A historian documenting the 150-year history of the La Grande Masonic Lodge No. 41 would have a treasure trove of material to work with.

For starters, there is the west wall of the lodge’s dining room, which has about 140 framed photos of past lodge leaders, known as masters. Then there is the lodge’s safe, which has volumes listing each of the more than 1,000 members the organization has had and a copy of the original charter.

Still, a researcher would find that a portion of the lodge’s history is obscured.

The minutes of its earliest meetings are written in cursive so elegant some passages take painstaking patience to read. The decorative handwriting reflects a time when letters were treated as ornaments, an era of distinctive style, one which will be revisited at the La Grande Masonic Lodge Saturday.

The public will have a chance to learn about, and reflect upon, La Grande Masonic Lodge’s early history during a ceremony commemorating its 150th anniversary. The ceremony, free and open to the public, begins at 2 p.m. at La Grande Masonic Lodge No. 41, 1303 1/2 Adams Ave. A light buffet will be served after the ceremony.

Those set to speak include Myles McMillan, the state’s Masonic leader as the grand master of Masons of Oregon.

The significance of the event is not lost upon Butch Vermillion, secretary of the La Grande Masonic Lodge.

“It will not happen again in my lifetime. I am looking forward to it,” Vermillion said.

The story of La Grande Masonic Lodge No. 41 dates back to Aug. 13,1866, when its first meeting was conducted. It became Oregon’s 41st Masonic Lodge sometime between July 6 and July 20, 1867, according to Vermillion.

“It was one of the first Masonic Lodges in Eastern Oregon,” Vermillion said.

Canyon City and Umatilla are among the few Eastern Oregon cities to have a Masonic lodge before La Grande, Vermillion said.

The lodge originally conducted its meetings in the second story of a building on B or C street in south La Grande. The La Grande Masonic Lodge moved to its present location in 1890. It met in a wood framed structure there for a decade before its current brick building was completed in 1900.

The fraternal organization, for the past 117 years, has been housed on the second floor of its building. Below it are three businesses: Beaver State Computer Services, Alegre Travel and JCPenney, all of which lease their space from the La Grande Masonic Lodge. JCPenney, a tenant since 1930, will move out this summer because it is set to close.

Vermillion said every effort is being made to find a new tenant for the JCPenney space at 1309 Adams Ave.

“We are working hard to find a new tenant. I am hopeful,” he said.

It is impossible to miss the large storefronts, but easy to walk past the single door next to Beaver State Computers leading to the La Grande Masonic Lodge.

The inauspicious entrance is misleading for the facilities of the La Grande Masonic Lodge are striking. The centerpiece is a ballroom with a stage and comfortable seating for up to 350 people. There is also the dining room, which seats up to 60, and other meeting rooms.

All portions of the Masonic lodge’s facilities appear well maintained and are in immaculate condition.

“They have done a nice job of maintaining the building. They are very proud of the building and there is a lot to be proud of,” said Brian Lackey, of the Cove Masonic Lodge, who is the state’s official Masonic historian.

The La Grande Masonic Lodge has 80 men, down from its peak of between 300 and 400 about six decades ago, Vermillion said.

Membership of all fraternal organizations is declining in part because young people have so many more competing interests today, Vermillion said.

See complete story in Monday’s Observer