The first few years of Concord Lodge were intensive as both a new Lodge was formed and the new Masonic Temple completed and occupied.  After these two most notable events, the remainder of the history of Concord Lodge is one of hard work within Lodge both with degrees and educational matters; of the carrying out of Masonic Funerals for departed brethren; of the joining of many new brothers; of visitations from other Lodges and visitations to other Lodges.  To document all of this at length would be superfluous, so only some of the real unusual events and highlights are to be described.  Hopefully, no omission of importance will occur.

Except where noted, the following are extracts from the Historical Registers of Concord Lodge

April 1933 

In Memory Of S.H. Davies Tyler Concord Lodge No. 124 G.R.A., A.F. & A.M. August 1921 April 1933 A Brother, who, in his long life as a Man and a Mason was will and deservedly loved by all. On our records his name appears with those of our first Officers and his memory will stay long with his brothers.

September 9th, 1933

 

Under Special Dispensation from Grand Lodge our regular meeting was held Sept. 9/33 instead of Sept. 2/33 due to the Labor Day weekend.

The need to change the regular meeting in September to avoid Labour Day weekends continued until the bylaws were changed in 1982 whereby our meetings automatically moved to the Saturday following the holiday weekend.

June 23rd, 1934

Concord enjoyed a very successful picnic at Bowness Park.  A goodly attendance thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon.

 January 18th, 1936

A farewell reception was given Wor. Bro. W.H. Dingle, a charter member of the Lodge, who is leaving Calgary to make his make in Vancouver.  On behalf of the members, V.W. Bro. Geo. Ellis presented Mr. & Mrs. Dingle with a silver entree dish.

February 1st, 1936

Owing to the death of our Beloved Sovereign King George V, only regular business was conducted at this meeting.

March 7th, 1936

Moved by V.W. Bro. Geo Ellis and seconded by Wor. Bro. Tremeer, "That in consideration of the recognition accorded our Bro. Geo. J. Kemm by the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia in Communication of being a Mason for 50 years, that Concord Lodge show their esteem and regard to Bro. Kemm by making him a Honorary Member of this Lodge effective as of Jan 1st, 1936. Motion carried and Bro. Kemm informed that he was now an Honorary Member of Concord Lodge for Jan 1st of this year.

 March 21st, 1936

A St. Patrick's Dance and Social Evening was held on this night and prizes for the telephone bridge were awarded the winners.  A very enjoyable time was had by all.

Concord Members and their wives always enjoyed excellent social activities ranging from Picnics to Dances.  Telephone Bridge was played for several years during the '30s.  Foursomes of Bridge would be played at the homes of Brethren and the results communicated by telephone.  The winners were those with the highest scores overall.

November 14th, 1936

An Emergent Meeting was held for the purpose of attending the funeral of our Wor. Master, Wor. Bro. H.E. Moore who died Nov 11th, 1936. Graveside Services were read by Wor. Bro. A. McKay

The Jewel of his office and Past Master's Jewel together with other jewels worn by him were mounted and presented (in October 1937) to Mrs. Moore.

May 15th, 1937

An emergency communication was held to perform the ceremony for celebrating the Coronation. R.W. Bro. F.V. Truesdale was requested to approach the East and was handed the flag of the Empire by Wor. Bro. McRoberts.  The Standard Bearer attended by the Deacons then reitred to the ante room. The Brethren stood at attention and the Standard Bearer returned with the flag unfurled accompanied by Piper Bro. R. Allen and Drummers Bros. May and Melland.  The flag was saluted with Grand Honors and Cahplain Bro. G.J. McKay pronounced the invocation.  The flag was then placed at the alter. An address was then given by Rev. Bro. Jas Dorriam what stated that we were celebrating the service of Coronation first as citizens of the British Commonwealth of nations and also as Masons, the royal Family having many of its members active in the high offices of Masonry.  This address was very interesting and instructive on the many points of interest to all who were celebrating the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and cited the benefits we were deriving by having the Royal Family ruling the British Dominions. The Brethren then sang God Save the King.  The flag of the Empire was brought from the altar by the Standard Bearer and presented to Wor. Bro. McRoberts.

November 6th, 1937

The committee on the Petition for Initiation of Mr. Roy Woodrow Austin reported in full and favorable.  Mr. Austion was declared eligible to become a member of Concord Lodge by Initiation.

January 8th, 1938

Mr. Roy Woodrow Austin, being in waiting, was duly initiated in the first degree of Masonry in a very capable and fluent manner by Wor. Bro. D.L. Mills.  The Junior Warden's lecture was delivered in a most impressive manner by Junior Warden Bro. C.E. Wright.  Bro. Neilson delivered the charge from the Book of Constitution and Wor. Bro. W.C. McRoberts read Section 22 of our by-laws.

The beginnings of a most notable Masonic career.

March 5th, 1938

A motion by Rt. Wor. Bro. Truesdale seconded by Wor. Bro. A.E. McKay that in view of the fact the Rt. Wor. Bro. S.L. McCracken has been unaffiliated in this jurisdiction for more than one year his honorary membership in Concord be cancelled, which was carried.

R.W.Bro. McCracken was the first Honorary member of Concord Lodge and the only one whose Honorary Membership was cancelled.

 December 2nd, 1939 

Wor. Bro. McRoberts acted as organist, due to the fact that Bro. Hamilton now a Lieutenant in the C.A.S.F. had left for London, England for training.  The Lodge wished him God speed & a safe return.

 One of the few entries in the Historical Register relative to World War II.  Bro. Hamilton did return safely, was Worshipful Master of the Lodge in 1952 and Secretary-Treasurer for a period of 20 years from 1963 to 1982 inclusive.  During the war period many dispensations were obtained to accommodate Service Men going overseas.  Also, a collection box existed for the members of Concord Lodge to make donations for "cigarettes for our fighting men".

