Temple Lodge, No.33, Duncan, B.C.
Temple Lodge, No.33
Temple Lodge No. 33 will be conducting a Master Mason Degree at the Duncan Masonic Temple, 163 Canada Avenue, Duncan, B.C. on Tuesday, 28 January 2020 at 7:30 p.m.
All Visiting Brethren are very welcome to attend.
Here are some historic photos of the Duncan Masonic Temple which we came across recently.
The first photo shows Canada Avenue (then known as Front Street) circa fall 1912 or sometime in 1913. We are using those dates because the Duncan Masonic Temple was built in the summer of 1912 while the building that is now the Duncan Christmas Heritage Mall, which was completed in 1914, does not appear in the photo. The Esquimalt & Nanaimo Railway Station, built in 1912, appears at the right of the photo with the word “DUNCAN” on its south facade.
The following photograph was taken from the upper storey of a building (since demolished) on Duncan Street looking northwest. The photo shows the E & N Railway Station on the left and the Duncan Masonic Temple on the center-right. We are guessing this photo was taken circa 1912-1913.
The following photograph shows Front Street (now Canada Avenue) looking southwest from Kenneth Street circa 1914.-1915. We are using those dates because the Duncan Christmas Heritage Mall, which was completed in 1914, appears in the photo adjacent to, and to the left of, the Duncan Masonic Temple, which is the building on the right of the photograph.
Here is a current photo of the Duncan Masonic Temple:
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The Regular Meeting of Temple Lodge No. 33 for January 2020 will be held at the Duncan Masonic Temple, 163 Canada Avenue, Duncan, B.C. on Tuesday, 14 January 2020 at 7:30 p.m.
All Visiting Brethren are very welcome to attend.
Mike Gains, of Vancouver & Quadra Lodge No. 2 in Victoria, has provided us with some photographs he took during a recent visit to the McMillin Memorial Mausoleum in Roche Harbor, Washington.
Freemasons travelling to Roche Harbor may want to visit this site, which contains a lot of Masonic symbolism.
John S. McMillin was a lawyer who went into the lime business in 1886. Lime is a key component of cement, which was the key component of concrete. After 1876, concrete was becoming an increasingly popular building material and McMillin’s Roche Harbor Lime Company was a key supplier of cement in the western US.
John S. McMillin was a friend of Robert Pym Butchart, whose limestone quarries and cement factory at Tod Inlet is now the Butchart Gardens.
John S. McMillin and Robert Butchart were both Freemasons and Masonic symbolism is openly visible throughout the McMillin Mausoleum.
The entrance stairway consists of 3 steps, followed by 5 steps, followed by 7 steps. This is covered in the Fellow Craft Degree.
The Broken Column is a frequent feature of Masonic graves.
The circumference and diameter of the columns are the same as those of King Solomon’s Temple.
Here are some pages with more information on the McMullin Memorial Mausoleum:
Here is a map showing the location of McMillin Memorial Mausoleum in Roche Harbor, Washington:
The Regular Meeting of Temple Lodge No. 33 for September 2019 will be held at the Duncan Masonic Temple, 163 Canada Avenue, Duncan, B.C. on Tuesday, 10 September 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Please note that we will be conducting a Fellow Craft Degree as part of this Regular Meeting. Temple Lodge No. 33 usually holds Emergent Meetings to conduct degrees but, in this particular case, we are making an exception to our usual practice.
All Visiting Brethren are very welcome to attend.
For the philosophically inclined among our readers, here is an interesting 2011 video of Dr. David David Berlinski at the Hoover Institution discussing “Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions” .
For those interested in reading more on this topic, here is a link to Dr. David Berlinski‘s book, The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and Its Scientific Pretensions.
Here are some more videos featuring Dr. David Berlinski:
David Berlinski and Christopher Hitchens,
David Berlinski at the Hoover Institution, 2014
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Mhairi Logan Swanson, Queen of Miriam, Temple No. 2, Daughters of the Nile sent us the following graphic to promote cooperation between Masonic Lodges and the Shriners.
This states the case very well. Far too often we tend to focus on the Shrine at the expense of our Masonic Lodge or on our Masonic Lodge at the expense of the Shrine.
Gizeh Shriners of B.C. & Yukon and the Cowichan Valley Shrine Club No, 27 are the public face of Masonic charity in the Cowichan Valley. If you would like to get involved, please contact the Cowichan Valley Shrine Club No, 27.
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Bill Killam is turning 90 and his family holding BBQ to celebrate his 90th Birthday. Freemasons are invited to attend!
Bill Killam’s 90th Birthday BBQ will be held on Sunday, 21 July 2019, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Duncan Community Lodge, 2244 Moose Road, Duncan.
Those wanting to attend are asked to RSVP by phone or text at 250-510-9718 or by email at BillKillam90thBirthday@gmail.com
Here is a map showing the location of 2244 Moose Road, Duncan:
Here is a Google Street View image showing the road entrance of 2244 Moose Road, Duncan:
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On 30 June 2019 our Temple Lodge No. 33 Historian did a tour of some Masonic graves in Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, as a fund raiser for the Old Cemeteries Society.
For those wanting more information about the graves included on the tour, and the occupants of those graves, here are links to more information about them. Continue reading Deceased Brethren On The Ross Bay Cemetery Tour – 30 June 2019
Our Temple Lodge No. 33 Historian, W.B. Mark Anderson, will be doing a walking tour of Ross Bay Cemetery, Victoria, for the Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria. on 30 June 2019, at 2:00 p.m.
The topic will be some of the Masonic graves in Ross Bay Cemetery, of which there are many. See our page on Ross Bay Cemetery.
These tours are a fund raiser for the Old Cemeteries Society, which uses the funds in its work in historical research and maintaining grave stones and monuments in cemeteries in and around Victoria. Temple Lodge No. 33 has participated in these fund raising tours in the past and is is very pleased to have been asked to participate in the 2019 Old Cemeteries Society tours. The cost for OCS members is $2.00/person, non-members $5.00/person.
One of the graves which will be on the 30 June 2019 tour is Robert Patterson Rithet, a prominent figure in Victoria business during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Old Cemeteries Society tours meet in front of Oregano’s, Fairfield Plaza, 1516 Fairfield Road, Victoria and walk across Fairfield Road to Ross Bay Cemetery at 2:00 p.m.
All Masons are very welcome to come out to this Ross Bay Cemetery tour to learn something about Vancouver Island Masonic History and to support the Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria, a worthwhile organization which we have supported in the past and will continue to support in future.
Here is a map showing the location of Oregano’s, Fairfield Plaza, 1516 Fairfield Road, Victoria:
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