​On December 4, 1940, Barristers Lodge No. 48 elected and installed Herbert S. Fessenden as Worshipful Master. WB Fessenden was a Special Assistant to the Attorney General of the United States and a member of the Supreme Court bar. He was also a member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution because he was the great-great-grandson of Nathan Fessenden, a member of the Massachusetts Minute Men. Nathan served in Captain John's Parker's company in the famous Battle of Lexington as well as the Battle of Bunker Hill.

This November, we look back to Barristers Lodge No. 48 in 1973.  The Stated Communication, although brief to move to the Grand Lodge Visitation in conjunction with Centennial Lodge No. 14 and Theodore Roosevelt Lodge No. 44, was presided over by Worshipful Master O. Harold Folk (seated on the left).

Worshipful Brother Folk, born in Moselle, SC, was a veteran, government official, and businessman in the Washington, DC area.  He moved to Washington, DC in 1938 to work for the Agriculture Department, but was called to active duty in the Army for World War II and assigned to the Selective Service in Washington, DC.   

For his service, he received the Distinguished Service Award and the Gold Medal. Following the war, Worshipful Brother Folk joined the World Bank and specialized in Middle Eastern affairs, serving as an advisory to King Saud of Saudi Arabia from 1960 to 1962. Masonically, he became a 32nd degree Mason and served as Potentate of the Almas Temple of the Shrine.

​During the Grand Visitation in November 1973, Worshipful Brother Folk was presented at the altar for his receipt of his Certificate of Service as Master.

On October 10, 1911, Lebanon Lodge #7 hosted the final event of its week-long Centennial Celebration at the New Willard Hotel. As a parting gift for ladies in attendance, the Lodge handed out this handsome souvenir pin which included the Masonic square and compasses with a tall cedar of Lebanon. The history doesn't end there. This specific pin depicted in the image above was given to Minnie M. (Tomlinson) Sparrow, the wife of Brother Frederick Kroeber Sparrow.

Brother Sparrow was raised as a Master Maston on August 2, 1907 and was a direct descendant of Thomas Sparrow, one of Baltimore County's first land grants and the namesake of Sparrow's Point and other famous "Sparrow" locations throughout Maryland. Brother Sparrow was a veteran of the Spanish War and a member of General Nelson A. Miles Post. He passed to the celestial lodge above on April 8, 1942 and was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery.

​Brother Sparrow and Minnie had a son, Thomas Kroeber Sparrow, Jr., who went on to become a famous American mycologist. His wife, Anna (Gabler) Sparrow, inherited this pin from Minnie and bequeathed it to her granddaughter Emily Sparrow upon her passing. Emily simply wanted to learn more about this pin and contacted Singleton Lodge earlier this month. She was over the moon that we were able to deliver her this very detailed history of the pin.

​Did you know that Singleton Lodge conferred the FC Degree upon a Congressman from Georgia? At the Stated Communication held on September 19, 1968, the Brethren of Singleton welcomed Bro. William Stuckey from Eastman Lodge #279, Eastman, Georgia and conferred the FC Degree upon him. After the degree was conferred, Bro. Stuckey presented a discussion to the Brethren on his position in Congress and the issues of the times. The discussion was well received by the Brethren.

​The data provided above provides a history of the cost of membership in Lebanon Lodge until 1970, when data is used from Singleton Lodge. This data was found by scouring meeting minutes from multiple years from Lebanon, Hope, and Singleton Lodges.

​On March 22, 1918, the Brethren of William R. Singleton #30 called a Special Communication to discuss a decision that would create a legacy. On this day, the Brethren received a report from a committee appointed to investigate the relationship between the Lodge and the William R. Singleton Temple Association. The committee reported “that it be the sense [of the Lodge] that steps be taken to acquire ownership of the Temple and the ground upon which it stands…and that a committee of three be appointed to proceed at once to consummate this project.” It was at this meeting that the quest to acquire the Lodge that we still use to this day began. Let this miraculous work by our Brethren over 100 years ago serve as motivation to what we can accomplish today for our posterity.

Brother Hilmer H. Krebs, Singleton Lodge's oldest Mason, passed to the celestial lodge on April 5, 2020 at the age of 105. He was raised on September 3, 1946 and was a Mason for 73 years. The above picture is the presentation of his 70th anniversary certificate from the Grand Lodge of DC. He was also an Honorary Member of Patuxent Lodge No. 218 of Maryland. Brother Krebs worked for the FBI for 27 years, and was honored on his 100th birthday by the Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI. Below is an excerpt from his obituary: "Hilmer was born on November 20, 1914 and raised on a farm in Wilson County, Texas, the son of Walter Adolph and Emma Helene Krebs. Hilmer graduated from the Texas College of Arts & Industries in Kingsville Texas in July 1940 and immediately set off for Washington, DC where he met and married Alice May Robinson. Three sons, Richard Dietrich, Raymond Mitchell, and Lawrence Walter honored life for Alice and Hilmer. Hilmer supported his country and community during his lifetime, serving as a Metropolitan Police Officer, a White House Police Officer, a US Coast Guardsman, and a Special Agent of the FBI. He was active in the Presbyterian Church and the Masonic Order in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia."

​Sources: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/springfield-va/hilmer-krebs-9112150

​Bro. Schuyler Colfax was the 17th Vice President of the United States (1869-1873). Bro. Colfax was born March 23, 1823 in NYC and moved with his family to Indiana in 1836. He was the owner and editor of St. Joseph Valley Register of South Bend, IN; a member of Congress from 1855-1869 and Speaker of the House from 1863-1869. Bro. Colfax’s Masonic career began, while serving in Congress, in Lebanon Lodge No. 7 on August 15, 1856. He was initiated in Lebanon Lodge, and passed and raised in St. Joseph Lodge No. 45 of South Bend, IN on September 5, 1856. He became President Grant’s first Vice President in 1869, serving until 1873. In 1873 he was implicated in the Credit Mobilier scandal, and although the charges were unproven, it ruined his political career. He makes a memorable appearance in Stephen Spielberg’s Lincoln as Speaker of the House, portrayed by actor Bill Raymond, during the vote for the passage of the 13th Amendment. Colfax was the presiding officer for the vote, and, unusually for a presiding officer, asked that his name be read in the roll call, and proceeded to vote for the passage of the 13th Amendment. The 14th Amendment was also passed during his Speakership.

​Sources: 10,000 Famous Freemasons A Century of Lebanon Lodge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_%28film%29

​In 1870 Lebanon Lodge gave Naval Lodge a white marble altar, still in use today. The altar was crafted by WB Alexander Rutherford (PM1858,1859) and 10 other Brethren from scraps of high quality marble from the building of the House and Senate wings of the US Capitol. Lebanon Lodge was composed for many years almost entirely of operative masons, and WB Rutherford was a master stone cutter and inspector of marble for the Capitol project. The altar was used for years by all Lodges at the Masonic Temple at 9th and D Street. When Lebanon Lodge moved to a new building in 1870, it was given to Naval Lodge with the inscription: "NAVAL No. 4 from LEBANON No. 7 A.L. 5870". This altar is used for the raising of new Brethren and the installation of new officers in Naval Lodge, and is a reminder of the fraternal link between our Lodges.

​Source: The White Marble Altar Description (with thanks to Peter Brusoe)

​In February 1954, Renah Camalier, PGM visited and spoke to Lebanon Lodge No. 7 on the merits of the York and Scottish Rites to Blue Lodge Masons. MWB Camalier had a distinguished Masonic and legal career. He was raised in Benjamin B. French Lodge in 1922, served as its Master in 1932, and Grand Master of the District of Columbia in 1952. He was 2nd Assistant Secretary of the Navy, examiner of the FTC, assistant US Attorney, a fuel coordinator for OPA in WWII, and appointed a Commissioner of Washington, DC. He was also a York Rite Mason, a 33rd degree Scottish Rite Mason, a Past Potentate of Almas Shrine, an Honorary Member of several Lodges, including Hope Lodge No. 20, and a member of numerous other Masonic organizations. During the remodeling of the White House in the Truman Administration, President Harry S. Truman, PGM of Missouri, asked MWB Camalier to distribute stones with Masonic markings recovered from the White House to each of the US Grand Lodges. MWB Camalier presented the Grand Lodge of Missouri’s stone to MWB Truman and the Grand Lodge of Missouri in September 1953. (The photo was taken in the Oval Office, with Brother Camalier standing next to Brother Truman. Almas Shrine was presenting a bid to President Truman to open the first performance of the 8th Annual Shrine Circus)