j islay mutter – Temple Lodge, No.33, Duncan, B.C.

Amalgamation Referendum In Spring 2018 – Did You Know That Members Of Temple Lodge No. 33 Were Instrumental In Creating The City of Duncan in 1912?

Posted on October 6, 2017October 8, 2017 by admin

In the spring of 2018 there will be an Amalgamation Referendum on the question of whether to re-unite the City of Duncan and the Municipality of North Cowichan into a single political entity.

With this Amalgamation Referendum soon to be upon us it is interesting to consider the historical fact that Duncan residents broke away from North Cowichan and created the City of Duncan in 1912 on land formerly part of the Municipality of North Cowichan, primarily because residents of Duncan were dissatisfied with the services provided, or not being provided, by the Municipality of North Cowichan.

The Incorporation of the City of Duncan in 1912 was accomplished primarily by members of Temple Lodge No. 33, including Kenneth Duncan, J. Islay Mutter, Andrew Hans Peterson, James MacLeod Campbell, Frank Brettingham, Thomas Pitt, William Gidley, Charles Herbert Dickie, James Whittome, William Mordaunt Dwyer, Thomas Pitt.

Another Temple Lodge No. 33 member, Thomas Anthony Wood, was on the other side of the issue as Reeve of North Cowichan in 1911 when these events began.

To document this history we have created a new webpage on Incorporation of the City of Duncan In 1912.

Here are photos of some of the Temple Lodge No. 33 members involved in Incorporation of the City of Duncan In 1912.

Continue reading Amalgamation Referendum In Spring 2018 – Did You Know That Members Of Temple Lodge No. 33 Were Instrumental In Creating The City of Duncan in 1912?

Featured Deceased Member of Temple Lodge No. 33 For April 2017 – Major James Mitchell Mutter (1854-1920)

Posted on April 4, 2017April 4, 2017 by admin

Each month Temple Lodge No. 33 featured a Deceased Brother as a way remembering our Deceased Brethren while highlighting the contributions Temple Lodge No. 33 members have made to Duncan and the Cowichan Valley.

The Featured Deceased member of Temple Lodge No. 33 for April 2017 is one of our Charter Members, Major James Mitchell Mutter (!845-1920), farmer and Member of the Legislative Assembly.

Major James Mitchell Mutter, circa 1890's — Major James Mitchell Mutter, circa 1890’s (Photo courtesy Mutter Family Private Collection – used with permission)

Major James Mitchell Mutter is buried in St. Mary’s Somenos Anglican Cemetery.

James Mitchell Mutter grave, St. Mary's Somenos Anglican cemetery, North Cowichan, B.C. — James Mitchell Mutter grave, St. Mary’s Somenos Anglican cemetery, North Cowichan, B.C.

See our webpage on Major James Mitchell Mutter.

Masonic Mayors of Duncan

Posted on January 13, 2016 by admin

Since the City of Duncan was incorporated in 1912, there have been sixteen Mayors of Duncan. Ten of those sixteen Mayors have been Freemasons and eight of those ten have been members of Temple Lodge, No.33.

Thomas Pitt as District Deputy Grand Master, circa 1918. Thomas Pitt was Mayor of Duncan 1914-16 and in 1924 (photo copyright Temple Lodge, No.33)

Here is a list of the Freemasons who have served as Mayor of Duncan, followed by a list of Freemasons who have served on Duncan City Council.

Kenneth Forrest Duncan – Mayor of Duncan 1912.
Ormond Towers Smythe – Mayor of Duncan 1914-16, 1923. City Councillor 1912-14, 1920-22, 1924.
Thomas Pitt – Mayor of Duncan 1914-1916, 1924. City Councillor 1914, 1922-1924.
J. Islay Mutter – Reeve of North Cowichan 1914, 1918, 1919. Mayor of Duncan 1924-28. J. Islay Mutter is the only person to have served as both Mayor of Duncan and Reeve of North Cowichan.
Harold Fairfax Prevost – Mayor of Duncan 1929-1935. City Councillor 1919-1921
James Grieg – Mayor of Duncan 1936-1939. City Councillor 1940-1943
George Henry Savage – Mayor of Duncan 1943-1946. City Councillor 1937-1942
James Chesterfield Wragg – Mayor of Duncan 1947-1955. James C. Wragg was initiated in Malahat Lodge, No. 107.
Ken Paskin – Mayor of Duncan 1974-79. City Councillor 1972-74 and 1981-82. (Malahat Lodge, No.107)
Douglas William Barker, D.S.M. – Mayor of Duncan 1983-86. City Councillor 1976-83.

Freemasons Who Have Served On Duncan City Council

Douglas William Barker, D.S.M. – City Councillor 1976-83. Mayor of Duncan, 1983-86.
Gordon M. Berry – City Councillor 1970-76
Robert Keddie Cairns – City Councillor 1942-43, 1947-56, 1959-62
James McLeod Campbell – City Councillor 1912-14,1916,1918-19,1925. Also served as Reeve of North Cowichan, 1907
Wilfred Taylor Corbishley – City Councillor 1929-36
Herbert William Dickie – City Councillor 1919-22, 1925-28
James Grieg – City Councillor 1940-43. Mayor of Duncan 1936-1939.
Alexander Stuart Hadden – City Councillor 1923-24
John Homer – City Councillor 1971-85
Walter Maxwell Hudson – we’re currently confirming the dates he served on City Council
Joseph Kerrone – City Councillor 1956-60
James Farley LeQuesne – City Councillor 1947-58
Martin Kurtas Lukaitis – City Councillor 1967-2002
Charles William O’Neill – City Councillor 1917
Ken Paskin – City Councillor 1972-74, 1981-82. Mayor of Duncan 1974-79. A member of Malahat Lodge, No. 107
Thomas Pitt – City Councillor 1914, 1922-24. Mayor of Duncan 1914-1916, 1924
Harold Fairfax Prevost – City Councillor 1919-21. Mayor of Duncan 1929-1935
George Henry Savage – City Councillor 1937-42. Mayor of Duncan 1943-1946
Ormond Towers Smythe – City Councillor 1912-14, 1920-22, 1924. Mayor of Duncan 1914-1916, 1923

Ormond Towers Smythe, Mayor of Duncan 1914-16, 1923 (photo courtesy of City of Duncan)

J. Islay Mutter, Mayor of Duncan and Reeve of North Cowichan (photo courtesy of City of Duncan)

George Henry Savage, Worshipful Master of Temple Lodge, No.33 in 1923. Mayor of Duncan 1943-46 (photo courtesy of City of Duncan)

Ken Paskin, Mayor of Duncan 1974-1979. He was a member of Malahat Lodge, No. 107 in Mill Bay, B.C. (photo courtesy of City of Duncan)

Douglas William Barker, Mayor of Duncan, (photo courtesy of City of Duncan)