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.

At the 1840s church complex where we have met for the past 16 years since Olive Branch Lodge resumed labor after its demise 160 years ago, an outdoor funeral for a demised fire fighter had been scheduled on the same day.  People were driving in for the funeral from great distances and would be in need of the restrooms in the fellowship hall  where we meet.  There was a potential that our tiled meeting might pose an inconvenience upon weary, grieving travelers.

Lodge members put their heads together and determined that the best good neighbor solution would be to move the tiled portion of our meeting into the upper room where the previous lodge originally met until 1910.  So the fellowship building remained open for the use of the facilities by funeral attendees while we were able to meet in seclusion.

The upper lodge room is a long unused space that had become more like an attic than a meeting room.  Much work has been done to restore this historic lodge room back to its former state, but MUCH work remains to be done.  Nevertheless members jumped in and rearranged benches and other stored items out of the way along the walls, they swept the floor to get much of the dust out of the way, they moved lodge furniture and paraphernalia from the fellowship hall to the upper room and in a little under a half and hour we had a functional Masonic Lodge room in which to conduct our tiled meeting away from the funeral service while still leaving facilities available for the use of ourselves and our neighbors.  

In the vernacular of the business world it was a win-win situation.  Everyone's needs were met and every one was content with the outcome.  Included are some photos taken before and after the tiled meeting highlighting the set up of our Masonic Lodge in the historic upper room.

We hope to have work days this spring to clean and prepare the upper room for regular community use and we hope in the coming year to work to restore the painted eye in the east by having professionals restore the image to its original condition.  We have other plans in the works as well.

Come join in supporting Olive Branch Lodge No. 26, a 175 year old lodge which has had a longer lifespan in San Felipe than it had in its original township of Cincinnati, Texas. We have a number of projects planned to assist in bringing historical Texas Freemasonry back to life in San Felipe.