Union's Masonic building, 125 W. Center St., in Union, which was constructed in 1898, includes a retail space on the first floor and the meeting place of Union's Masons, Grande Ronde Valley Lodge 56, on the second floor. A celebration of the 150th anniversary of Grande Ronde Valley Lodge 56, which was founded in 1872, was held on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023.

UNION — The Union Masonic lodge, officially known as the Grande Ronde Valley Lodge 56, was not ahead of its time in 1872 and it is not today.

However, it does sport a timeless quality, so well preserved is its building, furnishings, ledger books, community service spirit and traditions.

These and all elements of the lodge’s legacy were saluted in grand fashion on Friday, Sept. 29, during a ceremony celebrating the sesquicentennial of the lodge.

The ceremony was originally scheduled for 2022, the 150th year of Grande Ronde Valley Lodge 56, but it had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to David Moore, the lodge’s historian.

The yearlong postponement did not take any of the luster off the Sept. 29 celebration, which was attended by about 125 people.

“It was very inspiring. Everyone was smiling. I received a lot of positive comments,” said Nod Palmer, the Worshipful Master of Grande Ronde Valley Lodge 56.

A corn, wine and oil ceremony was conducted by the Grand Lodge, which is the state Masonic organization, to mark the milestone anniversary. Craig Sipp, head of Oregon’s Grand Lodge, attended the event.

“It is a longtime Masonic tradition,” Palmer said of the ceremony.

The Union organization’s milestone was celebrated during the 125th anniversary of the completion of its present building, a structure that opened in 1898. Union’s Masonic lodge moved into the structure after being based in the International Order of the Odd Fellows building for several years. Today, the old Odd Fellows building is a major part of the Union County Museum.

Union’s Masonic lodge is one of four in Union County, along with ones in Cove, La Grande and Elgin and among approximately 13,000 in the United States. All are different but their meeting places share many features, including paintings of President George Washington, the most famous Mason in history.

“Many of our Founding Fathers were Masons,” Palmer said.

Other notable Freemasons include Benjamin Franklin, Paul Revere, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Wayne and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

The number in the lodge’s title refers to the order in which Oregon’s Masons halls were established. The first is Multnomah Lodge No. 1 in Oregon City, founded in 1846.

Many of the Grande Ronde Valley’s earliest pioneers were Freemasons, and their portraits, with names long-established in the area, stare down upon one of the hallways of the building in Union.

William J. Dobbin was the first Master upon the order’s inception in 1872.

The Union Masons’ meeting place also features a memorial window, built to honor a Baker City member named Benjamin Gardner Whitehouse who died in 1912. Ralph Patterson, a member of Grande Ronde Valley Lodge 56, retrieved the monument several years ago and brought it to the Union building, where it hangs near the entrance. The window is made of iron and glass.

“It is a remarkable piece of art,” Palmer said.

A tenant who delivers

The Union Masonic building has two levels and, as is the Masonic custom, shares its structure with a tenant on the first floor. Renting out a portion of the building is meant to help the Masons generate money to pay for the upkeep of the buildings and fund community service projects.

The renter of the Union Masonic building is the U.S. Postal Service, which has operated Union’s post office there since 1968. Palmer said the U.S. Postal Service is an excellent tenant, providing his lodge with a measure of financial security.

Occupants of the building’s first floor between 1898 and 1968 included the American Red Cross, said Moore, the historian for Grande Ronde Valley Lodge 56. When the lodge was first established, the Townley-Gale Mercantile occupied the lower portion.

The Union Masons fund community service projects with money generated by fundraisers such as community breakfasts.

Funds raised at such functions go toward scholarships and the organization’s flag project: For a number of years, Grande Ronde Valley Lodge 56 has provided all of Union Elementary School’s first grade students with small American flags on pedestals.

New fundraising projects the lodge will be taking on in the near future include one for the Union High School athletic program, Palmer said.

The Union Masonic lodge has 57 members, a number that has remained steady for several years, Palmer said.

He believes there is potential for membership to increase because many young people are reportedly looking for fraternal organizations to join that provide social opportunities and moral guidance.

“This is what a lot of young people want, he said.

Discussions about politics and religion are not allowed at meetings of Union’s Masonic lodge.

“That is why we never have any arguments,” Palmer said.