The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-02-05

The Times lodge page Another will be
published next Monday.
TWENTY-FOUR master Masons
II gathered at 27lz South Delaware
street on Oct. 10, 1881, for the pur-
pose of taking the preliminary steps
in the formation of the organization
which was chartered as Pentalpha
Lodge No. 564, Free and Accepted
Masons, on June l, 1882.
Officers selected to direct the
lodge under dispensation were Mar
tin H. Rice, worshipful master; Ed
ward H. Wolfe, senior warden;
Adolph Seidensticker, junior war
den; Joseph Staub, treasurer; Will
liam H. Smythe, secretary; Charles
Teller, senior deacon; N. B. Boilvin:
Junior deacon; George w. Griffith,
senior steward; Lorenz Schmidt.
junior steward, and William M.
Black, tyler.
Other founders of the lodge were
Isaac Thalman, Samuel A. john
Schmidt, Wenzel Kautsky, John R.
Nickum, Ferdinand Dietz, j. w.
Sherwood, Adam Scott, Major Tay-
lor, Herman Weinberger, William
Wiegel, David Nicholson, R. P. Dag
gett, j. c. Wilson and S. G. Seaton.
n1f-
ed at the second meeting of the
group that lodges meeting in what
was then the Masonic temple, at
Capitol avenue and Washington
street, had rendered the use of their
hall as a meeting place, as had Cen
tire lodge, which had quarters at
Washington and Meridian streets. !
At the same meeting, on the mo-
ton of John r. Nickum, Thursday
was selected as the day on which
stated meetings of the lodge would
be held, a day which up to the
present has remained unchanged.
A dispenSation for the lodge was
presented at meeting Oct. 20, 1881,
by Calvin w. Prather, grand mas
ter. At the meeting the lodge
adopted a bylaw providing that
Meetings shall be from April l to
Oct. at 8 p. m. and from Oct. to
April l at 1880. p. M"
Also at this meeting the first war
rants were drawn on the treasurer,
among which was an allowance to
the tyler for ice, which led Elmer F.
Gay to observe in his official his
tory of the lodge, "Of course, the ice
was used in ice water"
At the same time the lodge def
nitely decided to rent rooms in the
Masonic temple.
HENRY C. G. Balls was raised
Il u to the degree of master Mason
on Feb. 9, 1882, giving him the honor
of being the first member initiated
by Pentalpha lodge.
At a stated meeting at which the
lodge received its charter, Calvin
Prather, past grand master, in
stalled as the first official officers.
the same group which had headed
the lodge while it was under dis
pensation with two exceptions,
George Russ, senior steward, and
Henry G. G.. Balls, Junior steward.
The lodge held its first anniver-
sary celebration June Z, 1888, which
was attended by more than $50 per-
sons, and at which the principal
address was given by Byron K. Ell
lott. The total bill for refresh
ments for the event, which were
/ highly satisfactory, was only $22.25.
In 1886 the lodge voted to accept
a lease from Ancient Landmarks
lodge to use the latter's rooms for
meetings, and ever since that date
the two organizations have occupied
joint quarters.
On a motion of Mr.. Rice, past
master, the lodge set Dec. 81. 1888,
as the date or a public installation
of officers for 1889, the installing Of
ficer to be Bruce Carr. grand master.
Thus, almost forty-five years ago,
Pentalpha started what has become
a foremost tradition of the lodge,
public installation of officers by the
grand master of the grand lodge of
Indiana.
The report of the secretary for
1897 includes the statement that
the records of the lodge will
authenticate the statement that
charity never has been denied in a
single instance, and that there never
has been a negative vote cast against
any proposition looking to the ex-
penditure of money for worthy OBJ
jects of charity. The personnel of
the lodge will compare favorably
with any in the state of Indiana,
and, take it all in all, each member
may take pleasure in the fact that
he has been found worthy to become
a member Of Pentalpha."
1.-THE lodge joined the Masonic
l. Burial Association by vote of
the members in 1898.
Following an installation of off,