Riverside Freemasons - Riverside Lodge No. 862, Riverside IL

A CONDENSED HISTORY OF RIVERSIDE LODGE

Freemasonry is defined as being an “organization of men, based on the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man.” We use the ancient stone builders’ tools as symbols to teach basic moral truths and impress upon the minds of our members the cardinal virtues of Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth.The first meeting to determine whether a lodge should be formed in Riverside, Illinois was held in the Council Chamber of the Town Hall in the early part of 1901. The committee contacted the three closest lodges —Berwyn, LaGrange, and Oak Park (then known as Harlem Lodge) —and secured the required consent to form a lodge in the Village of Riverside. Arrangements were made to rent part of the third floor of the Town Hall and to make the necessary changes for a suitable lodge meeting place. It was there that Riverside Lodge met for the next sixty years!The petition for a Grand Lodge of Illinois dispensation to form the lodge was signed by 16 Masons who came from the local lodges of Berwyn, LaGrange, Oak Park, Chicago, and Aurora. Also, the original signers included two local Riverside residents who were originally from Cheyenne, Wyoming and Perth Amboy, New Jersey.The petition was received by the Most Worshipful Grand
Master, and he in turn issued the dispensation to create the lodge on July 1, 1901. The new lodge was officially instituted on July 23rd with a Most Worshipful Past Grand Master presiding. As a side note, he had been a General in the Civil War. His son would become a charter member of our new lodge and later served as its Worshipful Master. In October of 1901, the Grand Lodge of Illinois extended its dispensation to allow our lodge and the members to continue their work to form and complete the requirements to receive an official charter.Interestingly, another Charter Member of our lodge also served in the Civil War and was present at Appomattox when General Lee surrendered to General Grant. In 1889, he started the 1st newspaper in the community—The Riverside Record.)At the 1902 session of the Grand Lodge of Illinois A.F. & A.M., a satisfactory report was made of the work of the Lodge; and it was recommended that a Charter be issued. The lodge records for the period indicate that while the lodge was under dispensation, 13 additional brethren became members of the lodge of which 7 were new Master Masons. On October 31, 1902, an Occasional meeting of the Grand Lodge of the State of Illinois A.F. & A.M. was convened in the Lodge quarters on the third floor of the Town Hall. With the Most Worshipful Grand Master presiding, Riverside Lodge No. 862 was constituted as a regular Masonic Lodge with 29 Charter Members.The lodge continued to grow and prosper and in 1912 the 100th member was raised. 1922 marked another successful growth year with the lodge raising 44 new candidates.
In the year 1918 a lodge periodical was published under the name of The Gossip. It was started by a lodge member who was a printer; and though the first edition has not survived, the second edition has and is secured in the archives. Its successor, The 862, began publication in January 1927, and continues to be published as the official bimonthly lodge newsletter. It communicates to our members, bothnear and far, what the lodge has been doing, what programs are planned for the future, and news about the members and their families. The 862 has been recognized by our Grand Lodge of Illinois as an award winning publication.The same lodge member who began the lodge periodical also instituted, along with a charter member, a print shop program at the original Masonic Children’s Home in LaGrange. They shared the work of instructing the boys in the printing trade. This vocational training program continued for many years.From the start piano music, and later organ music, was furnished at our lodge meetings. Our current prized Hammond C-3 Organ was donated by a member in memory of his wife. Today, when a suitable organist is not available, the lodge also usespre-recorded digital tracks to provide our ceremonial music.In 1921, it was suggested to a member that he explore the possibility of erecting a building for the lodge and to seek a place in the village. He was a real estate broker in the village for manyyears, and it was natural to seek his help in this regard. In 1922, the Temple Building Fund was established and the dream to erect a permanent home for the lodge began. As efforts to expand the Temple Building Fund continued, the Riverside Eastern Star Chapter became enthusiastically involved and held a number of fund raising projects to help support the project.