CHAPTER IV
LEVELS OF TIME 1900-1935 According to the minutes of the Lodge secretaries, the years from 1900 to 1935 were busy and profitable ones. The membership increased from seventy-eight to one hundred sixty-eight.

Several improvements in the Lodge hall and furniture and equipment were made from 1905 to 1910. A new tyler room, a small banquet hall and a new stairway leading down to the street on the northeast were added. A new set of kerosene lamps, a new wood and coal stove, two columns with terrestrial and celestial globes were purchased. It was agreed in 1907 to purchase robes, aprons and gloves for use in giving the degrees. This added much to make the work more impressive to the candidates taking the three degrees.

In 1915 a change was made in lighting from kerosene to gas lamps. In 1916 the annual dues were raised from $2.00 to $3.00. A new American flag was purchased for the hall in 1916 and a service flag was added in 1917 for the veterans of World War I. A new set of by-laws was prepared by a committee of the Lodge, reported and approved at the stated meeting on June 2, 1917. The initiation fee for the three degrees was raised from $20.00 to $30.00 (Article VIII).

Several of our Masons were called into the service of their country in World War I, 1914-1919. These men were: Iliff Boaz, Hazael Blackwell, Kenneth Blackwell, Raymond Brown, Joseph Cook, Harvey Deer, Mark Demaree, Conrad Hamilton, George R. Hamilton, Jesse Hollandbeck, Russell Paris, Earl Perry, Donald Robards, Cecil Selch, Elmer Thompson and Lester Utterback. There may have been others whose names were not listed in the records of the Lodge.

In 1920 Public Service of Indiana extended its electric power line south from Bargersville to Providence and to Union Township High School. Electric power and lights marked a great improvement for the Lodge and entire community. About this time, the Lodge purchased a stereo-lantern and slides to better illustrate the work and lectures of the three degrees.

A story is recalled of the first home lighted with electricity in Providence. Aunt Louisa Blackwell, the grandmother of Hazael and Kenneth Blackwell, was past ninety years of age and lived at that time in the house now owned by Otto and Mae Sloop. Aunt Louisa was born when only the light of an open fireplace or candles provided illumination, even before the kerosene lamp came into use. She was honored by being the first to have electric lights turned on in her home.

In 1929 a year-end banquet for Masons and their families and a public installation of officers was held. A good program of music and talks was enjoyed by all. This custom has been followed through the years, the early meetings being held in the Union Township High School gym and then moved to the banquet hall in the new Lodge building in 1936.

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Last update November 9, 1999.