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     The History Of Lodge St. John. No 623 S.

     Prepared by  Bro. 0. D. Howe. P. M., P. S. D. G. W.

Acting on the petition of our founder members, the Charter of Constitution and Erection of Lodge St. John was granted by the Grand Lodge of Scotland on May 6th, 1878.  These founding members include:

Dr. James Ogilvie,             William Rastrick Lee,

William Arbouin Paine,     Benjamin Mortimer Dias,

Henry Priest,                      Hugh Croskery'

Alexander Reid'                 The Hon. Samuel Constantine Burke,

George H. Pearce,              K. John Spicer,

M. H. Lawrence,                 Albert Jones,

James Sherbom,                 George H. Sargeant

John  Hoyes.

Dr. James Ogilvie, a Scot, was the prime mover in setting up the  Lodge of St. John. He was affiliated with Glenlyon Lodge No.346, and it was at that time that the idea of getting a foothold so as to promote the founding of another Scottish Lodge came to him. The fact that he was successful is self evident and Lodge St.  John was in the process of coming into existence. Dr. Ogilvie was also successful in getting it named after his Mother Lodge, St. John No. 20 of Lesmahagow.  It is interesting to note that the Founder Members were from Glenlyon, Royal and Sussex Lodges.

The Charter was first read at a meeting of the Petitioners held on June 11, 1878, in The Commercial Rooms, Port Royal Street near Church Street. It was then decided that Lodge St. John would be formally erected on Thursday, June 28 of that year. A convocation of The Provincial Grand Lodge of Scotland in Jamaica and  Greytown was summoned and Lodge St. John was duly dedicated, consecrated and erected by the Province Grand Master, The Hon. Samuel Constantine Burke at the Sussex Hall situated at 65 Hanover Street, Kingston.

 

The first administration consisted of: Rt. Wor. Master, Dr. James Ogilvie, Dep.  Master  B. M. Dias, Substitute Master W. R. Lee, Senior Warden W. A. Paine, Junior Warden G. H. Pearce, Chaplain Hugh Croskery, Secretary K. John Spicer,

Treasurer M.H. Lawrence, Senior Deacon Albert Jones, Junior Deacon Jas Sherborn, Inner Guard Henry Priest, and Tyler John Hoyes.,

The following are private avocations of these worthy brethren:        •

Dr. Jas. Ogilvie 

Medical Practitioner and one time Mayor of Kingston

B M. Dias

Clerk

W.R.Lee

Solicitor and partner of The Hon Samuel Constantine Burke

G H Sergeant

A prominent merchant

Dr HughCroskery

First Medical Officer of the New City Dispensary

W’ A Paine

Secretary, The Victoria Mutual Building Society (incidentally, the originator of the ice making business in Kingston)

 

G. H. Pearce

Postmaster of Jamaica

K. J. Spicer

Of the Hardware Firm of Martin & Spicer

M. H. Lawrence

Accountant

Albert Jones 

Clerk and subsequently secretary and Manager of the Jamaica Mutual Life

Jas. Sherborn

Accountant in the Roads Dept, Kingston

John Hoyes

Inspector under the old Municipal Board of Kingston.

 

 

The original Bye Laws, dated May 6th, 1878 and printed in 1908 by the Book Room Printery (62 Duke Street) provides some interesting information. The Bye Laws are entitled: “Rules and Bye Laws of Saint John’s Lodge”. Obviously, a misprint. They were passed and by whoever checked them. The Charter clearly refers to Lodge St. John.  The Grand Lodge No. 623 is used , but the local number is Provincial No. 5.   Prior to 1902, Jamaica  was,   for Masonic purposes, a Province, and it was not until the latter part of that year that it became a District. No doubt, the reshuffling of numbers and the erasing of lodges that had surrendered their charters, would account for the changing of Lodge St. John from Provincial No. 5 to District. No. 6 The history, as written and presented at the 50th Anniversary of the Lodge, is silent on the dates of the change of venue from the Sussex Hall to the Masonic Temple at 80 Hanover Street, in Kingston. It is also silent on the change of the meeting night from the 4 th Thursday to the 4th Monday in each and every month. It is strongly believed that both took place at the same time, after the earthquake in 1907 when the Sussex Hall Building was destroyed.

