Pleasant Grove Masonic Lodge No. 22 will have its 150th Anniversary celebration on Sunday, June 22, 2008. The history of the Lodge, its community involvement, dedication to philanthropy and charities has been a work in progress for 150 years.
In 1856, the Dubuque St. Paul Territorial Road went past the Green Mountain House in Pleasant Grove. It was this year that eight men, who were Masons back east, started the Masonic Lodge in the Green Mountain House Hotel. Pleasant Grove Masonic Lodge was one of the first lodges established in what was then the Minnesota Territory. On January 8th, 1858, Pleasant Grove Masons were issued a charter by the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. An agreement was written in 1867 with W. H. Mills, a Pleasant Grove merchant, to build a new store and lodge hall building. It would be down the road from the Green Mountain House on the Dubuque Trail. In March of 1868, the lodge voted to accept the deed for Lot 1, Block 10, original plat of Pleasant Grove. The lot was given by Mrs. H. J. Ramsey for the site of the new store and lodge building. The three story building was built in 1868 to serve as a store, meat market, and lodge hail. The building was referred to as the "Masonic Hall" by residents of Pleasant Grove and the surrounding community. The hall is the oldest Masonic Lodge building in Minnesota, built for a Masonic Lodge and has been the meeting place of the Pleasant Grove Masons for 140 years.
The Pleasant Grove Lodge has had an anniversary celebration each quarter century with 110 members supporting the lodge at the 75th, 80 members at the 100th and 125th, and a membership of 60 on the 150th. The 125th Anniversary event had eight Grand Lodge officers present, along with many Masons from area lodges. The guest that traveled the greatest distance was a Master Mason and his wife from Turkey. Brother Myron Clark of P.G.L. gave the keynote address, "Good Old Days are Here Now", when we consider what has happened the past fifty years in the area of travel, education and business.
The members of an organization are key to its success and P.G.L. is proud of the Bernard Family and their contributions to the Lodge. A historic event happened in 1959 when Mr. Bernard, his six sons and a nephew joined P.G.L. Our records indicate this is the only family of eight men to join the lodge on the same date. A photograph is displayed in the lodge to commemorate this event. In the years to follow, the Bernards served many positions in the lodge. Eugene Bernard is now the Tyler of the lodge. This position was held for many years by Eugene's father, the late Loren Bernard. The late Nado James Bernard III, in 1991, made arrangements for P.G.L. to participate in the Adopt-A-Highway program. We were assigned two miles of Olmsted County 1 on the edge of Pleasant Grove. P.G.L. is proud to be a part of this worthy project. Nado (Jim) Bernard had baseball caps made with the lodge name and logo on them to be sold as a fundraiser for the Scholarship Program. Nado also served as a Master and secretary of the lodge and had a part in many lodge activities.
Oliver Ohr, a past Master and Treasurer of P.G.L. published the first lodge newsletter, "The Pleasant Grove Mason". It is a quarterly publication that started in January, 1990 and continues to be published to inform members and widows of members the news/activities of the lodge.
It is a great honor for a small country lodge to have a member advance to a higher level of learning and achievement in Masonry. In the "90's", Philip Soderberg was the first member from P.G.L. to receive the title of Inspector General Honorary, 33rd Degree Scottish Rite Masons. Dave Hawkins, a P.G.L. Mason, was installed January, 1993, as the Grand Potentate of the Osman Temple of St. Paul, and is active in the Shriner's Cycle Patrol.
June of 1990, members of P.G.L. celebrated the first St. John the Baptist Day by attending the Pleasant Grove Church of Christ worship service. St. John's Day is the church feast day for the patron saint to whom all modem Masonic Lodges are dedicated. The P.G.L. members went to the church as a group to show their love for God in worship and gave members the opportunity to interact with the community. After the service, the church was invited to a pot luck picnic at the lodge hall. The St. John's Day picnic also was a time to award lodge membership certificates and scholarship awards. St John's Day and the award event has been held every June since 1990.
The P.G.L. Scholarship Program was started in 1994 to award scholarships for higher education, to graduating high school seniors. Eligible recipients are a child, grandchild or great grandchild of a P.G.L. Mason, or a graduating senior from Stewartville or Chatfield High School. P.G.L. has awarded twenty five scholarships, with matching funds from the Grand Lodge of Minnesota Masons, in the amount of $12,900.00. The P.G.L. scholarship plan is funded by member donations. In 2002, the scholarship name was changed to the Nado James Bernard III Scholarship, in honor of the Bernard family.
P.G.L. has been a work in progress, providing support to local charities and worthy projects. Some of the projects funded and supported with member involvement are: new pagers for the Rochester Swat Team; Diabetes Monitors for area schools; the Women's Shelter in Olmsted County; local Job's Daughters and DeMolay, and Masonic Care Bear Program. P.G.L. supplies the Teddy Bears to local law enforcement, Women's Shelter and the Red Cross for children in traumatic situations. The Kids ID Program is sponsored by the Grand Lodge of Minnesota which supplies necessary equipment to the Blue Lodges. P.G.L. conducts a Kids ID booths at Rochesterfest and the Olmsted Co. Fair, while also manning a shift at the Minnesota State Fair. P.G.L. gave a monetary gift to Pleasant Grove Church of Christ 150th Anniversary celebration fund. At Christmas, P.G.L. delivers fruit baskets to Lodge widows and elderly members. A sweetheart night event is held in February at a local restaurant for member couples and widows of the lodge. The wild game feed is held each fall at P.G.L. for members, guests and visiting lodges. The lodge year starts in December with public installation of officers and an oyster stew/chili dinner.
The common gavel is one of the working tools of a Mason and is used at each meeting. The gavel presently used at P.G.L. was given to the lodge by Pat Rions, the widow of the late Howard Rions, past master of the lodge. A walnut apron case was also given with the gavel. Both items were made from a walnut tree that grew on the farm in Pleasant Grove, now owned by Mickey Walker. The purpose of the "Traveling Gavel" is to promote fellowship with neighboring lodges. The Traveling Gavel is awarded to a visiting lodge that has the most members present. The Traveling Gavel, sometimes has a brief stay at a lodge, and is presented at the next meeting, to continue its journey to other lodges in the area.
P.G.L. had the honor of presenting a gavel that traveled to lodges in many countries and most continents of the world. The world traveled gavel originated at Grand Marais Lodge No. 322 on April 19, 1966. P.G.M. Phil Soderberg and wife Bobbie, while on vacation in Sweden, visited the Masonic Lodge that held the Minnesota Traveling Gavel. The gavel was presented to P.G.L. via the Soderbergs. At the annual Lodge Friendship Night, October, 2004, P.G.L. presented the world traveled gavel to W.M. Chuck Whiteside and J.W. Alan Barry of Grand Marais Lodge No. 322. The evening event started with a spaghetti dinner enjoyed by guests from nine area lodges and S.G.W. Steve Johnson who gave the keynote address. A world map was on display, with flags marking each place the gavel had visited on its travels. It was an honor for the Soderbergs and P.G.L. to be listed in the ledger of this world traveled gavel that has been retired to Lodge No. 322.
April 1991, Philip Soderberg was installed as Grand Pursivant in the Grand Lodge line of officers, the Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Minnesota. P.G.L. was very proud of Phil, the first brother from the lodge to be elected to the Grand Lodge of Minnesota. In April, 2000, Philip Soderberg was installed as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota at the 147th Annual Communication of Minnesota Masons. His job would be to promote public relations and Masonic charities. The Grand Master's calendar was full of events that took him to each corner of the state to visit lodges, preside over special events and celebrations. Phil reported that his biggest challenge for the year was to let people know about the Masons and the programs they support. One of the greatest honors for a small country lodge came when Grand Master Philip Soderberg asked the officers of the P.G.L. to perform the open ceremony of the 148th Communication of the Grand Lodge of Minnesota at the Kahler Hotel, Rochester, Minnesota in April, 2001. The Bible, rods and holders, gavels, jewels and aprons used in the ceremony were from Pleasant Grove Lodge No. 22. The opening ceremony was done letter perfect by the P.G. Brothers clad in blue denim bib overalls. The highlight of the convention was to see the members of the once called "Bib-Overall Lodge" perform the ceremony. The early years of P.G.L., members being mostly farmers, came to lodge meetings in new bib overalls, hence the origin of the nickname, "Bib-Overall Lodge". After the debut of bib-overalls at the 148th Convention, the tradition to wear them on special occasions continues. It is rumored they may be seen at the 150th Anniversary celebration.
At the 148th Grand Lodge Communication, a painting of Pleasant Grove Lodge No. 22, as it appeared in a 1912 photograph, was presented to Grand Master Philip Soderberg. It was painted by the artist and Brother Harvey Bernard of Chatfield. The painting is a masterpiece and was presented to P.G.L. by G. M. Phil as a gift to be displayed in the lodge. A plaque depicting that painting was given to each member of the lodge by G.M. Phil as a token of his appreciation to the lodge members for their support.
