​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.