The Green Grove Masonic Lodge's 150th anniversary celebration was well-attended Saturday, with guest speakers including Green Grove Lodge member Dickey Fortner, a past Grand Master of Arkansas, current Grand Master of Arkansas R.L. Sheffield and University of Central Arkansas Archivist Jimmy Bryant. In Bryant's presentation, photographs from the mid-to-late 1800s through the mid-20th Century depicting life in Conway were presented alongside the history of the Green Grove Lodge.
Bryant told his audience to prepare for "a strong dose" of Conway and Green Grove Lodge history. Though political views traditionally aren't discussed inside Masonic lodges, Bryant explained how the Civil War divided a few within the Green Grove Lodge's brotherhood. In one instance, Bryant said, two members of the lodge were commissioned officers for each of the war's opposing sides.
Bryant also told how Conway went from a saloon-heavy community to a city of tee-totallers. Conway's renouncing the bottle, he said, was one of the main reasons Arkansas State Normal School (now UCA) chose the city.
TheCabin.net ·· 150 years and counting for masonic lodge 11/04/07
Bryant told his audience to prepare for "a strong dose" of Conway and Green Grove Lodge history. Though political views traditionally aren't discussed inside Masonic lodges, Bryant explained how the Civil War divided a few within the Green Grove Lodge's brotherhood. In one instance, Bryant said, two members of the lodge were commissioned officers for each of the war's opposing sides.
Bryant also told how Conway went from a saloon-heavy community to a city of tee-totallers. Conway's renouncing the bottle, he said, was one of the main reasons Arkansas State Normal School (now UCA) chose the city.
TheCabin.net ·· 150 years and counting for masonic lodge 11/04/07