History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 109

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649

USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I > Part 109

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I will mention the names of the other brothers who have served Jamestown Lodge as exalted rulers, who gave their time and talents in bringing No. 263 to its present high standard of excellence: Henry Krieger, 1907: Lyn Johnson, 1908; H. A. Smith, 1909; Nathan Stern, 1910; Roland K. Mason, 1911 ; Robert P. Stewart, 1912; Arthur C. Wade, 1913; Frederick Dixon, 1914; Hugo Sellvine, 1915; Brother Sellvine was elected president of the State Association in 1919; Royal M. Bates, 1916; A. L. D. Campbell, 1917; James R. Heartley, 1918; and George M. Blackman, 1919. Our present exalted ruler, Rudolph Schultz, elected in 1920.

The past exalted rulers of Dunkirk Lodge, No. 922, were men who honored the office to which they were elected. They were all good Elks and have been an honor to our lodge.

The list of Elks in good standing in our county shows the number to be: Jamestown Lodge, 410; Dunkirk Lodge, 340. I am pleased to say that we have enjoyed a growth that is substantial and in line with the other orders in our county, and while our numbers are not as large as some, the quality of our membership is a source of pride and satisfaction. Our brothers are leaders in all things that pertain to good citizenship, influential in civie affairs, prominent in social life, and exemplary in their professional and business relations. The Elks of this county are loyal to the State and Nation, a support and source of strength to home, our country, and our flag. In the great World War you found all Elks true Americans, taking their places where duty called them. Patriotism makes every Elk respond to the call of his country, and we will defend with our lives the Stars and Stripes, which you will find always draped upon our altar.

Our history would not be complete without speaking of a few of the rare spirits in the whole circle of Elk- dom. They have given many years of willing service to

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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE

the order they love so well. Let us rejoice that the hand of time has not changed the hearts of Brothers Lou Heineman, Abe Goldstein, Frank Merz, Louis K. Jones, Charles C. Wilson, Dr. Frank Hunt, Al Whiting, John Hultquist, Tom Snowden, E. B. Clark, Fred Bauer, Henry Cooper, Will Bender, and many other old and faithful workers in the lodge. Time writes no wrinkles in them. His flight may silver the heart strings, but only to render their music more silvery. His touch cannot palsy their hands of friendship. The fairest sight is a friendly face, the blithest tread is a friendly pace, and the world is better because they are in the place.

There are many things I would say of the Elks in our county. How we remember the poor children at Christ- mas time, our help to the Associated Charities, our lib- eral response to our country's call for money, our Flag Day celebrations, our memorial exercises each year, our Big Brother Association, our entertainments, our cele- bration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Jamestown Lodge. Admiring friends have also seen how kindly and carefully we have cared for the sick and unfortunate brothers. They have seen how tenderly and reverently we have borne our dead to the grave, how generously we have dealt with sorrowing families left behind. Thus they honor our order, for by our lives and deeds we have won their respect and esteem.

So it is in this atmosphere of peace, prosperity and progress that I close this review, and I hug myself with the hope that it will soon be popular for every good man to be an Elk, and if he is not one he will not be popular. Charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity are what we teach,

Are deeply graven in our hearts, and held within our reach.

As Elks, as brothers and as man to man

We will practice their virtues as best we can. JOHN C. MASON.

KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS-There are four lodges of the Knights of Pythias in Chautauqua county, the first in point of seniority being Chautauqua Lodge, No. 188, which was organized in Dunkirk, July 26, 1883, by Eagle Lodge of Buffalo and Samuel Thompson, then deputy grand chancellor. The following officers were elected and installed : James A. Holstein, past chancellor ; Edgar Van Arnim, chancellor commander; John McWharf, vice-chancellor ; Samuel Shaw, prelate; Charles Zimmer- man, keeper of records and seal; James Eaton, master of finance; Henry Gawn, master of exchequer ; Herbert Hines, master-at-arms; John Anderson, inner guard; Joseph E. Holstein, outer guard; James A. Holstein, representative to the Grand Lodge.

Chautauqua Lodge was instituted with thirty-seven charter members, has initiated 236, and now has sixty- nine members in good standing. At a session of the Grand Lodge of the State, held in Dunkirk, Chautauqua Lodge had the honor of conferring the rank of knight upon Governor Charles S. Whitman, the work being done by a team picked from different lodges of the State. That convention was also pronounced one of the best held by the order in many years. Officers (1920) : Wil- liam R. Salisbury, chancellor commander ; Charles Burk- holder, vice-chancellor ; Edward Trill, prelate; James A. Holstein, keeper of records and seal; Ben A. Taylor, master of finance; John A. Foss, master of exchequer ; Henry Fick, master of work; Harry Salesbury, master- at-arms; Ernest Hoyler, inner guard; Frank Baumgart- ner, outer guard; Robert Cooper, Ernest Hoyler, Ed- ward Trill, trustees; James A. Holstein, representative to Grand Lodge. The lodge meets in Odd Fellows' Hall.

Jamestown Lodge, No. 248, the second Knights of Pythias Lodge organized in Chautauqua county, was

instituted in 1888, John A. Hultquist, chancellor com- mander. The first meeting place of the lodge was in the old Broadhead building, over the Delaney & Thorpe Com- pany, but for twenty-five years the lodge rooms were in the new Broadhead block at the corner of South Main and Harrison streets. The present hall is in the Smith & Kinne building, corner of Washington and Fourth streets. The present ( 1920) membership is 261, J. Albin Anderson, chancellor commander.

Brocton Lodge, No. 284-The records of this lodge were destroyed by fire in 1902, and some documentary history forever lost. The lodge was organized Novem- ber 22, 1889, with twenty charter members; B. S. Swet- land, chancellor commander ; Augustus Blood, vice-com- mander. The lodge has now eighty members, the 1920 roster of officers being: W. J. Barber, chancellor com- mander ; Alvin T. Hehir, vice-chancellor ; H. J. Hay- wood, prelate; Fred Fay, master of work; E. C. Ed- munds, master of exchequer; William Ogilvie, master of finance; H. M. Fleming, keeper of records and seal; Clarence Abrams, master-at-arms; W. H. Martin, inner guard; L. H. Skinner, outer guard. Twenty-six chan- cellor commanders have served Brocton Lodge since its organization : B. S. Swetland, Augustus Blood, Stewart Dean, J. J. Haight, G. I. Rossiter, George R. Pettit, C. F. Martin, William Ogilvie, Vernon Mathews, G. C. Harmon, F. C. Lewis, L. H. Fay, L. D. Sullivan, G. M. Mathews, W. N. Clark, C. E. Allen, C. W. Whitney, H. J. Russell, H. M. Fleming, G. E. McGonegal, L. A. Bigelow, W. H. Martin, J. E. Crandall, O. A. Ottaway, E. C. Harmon and Fred Fay. All of these are living with the exception of C. F. Martin (June 4, 1920).

Brocton Lodge, although not having a large member- ship, has always been in a flourishing condition, and a factor in the welfare and betterment of the village. Practically every year since organization, the lodge has conducted a lecture course, a source of village entertain- ment highly appreciated.

Crescent Lodge, No. 308, of Jamestown, was organ- ized October 31, 1891, and chartered July 28, 1892, with fifteen charter members: F. M. Stearns, George E. Case, Z. C. Reed, H. M. Smith, Fred C. Stone, C. C. Clark, F. G. Kibling, W. J. Loucks, W. H. Craven, F. C. Bush, F. H. Ribling, F. S. Marsh, W. H. Knapp, J. N. Westfall, D. C. Hale. Two of these, F. M. Stearns and H. M. Smith, are deceased, and eight of the original fifteen are yet active members of the lodge.

The organization of a second lodge of the Knights of Pythias in Jamestown was brought about through the efforts of Z. O. Reed (who was chosen the first chan- cellor commander), F. H. Ribling, F. G. Kibling, of Jamestown Lodge, No. 248, and W. J. Loucks, of June Valley Lodge, Bradford, Pennsylvania. The ceremonies of institution were conducted by June Valley Lodge in the rooms of Jamestown Lodge, No. 248. Quarters for the new lodge were found on an upper floor of the Lowry block, and a lease secured for a term of years. The arrangement of the hall was good, and Crescent Lodge enjoyed the reputation of having one of the largest and best equipped halls in the city. The lease was later transferred to the Maccabees, and Crescent Lodge leased and fitted up a hall over the Donaldson store. In 1907 the lodge purchased the building at No. 208 Pine street, where they have since been located, the first fraternal order in Jamestown to own their own home.

LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE-The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal order organized in 1888 for mutual benefit. Until 1906 the organization accomplished little, but in that year James J. Davis became a member at Crawfords- ville, Indiana, being the 247th member then in good

EAGLE TEMPLE

THE EAGLE BUILDING CO.

