115th Anniversary of the Dedication of the Lodge and Laying of the Foundation Stone

From the Original Programme describing the dedication of Twillingate Masonic Lodge and laying of its foundation stone on July 16th, 1907

At ten o’clock on the morning on 16 July, 1907, Twillingate Lodge No. 2364  AF & AM, RE, was opened in the Temple with the following officers in attendance:  Wor. Bro. A. Gray Worshipful Master, Bro. Arthur G Ashbourne Senior Warden,

Bro. A.H. Hodge, Junior Warden, Bro. J.M. Lacey Acting Chaplain, Bro. Charles D. Mayne Secretary, Wor. Bro. N. Gray Senior Deacon, Bro. John Cook Inner Guard, Bros. W.T. Baird and Robert Small, Stewards, Bro. T.H. Scott, Tyler.  Past Masters: N. Patten, Charles White, George Roberts, W.J. Scott and Silas Facey.  Brethren: J.W. Verge, Sydney Cox, A.A. Campbell, Mark Davis. Visiting Brethren included: A. Findlater, Arthur Manuel and Alfred E. Manuel of Lodge Tasker No. 454, SC, St. John’s.  Representing St. John’s Lodge No. 579 EX, were: WM Sydney Blandford, Wor. Bro. W.N. Gray, Secretary, W.J. Edgar, JW, J.S Currie and Bro. Robert Peel.  E.C.P. LeMessieur, WM attended on behalf of the Brethren of Avalon Lodge No. 776.

Present and representing the District Grand Lodge were Wor. Bro. Hon. James A. Clift, Acting District Grand Master, Wor. Bro. S.G. Collier DJGW, Wor. Bro. J.R. Bennett DJGD and Acting District Grand Secretary, Wor. Bro. W.J. Barker.

Following the dedication of the Temple, the Brethren proceeded outside to lay the corner stone.  

(Extract from, “130 Years of Freemasonry in Twillingate NL Under the Auspices of Twillingate Lodge No 7 AF & AM”, Bro. Dr. David Clarke and Bro. Ralph B Smith, PDGD, 2019.)

Commemoration of the Dedication and Laying of the Foundation Stone, July 16th, 2022

The decision to commemorate the dedication of the Lodge and the laying of the foundation was made in January 2022 when amongst our historical documents was found the original programme for the ceremony for July 16th, 1907 (see copy attached this page).  It was decided to tie the commemoration in with a grant application for building restoration funding through Come Home Year 2022. Planning started and the grant application was submitted.  In the months that followed, the many details were identified and addressed.  Unfortunately, we were not awarded the grant, but decided to continue with the commemoration.  The details came together and July 16th finally arrived.

In the morning we re-enacted the original dedication ceremony, DGM RW Bro. Allister Powell in the role of Deputy Grand Master Bro. James A Clift (standing in for Grand Master the Hon. Sir William Vance Whiteway who stayed home due to the serious illness of his son).  We had great representation from across Central District and Deputy Grand Master RW Bro. Donald Vokey representing Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador visiting from St. John's..

The ceremony lasted about 90 minutes and ended at twenty minutes before noon, just in time to extract the time capsule from the foundation stone at "high noon", the time at which it was placed in there 115 years previously.  Our non-Masonic guests had already arrived downstairs and, on schedule Deputy GM RW Bro. Donald Vokey extracted the capsule.

Afterwards everyone moved upstairs for a very interesting presentation by Bro. Dr. David Clarke, Lodge historian, describing the people and events involved in the original ceremony and the story behind the site selection and construction of the building. The contents of the time capsule were then displayed in the centre of the Lodge Room and our guests had the opportunity to socialize and tour our historic property. Shortly thereafter we all settled into a sumptuous feast, with toasts and speeches by our distinguished guests. 

There was a four hour break following the dinner, but celebrations restarted in the evening with a dance and social.  The Lodge's own band, the Not So Righteous Brothers, provided a splendid evening of musical entertainment with their usual great mix of popular songs.  

It was a long day, but by all accounts, it was truly worth it.  Thank you to all that participated that day and those that made it happen.  A special thanks to Deputy GM RW Bro. Donald Vokey, MP for Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame, Mr. Clifford Small and the Honorable, Dr. Mohamed-label Ravalia, Senator. It was great having you with us.