ST. JAMES MASONIC LODGE NO. 59 AND IT’S HERITAGEBy Clarence C. Love State Representative Thirty-Fifth District* An area known as Quindaro is located in the northeast section of Kansas City, Kansas. This area is predominately populated by black citizens. The area holds many historical memories for the residents of the community. Old Quindaro is rich in tradition. It was the only free port on the Missouri River. It was settled by those who came to help make Kansas a free state. Naturally, marvelous and exciting stories would grow out of the aid given to escaping slaves – which would stretch the imagination. The initial settlers in Quindaro were three white families whose names were Sorter, Schaeffer and Vondom. They were all farmers. The first black families of runaway slaves to settle in Quindaro were Banks and Saunders. Others who came later were the Monroe, Grigsby and Harris families. I wish to take this time to refute some of the erroneous statements which have been floating round about Quindaro History. First, there never was a tunnel under the Missouri River, the tunnel was in the base of the cliff on the Kansas side to enable the slaves, as they came out of the water, to not be shot as they climbed the cliff to freedom. Secondly, Abraham Lincoln and John Brown had never been in Quindaro. President Lincoln was headed for Quindaro in a two-seated buggy but had to turn back to Troy, Kansas because of a heavy snowstorm. The most famous person to visit Quindaro was Horace Greeley, a New York journalist, who coined the phrase, “Go west young man”. He stayed overnight in the local hotel. Kansas was admitted into the Union by the United States Congress in January, 1861 after three unsuccessful efforts at Constitutional Conventions. The first convention was at Topeka, the second at Lecompton and the third was at Leavenworth. All three efforts failed because they did not take a stand against slavery and Pikes Peak was within Kansas Borders. The fourth Constitutional convention was held in Kansas City, Kansas at Second and State. Its petition spoke strongly against slavery and the western border of Kansas was brought into its present site. The Congress quickly accepted the proposal and Kansas was made a state on January 29, 1861. The Civil War broke out that same year (1861) and the struggling, little town of Quindaro, which was established in 1857 was doomed to failure. All the able-bodied men went off to war on the side of the Union and the women and children either went back east or to more populated areas for protection, Many substantial buildings were left unoccupied by their white owners and were filled by black refugees from across the Missouri River. About this period came Rev. Even Blachy, a white, Presbyterian Minister, who established a school for those Missouri Refugees; he is buried in the old Quindaro Cemetery – the inscription on his stone shows he was born on April 28, 1800 and died July 21, 1877. In time the Blachy School came to be known as Freedman’s University; with donations from several friends of Dr. Blachly, the Institution grew to 700 acres of land. The Kansas Legislature in 1872, provided $2,500 for the support of the “Colored Norman School” of Quindaro: “Provided that the Board of Trustees of the school shall furnish suitable rooms and apparatus for the successful workings of said normal school free of charge”. Each Senatorial and Representative District in Kansas was entitled to send one pupil to the School providing that pupil was of good and moral character. After Rev. Blachly died in 1877, the school went down. Four years later, 1881, four black men sat on the porch of Mr. Corvine Patterson in K.C.K. and worked out planes for rebuilding the school under the name of Western University. This lead to the University being turned over to the AME Church. In 1896, Rev. William Tecumpcie Vernon, an energetic young teacher, came to the school and under his management that school made some progress. Rev. Vernon was later the Registrar of the United States Treasury and Bishop of the A.M.E. Church. His name was printed on all U.S. paper money during his four years under President Theodore Roosevelt. His home is still standing right behind Vernon School on Sewell. If you are ever in Boys Town, Omaha, Nebraska, visit the Museum to your right as you enter the gate and you will see every denomination of money with Bishop Vernon’s name on it. He was also a president of Western University. Bishop Vernon was member of St. James Lodge No. 59 in good and regular standing and was also was fairly regular in attendance. Another prominent member of St. James, at the time, was Brother Archie Gregg, mathematics teacher and former president of Western University. In the political campaign of 1898 (the same year St. James was chartered), Rev. Vernon rendered a valiant service in campaigning for Governor W.E. Stanley. When the victory was won, it was decided that something must be done for Rev. Vernon’s school. Out of this came the establishment of a State Industrial Department at Western University. The Legislature of 1899 appropriated $5000 for a building and an equal amount for the two year period. The cornerstone of the building was laid by the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Kansas in September, 1899, with Governor Stanley as the guest of honor and main speaker. With all the struggles, setbacks and advancements the Community of Quindaro experience, it was indeed fitting that if a monument was to be erected, anywhere, to John Brown. It should be on the town site of old Quindaro. The credit for starting and carrying to a successful conclusion the construction of the monument, belonged to Bishop Abram Grant of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The fund was contributed, exclusively, by black people in sums from .50 to $10.00. The statue, fourteen feet high, was sculpted in Italy of Carrera marble at the cost of $2,000. It was unveiled with much ceremony on June 8, 1911 as part of the commencement Exercises of Western University. The statue has survived heat, cold and out-of-door weather. There was an attempt to pull it from its pedestal by some teenage boys with a car and chain. The statue has also been moved twice from the original site. Quindaro got its name from Quindaro Brown, an Indian girl who married a well-to-do farmer, Ablard Guthrie. All property abstracts in the Quindaro Area began with Ablard Guthrie. The name Quindaro, means a bundle of sticks. This was a gesture of the father of an Indian bride to give to her husband a bundle of sticks. This meant an acre of land was given for every stick in the bundle. Hence, Guthrie became a great landowner along with property he previously held. The first black organized institution in Quindaro was the Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church which has been in continuous service since 1868. Running a distant second is St. James Masonic Lodge No. 59 which was chartered by the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Kansas, August 24, 1898. Masonic Lodges are numbered according to the chronological order in which they were chartered. Thus, St. James was the 59th Prince Hall Lodge of Kansas; F. & A.M. was chartered by the State of Ohio in Lawrence, Kansas – March 7, 1875. This was the same year Custer made his last stand against the Indians at the Little Big Horn. It, also, was the beginning of the Exoduster Movement which saw many, many black people migrating to Kansas for a new life and future. The first Lodge chartered by Ohio in Kansas was Western Star Lodge No. 1, located in Lawrence in 1865; David G. Lett was the Worshipful Master. Shortly thereafter, Euclid Lodge No. II was located at Topeka and Mount Olive Lodge No. III located at Leavenworth were established and chartered by the Ohio Grand Lodge (John Jones M.S.G.M.). These three Lodges remained under the jurisdiction of Ohio until 1875 when a convention of the craft was called to meet at the Masonic Hall, Lawrence, Kansas for the purpose of organizing the Kansas Grand Lodge. According to Masonic Law, three Blue Lodges (3rd Degree) must exist in the state before they can declare themselves a Grand Lodge. The Order spread rapidly over the State of Kansas after the Grand Lodge was created. By 1900, the Widows and Orphans Fund had grown to $1,598.87. The Grand Lodge, that year, reported, “The orphans of this jurisdiction are being trained for the battle of live and receiving the same education as that of the most highly favored class.” Twenty-three years after the Grand Lodge was chartered in Lawrence, masonry came to Quindaro and St. James Lodge No. 59 was organized. Most of the men of Quindaro were churchmen, at the time, who had deep and sincere hope in Jesus Christ. They were hard working, Bible reading, Christian gentlemen who were faithful to their trust. After the formal ceremony organizing Lt. James Lodge, they elected Walter W. Monroe as their first Worshipful Master. Brother Monroe has offspring living in Quindaro and Kansas City, Kansas to this day, August 24, 1987, the 89th birthday of St. James. During its founding period, the men of St. James were not highly educated or well-to-do or prominent citizens, but they could discuss the Bible with the best trained theological minds. Therefore, they went to the Bible to choose a new name for their new lodge and came up with the name of James. James was the brother of John, who was banished to the Island of Patmos. They were the sons of Zebedee and Disciples of Christ. James was the youngest of the disciples and John the oldest of all being the brother of our Lord, Jesus Christ. James was also pastor of the First Church of Jerusalem. Because of his convictions and teachings, the Members of St. James quickly named their Lodge for him without any reservations. St. James is synonymous with the environment from which it came, such as pride and progress. It was this same pride and progress that one of the most popular Grandmasters we have ever had, Sol G. Watkins, was prompt to make this statement at the Grand Lodge held in Lawrence in August, 1901: “If we are guarding with due care and pillars of wisdom, strength and beauty; if in our lives, the Jewel of Friendship, morality and brotherly love sparkle forth as genuine diamonds; if the listening ear, the silent tongue and the faithful breast do in every truth distinguish us from the rest of the world; if we are using the heritage to elevate, to strengthen mankind and to build up nobler, better and purer men, to make better sons, husbands, fathers, and truer citizens, then the whole Masonic World will say, “Well done; enter ye into the full, free and complete enjoyment of Universal Masonry.” In 1914, Grandmaster E.J. Hawkins of Ft. Scott, Kansas was invited by St. James Lodge No. 59 along with the Grand Lodge and its members to lay the cornerstone of Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church of Quindaro. Rev. Jones was Pastor at that time. Grandmaster Hawkins became ill and had to deputize Past Grandmaster C.H.M. Collins to perform the duty. It was reported to have had an excellent turnout and that those given parts, rendered them with that exactness characteristic of Kansas Masons. The late Brother, John Walker, was W.M. of St. James. The Masons and Odd Fellows were practically synonymous, since members belonging to one invariably belonged to the other. This was true in other states as well. Two of St. James’ Members, Edward Hill and Eugene F. Johnson initiated a court fight in the latter 1950’s, challenging Grandmaster P. G. Porter with misinterpreting the Constitution in order to keep himself in office. They and their attorney, Elmer Jackson lost the case and the Grandmaster suspended them and several others from Masonry. St. James has had one Grandmaster in the 116 years of existence, Brother Robert L. Muse. The Lodge also produced two 33 degree Masons, Brother Clarence C. Love and Brother Robert L. Muse. “To many, every incident is an accident and every accident a calamity.” Despite the stormy seas of criticism, despite the billowing waves of gossip and adverse conditions and situations, St. James Lodge No. 59 of Quindaro is like the old Ship of Zion, it has sailed to turbulent waters on an even keel, unsinkable in the past, unsinkable now and by the Grace of God, unsinkable in the future. The present 1998 Worshipful Master, Leroy Hooks, commissioned State Representative Clarence C. Love to write the history of St. James – Lodge No. 59. The history was compiled in August of 1987 from resources in old Grand Lodge Minutes, W. H. Grimshaw’s “History of Freemasonry”, Morgan’s history of Wyandotte County and the history of Allen Chapel A.M.E Church. St. James Lodge No. 59 has continued to excel in striving to foster and promote the ideals and goals of Free Masonry. St. James has sponsored several programs designed to bring harmony and brotherly love to the community. The Lodge has distributed food baskets to the needy families during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons. St. James has brought numerous new members into the Lodge to help us grow in the 21st century.All has not been without some losses to the Lodge. Since the 90th anniversary celebration twelve of our Brothers have been called from Labor to Refreshment; Brothers: James Abair, John Akridge, George Blake, Leroy Kindrick, Clarence Love, Sr., C. L. Miller, Sam Moore, Willard Murray, Leroy Neely, Raymond Stewart, Sr., Accie Taylor, and Aaron Williams. These Brother will always be Remembered by St. James Lodge No. 59 for the contributions that they made in shaping the Lodge to what it has become. They usually rented owned the same hall for their meetings. The Odd Fellows were slightly more popular than Masons, however. St. James and the Quindaro Odd Fellows conducted their activities the same way as other jurisdictions. They met in the basement of Allen Chapel (A.M.E. Church) located then on the corner of 29th and Sloan (across the street from the Quindaro First Baptist Church, until a storm, one night, blew the building out into the middle of the street. St. James also met in a frame building across the street from their present building which was in the corner of the Vernon School Ground. The last meeting place before the present building, was in the basement of Vernon School. In 1952, the Worshipful Master Edward Hill and his Senior Warden, Willard M. Murray, initiated plans to build a Lodge Hall. The Lodge Treasury was $740.00. They hired a contractor by the name of Harold Baker. The Baptist Church, also, hired Mr. Baker to build their Church up from out of the basement. Both projects were to be built simultaneously but Mr. Baker eventually ended up with all the money and nothing done. St, James had some very strong – willed men with great determination. They quickly rallied around Brother C.E. (Clossie) Everett, the Secretary of the Lodge and also a pretty good carpenter and builder in his own right. He initiated parades, money-raising events, new members, Mothers’ Day Breakfasts, the selling of bonds for construction, cabaret parties, teenage dances, chitterling suppers, fish fries and church visits. He enjoyed his work and the men were happy to work with him. When the foundation of the building was completed, the W.M. Clarence C. Love, invited the Grand Lodge to lay the Cornerstone, Grandmaster, P.G. Porter, ordered the Deputy Grandmaster, Attorney William H Towers, to perform the ceremony on September 12, 1954. The Quindaro Community supported the event with a large crowd. The Grand marshal, Frederic N. Phillips, assembled the Masons on the Vernon School Ground and marched by two’s to the northwest corner of the new building where he presented the Right Worshipful Deputy G.M. “Bill” Towers. St. James was in a role of “Pay as you go” in constructing the hall until Grandmaster P.G. Porter initiated a program of loaning Grand Lodge Money to those local lodges desiring to build. The W.M. Clarence Love arranged a loan of $5,000 from the Grand Lodge which was used to complete the building. This Loan was paid back when the Highway Department paid St. James for a permanent easement on the land north of the Hall.

 

 

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