Events Photo Gallery

An admirable project of the Grand Lodge was the creation of a Committee on Military and Naval Masonic Activity which was to render service to brethren and sons of brethren in the armed forces. The resolution was introduced by Past Master Charles C. Clark at the Annual Communication in June 1941. Funds for the committee's work were to be provided by voluntary contributions. The committee lost no time in becoming active and in a letter to each lodge on February 7, 1942, made its first report. On August 26, 1942, the then Grand Master, Ford L. Van Hoesen, asked for a contribution of twenty-five cents from each member. This request was repeated for the next five years, being discontinued after January l, 1947. By a request of the committee in June 1943, the funds available to the committee were to be allotted as follows: 40 %, to the Masonic Service Association; 40 % to rehabilitation, and 20 % to Iowa's program of service. In June 1946, Grand Master William L. Perkins recommended to the Grand Lodge that a portion of the money from these contributions be set aside to erect a war memorial as a part of the new Grand Lodge Library building which was now in the early planning stages. His recommendation was adopted. Surplus funds of the committee were invested in government bonds, and when construction of the new building was started in 1953 the bonds were cashed and the sum of $47,435.00 was available. This made possible the exquisite memorial hall with a roster of lodge members who served during the war.

The carpet in the War Memorial room is made of Australian wool shipped to Puerto Rico, dyed, woven into the rug and then sheared to leave the Masonic emblem outstanding.

The hour-glass is an emblem of mortality and refers to the passage of time from which none can escape.

At the east end of the room hangs the painting "Victorious Peace" by Edwin J. Bruns of Cedar Rapids, the gift of Burdette Lackman of Burns Lodge No. 173 of Monticello.

The center window denotes patriotism and dedication to our country as well and the ever-burning flame, an emblem of eternity.

Painted by Edwin Bruns in 1956 displayed in the "War Memorial Room" This painting denotes the sense of well being and prosperity that had returned to the world and America in particular as well as Freemasonry.

The artwork depicted in this frame is a square and compass, the symbol for the Blue Lodge of Masonry. It is made entirely of matching blue, yellow and tan iridescent butterfly wings. The picture is dated 1918 and belongs to Trinity Lodge No. 208 in Davenport, Iowa. The original owners were Roy and Anna Appleby. It was returned to Iowa from California in 2001 by Mrs. Dale McClure.

James Stevenson, a geologist with the United States Geological Survey and the Bureau of American Ethnology, collected many of the pieces in this exhibit case. These artifacts were then given to Theodore S. Parvin and subsequently donated to the Iowa Masonic Library about 1894. James Stevenson also made extensive ethnological collections for the Smithsonian Institution. Stevenson died in 1888. The black on black pottery in the upper portion of the exhibit contains signed pieces by Maria Martinez from the 1920s.