AERIE 110 . 816 F. O . E. JAMESTOWN, N .Y. 1912 - 1913

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ERHROT CAWCLOTET - PRESIDENT

//, LACE SECRETARY HAGLSOM NUSNY RIM THEA > URER FROD.F. VE PHILL

C.LIEB MANDEROU

VID IL LINDO II I

ROBERT B. BLA ICHARD

ROY H. COLE SAMUEL MAKE

PRANK I. CURTIS JOHN WW. FELL UI,

BUILDING

COMMITTEE

EiLIEST CAVOS OFT FRANK E WALLAC' LUNDQUIST

RYID N.

;LAJOY AND FIDLER ARCHIT SHA LES C. HAAS WVIL I

DEDICATION TABLET OF EAGLE TEMPLE

1917 1918

JAMESTOWN · AERIE NO. 816 . F.O.E-

IX HUNOR OF THE 169 MEMBERS

THIS BROTHERHOOD WHO WENT TOATH AT THE CALL OF THEIR COUNTRY TO SERVE IN THE WORLD'S VAR AND IN MEMORY OF THE BROTHERS WRC GAVE THEIN LIVES TO THE GREAT 2LOT

CLARENCE R . ANDERSON HARRY W . BENSON CLARENCE P- LEUTHE THOMAS CLYDE MOURAW NAT MCINTYRE CARL A - E - SCHOLD

EAGLE TEMPLE, JAMESTOWN, N. Y. Home of Jami. town Verie, No. 816, Fraternal order of Bases

MEMORIAL TABLET OF FRATERNAL ORDER OF EAGLES Unyered by Lt Col. Theodore Roosevelt, Sunday, March 7, 1920

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443

LOYAL ORDER OF MOOSE

standing in the entire order. Since 1907 he has been director-general of the order, and has seen its member- ship grow until in 1919 its members numbered more than 550,000. Like other fraternal orders, the Moose Lodge has a sick and funeral benefit, but its great benevolence is Mooscheart, a colony, "truly a home and more," which welcomes to its general hospitality all dependent sons and daughters of deceased members of the Loyal Order of Moose.

Briefly, the Mooseheart colony idea for the destitute children and wives of members of the Loyal Order of Moose was conceived by James J. Davis and his asso- ciates in 1912. An ideal location was found on Fox river, thirty-five miles west of Chicago and about five miles north of Aurora, Illinois, where 1,000 acres were purchased, and in July, 1913, Mooseheart was dedicated. Since the opening of the school in 1013 and to the fall of 1019, nearly 1,000 boys and girls have been students at Mooseheart. Twenty-two vocational and full academic and commercial courses are features.

Mooseheart maintains today within its hospitable borders. 700 orphans who are housed, clothed, fed and trained by the order, each member wherever located pay- ing a small stated sum annually for the home. The average age of the children is nine and a half years; the average age of graduates eighteen years. The scope of Mooseheart is in direct proportion to the number of members of the Loyal Order of Moose, its benefits increasing with the prosperity of the order.

Jamestown Lodge, No. 105. Loyal Order of Moose, was organized in April, 1909, and has enjoyed a career of unbroken prosperity. The lodge enjoys the distinc- tion of being the first lodge in Jamestown or vicinity to provide its members in their own building all the advan- tages of both a lodge and a modern country club. The lodge purchased four acres on the outskirts of James- town, overlooking Lake Chautauqua, and here built a splendid country club house for members. This marked a distinct departure in fraternity activities, providing as it does all outdoor athletics except golf, advantages never before offered by any fraternal organization or city lodge. This feature of Moose membership has been a substantial success, and is now being imitated. James- town Lodge has 600 members, regular meetings being held weekly in the club house and lodge room at Celoron. The Woman's Loyal Moose Circle also meets bi-monthly at the Moose Club house.

Officers of the lodge, 1920: Louis E. Ruden, dictator ; C. F. Waters, secretary : Harold King, past dictator ; Lawrence Johnson, vice-dictator ; B. A. Reed, treasurer ; William Wateridge, prelate.

Westfield Lodge, No. 118, Loyal Order of Moose, was organized in Westfield about 1908, J. H. Prendergast the first dictator, the charter members numbering over twenty-five. The present membership is 178. S. C. Car- penter, dictator ; W. G. Whitwood, past dictator.

The lodge has three orphans being educated at Moose- heart, Past Dictator Whitwood representing the lodge as delegate to Mooseheart in June, 1920. The lodge room and club house is in the Fenner building on Port- age street, the club house being the centre of Moose social activities. The lodge is in a prosperous condition and well managed.

