Sonoma Masonic Lodge Installs Officers for 2011

Temple Lodge No. 14 of Free and Accepted Masons held its 161^st annual Installation of Officers on January 8th. Past Master Warren Eide, was the Installation Officer. Past Master Jack Heard, was the Master of Ceremonies. Past Master Robert Kelso, was the Installing Chaplain. The following new lodge officers were installed: Rodney Beck, Master; Victor E. Hipkiss, Senior Warden; Gustav Hobel, Junior Warden; Richard Smith, Treasurer; Karl Hipkiss, Secretary; Robert Leonard, Assistant Secretary; Jack Heard, Chaplain; Jason Bryant, Senior Deacon; Ian Kruljac, Junior Deacon; Lloyd Abrams, Marshall; Frank Wiebusch, Senior Steward; Christopher Garcia, Junior Steward; and Eugene Schulteiss, Tiler.

Chartered on May 6, 1851, Temple Lodge No. 14 of Free and Accepted Masons is the oldest fraternal organization in the City of Sonoma. Today, the Sonoma Masonic Lodge is perhaps best known as the proud sponsor of the annual Sonoma Valley “Teacher of the Year Award” for outstanding achievement.

Freemasons and the early pioneer history of the town of Sonoma are intertwined. In fact, Freemasons were very prominent in the 1846 Bear Flag Revolt. Several West Point graduates serving together as U.S. Army Officers on the frontier in Sonoma during the years following the Mexican War founded the town’s local lodge. Jonathan D. Stevenson, George Horatio Derby and George Stoneman (who later became the 15^th Governor of California) were all local Freemasons and prominent figures during the early years of Sonoma’s history. In the early days, Sonoma’s first Freemasons met in the historic Ray House or Adler Adobe located at the corner of Spain and 2^nd Street East. Beginning in 1909, the lodge moved to First Street West where local Freemasons met for 84 years. In 1995, the lodge moved to its present location at 669 Broadway.

Freemasonry is the oldest, largest and most widely known fraternity in the world. It is also a charitable institution that gives almost $2 million a day to worthy causes. Voltaire, Mozart, George Washington, and Winston Churchill have all been members, along with nine signers of the Declaration of Independence and fourteen U.S. Presidents.

High-profile local Freemasons have included the famed botanist and horticulturist – Luther Burbank, Five-star General of the U.S. Air Force – Henry “Hap” Arnold and Chuck Williams – Founder of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. the premier specialty retailer of gourmet cookware in the United States.

For more information about the Sonoma Masonic Lodge, phone 707-996-2450 or visit: http://www.TempleLodge14.org.