MULLEN MASONIC LODGE

by Gary D. Tuton

Entry T43 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Mullen Masonic Lodge Hall, 1987.

Masonic-Eastern Star Float, 1987, first prise.

Mullen Masonic Lodge #282 AF & AM
came into being on July 22, 1913 when it was
granted dispensation from the Grand Lodge
to become an organized Lodge of Masons.
The official charter was granted July 9, 1914,
at which time the Lodge had 35 original
members. Charter members of the Lodge in
1913 when the Lodge was initiated under
dispensation from the M. W. Grand Lodge of
Nebraska included the following: Jacob
Speer, Charlie M. Barnebey, Louis Schmidt,
John Quincy Adams, William McGill, Mon-
traville Coons, Arthur G. Humphrey, Law-
rence Roberts, Edwin C. Antrim, George H.
Meyer, James H. Garrett, John W. Coombes,
Arthur A. Spradling, James P. Brown, Cyrus
M. Alley, Andrew K. Johnson, Marion Fair-
child, Peter Morrison, John Kudrna, William
H. Hooker, Waldo L. Blood, John J. Porter,
Warren L. Dufur, and Charles Wilgus.

Louis Schmidt was Master of the Lodge in
1913 while the Lodge was under dispensation.
A.G. Humphrey was the Master in 1914 when
the Lodge received its official charter and
C.M. Barnebey was the Master in 1915.

In order for the Mullen Lodge to become
a reality it was necessary that the proposed
Lodge be endorsed by the nearest chartered
Lodge. This endorsement came from Hyan-
nis Lodge #234 on December 18, 1909. A
condition of the endorsement rested upon a
suitable facility in which to conduct the
business of the Lodge. A portion of the letter
of endorsement from the Hyannis Lodge
stated: "We have exam ined the hall above the
new bank building in Mullen, Nebraska and
find that the same is a suitable lodge room
for the new proposed Lodge. We further
certify that we have called a meeting of the
proposed members and that no objection has
been made to said building as a proposed
meeting place of said Lodge. That we have
consulted with the owners of said building
and find that we can get the rental of same
at a reasonable rate."

The bank building approved as a suitable
location by the Hyannis Lodge is now
referred to as the "Walker Building" across
the street south of the present day Bank of
Mullen. The Lodge Hall remained in the
upstairs of the old Citizen's State Bank
Building from 1913 until the late 1920's or
early 30's. The monthly rental fee for the
room was $10.00. It was some time probably
during the early 30's that the Lodge was
moved from the bank building to the upstairs
part of the Lowe Building immediately to the
east on the corner of the block. The Lodge
remained in this location until 1967 when the
present Lodge was completed.

Interest and a desire for a new and
permanent Lodge Hall became evident in the
early 60's and in 1961 a committee was
appointed to check into the feasibility of
finding a location for a new Lodge and the
means of getting one constructed . After
several years of checking and planning it was
decided on Oct. 11, 1966 by a majority vote
to erect a steel building as a new Lodge Hall
on the north 62 feet of Lots 11, 12, 13, 14, and
15, Block 14, original town of Mullen . The bid
price of the building at the time of construc-
tion was $ 17,000.00 plus approximately
$5,000.00 for heating and finishing. Con-
struction of the new Lodge Hall was complet-
ed sufficiently for the first Masonic meeting
to be held on May 9, 1967. A dedication
ceremony for the new Lodge Hall was held on
Sept. 13, 1968 with the WM of the Grand
Lodge plus ten more Grand Officers and two
Assistant Custodians present to conduct the
formal ceremony of dedication.

The final payment on the mortgage was
paid off in January, 1975. An official burning
of the mortgage ceremony was held on Dec.
9, 1975 after which a cornerstone casket
constructed entirely of copper was laid in an
opening in the floor in the northeast corner
of the Lodge. The casket contains memora-
bilia concerning the Lodge during its lifetime
and a written record of some of the events of
the Lodge up to the time of the casket's
burial.

A list of the Past Masters of the Lodge
since its inception and the years during which
they served is as follows: 1913, Louis
Schmidt; 1914, A.G. Humphrey; 1915, C. M.
Barnebey; 1916, A.A. Spradling; 1917, Nelson
Drake; 1918, Nelson Drake; 1919, W.B.
Perkins; 1920, David F. Laye; 1921, John
Kudrna; 1922, E.P. Eriksen; 1923, C.E. Pecht;
1924, E.C. Pickett; 1925, J.A. Burnett; 1926,
T.L. McCully; 1927, J.L. McKinnie; 1928,
John E. Lowe; 1929, G.B. Cox; 1930, L.E.
Eriksen; 1931, W.H. Bramer; 1932, Floyd W.
Pool; 1933, R.A. Moller; 1934, R.A. Moller;
1935, R.F. Long; 1936, T.L. McCully; 1937,
C.R. Johnson; 1938, R.A. Moller; 1939, W.H.
Bramer; 1940, L.E. Eriksen; 1941, T. L.
McCully; 1942, C. R. Johnson; 1943, S.L.
Dutton; 1944, J.A. Burnett; 1945, I.D.
Empfield; 1946, Robert Haney; 1947, J.A.
Burnett; 1948, Erik Ericksen; 1949, Paul T.
Roseberry; 1950, W.E. Ericksen; 1951, Don-
ald Cox; 1952, Wesley Crews; 1953, Ross
Hager; 1954, Neal Dutton; 1955, Oscar A.
York; 1956, Lloyd L. Buchfinck; 1957, Robert
J. Blakley; 1958, William E. Simonson; 1959,
Forrest L. Harding; 1960, Daniel C. Deibler;
1961, Percy E. Miller; 1962, Percy E. Miller;
1963, John L. Munn; 1964, John A. Gibson,
Jr.; 1965, Emil A. Schadwinkle; 1966, James
L. Anders; 1967, J. Merle Yaryan; 1968,
Howard E. Waggoner; 1969, William E.
Simonson; 1970, John L. Munn; 1971, Robert
H. Cole; 1972, Harry C. Coble; 1973, John J.
Jones; 1974, Gary D. Tuton; 1975, Gary D.
Tuton; 1976, John M. Jones; 1977, Cleve O.
Kennedy; 1978, Ernest L. Leach; 1979,
Forrest L. Harding; 1980, Thomas L. Starr;
1981, Thomas L. Starr; 1982, John M. Jones;
1983, Wilbert E. Ericksen; 1984, Ernest L.
Leach; 1985, Forrest L. Harding; 1986, Gary
D. Tuton; 1987, Gary D. Tuton.

The Lodge and the high ideals which it
stresses has served throughout the years as
one of the focal points and uniting forces in
the Mullen community for the members who
have resided here. It is hoped that the Lodge
will continue to play a role in the lives of
Masons throughout the coming years.