Winter 2002 (4.6MB) - Grand Masonic Lodge of California

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M ASONIC H OMES AnEarly Impression One man’s journey from the Covina Children’s Home to retirement at Union City When a Mason earns affectionate nicknames such as Pop and Candy Man during his lifetime, you know he must be a special individual. And so it is with Lauryn Taylor, age 86, a Master Mason. He and his wife, Laura, took up residence at the Masonic Home at Union City in the spring of this year. Lauryn is the first known member of the fraternity to live his early years at the Masonic Home for Children at Covina and then choose the Masonic Home at Union City when it was time to enter a retirement community. Lauryn Taylor and his brothers, Vaughn and Floyd, were placed at the Home for Children by their father, an Alameda city firefighter and Mason, who was unable to care for them after their mother died. California Freemason 20 Winter 2002 When he came to live at Covina in 1921, Lauryn was just five years old. He remained there for 12 years, during which he earned the nickname Pop. Lauryn recalls that time with great fondness and gratitude to the brotherhood. “The Masons took such good care of us,” he recalls. “All of the other children at school were envious of the kids from the Home. It was during the Depression, but we always had food to eat and clothes to wear. We were lucky. Many of our classmates weren’t as fortunate.” Lauryn took away from the Home more than an appreciation for his food and clothing. He learned a skill in the Covina woodworking shop that led to his life’s work as a machinist for the Muni railroad, the Navy Yard at Hunters Point, and the San Francisco Water Department. When he was not working, his hobby was designing and executing beautiful wood and pewter objects. His candleholders, vases, gavels, and clocks grace the Taylors’ apartment at the Union City campus. Also formed at Covina was an ardent desire to become a Mason. “I wanted to be able to do for others what had been done for me,” he says. That wish was fulfilled when he became a Mason on his son’s first birthday, in 1945. This marked the formal beginning of his long and distinguished commitment to Masonry. Lauryn’s contributions to Masonry are significant and numerous, and include serving as master of George Washington Lodge No. 525 in San Francisco (now Brotherhood Lodge No. 370), working as a candidates’ coach, and serving as a member of the Masonic Homes Endowment Board. He has also been a guest speaker at many Bay Area lodges, which he visited to talk about the Covina Children’s Home. Lauryn’s contributions were formally recognized in 1988, when he received the prestigious Hiram Award. When Lauryn and Laura Taylor could no longer care for their home the way they used to, they chose the Masonic Home at Union City as their retirement community. Lauryn Taylor is so proud of the day he became a Mason that he still has the cancelled check from his first membership fee.
Their association with Masonry has enriched their lives. Laura has held many offices in Eastern Star, and Lauryn has served as patron three times. They knew they wanted to spend their retirement years in a community of residents who share common beliefs built on the solid foundation of Masonic ideals. Before they moved onto the Union City campus, Lauryn Taylor was already affectionately known around the Home as the Candy Man. For many years when he and Laura visited her sister who resided at the Home, he brought candy to the residents. He still keeps a candy basket, which is embroidered with his nickname, in his apartment. It is one small way Lauryn continues to show his gratitude and repay the kindness shown to him and his family when they were very much in need 80 years ago and they turned to the Masons for relief. In 1921, 5-year-old Lauryn “Pop” Taylor (right) and his brother Vaughn, 7, came to live in the Children’s Home at Covina, where Lauryn developed a strong desire to become a Mason. Above, Lauryn retires to the Masonic Home at Union City in 2002. California Freemason 21 Winter 2002
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Winter 2002 (4.6MB) - Grand Masonic Lodge of California

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