From the available records at the Regular Meeting held at 80 Hanover Street, on Monday, the 28th March, 1898, three intiations were performed and thereafter, the monthly regular meetings were held the fourth Monday, as stated in the revised Bye-Laws of the Lodge in 1924.  This brought them into conformity with the Constitution and Laws of Grand Lodge.

The Lodge, like most similar bodies, has had its days of adversities, but equally too,

has had its bright periods of prosperity. It was in April 1883, when the financial sate of the Lodge was at a very low ebb, that the majority of its members were so disheartened that a proposal made to surrender the Charter to Grand Lodge and a Motion of Notice was given to this effect.  The Motion was never brought back to the Lodge for debate as the brethren, having taken fresh heart of courage, decided against it.

Since then, the Lodge has never had to face such a situation.  While the brethren made certain that the finances of the Lodge stayed healthy, the membership began to decline steadily. It would appear that it was the I. P. M’s  duty to present a report on the workings of the Lodge during his year of office.   It was during those reports that note was taken of the constant mention of the decline in membership. As a result of the composition of the membership, the record showed that there were as many as 106 members on roil  in  the  Lodge,  but  on  a  meeting  night,  an  average  membership  in attendance was 17. It was usually the generosity of visiting brethren from Sister Lodges that lent substance to these meetings. And so it was, evil days Fell upon this Lodge once more through this channel.

As seen from the records, the Lodge would garner its members from sources beyond the length of its cable-tow. As one Immediate Past Master said in his report.-  “It is unfortunate that the membership of the Lodge is not easily accessible to the Meeting place in Kingston, hence the poor attendance throughout the year.”

 

 

It is noteworthy that the majority of the early initiates were drawn from the Cargo Ships which sailed our shores and from employees of the then United Fruit Company, who were themselves, stationed at various sections of the Island. It was indeed, a regular occurrence to see the Lodge having three candidates for initiation and another two for Passing or Raising, all in one Meeting night.   There were instances when Meetings were held on the 1st, 15th and 29th of the same month to initiate. Pass and Raise the same candidates.  A classic case in point was the occasion when the Master announced at the Installation Meeting of February 25th, that there would be an emergency Meeting the following night to Raise a brother who had put himself to considerable inconvenience to be in the island for this purpose.

Following the departure of those movable brethren, came another category of brethren from the West Indies Electric Company, the Banking and Hotel environs, who saw the “Light” within the Lodge.

Probably, the linkage between these three groups was the place of residence - the Hotels. This, in itself, did not make for a stable and vibrant Lodge.   The attendance at Meeting nights continued to decline due to the structure of its membership. As previously stated,

too great an emphasis was placed on conferring Degrees on individuals, who, because of their nationality and occupation, soon departed to the land of their infant nurture. As a result, there was need to have new recruits from time to time to fill the void. During those early periods, the Secretary frequently reported at Installation Meetings

that:  “membership now stands at 100, with 30 or more members off


the Island, 20 or more residing outside of Kingston and infrequently attend meetings, and 20 or more not attending at all due to age and other reasons.”

There were times too, that Office-bearers were not in attendance to operate the Lodge. This was usually obvious at Emergency Meetings, (which were as many as twice per month not including the regular Meeting) where degrees had to be conferred on members prior to their departure from the Island.  It was also quite remarkable to note from the minutes that members of the Lodge would, on the arrival of ships in Kingston, go on board to present certificates to Crew members. This was because these members were unable to attend Regular Meetings. There were very few Masonic Readings to enlighten the brethren and so, when there was no degree work, the brethren just met, listened to the reading of the minutes of the last Regular Meeting, transacted any other business (which were mainly of no Masonic importance), and then closed the Lodge. Perhaps too, that was another reason for the disinterestedness among brethren of the Lodge and visiting brethren.

 

As far back as the early 1900’s, the Lodge has had its outreach programmes. It has contributed to the Disabled Servicemen Fund, paid the school fees for two children of a deceased brother over a period of time, and other Masonic charities.  During this same period, it appeared that the members of the Lodge were so Marine-oriented that at a particular meeting, Bro. Secretary read a letter from the then Ex-Service Welfare Society, requesting financial assistance.  This was denied because it was not considered a Marine Institution.  It is interesting to note that up to 1933, the Lodge received its Annual Certificate from the Grand Lodge to operate for the year from June 24th of that year to June 24th of the following year. Unfortunately, there was no visible explanation for the change to what exists today - January 1st to December 31st inclusive.

