Thomas G. Moses worked with Fitch Fulton on a variety of Scottish Rite scenery projects during 1924 and 1925. One was Pasadena Scottish Rite, a project that offered escape from the cold in Chicago. Moses desperately wanted to spend his winters in California, and the Pasadena Scottish Rite project ensured a few months of work in a warm location.
At the end of 1924, Moses wrote, “The last Sunday in the year we spent at the Fultons, where we enjoyed the day. As I had hoped a year ago, we are spending the winter in California and so far we have thoroughly enjoyed it, as we have many winters in the past.”
Even when Moses and Fulton weren’t painting scenery, they enjoyed social gatherings and sketching trips. The two were a generation apart, with Fulton in his 40s and Moses in his 60s. Both were skilled artists and greatly enjoyed plein air painting. Of one excursion, Moses wrote, “Walter, Fulton and I went out for a day’s sketching at Sycamore Rock near Eagle Rock. We had plenty of visitors. I found a vast difference between the far east and California as far as atmosphere is concerned. So, I was not as successful with my sketches as I had hoped to be.”
Later in 1925, Moses wrote, “We all enjoyed the many week-end trips, we took with wonderful lunches and good sketching grounds. Mrs. Fulton looked after the eats and she certainly did not overlook anything, as we were overfed and did not feel like sketching after the meal. We found some very good sketching down in Topanga Canyon, over towards Santa Monica and Flint Cliff. I would like to make an extended sketching trip out here, but I am very much afraid I will never be able to, as business will keep me from it as it has always done in the past. It has been very pleasant out of doors. Some days the sun was so hot that we had to get under a tree – pretty good for January.”
Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Closed a contract at Pittsburg for some new drapery at the Shrine.” Moses was referring to the new Shrine Temple in Pittsburg, Kansas. The Mirza Temple featured an auditorium and galleries with a seating capacity of 2,500.
The Mirza Shrine building in Pittsburg, Kansas, 1924.The building is now known as the Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium.
On August 25, 1924, the “Parsons Daily Sun” included a picture of the new building and announced, “Mirza Mosque As It Nears Completion” (page 6). The article described, “The mosque of Mirza Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Pittsburg which is being built by the Shriners of southeast Kansas, over which the temple has jurisdiction is nearing completion. The structure is being erected at a cost of over $400,000, of which the Shriners in Parsons pledged a generous amount. The building of the mosque started about a year ago and it is expected the formal opening will take place sometime this fall. The structure is three stories high, covers a half block square is built of dark red brick and trimmed with Carthage building stone. When competed it will have adequate facilities for all the Shrine activities. The auditorium will seat between 2500 and 2600 and the stage, is large enough to care for the elaborate ceremonials of the Shrines. The city of Pittsburg will have access to the various community affairs.” The article went on to state that there were about 3,000 Shriners in the district which includes southeastern Kansas. Mirza Temple also had a 52-piece band whose members came from all over the area, including Iola, Parsons and Coffeyville. By the late 1920s, Mirza Temple also had a group named the “Agitatin’ Annies,” a woman’s auxiliary of the Shrine that performed and marched in parades.
The Mirza Shrine Circus TrainThe Mirza Shrine’s Agitatin’ Annies, c. 1929Illustrations of the Mirza Shrine were published in regional newspapers.Detail of the entrance still used today.
On November 13, 1925, the “Chanute Weekly Tribune” included a picture of the new building with the description, “the above building has a frontage of 167 feet on Pine and 142 feet on Fifth Street in Pittsburg. In its interior is an auditorium for conferring the Shrine work, also for entertainments, including the productions of the largest theatrical companies on the road. The most wonderful electrical effects produced in great theatres of New York City can be reproduced by the Temple equipment. Various offices, patrol and band rooms, dining hall accommodating 1500 people, dancing floor, kitchens, etc. are also in the building” (page 6).
The Patrol for the Mirza Shrine, c. 1929The Mirza Shrine drew members from Iola, Kansas.
On November 27, 1925, the “Chanute Weekly Tribune” reported, “Many Chanute Shriners sojourned to Pittsburg yesterday to attend the dedication of Mirza Temple’s new mosque, costing half a million dollars. The dedication ceremonial was held at 10 o’clock in the morning and in the afternoon a class of 114 novices began their pilgrimage over the burning sands at the largest ceremonial session ever held by Mirza Temple” (page 4).