Silver Creek Lodge, No. 1307, was organized at Silver Creek, April 12, 1913, with fifty charter members. This number has since increased to 168, and the lodge is in a healthy, prosperous condition. A large and commodious private residence has been purchased at No. 259 Central avenue, completely remodeled and converted into a modern club house and lodge room that meets the re- quirements of this rapidly growing order.

Dunkirk Lodge, No. 89, was organized in Dunkirk, March 20, 1900, with about 200 charter members. The present membership numbers 275, and the lodge is in a prosperous condition. Dunkirk Lodge has a fluctuating number of members. as the great industries of the city are prosperous or otherwise. The club and lodge rooms at No. 337 Main street are commodious and well adapted to the purposes for which they are intended. Arthur G. Gunther is the present dictator : Paul A. Weimer, secre- tary.

THE EAGLE TEMPLE OF JAMESTOWN-The Eagle Tem- ple is the home of the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the acknowledged civic center of Jamestown. The story of the Temple and its varied activities is a record of the fraternal, civic and social life of the city during the past five years.

Jamestown Aerie, No. 816, Fraternal Order of Eagles, was the youngest and largest fraternal body in the com- munity when it constructed the Eagle Temple during 1912 and 1913. The Brotherhood was without money, but it had faith, courage, enthusiasm, and a manifest dis- play of the cooperative spirit. Every resolution sub- mitted to initiate the Eagle Temple project and to carry it to a successful conclusion was adopted by unanimous vote. This unanimous vote did not mean that there were no differences of opinion, but it did imply that, as a body of free men, full discussion was followed by the acquies- cence of every element of the Brotherhood in the decision reached.

The charter of Jamestown Aerie was granted by the National Eagles, and presented in 1904 at the temporary headquarters in the Broadhead block of South Main street. The sixty members of 1904 had increased to one thousand one hundred when the Brotherhood marched into the Eagle Temple in January, 1914. During the interval, the Brotherhood had headquarters in the Opera House block, and for a number of years it occupied the adequate club premises on the top floor of the Arcade building. The removal of Jamestown Aerie to the Arcade building was the beginning of its fraternal prosperity and it marked a widening of its civic activities.

The response of the young men of the city to the attractive club rooms in the Arcade building convinced the leadership that the new generation desired fully equipped club rooms and an auditorium for various social and intellectual activities. During the year 1911 and the earlier part of 1912, the membership was about seven hundred fifty ; the president intimated that when the roll was increased to one thousand members a temple project would be initiated. The response of the rank and file was so immediate that it became necessary to keep this promise by starting work on the Temple during the sum- mer of 1912, and at least two years prior to the date which the leaders had in mind when they authorized the president to make the particular announcement. The cornerstone of the project on Washington street was laid on the first Sunday in November in the year 1912, in the presence of a large body of citizens, following a parade of the Brotherhood from the Arcade building to the Temple site. The work of construction continued during the year 1913, and on January 15. 1914, the Aerie marched from the Arcade building club rooms for the last time into its occupancy of the Temple. The Temple was opened and dedicated with appropriate ceremonial on the night of January 15, 1914, and since that time the structure has been the center, not only of the fra- ternal and social activities of Jamestown Aerie, but of the many local patriotic and intellectual events pivoting upon the World War.

It is not timely to trace the many financial and legal

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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE

difficulties which Jamestown Aerie faced in the promo- tion and completion of this Temple project. The Fra- ternal Order of Eagles of that day was without financial and legal standing in the eyes of the laws of New York. Unlike the Masons, the Odd Fellows and many other his- toric bodies, the Brotherhood was not authorized to take title to real property under the laws of the State. To mect this legal difficulty and because the Brotherhood had faith but no funds, the officers were authorized to procure the incorporation of the Eagle Building Com- pany as a business corporation. Provision was made for the issuance of a sufficient amount of common and pre- ferred capital stock to provide for the commencement of work on the construction of the building. All of the common capital stock, except the individual shares neces- sary to qualify the officers of the Aerie as directors of the building corporation, were issued to the trustees of the Brotherhood in order to give the Aerie control of the corporation. Funds were provided by the issuance of preferred capital stock to the members. One of the first drives in the city, which became so common during and after the war, was conducted by the Eagles in order to effect the sale of the preferred capital stock. Within a year after the completion of the Temple, the benevolent orders law of the State of New York was amended, giving the subordinate bodies of the Fraternal Order of Eagles the right to take title to real property through their trustees. During the interval, a trust mortgage was placed upon the completed building, and the preferred stock held by the individual members was exchanged for bonds issued under this trust mortgage. Once the pre- ferred stock had been retired through being exchanged for bonds, the Aerie practically eliminated the common stock, and the Eagle Temple, then vested in the Eagle Building Company as a business corporation, was con- veyed to the trustees of Jamestown Aerie in accordance with the promise made at the time the project was initi- ated. The deed of conveyance by the building corpora- tion to the Aerie provided, among other things, that no liquor shall be sold upon the premises, and it created a board of directors having supervision of the business and outside activities of the Temple apart from its distinc- tive fraternal features.