In April of 1991, new officer's aprons were dedicated in memory of Willis Dickinson, George Denny, Henry Hokema and George Slavin. Each of the men was a member of P.G.L. and their families gave a memorial gift in memory of the brother. The new aprons replaced officer's aprons that were more than fifty years old. The new aprons are kept in a walnut case, crafted and given by Brother Les Gill.
In the late 90's, the Pleasant Grove village witnessed the refurbishing of a 130 yr. land mark, "The Masonic Hall". The lodge members had a fund raising campaign to raise money to restore the building, to resemble its appearance in 1912. Pledges totaling over $18,000 came from members, widows of former members, and a large donation from the lodge insurance carrier. The work started with a new wood shingle roof and lightning rods. The siding was cleaned and stained white. The members repaired and painted the windows, led by Brother Chuck Weisbrod. The shutters were removed and new storm windows installed with the help of a bucket truck donated by Brother Lyle Buchholtz. Brother Kim Portz, a P.G.L. member, and an architect, had charge of the entire project to help maintain the lodge historic status, as a building on the National Register of Historic Places. Mr. Portz also designed the wood deck and handicap ramp. Carl Veer, a P.G.L. member took charge of building the deck and ramp. The lodge hall, in 1912, had a wood deck on two sides of the building. A new tall/wide door was installed to closely match the original 1868 door. The Groen family gave a gift to the lodge in memory of the late Andrew Groen, a long time member of P.G.L. The new door was dedicated to the Groen family. A plaque is displayed by the door in their honor. The new deck and ramp gives access to older members to attend lodge meetings held on the first floor during summer months. The first floor walls and floor were repainted by members Chuck Weisbrod and Peter Berg.
The rising cost of utilities and insurance for the "Masonic Hall", prompted the Adopt-A-Bill Program. P.G.L. members may sign up to help pay a utility or other building related expense to supplement the operating budget.
The 150th Anniversary of Masonry in Minnesota, in 2003, was also a year of celebration for P.G.L. The Grand Lodge of Minnesota printed a historic calendar for the anniversary event, featuring Masonic artifacts and lodge buildings in Minnesota. P.G.L. was honored to have our lodge hall and several interior photographs displayed on one of the months of the calendar.
In October, 2003, P.G.L. celebrated the re-dedication of the 135 year old "Masonic Hall" building with a corner stone laying ceremony. The event was to commemorate the refurbishing of the historic lodge building. Opening remarks were given by P.G.L. members and the keynote address by a Grand Lodge officer. Lyle Buchholtz, a 55 yr member, who served as lodge secretary for 20 years, was recognized for his gift to help refurbish the lodge windows. Lyle then presented the lodge with a new silk Top Hat to be used by the sitting Master and future Masters of Pleasant Grove Lodge. The new corner stone, donated by Anderson Memorial, was presented to M.W.G.M. Neil Neddermeyer and Grand Lodge officers, to perform the Corner Stone Laying Ceremony. The corner stone was installed in the NW corner of the building with lodge artifacts. The day's celebration continued at a local golf club, where a dinner and Table Lodge was celebrated. New table place mats were designed for the occasion, by P.G.L. member Peter Berg. The mat displays a picture of the lodge building and the new corner stone. The history of P.G.L., the "Masonic Hall", significant dates in lodge history, and points of interest are also on the mat.
The Table Lodge is an evening of dining, speakers, ceremonial toasts and fellowship. 2008 will be the 18th Table Lodge of P.G.L., celebrated with the Grand Master of Minnesota Masons as the honored guest. The toasting is done with a heavy bottom glass called a cannon. With the glass empty, after the toast, the glass is returned to the table with a loud cannon-like bang. The first table lodges were celebrated by Masons in English pubs. The P.G.L. cannons were given to the Lodge by P.G.M. Philip Soderberg. The solid oak carrying case was crafted by Brother Les Gill.
P.G.L. is proud to celebrate its 150th Anniversary as one of the oldest lodges in the state. Masonry was the first fraternal organization in the U.S. and the oldest fraternal order in the world. The Masons of today don't build cathedrals or stately structures, but are part of a brotherhood of men dedicated to serving God, family, fellow man and country.
Compiled by Les Gill from Masonic Lodge No. 22 meeting minutes and newsletters, February, 2008.
Updated: 05-April-2008