On the 25thofMay, 1953, the Lodge celebrated its 75th Anniversary, with the D. G. M. and Office-Bearers and the D. G. M. English Constitution and District Officer, and a number of visiting brethren in attendance. A bound copy of the history of the lodge was presented by theR.W.M.. This formed a part of the night’s proceedings. Unfortu-nately, this was subsequently removed by a Secretary of the Lodge who had the task of upgrading the history. This was never carried out and the bound copy not replaced in its original position.  There was one pleasing aspect of the work of past Secretaries of this Lodge during those years and that was their record keeping. This was good because a tremendous amount of worthwhile information is now available for perusal. The Lodge’s most significant experience during its existence was during 1958,  On the 8th of March of that year, the first Presiding Grand Master, the Most Worshipful, the Earl ofEglington and Winton, accompanied by the R. W. Grand Secretary, Bro. Alex Buchan, visited Jamaica.  They not only attended the Installation Meeting of this Lodge, but both performed the Installation Ceremony on the R. W. M. Bro. Cecil Sproul. The D. G. S. Bro. Jackson McL. Wint in reporting to the District Grand Lodge at the Quarterly Communication said the

“the night belonged to the G. M. M. and the G. S. The complete Ritual work of this Degree was carried out by both men; precise, convincing, impressive and challenging in direction, illustration and advice. This two-man team earned the applause and congratulations of the near 300 Masons present on this memorable occasion. When the serious work was over, we were allowed to see the other side of these men in

their witty and leg-pulling speeches which at no time showed any lack of respect for rank  and/or positions.    However, on  the other hand, exemplified the manner in which Masons should move amongst and with each other. Surely, Bro. Sproul must have been the happiest and proudest Mason in the District. “

 

 A Souvenir Programme of this memorable visit is available for

inspection.

A very commendable practice, developed in the Lodge in the 1950’s and the 1960’s. Candidates wishing to become members, did not only have to be vouched for by a Proposer and Seconder, but had to give two or three names of individuals outside the Masonic  Circle, as referees.  These individuals were actually written to, seeking relevant information regard-ing these candidates.

As the years progressed, membership of the Lodge rapidly declined.  In 1965, the R. W. M., out of desperation, sent the following Circular to those available members:

As a member of Lodge St. John since 1958, and your present Worshipful Master, I have always been somewhat disturbed and disappointed at the lack of support and attendance by the greater number of Brethren of this fine Lodge. We should be proud to acknowledge membership and especially proud of St. John as our Mother Lodge. When, of our own free will and accord, -we decided to become Free Masons, it is true we did not pledge ourselves to become good ritualists, but, we did undertake to become good Masons.  To be a good Mason, the absolute minimum one can do is to support his Lodge by attending as regularly as possible.

 

Let us take a look back over the months, in some cases the years, and ask ourselves - Have I at least done the Minimum expected of me? If the answer is YES, this has been well recognized by your Brothers of the Lodge, and we hope you have enjoyed your meetings. If the answer is NO, you have not been forgotten by the Brethren -just conspicuous by your absence. You have good standing in Lodge and good Brethren who are anxious to meet you at our meetings.  We are fortunate in having such a fine group of men making up the total strength of Lodge St. John, but most unfortunate that we are only able to count on so few to support us at our meetings.

Our Meetings on the 4th Monday of each month have been most cordial and enjoyable. Upstairs for our official business, and likewise downstairs for the lighter side of the evening.

We have only lacked numbers to make it that much more profitable, not only to the Lodge, but for that get-together spirit (that which is so sadly lacking and yet so vital amongst Brethren of St. John - Your Lodge.)

Please endeavour to attend the next meeting. Let this be the meeting at which a new leaf is turned and give your Lodge the support it not only requires, but demands of you as a          good Free Mason."

What the R. W. M. Bro. Elwin said then, is overly true today. So many of our members today seem to find it extremely difficult to attend our Meetings and other functions on a regular basis.

