Wyoming Masons celebrate 150th anniversary

An organization with a strong and long-lasting presence in Crook County is celebrating its 150th anniversary this month.

The Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Wyoming was chartered in Laramie on December 15, 1874. It was followed a few years later by the establishment of Sundance Lodge #9, on December 6, 1887.

In honor of the occasion, the Sundance City Council signed a proclamation honoring the anniversary and recognizing members of the lodge for the many years they have "generously given their time, talents and resources to better their communities".

The proclamation thanked officers and members, past and present, for their accomplishments, commitment and dedication to Sundance "as a model of courtesy and caring".

Among its many contributions to the community, Sundance Lodge has laid the cornerstones of important buildings including the courthouse, Church of the Good Shepherd, Old Stoney and the library, as well as the war memorial. The Lodge also donated the land on which Old Stoney sits.

Lodge members line up the entries for the annual Crook County Fair parade and judge the categories and host an annual Halloween party that has grown to more than 200 attendance. The Lodge participates in the Parade of Lights each year; initially, the Master of the Lodge would lead the entry riding a mule.

Sundance Lodge has also hosted a booth at the Crook County Health Fair to provide parents with samples of their child's DNA and fingerprints, which can be used to aid in recovering them if they are ever lost or taken. The Eight Ball Club has manned a booth on Burnout Wednesday to serve pulled pork sandwiches as a fundraiser, cooked by Craig Hemmah.

Dispensation to form a lodge was issued by Grand Master Nathaniel R. Davis, with H.A. Alden designated as Worshipful Master. Additional charter members included B. F. Fowler, L. M. Stone, Meyer Frank, W. S. Metz, George Barker and M. W. Pettigrew.

At first, Lodge members met on the second floor of the Blackwell Building on Main Street, before moving to the new City Hall. In 1927, the Lodge moved to the American Legion building, where rooms had been built especially for its purposes.

Sundance Lodge bought the building in the 1970s for a pittance and used the funds from its sale to purchase a lot and construct the current building, with the caveat that the Legion had the right to meet there.

The Masonic family grew and waned over the years. The Black Hills Masonic Association, which also includes lodges from Newcastle, Upton, Devils Tower and Gillette, was organized in 1948, with its first meeting held in Sundance in 1949.

Electa Chapter #5, Order of the Eastern Star, was granted a charter in 1895. Job's Daughters Bethel #43 was instituted in 1960, when members of the Lodge voted to allow them to use rooms free of rent; this branch was disbanded in 1999 due to lack of membership.

Sundance Lodge # and Tower Lodge #44 sponsored the Order of DeMolay, known as the Bear Lodge Chapter, in 1951, which was duly instituted in Hulett with 24 boys initiated; Tower Lodge #44 later took over full membership and it was later disbanded due to lack of membership.

The Lodge celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1987 on top of Sundance Mountain, with Norval Waller presiding in the east. There was attendance from lodges all across the area and beyond, including Thermopolis, Riverton, Laramie, Jackson, Casper and more in Wyoming; Spearfish, Belle Fourche and Hill City in South Dakota; and far-flung locations including Princeton, Texas and Fresno, California.

One member of the Lodge has served as Grand Master of Masons of Wyoming: Most Worshipful Brother Mark Young, from 2017 to 2018. The Lodge received the Kerr Award for Wyoming Lodge of the Year twice in a row, from 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Long-running members of the Lodge include Paul N. Smith, who was honored for 70 years of service in 2023; and Martin Peterson and Joe Whittemore, who received 50-year pins in 2018.