The Formation of the Grand Lodge of Alaska

by: James A. Williams, P.G.M.

Presented to Walter F. Meier Lodge of Research No. 281

Seattle, Washington

June 23, 1988

After having received my Degrees and being a Mason in Alaska for 12 years, my first Grand Lodge impression came in 1959 as I walked up St. Helens Avenue in Tacoma and saw "Welcome to the Grand Lodge of Washington" on the marquee of the theater in the Masonic Temple. Immediately I began asking why Alaska was not included in the name of the Grand Lodge. I was told that was the original name and, for reasons I don't remember, it could not be changed. The desire was born right there to somehow get better recognition for the Alaska Lodges. It took only 22 years. I am sure, however, that there were other Alaska Masons ahead of me who had the same desire.

Two or three years later, as the Grand Lodge team was visiting my home in Juneau, I learned from PGM Matt Hill that Alaska was open territory for Masonry, and that a Lodge in Alaska could legally disassociate itself from the Grand Lodge of Washington and join another Jurisdiction if it so desired. A light came on. This meant that the way was clear for us to form our own Grand Lodge, if we could do it. Various efforts were made through the following years to determine how and whether to proceed. I was usually one of the leaders in those efforts.

However, MWGM Milt Poe issued an edict in 1972 which forbid further action toward forming an Alaska Grand Lodge except under nearly impossible conditions. In 1973, MWGM Bill Horn alleviated the terms of GM Poe's edict to a certain extent, though his terms were also unattainable. Those edicts slowed us up a bit, but we continued to work and hope.

The Alaska Masonic Research Association (AMRA) was organized in June 1976 to investigate Alaska Grand Lodge possibilities more seriously than the previous efforts. MWGM Fred Sandoz gave AMRA the official sanction of the Grand Lodge of Washington and authorized it to proceed on July 25, 1976. On June 18, 1980, the Grand Lodge of Washington passed by an overwhelming majority a resolution stating that it had "no objection to the formation of a Grand Lodge of F. & A. M. of Alaska."

From its inception in 1976, AMRA met formally twice each year, once in Washington at Grand Lodge time in June, and again in Alaska in February. The Grand Lodge team always favored us with a visit at our February meetings, giving seminars and other help, and encouraging us generally in our aim toward forming our own Grand Lodge. Many interim AMRA meetings were also held. We worked up a Code, which we largely copied from Washington's. We planned procedures, ritual, etc., similar to those of Washington's to be sure that the Grand Lodge of Washington would recognize us first when we finally would be able to form.

A tremendous amount of time and work was spent on correspondence, telephoning, billing for and collecting AMRA dues, distributing information, planning meetings, and polling the members of the Lodges, mostly by myself as AMRA Secretary-Treasurer.

In spite of some serious opposition, we seemed to be gathering momentum steadily up to 1980 except for our financial needs. As the work progressed, we realized more and more that we would not be able to attain our original financial goal within a reasonable time. The money we thought we could accumulate by various means simply was not available. We finally came to realize that if we were to form a Grand Lodge within the next few years, we would not be able to provide the usual Grand Lodge amenities such as a Grand Secretary's salary, fulltime Grand Lodge office help, reasonably adequate travel and expense allowances for the Grand Lodge officers, travel expenses for Lodge Representatives coming to the Grand Lodge sessions, or coverage of visiting dignitaries' expenses. However, the AMRA Brothers were of the opinion that we could and would foot our own bills for travel, etc., until the financial picture improved, and that we should move ahead.

We took the plunge at our June 1979 meeting in Spokane and voted to form a Grand Lodge in February 1980 if a majority of the 19 Alaskan Lodges should vote "yes" at that meeting. A vote of 10 Lodges to 9 was obtained at the February 1980 meeting in Soldotna. We then decided to delay the formation for another year so as to allow the negative Lodges a year within which to reconsider and perhaps decide to join the now-assured Grand Lodge of Alaska at the time of its formation in February 1981.

That decision turned out to be a near mistake. The one-year delay produced much new anxiety and uncertainty. Some of the negative Lodges mounted an effective letter-writing and phoning campaign against the formation of the new Grand Lodge which changed many minds and cast doubts among some of the positive Lodges. Members of the negative Lodges declared such things as that the "few" Lodges which would form the new Grand Lodge would force the other Lodges into the new Grand Lodge against their will and that an Alaska Grand Lodge would bankrupt some of the smaller Lodges. For a time, the number of positive Lodges shrank to eight. The negative campaign was even directed at Lodges and Grand Lodge dignitaries in Washington. The result of this was that much wrong information and confusion were widely spread. Even the Masonic Tribune was victimized into printing false information on the situation.

