sketches of each. All of these
gentlemen are now deceased. excepting
Simon Wolf and George Gibson The list
was noteworthy one. beginning with
Albert Pike, and each of the presidents
whose pictures are given served the Ma
sonic order in many high places. The
Masonic Veterans Association was formed
at go d street northwest in 1879. and had
for its organizers ten well-known mem
bers of the fraternity. all since deceased.
The last to pass away being Frederick
Webber. who died last November. Of
the presidents Albert Pike Qs79-9D was
a master Mason forty-one years: William
w Upton Qs?12) about forty years:
Clement w. Bennett 1Sa3-6. ifty-one
years; Robert Ball QS9D, thirty-nine
years; William Gibson 1S9S- 1902. forty
one years: Simon Wolf Qao3). fifty years;
Robert s. Donaldson u@+. fifty-two
years. George Gibson C190a-O. forty-two
years; George L. Corson (present presi-
dent), thirty-Seven years.
Baltimore City Lodge. No. 81 l. q. o.
F.. celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of
quet at Odd Fellows Temple. in Balti-
more, Wednesday evening. The sover-
eign grand secretary. the grand master
and the grand patriarch of Maryland Odd
Fellows We're among the guests OF the
evening. The banquet was declared to
be one of the best in the lodges long
history and was much enjoyed by the
seventy-f1ve members who participated.
Baltimore is the mother city of the three
link fraternity in America: was the home
of the founder. Thomas Wildey. and IS
the location of the Sovereign Grand Lodge
offices and headquarters Of the patriarchs
militant.
There has long been a contention be-
tween some of the older Pythians of
Washington as to where Justus II. Rath-
bone, the founder of the fraternity. first
conceived the idea of a secret society with
its ritual based upon the story of the
friendship of Damon and Pythias. David
l.. Burnett, one of Rathbone's four aSso-
ciates in the origination of the order. has
always contended that Rathbone became
| impressed with John Banims play "Da-
| mon and Pythias" while a school teacher
| in the Keweenan peninsula o. Lake Su-
| perior before the civil war and prior to
| his first residence in Washington. In this
view of the matter he is sustained by
| PythianS throughout the country, and par
ticularly by the Pythian Grand Lodge Of
Michigan, which has purchased the old ke-
| weenan county schoolhouse and has es-
| tablished Justus H. Rathbone Memorial
| Fund Society for it's repair and preserva-
! ton. Of this subject Past Grand Chan
| cellor Will +. Hampton of Michigan says:
| While there are some who dispute the
| truth of the statement that Justus II
| RathbOne, the founder of our order, wrote
the ritual when he was teaching school
at Eagle Harbor, there is no doubt in my
mind that Rathbone did conceive the idea
and did prepare the first draft of the rit
ua) when he was a Michigan school
/ teacher. We have his own word for it.
given to the late Gen. Carnahan in an in
| terview. printed in the history of the or
der which Gen. Carnahan published. We
have the further testimony OF old resi-
dents of the copper country. and Michi-
gan can consistently lay claim TO the hon
| or of being the state where Pythlanism
was first conceived. The little old school
house at Eagle Harbor, where Rathbone
taught and where he wrote the ritual. was
first falling into ruins, and talk that ii
| should be preserved in view of the senti-
| ment that clusters about it, crystallized
| into the purchase of the old schoolhouse
and kept it intact" During his term as
grand chancellor, Mr.. Hampton visited the
ancient village where Rathbone taught
and wrought and participated in exercises
| in the old schoolhouse. Rathbone-Super
ior Lodge. No. %, of this city owes its
| name to the circumstance that the found
| er of this fraternity did his first work
upon its beautiful and impressive ritual in
the remote Lake Superior country
The Pythians of the grand domain of
Florida are arranging to charter special
steamer to take the Pythians and their
families from that state to the Supreme
Lodge session at Boston.
State Auditor Nate w. Rolf of Nevada.
who was representative from that state
in the Supreme Lodge. knights of Py-
thiaS, died recently from injuries received
in a runaway accident. He was one OF
the best loved Pythians of the west. and
is described as "a man of forceful per-
sonaiity and an enthusiastic and loyal
knight" by Supreme Chancellor Charles
A. Barnes.
DR.. William Octavius Eversfeld. resi-
dent physician at the Maryland Agricul-
tural College. and a prominent member
of the Masonic fraternity of Maryland
was buried Wednesday with Masonic
honors. He was charter member of
Mount Hermon Lodge. A. F. A. M, of
Hyattsville. and well acquainted in Wash
ington fraternal circles He was formerly
surgeon in the United States army.
He was seventy years old.
At the last stated convocation of Washing
ton Chapter. No. =. Royal Arch Masons.
the following officers were elected and
installed; William III. Wunder. high priest;
John A. Colborn. king: Horace p. McIn-
tosh. scribe; Eugene ]. Bernhard. secre-
tary. reelected: David G. Dixon. treas
urer. reelected; William J. Satterfielu,
captain of the host: Delos w. Thayer.
principal sojourner: James B. Rutherford.
Royal Arch captain; Edgar A. Mess,