Masonic Temple

COMMUNITY CENTRE SOON TO CRUMBLE – RESIDENT RECALLS BEGINNING OF TEMPLE

            A Cranbrook landmark, going back to 1910, will soon fall to the wreckers hammers.

            The building to be demolished is the Masonic Temple on 11^th Ave. South, a two story wooden structure with great supporting, wooden, Corinthian pillars that once was “the” centre for social activities in the community.

            One person who remembers Cranbrook before the building was built is Harry Voisey, a onetime Worshipful Master of Cranbrook Lodge No. 34, Ancient Free & Accepted Masons [AF&AM].

            Mr. Voisey first came to Cranbrook in the spring of 1907, but did not settle here until Sept. 1919.  From 1926 to 1935 he, his wife and daughter lived in the building while he was caretaker.

            Recently, Mr. Voisey was detailed by the members to sift through 73 years of correspondence and records stored in the basement of the building to compile a history of masonry in this area.

            The lodge was organized in 1900 and meetings were held in the home of “Judge” John Leask, a tailor who ultimately became a magistrate.  His house stood where the present Overwaitea store is located.

            There were 16 charter members, and the first Worshipful master was Alexander Moffatt.  Today there are 140 members and the Worshipful master is Ben Langton.

            Records dealing with the actual construction of the building are scanty, but it is believed it was built by William Johnson, a contractor who also built the old provincial government building which stood on the present Mall site.

            “The first meeting held in the building,” Mr. Voisey said, “was in July 1910.  At that time the provincial Grand Lodge held its sessions here.  This was the only time the grand Lodge has met in Cranbrook.”

            “At that time,” he continued, “200 delegates would attend the Grand Lodge meeting.  Today there would be between 1200 and 1500, so the meetings are held down at the coast.”

            Mr. Voisey’s records show that the Temple was built by a debenture company composed of Lodge members, and the cornerstone was laid in Nov. 1909.  The debenture company turned the title over to the Lodge in 1935, when Mr. Voisey was serving his term as Worshipful Master.

            At this time a holding company, formed under the Friendly Society Act, and operating under the name Masonic Temple Association took over control.

            The board of directors of this society decided to remove the verandah, and this resulted in the moving of the original cornerstone.

            “We found buried under the (p9) cornerstone copies of the old Cranbrook Herald, the Fort Steele Prospector and a few coins.  All that was left of the newspapers were scraps of paper, but the coins were replaced under the cornerstone when it was replaced.

            “When the temple was built,” Mr. Voisey said, “the members stuck their necks out.  The dues and initiation fees were low, and this was, and is, the sole source of income for the Lodge, other than building rentals.

            “They had high hopes.  The lower floor boasted the only hardwood floor in Cranbrook,” he reminisced.

            Since the days of William Attridge the first Worshipful Master to sit in the Temple, a great many changes in Cranbrook have taken place.

            At the time of opening, a house stood where the former Green Clinic is located.  Other houses stood where the Mount Baker Hotel is now, and behind was the Canadian Hotel, operated by Joe Brault, now the York Hotel.

            “Now,” says Mr. Voisey, “the overhead is too high, and the building stands in an expensive location.  Larger and perhaps better accommodation is available to different organizations, and very little casual revenue comes in.”

            The last meeting of the Lodge in the venerable building was held on the third Thursday in June [June 21^st] but that does not mean that Masonry in Cranbrook is at an end.

            Further meetings of the Masons, the Royal Arch and the Preceptory will be conducted in the Oddfellows Hall.

            The Order of the Eastern Star, formed in 1948, will meet in the Elks Hall in the future, and Jobs Daughters, founded in 1963 will meet in the Royal Canadian Legion Hall.