Gould's History of Freemasonry Around the World - Lodge Prudentia

8 FREEMASONRY IN THE DOMINIONforth the pathways of life would be straight and simple ; that every man wouldhave equal opportunity and equal share in the best things of life . At this timean abnormal influx into all the Lodges took place . The men who sought admittancewere representative citisens from legislative halls, from hospital boardsand school boards, from churches and civic enterprises, in short, from every walkof life . To meet the need of these new members, Charters were granted, MasonicHalls were dedicated, and Temples were erected throughout the length andbreadth of the jurisdiction . At no time before in its history had it been possiblefor Masonry to play so great a part in moulding public opinion and in exertingan influence for good upon the body politic . It was here that the teachings ofthe Craft were sublimated . Perhaps their splendid influence in this field is responsiblefor the maintenance of the unique and high prestige of the Fraternitythroughout the Province in general .Among the Brethren connected with the Grand Lodge were two of outstandingmerit . One of these was M . W . Bro . Dr . George Macdonald, the firstGrand Master, who subsequently held the position of Grand Secretary for tenyears during the early days of formative policy . The other was M . W . Bro . S . Y .Taylor, who was Grand Master in 1915 and Grand Secretary during the periodfrom 19117 to 192.8 . Bro . Taylor was still Grand Secretary at the time of his deathin March 192-8 . Of this esteemed Brother it has been justly said :A fine scholarship enabled him to apply with telling force the supremelyspiritual values of our Masonic idealism . In consequence of his untiring zeal andefforts in the exposition of these ideals there was developed a high moral tonethroughout the whole Craft in this jurisdiction which will remain as a fittingand enduring monument to his memory .On Saturday, October 11, 1931, a Special Communication of the GrandLodge to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of its founding was held inCalgary. Twelve Past Grand Masters, Representatives of four neighbouringGrand jurisdictions, and several hundred Brethren from all parts of westernCanada were in attendance . At this unique meeting the first Grand Master,M. W . Bro . Dr . George Macdonald, received a stirring ovation as he rose toaddress the gathering . The Grand Master, M. W . Bro . Dr . S . N . Sneddon,addressed the Brethren as followsI must, on behalf of myself and the Grand Lodge of Alberta here assembled,express our deep sense of the honour accorded to this Grand Lodge by the presencehere to-day of the distinguished Representatives of the Grand Lodges ofManitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia, who are here as our guests tocelebrate our twenty-fifth Anniversary . This is an historic occasion, and fromthe large attendance from distant points in the province, I think that feature ofthis gathering is uppermost in our minds : but to me our meeting here to-dayshould be more in the nature of an act of homage and honour to those who afterall are really responsible for this great occasion . I am referring to those memberswho had the courage and foresight to form a Grand Lodge in what was then