 January 6th, 1940 

I.P.M. Alex Gibson made a presentation to W.M. C.E. Wright to the lodge, of a Redwood Burl Gavel purchased in Eureka, Cal. while on his holidays last summer.  Burl, as he explained, is very valuable wood as it is a knot that grows out of a tree that has been damaged, and is very tough & durable.  Encircling the gavel is a silver band with the words engraved. "Presented to Concord Lodge #124 A.F. & A.M. in memory of Robert S. Gibson, W.M. 1928"

One may ponder where this gavel is today.

June 21st, 1941 

AT 8:10 pm, Most Worshipful Brother G.F. Ellis Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Alberta, accompanied by a number of other Grand Lodge Officers and Past Grand Lodge Officers on this his first official visit to Concord Lodge, entered and was introduced by Rt. Wor. Bro. F.V. Truesdale and was received with the customary honors. Wor. Bro. Solomon then presented M.W. Bro. G.F. Ellis with an illuminated address framed and a script containing the signatures of every one present on this occasion and M.W. Bro. then replied in very suitable terms and then proceeded with his address of the evening.  During the course of his talk he mentioned of the condition of masonry as it appearing in the world today and drew attention to the lights of Masonry being extinguished one by one in Europe, but in Great Britain they were still holding the torch of Masonry and Freedom as a shining example to the rest of the world and it was up to us here to live up to the teachings of Masonry so the world would know us as Masons by all that we stood for, namely, brotherly love, relief and truth.  He then pointed out the qualifications of the names of different lodges such as Unity, Harmony, Perfection, Concord and many others too numerous to mention and that these were not just drawn out of a hat or because they were smooth words and easy to say but that they all had meaning and a significance. He then touched upon the honor that had been bestowed upon him and hoped that he would be able to live up to this high distinction but did not take any credit himself but wished to give the credit to Concord Lodge.

M.W. Brother George Ellis is the only member of Concord Lodge to have attained the high office of Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Alberta.

 On the night of his official visit a banquet was held to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Concord Lodge.

April 4th, 1942

Wor. Bro. Solomon presented a set of gavels to the Lodge on behalf of six anonymous members.

 Where are they now ?

 May 26th, 1942

 

Our Team won second place in Masonic Bowling League

Social activities continued to form an important part of Concord Lodge life.  The Masonic Bowling League operated for many years and formed an important activity in the Calgary Masonic Calendar.

June 6th, 1942

21st Anniversary.  Wonderful decorated Birthday Cake depicting the Lodge Room.  Made by Wor. Bro. McLuckie of St. Marks Lodge.  Jr. Warden Thos. Lumley presented the Lodge with an Alter Cloth from the younger members to the Older Members.

The altar cloth is still in use within the Lodge.

 Benevolence is a mainstay of Freemasonry and has always been practised well by the brethren of Concord Lodge.  In 1942, the quota set for Concord Lodge to raise for the Masonic War Distress Fund was $650.00.  This was exceeded and a total donation of $750.00 was made.

May 6th, 1944 

A good number of Masonic Brothers from Lethbridge paid us a visit.  The effort made by these Brothers to visit us is very much appreciated as transportation is a very difficult matter occasioned by the short supply of gasoline and tires.

This visit was returned the following year and would appear to be the first of visits between Lethbridge #39 and Concord Lodge which, although occasionally interrupted, continue today.

August 5th, 1944

...Instead of having our usual two months recess in summer, our W.M T. Lumley called an August meeting due to the amount of work ahead of the Lodge for the Fall months.

Knowing how hot the Lodge room becomes sometime in June, I wonder how it was in August 1944 ?

January 6th, 1945 

During this period of the Lodge's history & especially during the past twelve months, a noticeable increase in the membership of the Lodge took place.  This increase was unusually large.

At the conclusion of World War II, many men returning home found a companionship and closeness to other men similar to that experienced in war within the confines of a Masonic Lodge.  As a result a large increase in the membership of the fraternity as a whole was seen.

April 7th, 1945

At this time in our history the war in Europe has been a stark reality facing us for over five years appears to be drawing rapidly to a close.  We in this day wonder what historians of future years will think of this catastrophe.

May 5th, 1945

On this date in this world of events the civilized world is waiting with bated breath to hear that the war in Europe, the greatest conflagration in history has come to an end.  Declarations of Peace are expected momentarily.  The once great German Nation that set the world on fire more than five years ago is about to collapse in defeat.  We are too close to events and too bitter in our hearts to judge this was with a degree of fairness and sanity but we do believe that ours was a righteous cause & that Providence played a part in this struggle. AT 8 A.M. ON MAY 8TH 1945 MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME WORD WAS RECEIVED THAT THE WAR IN EUROPE HAS COME TO AN END.

June 1st, 1946

Twenty Fifth Anniversary On Saturday June 1st 1946, the Brethren on Concord Lodge celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Formation of the Lodge.  A turkey dinner was served in the banquet room at 7:30 pm.  Two Hundred adn Fifty Brethren of the Craft were in attendance.  The usual toasts were proposed and responded to. Of the Eleven Remaining Charter members, Seven were in attendance.  A great number of Letters were Received Expressing Congratulations and best wishes.  All present has a most enjoyable time adn one long to be Remembered.  In Short the Anniversary was all the could be desired and a real success.

The first twenty five years of life had passed for Concord Lodge.  Started in the heady days of the '20s, spanning the depression of the '30s and encompassing World War II, it had grown from the original 30 brethren who are named on its Charter to 150 members at the end of 1946.

The Second Quarter Century