San Felipe de Austin

Texas Country Reporter spotlighted the San Felipe Township and museum in their 50th Season premiere Dec 4-5, 2021. 

Check out a nicely done 10 minute video about our neighbors and our history.

Texas Country Reporter

Restoration Fundraising Letter

 

Additional News:

The WM of San Felipe Lodge has requested to use our lodge room on October 21st for their stated meeting.  If you are available it would be a good time for a Lodge Visit.

Olive Branch You Tube Video

 Check it out!

Photos from Olive Branch April 2021 Meeting

Once again  Olive Branch Lodge No. 26 met in the upper room for their stated meeting. There was a MAJOR difference for this meeting, however.  Thanks to the generosity of San Felipe Lodge No. 239 in Sealy, the original chairs and officers chairs of the Lodge have been returned for use in the lodge room. See the photos at the end for more close up photos of the chairs.  

We extend our thanks to the brethren of San Felipe Lodge No. 239 as we work to restore the original lodge room back into as near an 1840s "period correct” Masonic Lodge room as we may.  

Olive Branch Meeting Report, Jan. 9, 2021

Masons are builders.  Freemasons are builders of "community", a word from Latin communis  meaning "common, public, general, shared by all or many."   Freemasons are also taught to be good neighbors and at the Jan. 9, 2021, stated meeting of Olive Branch Lodge No. 26 we were offered the opportunity to be good neighbors.

Who ARE Those Masked Men?

The officers of Olive Branch Lodge No. 26. A.F. & A.M. were duly installed at the regular stated meeting of July 11, 2020.

Congratulations to our newly installed Master, James Muller.

The purpose of Olive Branch No. 26 includes being a a part of a fraternity of good men, Freemasonry, who are linked together by honorable and indissoluble bonds, to accomplish noble purposes, eschewing all interest in factional politics and sectarian religion and free from the dictation of both.  

To advance the moral and social interest of our membership; to foster good citizenship, honest industry and upright living;  to cultivate the exercise of charity in its best and broadest sense; to assist the widows and orphans of its deceased members;  to stimulate friendship, harmony and brotherly love and generally to promote, in its own way, the happiness of mankind.

We encourage the investigation of History – The history of Olive Branch Lodge, Steven F. Austin’s Lodge of Union, the town of San Felipe de Austin, and especially the restoration, preservation of Freemasonry and its impact upon the locality of San Felipe, as well as both Masonic and Texas History.

We support the preservation and restoration of the Masonic Lodge room at San Felipe with the painted starry sky and all seeing eye; potentially one of the oldest Masonic Lodge rooms extant in Texas.

Our next meeting is scheduled for October 10, 2020.

As the suspects were all masked, we find it difficult to identify them in these photos.

🙂

A few members attended in period dress.

October 12, 2019 Stated Meeting

We couldn’t have asked for a more glorious day for a stated meeting! We had an eventful day full of fellowship, good food, and fresh air.  
We opened the day with a delicious lunch of BBQ and beans with some delicious chocolate desserts.  Thanks to Vernon Holguin who served as "chief cook and bottle washer” on this day.  
It was G  o  o  o oood food as always Vernon.

The atmosphere was truly fraternal as nearly 20 brethren and visitors learned more about Olive Branch, enjoyed each other’s company, investigated the upper room, or just relaxed and unwound.  My only regret of the day is that there was so much relaxation, visitation, fellowship, and work going on I forgot to take photos!  I will try to do better in the future.
😎

Stated Meeting, Installation, Community Builder, and Open House

At our stated meeting on July 13 we conducted our usual business.  It was reported that a project for the restoration of the "upper room" was underway and that a donor to provide funds for the project may be available. A committee was appointed to continue the work on behalf of the lodge.  The project to restore one of the oldest extant Masonic Lodge rooms in Texas may bring the upper room to its former glory.  We'll report more as the project develops, but it looks like our long held desire to preserve and restore the upper room may be getting ever closer.

We also held an open meeting for the installation of officers, the presentation of a community builder award and to hold an open house.  The Community Builder Award was presented to Pastor Joel McMahon of San Felipe United Methodist Church by WM Vernon Holguin.

The Community Builder Award was presented to Pastor McMahon for his current leadership of San Felipe United Methodist Church.  We also extended our gratitude to the entire congregation of San Felipe UMC for their support of Olive Branch Lodge and our desire to assist in brining the upper room back to a useful part of the community.

JULY 13, 2019 – Stated Meeting; Installation of Officers; Community Builder; Open House

Our stated meeting in July will be eventful!  Plan to bring your friends and your cameras for photo ops!