It required many and varied activities to utilize the talents and sustain the interest of the increasing member- ship of Jamestown Aerie. The Temple became the young men's club of the city. Both the Aerie and the Eagle Degree Team conduct dances in the auditorium from week to week. A Women's Auxiliary of the Eagles was organized, holding bi-monthly meetings with a supper and a dance, and becoming the nucleus of the annual carnival which has been a source of profit and interest to the organization. The Eagle Military Band has won a recognized place in the city. Monthly socials were held; minstrel shows presented, and, in addition, an increasing number of outside organizations rented the spacious audi- torium from night to night. These outside activities were not only a source of interest to the particular organization using the auditorium, but the large membership of James- town Aerie found itself represented in every church, civic and fraternal body in the city, and thus members came to feel that their Temple and auditorium was a source of increasing usefulness to themselves and their fellow-citizens.

The Eagle Temple was started and completed during the days that Theodore Roosevelt was leading the Pro- gressive movement in American politics and economics. While the Brotherhood can not and has not taken any part in politics, it has not been blind to the intellectual opportunities offered by that movement. During the early days of the Temple, the Progressive National Com- mittee sent Hon. Bainbridge Colby, late Secretary of

State of the United States, to the auditorium platform for a lecture. The Progressive National Committee and its propaganda ceased, but the coming of Mr. Colby im- pressed upon the leadership the possibility of using the Temple as a forum for impartial instruction and dis- cussion. Thus the Eagle Temple Sunday afternoon lec- tures were started in 1916 and have continued since that time. During this period, one hundred and thirty repre- sentatives of the various civic, patriotic and economic organizations of the United States, together with the spokesmen of foreign embassies, have presented their views on the domestic and world situation from the plat- form of the Temple. The Fraternal Order of Eagles in Jamestown has become an inclusive, not an exclusive, organization, and all the people of the city have been invited to hear these lectures. The educational program of the Temple has become a fixed policy ; three years ago the program was broadened by adding a brief address on some timely topic at each meeting of the Aerie, and dur- ing the past two winters, the Eagle Temple Concert Course has pleased the members and their friends.

An examination of the files of the newspapers during the period of the World War will show that the Temple was the center of those home events which sustained the morale of the front lines. The several Red Cross, Young Men's Christian Association and similar patri- otic drives were conducted on the auditorium floor. Dinners were given to the departing draft contingents and receptions tendered to the soldiers returning from France. A liberty loan banquet was held in the audi- torium, and the Board of Commerce membership drive of 1918 centered at the Temple.

The increasing place of the Eagle Temple as a civic center brought many well known organizations and dis- tinguished men to the site. The New York State Grange held its annual convention at the Temple, to be followed by the New York State Federation of Labor. Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came there with Senator Frederick M. Davenport in October, 1914, to address his fellow- citizens and he was followed in March, 1920, by his son, Lieutenant-Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, who made an address in connection with the dedication of the memo- rial tablet of the Aerie to those members who died in service during the World War.

The entrance of the United States into the World War brought the conflict home to this Aerie in a definite way. The secretary calculated that the average age of the membership was twenty-seven years. The possible con- tinuance of the conflict meant that the entire membership, except the married men with dependents, would be liable to military service. Careful plans were made for main- taining the Brotherhood and the Temple project in view of that possibility. A special committee formulated and induced the Grand Aerie sitting at Buffalo to establish a system of insurance under which the life of every member entering the military service was insured in favor of his mother, in the sum of $1,000. A board was organized to assist members in the preparation of their draft ques- tionnaires. The Aerie led in the organization of a local Smoke Fund. Tobacco was provided for every depart- ing soldier and to the boys in the camps and in France.

When the young soldiers returned, the Aerie tendered them a rousing reception and banquet, and for several weeks the temporary headquarters of the American Legion were located in the club rooms.

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History of Chautauqua County, New York, and its people, Volume I, Part 109

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc. Number of Pages: 649

Author: Downs, John Phillips, 1853- ed. [from old catalog]; Hedley, Fenwick, Y., joint ed. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Boston, New York [etc.] American historical society, inc.
Number of Pages: 649