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Dave Adam’s funeral on June 24th. Rupert and I went in his car. Dave was a fine fellow and was only 40 years of age. He had made quite a hit with his pictures.” Adam specialized in portrait painting and taught at the Art Institute of Chicago.
David L. Adams, 1922
David L. Adam died on June 20, 1924 and was buried four days later at the Irving Park Blvd. Cemetery. On June 21, 1924, the “Chicago Tribune” reported, “David L. Adam, Artist Dies After Operation” (page 8). The obituary notice described, “David L. Adam. 40 years old, former president of the Palette and Chisel club, 1012 North Dearborn street, and widely known as an artist, died at the Columbus hospital yesterday afternoon following an operation. The funeral will be held Tuesday from the undertaking rooms of C. Kraupse, 3905 Lincoln avenue.”
David Livingston Adam was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on November 8, 1883. He was the son of William Palaue Adam (b. 1846) and Isabella Kilpatrick (b. 1849) Adams. Born in 1884, he was one of four children born to the couple. His brother, William Jr., was born in 1881, his sister Mary in 1882, and his sister Isabella in 1885. The family emigrated from Scotland in 1897, settling in Chicago where William Sr., William Jr. and David all worked as artists. The 1900 census listed their occupation as “copyist and artist.” That year, the family was living at 5926 Ontario Street.
Prior to his arrival in America, David had studied at the Glasgow School of art with Jean Delville and M. Greiffenhagen. In America, Adam continued his studies at the Art Institute of Chicago and was active in the Palette & Chisel Club. This was where he became close friends with Moses. He and Moses selected the final site for the club’s summer home at Fox Lake. In Moses’ scrapbook there was an article from the mid-1920s entitled, “The Camp Tradition Draws Members to Fox Lake.” The article noted the selection of the club’s summer location: “The present site was elected by Tom Moses and the late Dave Adam, and their choice was immediately ratified by the erection of a more pretentious camp building that we have ever before.” The club’s summer quarters at Fox Lake were described on Oct. 2, 1921, in the “Chicago Tribune”- “During the summer months the club maintains a place at Fox Lake for outdoor painting. The ‘Summer Camp,’ as it is called, is the property of the club and comprises a clubhouse of sufficient size to accommodate seventy-five persons. It occupies a site adjacent to the lake.”
In 1921, Adam was president of the Palette and Chisel Club. That year, the Palette and Chisel Club was featured in the “Chicago Tribune” when the club became part of the North Side Colony. In 1921 the Palette & Chisel Club also opened its new quarters on 1012 North Dearborn street. For the opening David L. Adam was listed as the master of the ceremonies (Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct 1921, page 18). As his term was ending at the club, the “Chicago Tribune” reported, “At a recent meeting of the Palette and Chisel club Glen Scheffer was elected president for the coming year. He takes the office from David L. Adam, under whose presidency the club has made great strides during the last year. It now has a membership of 200, which it is hoped will be increased by 350 in the near future. Sketch classes are held four nights a week” (12 Feb 1922, page 76). On April 3, 1922, he was interviewed by “the Inquiring Reporter” for the “Chicago Tribune.” When Adam was asked, “What is your best cure for the blues?” at the Palette and Chisel Club, he responded, “I so seldom have had the blues that I hardly know whether they are blue or black or what. Prevention is better than any cure, and I have to do that by having so many outside interests.”
At the time of his death, Adam’s occupation was listed as a teacher, specializing in portraiture at the Art Institute. His is just one more tale of a talent that ended too soon.
Over the years, Moses saw so many artists cut down at their prime. This list included Moses’ first mentor, Louis Malmsha of McVicker’s, and his one-time business partner Walter Burridge. There is something tragic about an artist who dies so early in life, just when the sun is starting to shine. You never see them grow old, their artistic styles shift, or them overcome any of life’s later obstacles. They are frozen in time, always full of promise and potential.
Two painting by David Livingston Adam.Amelia Earhart by David L. Adam, 1919.Painting by David L. Adam, 1923.
In 1924, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “…made my way to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to meet Mr. Wehn, Secretary of the Board of Education. We went up into the hills and I made two sketches, which I afterward presented to him.” That spring, newspapers reported, “Jamestown’s School Cost Takes Big Jump” (The Warren Tribune, 8 May 1924, page 12). From 1919-1924, the cost for operating the public schools in Jamestown increased 13 percent. Class sizes were getting bigger as the town expanded. There was a similar situation all over the country as schools were continually planned and built.
Postcard of the Johnstown High School in Pennsylvania
Later in 1924, Moses wrote, “Our work is running to schoolhouses and parochial halls.”
New school buildings meant that there was in increased demand for stage scenery and draperies in these academic facilities. Although the projects were much smaller than touring productions and Masonic projects, these school auditoriums offered a constant stream of work.
Stages were also being outfitted with new equipment and scenery throughout Pennsylvania. In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the “Evening News” reported, “New scenery and a new curtain was yesterday set up on the auditorium stage at the High School building. The equipment will be used the first time tomorrow evening for the opening performance of “The Charm School,” the senior class play” (March 26, 1924, page 4).
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “July 30th, I started south to Memphis, where I had to go over into Arkansas to make a sketch in a dismal swamp. Architect Awsumb went with me. I believe everything in the line of insects and reptiles lived in that swamp and had been waiting for us. I made a sketch as quickly as possible and got all other data necessary.”
ArchitectGeorge Awsumb (1880-1959)
Moses was accompanied by the well-known architect George Awsumb (1880-1959). The two worked together on the Memphis Municipal Auditorium that year. I find their trip to an Arkansas swamp fascinating, as they were going on site to gather source material, likely for one of the exterior stage settings at the auditorium. Moses came from a generation of artists who gathered primary source work for both their stage settings and easel art.
Much has been written about Awsumb and his architectural endeavors, but here is a brief synopsis.
George Awsumb was born in Skien, Norway, on July 20, 1880. He emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1883 when he was three years old. The Awsumbs settled in Whitewater, Wisconsin, where George graduated from the high school in 1898. The family later moved to Eau Claire. He started college studies as an engineering student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison in 1901. His interest and studies changed, and he began studying architecture at the University of Illinois in Champaign. After completing a Bachelors in Science by 1906, he began working as a draftsman in Chicago at various architectural offices. By 1913, he founded his own architectural firm and became a member of the Chicago Architectural Club. He won the Club’s traveling scholarship and later became the president in 1919. That same year, he entered a competition with Charles O. Pfeil for the design of the Memphis Municipal Auditorium. On October 26, 1924, the “Leader-Telegram” reported, the designer and architect of the building was George Awsumb, son of Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Awsumb of this city. Mrs. Awsumb is at present visiting her son in Memphis. Mr. Awsumb was also the architect who designed both the city hall here and also the city auditorium.”
Pfeil & Awsumb operated until 1929, when Awsumb broke away and founded another firm under his own name. Eventually, his firm became Awsumn & Sons. Here is the link to the Awsumb Architectural Collection in the Digital Archive of the Memphis Public Libraries: https://memphislibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p13039coll1/id/220/rec/1
In the spring of 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I have had a fearful cough for several months, begins to be chronic and running about in a car is not helping it very much.” For quite some time Moses had been suffering from both headaches and difficulty breathing.
Between securing contracts and competing projects, Moses was running himself ragged. Constantly being on the go was starting to take a toll. Between the spring of 1924 and the spring of 1925, Moses secured and completed a staggering amount of projects all over the country. At this same time, his health began to worsen. As many of us are prone to do, he ignored the warning signs and just kept plugging along. The breaking point occurred in California that April.
Moses and Fitch Fulton arrived in San Jose on March 27, 1925. He wrote, “Fulton and I got busy immediately, got a good start and pounded away pretty steadily until April 18th when my trouble that had been growing for the past four years came to a climax, and it was a case of life or death. Dr. Moore and Fulton got me to the San Jose Hospital on a Saturday night after an unsuccessful attempt to relieve me of my trouble.
The San Jose Hospital
“It took two nurses to keep me alive. When morning came, an operation had to be performed. Madam arrived from Los Angeles in the afternoon, several hours after the operation. I very soon recovered from the shock and while it was necessary to be kept quiet, the Madam was with me every minute, only going to the hotel at night. The day nurse, Vera Schultz, was a good strong girl, and delighted in taking me out in a wheelchair as the weather was fine. I enjoyed being out of doors, the hospital was very good and nicely situated in the city limits. I was in good condition by May 1st and I was taken again to the operating room for the second serious operation, which was successful, after which came the battle for strength. The weather became unsettled and gloomy, which did not help me very much. What I was obliged to go through in the hands of the doctor and the nurses was worse than the operation. All through my illness, I had to keep work going and had to ask the Madam to see that the salaries were paid and the work at the Consistory did not stop. It was opened on time and we were through on April 27th, a few days before my second operation. The members of the studio were very kind to me and my room was filled with flowers; the studio boys did not forget me. I here realized what brotherly love meant…On May 30th, I was allowed to go back to the hotel. I was very weak and could hardly walk. The Madam and I went to Santa Cruz for a week, stopping at the Casa Del Rey Hotel, which was very fine in every way. I made several sketches on the beach and fed the sea gulls. It was wonderful to be able to get out in the sunlight and drink in the pure air after such a long siege in the hospital.” And then he went back to work, picked up the pace and just kept plugging along – again. But this was a bit of a wake-up call for Moses. He would recall that his hospital experience dominated his entire California time that year, with projects being completed either “before or after the taking.”
As Moses celebrated his birthday that summer, he wrote, “The 21st of July was my 69th birthday, and I believe I have a great deal to be thankful for, as my health is one hundred per cent better than a year ago, and we have a good business – there is nothing more to be wished for.”
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “During July, we had a number of designs to make. We closed an $18,000.00 contract at Memphis for the Civic Auditorium; very big drops and asbestos curtains.”
This was the new Memphis Municipal Auditorium in Tennessee. The facility had been in the planning stage for quite some time, with early committees forming in 1912. By 1919, the architect’s drawings were published in local newspapers. The idea was to not only build an amphitheater that could accommodate eleven thousand people, but also design one that could be converted into an opera house that could accommodate between two-thousand and seven-thousand audience members. There would be a stage, orchestra pit, tickets offices and all other requirements for a modern theater. The first public gathering of the auditorium was on June 3, 4, and 5, 1924 for the United Confederate Veteran’s Reunion. Although the building was not complete, visitors were able to gather in the main auditorium. The formal opening was on October 17, 1924 with two free concerts conducted by John Philip Sousa, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Dedicatory exercises as part of the evening’s entertainment.
The auditorium was located in downtown Memphis on the corner of Poplar Avenue and Main Street, right next to the railroad. The facility had a seating capacity for 11,000 and boasted 30,000 square feet of display space. It was a massive undertaking with an electric movable stage.
In 1926, “The Story of the Memphis Auditorium” was published and described building. One section thoroughly described the auditorium and stage: “The history of the large auditorium in America has been one of steady progress from the armory and amphitheater type of structure to the modern convention hall and opera house of today. The program for the Memphis Auditorium was an ambitious one, calling for a large convention hall seating about twelve thousand, with arrangement to be provided for converting it into an opera house of considerable size, with provision for a stage to accommodate the most elaborate scenic effects” (page 39).
Later in the book, the stage house and mechanics were described in detail:
“The stage is forty-two feet wide by the entire width of the auditorium back of the arena wall behind the circle of boxes and seats, which is one hundred thirty-five feet on the floor and one hundred thirteen feet between the fronts of the balconies above, the latter being the actual width of the enclosed stage house. Among the many peculiar problems of this building was the design and construction of the stage house. A stage house must be a fireproof structure, generally built of concrete or brick walls, be provided with gridiron arrangement for raising and lowering scenery and for hanging same when it is not needed on the stage. It must have a steel asbestos curtain to cover the entire stage opening which will automatically close in case of fire, and in an ordinary theater has a rear stage door for taking scenery in an out. Dressing rooms are generally arranged on either side of the stage.
“It was found necessary to build the upper part of this stage house of structural steel with reinforced concrete upon the inside from a height of forty-five feet to the arena floor to the roof of the building. This necessitated dropping the ceiling of the north hall at the point noted one hundred sixty feet from exchange street wall, and designing that part of the building in a separate unit as a large auditorium for the giving of operas, fetes, etc. from the stage. The stage house proper, then, is a solid concrete wall under a concrete roof one hundred and thirteen feet long by forty feet deep long and forty feet high at its highest point. This was ample height to install all machinery, gridirons, etc. When the stage is in use from wither hall, walls of special fireproof construction are let down by machinery from above, making a hollow wall below built up of steel and asbestos products, with a large air space in between. When these walls are in place for a theatrical production the stage house is similar to that of any other theater, with the exception of the method of construction and the fact that the stage has a proscenium opening on either side.
“The curtain openings are each seventy by thirty-two feet. The stage is deep enough to receive one hundred and twenty lines of scenery, which is all that could be required in present day theatrical performance, and up-to-date opera company using only about eighty. The stage house and openings are as large if not larger than in any other country. All of the fireproof walls, etc., which can go below permanent stage house can be raised into the latter by means of motors located on the gridiron level by the turning of a switch. The stage walls may be raised slowly in at this manner in forty-five minutes; while a complete change from two halls with stage into a large amphitheater may be made in eight hours.
“The large truss at the north side of the stage house, which carries a large part of the load, has a span of two hundred feet and weighs sixteen hundred tons. All of the steel work in connection with the stage house is fireproofed with hollow tile or concrete. The stage itself when in position is five feet above the arena floor and three feet above the floor of the concert hall. This stage is set on a series of screws which operate by motors to raise or lower it to any desired height. When the stage is lowered to the arena floor and all walls are raised to the attic, a fireproof collapsible ceiling is suspended over the opening of the stage house and below the hanging scenes, asbestos curtains, suspended walls and border lights. When this is done the auditorium is open for its entire length. The boxes, circle seats, and balcony seats continue south below and at each end of the stage house, so that the amphitheater is two hundred feet wide for a distance of two hundred and twenty feet from the north wall and one hundred and thirteen feet wide from this point to the south wall.
“At each side of the stage house above the balcony and on a level with the bottom of the permanent stage house – that is, forty-five feet above the arena floor – is a space forty-two feet wide by fifty-five feet long, designed to be used as an organ loft. These is also a connecting space eleven by one hundred and thirteen feet south of the stage house at this same level, which will be used in distributing the sounds from the two parts of the organ into the concert hall when the music is wanted there. The organ blowers and motors are all on this same level. Baffles will be used to direct the sound room from the organ to either the north hall or the south hall as desired. The organ is not installed at the time the building was built, but is now being provided for.
“Another very necessary feature of an auditorium which has full theatrical equipment is ample dressing room area. This is provided for in a unique way. On the stage floor level at either side are two star dressing rooms with private toilets, a stairway up to ta mezzanine dressing room section and a door to the main corridor thirteen feet wide, into which auto trucks can be driven with scenery, equipment and trunks. The larger pieces of scenery are brought in through the center, north or south doors, as the case may be, to the back of the stage. The orchestra pit has the usual connection to men’s chorus room and retiring rooms in the basement.”
In 1924, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Went down to Iowa where I closed another order in the State Prison hall.”
Of all the jobs that Moses mentioned in his memoirs, this one surprised me. I guess that I never really thought about state prisons as a theatre client. In many cases, the theaters were referred to as “chapels,” seating hundreds of inmates for a variety of events and lectures. At Iowa’s State Penitentiary and Men’s Reformatory there were prison bands. Orchestras and choirs were organized at both men’s and boy’s reformatories in the state. These groups presented concerts on Sunday’s and holidays. Visitor’s gate receipts also funded other performances, lectures and concerts. By the 1930s, movies were offered to the prisoners.
Locating any images of prison theaters became quite a challenge. I finally came across an image from one at the state prison in Des Moines, Iowa. It made me think of the bare-bones academic stages or Liberty theaters during WWI.
As I searched the 1924 newspapers for articles about any mention of a prison performer, one particular story caught my eye. On March 30, 1924, the “Des Moines Register” published a full-page article that headlined, “Sweet Alice, Omaha Beauty, Prefers Saving Souls to Stage. She is back home singing for poor and unfortunate.”
The article described the life and career of Alice (Alyce) McCormick, who started her career at the age of four singing to prison inmates. The article detailed, “Alyce was the first girl who ever sang in the Charlestown prison,” said Major McCormick. “No women had ever before been allowed there until Mrs. Booth secured the consent of the prison authorities to conduct religious services. That was in the days when prisoners’ beards were allowed to grow. “Alyce, a tiny little girl with long auburn curls, faced rows of grizzled whiskered faces and sang without a trace of fright. Many of those men had been imprisoned for long terms of years without seeing a single woman or child. Tears came into their eyes as Alyce sang and as I carried her from the building many reached out gently and touched her clothing and caressed her curly head,” said her father. During the summers since that time Miss McCormick has sung in the prisons of Trenton, N.J., Joliet, Ill., Anamosa, Ia., Lincoln, Neb., Leavenworth and Lansing, Kansas, Los Angeles, Cal., and Pontiac, Ill. the Charlestown prison in Charlestown, Mass.”
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Went to Saginaw where I closed a small order for Masonic work.” The small order was likely for the temporary Masonic quarters after the 1924 fire.
The Masonic Temple in Saginaw, Michigan.
That spring, the Saginaw Masonic Temple burned. On March 11, 1924, the “Lansing State Journal” reported, “SAGNIAW, March 11. – Fire damaged the South Saginaw Masonic Temple early Tuesday, destroying the two upper floors of the building, occupied by three Masonic orders and a lodge of Maccabees. A dry goods store on the first floor of the building was flooded with the water poured on the fire. The damage may reach $70,000.” As in most cases, the Masons rebuilt their home, but outfitted temporary quarters during the planning and construction phase.
In 1926, Saginaw’s new Masonic Temple adjoined and equally new Temple Theater, located at 201-211 North Washington Avenue.
This reminded me the early days when Sosman & Landis first opened their doors. Moses may have been taking direction from the old Sosman & Landis playbook. In the beginning, the firm followed theatre fires, securing one project after another. In many ways, it was almost guaranteed work; there was always a plan to rebuild.
In 1923, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “June 22nd, I took a run over to Ft. Scott and met the committee on Masonic work. At this new Temple Roy Givens came down and we had quite a showing. Our old work is in the present Temple and as they are well please with it, I feel that we stand a good chance on it, but one can never tell.”
After closing the Fort Leavenworth Masonic scenery contract in 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Went to Kansas City where I met Roy Givens. A day’s rest in a hotel bed made me fit for another jaunt on to Denver where we rested for a day before going to Cheyenne…. Givens went back to Denver after we had a showing of our model, without getting much encouragement as to our chances on a $16,000 contract.”
I am still a little perplexed about Given’s relationship with Moses. In 1920, census records report that Givens was the manager of a uniform factory. It is possible that Givens was supplying fraternal regalia, working with Moses to deliver complete installations, similar to the agreement between Bestor G. Brown of M. C. Lilley and Joseph Sosman of Sosman & Landis. They worked together to delivered scenery to Scottish Rite stages during the 1890s and first decade of the twentieth-century. Moses may have been trying to establish a concrete Masonic link with western Masons again.
James Roy Givens was born on August 23, 1885 in Salina, Kansas. He was the son of John Wesley Givens (1842-1921) and Penina Jane McCall (1847-1966). As a young many, “Roy” Givens was featured as an excellent student, participating in both musical and theatrical productions. He went on to law school, graduated from college and was admitted to the bar by June 1905. He even made the headlines with a few of his cases. And then he joined the fraternity…
On Oct. 20, 1906, the “Salina Evening Journal” announced, “Roy Givens and George Meyers received the first degree in John Brown Lodge, A.F. and A.M. last night” (page 3). This was John H. Brown Lodge, No. 216, A.F. & A.M.
By the next spring, the “Salina Semi-Weekly Journal” announced “Roy Givens will be secretary to Grand Master Wellington” (1 March 1907, page 7). The article reported, “Roy Givens, a young man who has lived in Salina all his life, and who for the past year has been private secretary of T. L. Bond, grand master of Kansas Masons, left Wednesday for Ellsworth, where he will take a similar position with E. W. Wellington, who was elected to succeed T. L. Bond as grand master at the grand lodge at Wichita last week. Roy is an excellent stenographer and his association with Mr. Bond for the past year, and the fact that he took care of a great deal of the grand master’s private Masonic work, makes him peculiarly fit for the position. He has many friends in Salina who will regret to see him leave this city, but he will not be so far away to come home for a visit occasionally.”
Grand Master Wellington was Waldo Wellington. A year later the two were mentioned in the newspapers again. On Nov. 12, 1908, the “Ellsworth Messenger” announced, “Roy Givens, of Kansas City, spent a few days this week in Ellsworth with his friend, Waldo Wellington. While here he received his degree in Ellsworth Chapter, No. 54, R. A. M.” This means that after completing the third degree and becoming a Master Mason, he entered the York Rite.
In 1911, Givens married Florence Grace Robb (1882-1964). The couple celebrated the birth of two daughters Nina-Belle Givens (1912-1983) and Sarah Jane Givens (1915-2010). Both were born in Kansas City, Missouri.
Over the next few years, Givens was repeatedly connected with the fraternity, and then nothing. Moses only mentioned Givens in 1923 and 1924. By 1930, Givens was the manager of a refrigeration factory in Kansas City. He continued in that capacity for the next decade. I have uncovered very little else so far. Givens passed away on Nov. 16, 1959 in Kansas City, Missouri.