In 1970, a Lodge just 8 years short of its 100th birthday, came face to face with the dreaded reality.  On the Meeting night of December 28, there were not enough members present to elect the R. W. M. and other Office-Bearers for the 1971/72 Administration. A rather embarrassing situation, to say the  least. It was then that the R. W. D. G. M., Bro. C. G. Grant, requested a number of brethren from Sister Lodges to become affiliate Members of the Lodge in order for it to retain its Charter. A total of nine Masons responded. These were: Bros.  Lloyd Wong, Lance Wong, Bernard Wong, P. J. Robotham and Dedrich Robin-son, all of Lodge Imperial Service, 978 S.C.; Bro. Vin Brown, Lodge Clarendon Kilwinning, 1427 S. C.; Bro. V. Beek, Semper Fidelis, 1530 S. C.; Bro. Stanley Bryan, Wolmers Lodge, 1506 S. C. and Bro. Noel Fray, Liguanea Lodge, 1479 S. C.  Bro. Robotham was elected R. W. M. for the next administration in 1973.

Following the most vital numerical injection, the Lodge experienced a surge of new initiates over the next few years.  This had brought back buoyancy and stability to the Lodge and, as can be seen from the records, it has never been surpassed.  As a result of past experience, mention should here be made that applications for membership into the Lodge were scrutinized, even more than necessary, to avoid a repeat of members being members in name only. Of course, there have been cases where a few brothers, for one reason or another, were not able to find what they were looking for in Lodge St. John.  As a result, they have either transferred their membership to other Lodges or have become dormant.

While membership remained constant (28 active), we entered our Cente-nary year with confidence knowing that these brethren, a new breed of Masons, will never allow this Lodge to fall on lean days ever, both in number and finance.

I had the distinct pleasure to have been honoured by the brethren of the Lodge as they elected me to be their 100th Master. Being the first local initiate in July 1973, the younger brethren, led by the indomitable Bro.  John Griffiths, thought it fining that this should be so. No doubt, to say the least, this was the hallmark of my Masonic career. On Wednesday, February 8th, we were joined in our celebrations by the Immediate Past Grand Master Mason, Bro. David Liddell-Grainer ofAyton. Members of the Glenlyon Lodge, 346 S. C. allowed us to use the Temple, on their regular meeting night instead of the regular 4  Monday.

On that occasion, there was a re-dedication of the Lodge performed by the I. P. G. M. M. and his Team. The Installation of the R. W. M. and the commissioning of our new Regalias. The banquet which was contributed to by members of the Lodge and D. G. L. was indeed a gala affair. To mark this event, funds were earmarked for a Centenary Scholarship, the establishment of an outreach project. The scholarship was awarded to a student. Miss Sandra Porter, from St. Andrew Technical High School for three years, and the Primrose Child Care Centre was selected as the Outreach Project.

To mark the occasion, the R. W. M. presented the Lodge with a “G” made of bronze as his contribution to Freemasonry. The bronze “G” now adorns the Temple. To culminate our celebrations, on Sunday, June 25  at 10:00 a.m., the Lodge held a religious service in the Temple.  This was followed by a sumptuous brunch in the Banquet Hall.

It is ironic that during the first 100 years, our Lodge was plagued with many issues. These included : insufficient funds, non-attendance of members and personality clashes among members.  The personality clashes became so serious that at times, because of unresolved differences and despite the pleas from other brother masons, some brothers did not attend our Regular Meetings. Out of all of the above came:

Indeed, Lodge St. John, with its 34 very active members, has never been more alive, invigorating and stable.  It is a joy to sit and listen to the younger masons delivering themselves in the working of a Degree and the scholarly manner in which they prepare themselves when presenting a Paper to the brethren in Open Lodge. The personal contributions in time and money of these brothers to the various outreach programmes, donations and commitments to the funds of the Lodge, the time spent on projects within and outside of the Lodge, can hardly be measured.  Our main outreach project, the Primrose Child Care Centre, a government-run home for abandoned and disabled children, is the recipient of:

 

 

Brethren of Lodge St. John. again. I must say thank you for giving me the opportunity to put in print this short history of our

Lodge over these 100 years of existence. I trust that these will be of help to our brethren during the next 100 years.

 
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