2000

This, the second administration of Worshipful Brother Roger VanGorden, coincided with his service as Junior Grand Warden (through May, 2000) and as Senior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Indiana.Lodge Events of 2000

The last year of the 20th century was in many ways a rebuilding year for Broad Ripple Lodge. Having just lost the bulk of our line officers in the second half of the preceding year, the Worshipful Master had his hands full “bringing up” the two young Masons who would follow him in the Oriental Chair. It should be noted that Worshipful Brother Roger already had his hands full as a Grand Officer and as the manager of Indiana Masonic Supplies, on top of which the hour’s drive from his home near Franklin to and from the Lodge was certainly over and above the normal call of duty.

In February, the Lodge received a check for $350 from Dean Crow Productions for the use of our kitchen in filming a commercial for Teachers Credit Union. Many of us remarked on seeing our kitchen magically transformed into a chef’s workshop on television.

For what may have been the first time in the history of the Grand Lodge of Indiana, the Lodge voted to grant Honorary Membership to a Prince Hall Mason. Worshipful Brother Wilson Lorick, Past Master of Fidelity Lodge No. 55 PHA, a good friend of this Lodge and a Mason involved in the recent events leading up to the agreement of amity between the Grand Lodge of Indiana and the Grand Lodge Prince Hall Masons of Indiana, was selected for this honor.

Our Past Masters aprons being nearly too far gone for cleaning or repair, it was decided to purchase a dozen new Past Masters aprons with belts for approximately $300. The officers’ aprons were in similar condition, but the Lodge decided to continue to use the existing officers’ aprons for another year so as to spread out the expense.

It was also decided to purchase for general distribution a total of 1500 lapel pins commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Lodge in 2002. The first 500 would have a picture of Light’s Eldorado Hall, our first meeting place after dispensation, while the second 500 would have a picture of Mustard Hall. The third 500, which would be purchased later, were planned to have a picture of the current Lodge Hall. The designs for the pins were made by Brother Chris Hodapp.

An omnibus 50-Year Award of Gold Dinner was held on Thursday, June 22, to catch up on several AWG presentations from the past several years.

In April and May the Senior Warden single-handedly repainted the front entryway and stairwell in tones of gold and dark blue, and as a finishing touch applied gold square and compass appliques provided by Brother Steve Sacks around the room just below the ceiling line.

In May, the Lodge held by dispensation its first-ever Master Mason Table Lodge, exemplifying a resolution that the Worshipful Master planned to put before Grand Lodge that month, which would allow Lodges to freely move their charters within their buildings for that purpose. In June, the Lodge would adopt the Table Lodge format for two meetings in every quarter. The Worshipful Master also stated that he would like for Broad Ripple Lodge to adopt the Clark Tartan as the official Tartan of the Lodge, given that Clarks (and the Scottish community in Broad Ripple in general) were responsible for the founding of the Lodge.

For the second year in a row, the Fourth of July Picnic was held at the 61st and Broadway Park, adjacent to Brother John Gillis’s home. And in August, members of the Lodge attended the Indians Baseball Night held by the Indianapolis Valley of the Scottish Rite.

The Lodge met in July and August for the first time in its history, having decided that, the building being air-conditioned, it was silly to go dark and lose over three months the momentum built up by June. The fee for the degrees had also been raised from $85 to $150 earlier in the year.

In August, the Lodge held Masonic Memorial services for Brother Al Cox, Organist of this Lodge for many, many years, and Organist Emeritus at the time of his death on the 27th of that month.

September saw Worshipful Brother Wilson Lorick, WM of Fidelity Lodge No. 55 PHA, attend the Stated Meeting and address the brethren on “What Masonry Means To Me”. At the conclusion of his talk, WBro. Lorick was presented by the Worshipful Master with the Honorary Membership voted him in March.

September also saw the marriage of the Junior Warden, Brother Nathan Brindle, to his lovely lady Sally Lynn Bloom. Several of the officers of the Lodge attended the wedding at Congregation Shaarey Tefila at Kessler and Central Avenues on September 17, and the best man was Senior Warden Chris Hodapp. Your humble historian mentions this fact due to the as-yet-unknown great role that Lady Sally would play at his side during the Centennial Year of 2002.

Because of the state in which the Lodge found itself, a committee consisting of the Trustees was appointed to investigate the possible sale of the Lodge building, and the principal officers and the Secretary were appointed as a committee to gather competitive quotes from surrounding Lodges for a per-capita annual charge to use their facilities, should we actually sell the building. At the time there was no general consensus that we should or must sell the building; the officers simply felt that the proposition should be investigated.

In November it was finally decided to end the monthly Lodge breakfasts for lack of volunteers to cook and clean up. Thus ended a long line of 6AM wake-up calls for the Wardens.

The Trustees reported in December that it was necessary to get an appraisal of the building before moving forward with their task. It was therefore ordered to obtain the said appraisal. And Senior Warden Chris Hodapp, after 19 months as a Master Mason, was elected to the Oriental Chair for the ensuing year, with the comment that he had moved so fast that the wind had mussed his hair.

Called to the Lodge Above in 2000:

Raised as Master Masons: