Part 700: The Topeka Scottish Rite, 1906
I briefly return to the Topeka Scottish Rite. In 1906, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “The New Year found me at work on some new work for Topeka, Masonic Hall. Very nice work.”
The “Topeka Daily Capital” reported, “The Scottish Rite bodies of Topeka purchased the building now occupied by the local Masonic bodies three years ago, and they have spent over $20,000 in the last four months in furnishing a lodge room that will compare favorably with any in the United States. A new stage thirty-five feet in depth has been built, and it is said to have more scenery than any other in the country. There are 110 drops, over one hundred of which are the property of, and will be used by, the Scottish Rite in conferring their degrees, which are peculiarly adapted to stage work. The electrical effects that can be produced are almost without number, and are controlled by a marble switch-board eight feet long.” (21 Feb. 1906, page 5).
Sosman & Landis delivered the scenery to the Masonic building located on Jackson Street in Topeka, Kansas. $15,000 worth of scenery had been sold to the Valley of Topeka, allowing candidates to be conferred in full form during the spring reunion of 1906 (The Topeka Daily, 23 April 1906, page 2). For the event, there were 200 candidates, the largest class ever assembled in the state. The reunion took place over the course of three days (The Topeka Daily, 23 April 1906, page 7). Two of the candidates were Dr. F. O. Hetrick and A. Haggart from Ottawa, Kansas. Their local newspaper, “The Evening Herald” reported that the two men “went to Topeka this morning to attend the twenty-sixth semi-annual reunion of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Bodies of the Orient of Kansas, Valley of Topeka. Both gentlemen are going to take degree work” (24 April 1906, page 3). This notice is not unusual, and often newspapers would list all of the candidates in a Scottish Rite class. Articles would also describe which degrees were conferred and communicated; conferred often meant that the degree was theatrically staged. Although Freemasonry might be considered a “secret” society, the identity of incoming members was often published in the local newspaper. It says a lot about the size and prominence of the organization at the time. Scottish Rite membership was on the rise and it meant something to be associated with the Fraternity.
The reunion in Topeka either ran like a well-oiled machine, or was one chaotic mess. With 100 drops and 17 of the 29 degrees staged, a lot occurred over the course of three action-packed days in 1906. The success of the region was evident as an addition was immediately planned. During November of 1906, the Topeka Scottish Rite again broke ground again for a $100,000 addition to the building. The second floor that contained the stage and auditorium remained unaltered, but the Fraternity needed more space if the membership continued to increase at the same rapid rate
To be continued…