• We will be having our regular stated meeting.  
• We will be having installation of officers for 2019-20.  
• We will be presenting a Community Builder Award in open meeting.  
• We will be conducting an open house and displaying our lodge room, and the upper room, with explanatory placards.

It will be quite the event!  Bring your friends, bring your cameras, and come enjoy the day.  As is our lodge tradition, wear your Victorian era outfits if you desire, or just come and enjoy the day with us whether your have period clothing or not.

Our anticipated schedule will be:

April 13, 2019 Meeting Summary

As we had hoped, the weather for our April 13th meeting at San Felipe de Austin was glorious! We had an eventful day and if you missed it you missed out on a good deal of learning.

The "upper room" of the church building was unlocked and we were able to take in the progress made thus far on restoring the upper room to a more usable condition.  The air conditioning unit and ductwork have been removed from the old lodge room, the flooring repaired with the original flooring, and window shades installed to prevent further deterioration due to light.  The improvements stimulated our imaginations for how our lodge might be of service in helping to restore the lodge room to a more original appearance for limited service.

At noon we had a delicious lunch of rice and stew, with cooked carrots, rolls, tea and a cake that was highly praised.  The lodge was then set up for work and for the reception of our District Deputy Grand Master (DDGM).   

Secrets of the Castle, Building a Medieval Castle in a Modern World

Secrets of the Castle, is a British factual television series that first broadcast on BBC Two from 18 November to 17 December 2014.  In the series, the team takes part in the medieval construction project at Guédelon Castle in Treigny, France.  

The castle construction site shown in the series is Guédelon Castle in France, a 25-year experimental archaeology project where a castle is being built using only the techniques, tools and materials from the Middle Ages.

Recently The Secrets of the Castle, was published on YouTube.  I have listed the episodes with their links below.  These videos offer some useful insight into our free mason ancestors. and the Freemason will recognize much of what is discussed by the masons building this medieval castle.  

We Attract What We Are

In the article Mind the Gap in the January 2019 issue of Knight Templar Magazine, brother Matt Nelson shares some astute observations that Masons should consider.

"We attract what we are, not what we want.  If we are an organization of motivated, influential, good men, we will attract the same.  If we are simply another social club that promotes pseudo-elitists to fulfill egotistical goals, that is exactly the kind of man that will knock on our doors."

"Men have an idea of what Masonry is already, and they have expectations.  If we do not help set these expectations, but simply demand that the candidates appreciate the ceremonies, they will leave disappointed."

Jan. 12, 2019 Stated Meeting

Olive Branch Lodge No. 26 will hold its next stated meeting on Saturday, January 12, 2019. 

Please come for food and fellowship at noon.

It is reported that some five brothers from Brookshire who have an interest in our Lodge and in the history at San Felipe are planning to visit at our meeting on Saturday.  

We should have a good attendance this weekend! Y'all come!

Masonic Podcasts

by Kevin Main,
Committee on Masonic Education and Service

If you already listen to podcasts or you are used to listening to talk radio, I highly recommend the Fort Worth Lodge #148 Podcast.  You can stream or download the latest episodes and access their show archives at http://fortworth148.libsyn.com/. and the podcast is also available on iTunes and Stitcher.

San Felipe, Secrets Unveiled

The book San Felipe, Secrets Unveiled is now available for free download!  Just click on the Secrets Unveiled tab above.

Many founding fathers of the Republic of Texas were Freemasons. This book explored the role that pioneer Methodism and Freemasonry played in the birth of the Republic of Texas. 

In 1837, more than a decade before Texas entered statehood, historic San Felipe Church was built as an exercise of new spiritual freedom, giving birth to Texas’ oldest continuing Methodist congregation. The upper room, above the tiny sanctuary, houses the most astounding examples of early Texas artwork and was home to the community's Masonic Lodge.  This upper room was the stimulus for this book.

October 13, 2018 Meeting

We had a wonderful meeting and welcomed our DDGM Butch Giles for his second official visit. Several of our members were in period historical costuming.  After a delicious lunch furnished by WM Vernon Holguin (aka Sam Houston), and the conduct of our meeting, we had a reading for our historical presentation A Lodge of Union by the "San Felipe Players"

The presentation is based upon the minutes of the first ever recorded Freemasonic Meeting in Texas in 1828.

Installation of Officers

There will be a called meeting for installation of officers July 18, 2015 10:00 AM. 

See the lodge meetings tab for location.

Olive Branch Lodge No. 26: Meeting July 11, 2015

At our July 11, 2015, meeting we enjoyed the company of our DDGM and several visitors.  It was announced that installation of officers would be held July 18.