In my correspondence and investigations, I had learned that a Grand Lodge can be formed by as few as three Lodges in open territory and still receive fraternal recognition. When it appeared that we might not have a favorable majority of the Alaskan Lodges, a brief split occurred among the Lodge representatives in AMRA as to whether or not we should proceed if it developed that we would not have a favorable majority. Some said "no," but some of us, who had worked so long and hard on this project, were determined to forge ahead if at least three Lodges said "yes".

Another disheartening item was a letter from MWGM Wayne Sparger at a very late date telling us that because of advice from the Jurisprudence Committee, he would not give us the temporary recognition when we formed that we had been counting on.

GM Sparger's letter of January 20, 1981 stated in part that:

(1) he found it impossible for him to install our Grand Lodge officers, as we had invited him to do, (2) it was up to the new Grand Lodge, after it is formed, to prove to the Grand Lodge of Washington that the conditions of the Code requirements for recognition had been met, (3) he could see "no way" that he could give preliminary recognition to a Grand Lodge of Alaska, and (4) until the Grand Lodge of Washington officially recognizes the Grand Lodge of Alaska, members of the Washington Jurisdiction could not sit in a formal opened Grand Lodge of Alaska.

GM Sparger mentioned twice in his letter that he should "not take sides" in this matter, which shows some of the effect of the negative campaign against us.

By the time GM Sparger's letter arrived, we had long since mailed out invitations to all Western U.S. and Canadian Grand Lodges to attend the formation of our new Grand Lodge. GM Sparger's letter placed me, as the then Executive Director of AMRA, in the position of having to telephone the Grand Masters and Past Grand Masters who had responded favorably to our invitation to explain to them that the expected temporary recognition was not forthcoming; also to tell them that they might wish to change their plans to attend since we would not be recognized as we had thought. Three of them said they would come anyhow, and a fourth refused to back down from his long-standing vow that he would install us when the time came, if he were not preempted by his Grand Master.

Happily, by the time the scheduled Convention of Lodges was convened on February 3, 1981, progressive reasoning had prevailed among some of the uncertain Lodges. The delegates of ten Lodges (all with proper credentials and instructions from their Lodges) voted to proceed. It was a great moment. Loud cheering erupted after the tenth "yes." The Delegate of one negative Lodge (White Pass No. 113) then announced that his Lodge had instructed him to vote with the majority, and he changed his vote from "nay" to "aye." Another negative Lodge (Matanuska Lodge No. 293) reconsidered its stand at its Stated Communication that evening, and its Delegate reported back to the Convention with a positive vote the next day. This made a decisive majority vote of 12 Lodges to 7 in favor of forming a Grand Lodge of Alaska. The membership of those 12 Lodges was approximately 60% of the total Alaskan Lodge membership of about 3,250 Masons.

The Convention of Lodges (some called it a "Constitutional Convention") was convened in Anchorage, Alaska on February 3, 1981, pursuant to a Call and an amendment to the Call issued by Anvil Lodge No. 140 (Nome). Except for some of the committee meetings, all presentations and ceremonies during the 5 days were held in the ballroom of the Anchorage Westward-Hilton Hotel. The vote described earlier and actions related to it filled the first day. February 4th was devoted mostly to committee work on the Code, budget, and other things that would need to be done in connection with forming a new Grand Lodge. On the morning of February 5, the Convention adopted with further amendments, the Code which had been originally prepared by AMRA in 1976-77 and amended by the Convention Code/Jurisprudence Committee on the day previous.

On the afternoon of February 5, Anvil Lodge opened in Due Form. Grand Lodge officers were elected by secret ballot. Since this action by Anvil Lodge was not authorized by the Grand Lodge of Washington, and as such might be questioned later, Anvil Lodge was closed and a Lodge of Master Masons with no designation was opened for the purpose of reaffirming the election results. The following lodge officers were elected:

Grand Master - James A. Williams (124, 162)

- James A. Williams (124, 162) Deputy Grand Master - Buckley C. Hazen (162)

- Buckley C. Hazen (162) Senior Grand Warden - John C. Ingram (219, 307)

- John C. Ingram (219, 307) Junior Grand Warden - H. B. "Jack" Bentley (303, 307)

- H. B. "Jack" Bentley (303, 307) Grand Secretary - Gunnar Flygenring (303)

On February 6, the newly-elected and appointed Grand Lodge officers were installed into their respective offices in a public ceremony by the following dignitaries: