|
Re-established Lodge honors H.C. Meriwether
By MICHAEL NEARY, Messenger staff writer
The
cleanup of
Pleasant
Valley
Thursday
was orchestrated by a group that has a fairly lengthy history but has
not received much local publicity, a Prince Hall-affiliated Masonic
Lodge.
Prince Hall Freemasonry is named for its founder, who along with 14
other free blacks, joined a British Army lodge of Masons who were
stationed in
Boston in 1775. Today, there are more than 4,500 Prince Hall - affilliated Masonic Lodges in more than 40 jurisdictions.
In
Fort Dodge Thursday, 10 people were on hand as members of H.C.
Meriwether Lodge, No. 46, coordinated a cleanup of Ninth, 10th and 11th
avenues southwest with the city and the community.
Jameel Hameed, worshipful master of the lodge, said it is planning
several community service projects. He noted plans to clean up the
Pleasant
Valley
Mini
Park
, to repaint
Second
Baptist
Church
and
to work with children in the community. Hameed mentioned the
possibility of working with the local nonprofit organization Athletics
for Education and Success, directed by Charles Clayton.
‘‘
The
thing
that we try to project is the example,’’ said Hameed. ‘‘And by trying
to project the best example, others can see and follow.’’
In February, organizers re-established what had been called Prince Hall
Solomon Lodge No. 45, naming it in honor of Harry C. Meriwether,
according to Hameed. Meriwether, explained member Steve Clayton, ‘‘was
the master of the lodge in the ’50s and ’60s and ’70s, until his death
in the ’80s.’’
‘‘Harry was very knowledgeable of Masonry,’’ said Hameed, who noted that Meriwether set an example for many subsequent members.
According to Clayton, part of Meriwether’s strength emerged in the directness of his speech.
‘‘It was very precise and to the point,’’ he said.
Clayton said it was Meriwether’s successor, William Roby Sr., who introduced him to the Masonic lodges.
‘‘He more or less introduced the Masonic lodges to us, and we became affiliated through him,’’ he said.
Hameed noted that Meriwether and Roby were worshipful masters in the order.
‘‘Blacks were exposed to Masonry in the 1700s,’’ Hameed said, noting
that ‘‘up until a certain time, most blacks came under the leadership
of Prince Hall Masonry.’’
Prince Hall was a master Mason in the northeastern part of the
United States
in the late 1700s, and ‘‘the founding father of black Masons,’’ according to Hameed.
‘‘It was very hard for Prince Hall to become a Mason,’’ Clayton said,
Now, he said, members of his group and white members of the other Fort
Dodge Masonic lodge, Ashlar Lodge, A.F. and A.M., No. 111, are working
together.
‘‘
The
re is a plan to unite and to establish togetherness,’’ he said.
Who are the Masons?
Masons, or Freemasons, are members of a fraternal organization with
millions of members worldwide. Freemasonry is administratively
organized into Grand Lodges. Members of the individual lodges refer to
each other as ‘‘brothers’’ or ‘‘brethren.’’
The
re are elected officers within each lodge to carry out the work of the organization.
The
worshipful master is essentially the president, and the vice presidents are known as ‘‘wardens.’’
The
secretary
and treasurer are also elected. Appointed officers include stewards,
tylers and chaplains, although offices and functions vary.
Freemasonry is known as speculative Freemasonry to differentiate it from operative freemasonry, which refers to stonemasons.
Speculative Freemasonry uses symbols employed by the medieval operative stonemasons — the square and the compass.
Who are the Prince Hall Masons?
Prince Hall-affiliated Masons take their name from the man who is
recognized as the father of black Masonry. Hall fought at the Battle of
Bunker Hill, became a minister in the African Methodist Episcopal
Church and advocated the abolition of slavery. He opened a school for
black children in his home. He died in 1807.
Who was Harry C. Meriwether?
Harry Meriwether, who died
Sept. 11, 1980
, at the age of 80, served as worshipful master of what was known as Prince Hall Solomon Masonic Lodge.
Meriwether was born in
Lee
,
Okla
, and served in the United States Navy during World War I.
Following his discharge, he was employed as a merchant seaman cook for a number of years. He moved to
Fort Dodge
in 1932 and opened Harry’s Chicken Shack.
He served in the Navy again during World War II, then returned to
Fort Dodge
and continued with the operation of his business. He and wife Anne retired in 1970.
He was a member of the American Legion, the VFW and World War I
Veterans. He served as a member of the Urban Renewal Commission of the
Low Rent Housing Commission and on the board of the Urban Ministry.
In 1981, 11th Street Southwest from First Avenue South to South Seventh Street was renamed Harry C. Meriwether Drive in his honor.
In 1982, the first Harry C. Meriwether Memorial Scholarship was awarded
to a black high school senior to help with post-secondary education
expenses.
The
Meriwether scholarships are still given annually.
Section: News Date Posted:
5/11/2007
http://www.messengernews.net/News/articles.asp?articleID=9487
|
