“Pledged to the tenets of Masonry, when the candidate first ascends the stairway that leads to the lodge room of Calvin W. Prather Lodge No. 717, he comes upon the beautiful stained glass window that adorns the outer hall. Its theme is one near and dear to Masons. In strong, clear lines majestically expressed in color, it shows David presenting the plans of the Temple to Solomon, His Son.”
—From David to Solomon,1929
In a rapidly developing residential section of northside Indianapolis, a number of Masons raised in other Lodges found themselves fraternal brothers with scant acquaintance and no place to meet and develop the Fraternity. The community, moreover, was in need of a high grade social center. This dedicated group met in a Baptist church at 42nd & Broadway Avenue on September 9, 1920, and drew up a petition with 105 names on it, addressed to the Grand Lodge requesting a dispensation to work as a Lodge, to be called Calvin W. Prather Lodge, in honor of a prominent and respected past Grand Master of Indiana.
Having no resources as a lodge, this handful of men pledged their own personal means and optioned the lot on the northwest corner of 42nd & College Avenue, later purchasing it for $5,000 of borrowed money.
On September 14, 1920, Grand Lodge issued a dispensation to work as a lodge. Calvin W. Prather Lodge, U.D., (under dispensation), met October 7, 1920, in a stated meeting at North Park Lodge No. 634 at 30th & Clifton Avenue. The Charter was granted and presented to the lodge on May 26, 1921, at North Park Lodge. Two days later on May 28th, appropriate cornerstone ceremonies were held by Grand Lodge, giving its number as No. 717. J. Lewis Bray was Worshipful Master at this time. The Lodge building was designed by a member, built by a member and supervised by a member. Future generations will honor the names of Brothers John P. Parish, William M. Carper, and Wil A. Moore for this work. The first meeting in the new building was held November 5, 1921, and formal dedication of the Temple by Grand Master Omar B. Smith was made December 8, 1921, with 133 members and officers present, and 290 guests from six states. The architect was Lodge Brother John P. Parrish, and the building cost $100,000 to erect. At dedication date, the lodge had tripled original membership of 105 petitioners to 320 in a short thirteen months. The building was financed by a holding company with 164 original stockholders. In 1929 common stock, with a six percent dividend, was issued to raise additional funds to help retire the mortgage and other debts totaling $130,000 and the number of stockholders increased to over 400.
Many notable brethren and prominent citizens were guests at 42nd and College over the years, ranging from college presidents to Mayors, Governors, Senators, Poets and even a Vice President of the US. A prominent poet, Brother Edgar A. Guest, spoke at the first Washington Birthday Dinner ever held, which was on February 22, 1923. The years flew by, and the lodge fell victim to a changing neighborhood without adequate parking facilities, and on December 4, 1970, adopted a resolution to sell the property at 42nd & College and relocate to a new and permanent home. So in 1975, Calvin W. Prather Lodge moved in with Keystone Lodge No. 251 for an extended stay of seven years at 71st Street and Shadeland Avenue.
It was during the stay that the slightly over three acres of ground at 87th & Haverstick was discovered, and after successfully resolving a zoning dispute, was purchased and cleared, and construction started. It took over two years to build, and while the replacement cost has been estimated close to $400,000, by doing much of the work themselves, the membership cut construction cost to a little over $185,000 expended. The temple was totally free of debt, indeed a labor of love. It was designed by a member, Brother Kenneth R. Carr, PM, architect, while Brother David E. King, Sr., PM, was the general contractor.
The beautiful architectural work of the Master’s station in the East, the Wardens’ stations, the Columns, the Altar, desks, chairs and other furnishings of the original Lodge have been preserved and incorporated in the new Temple, where they continued to display, in all their splendor, the atmosphere of our heritage. The culmination of the combined efforts of all bodies who meet under this roof, especially the Nettie Ransford Chapter No. 464, Order of the Eastern Star, have made it possible for this to become the success story of the eighties.
The first stated meeting in the new Temple, with Paul T. Eastman as Worshipful Master, was held on September 3, 1982. Most Worshipful Clarence A. Tapper, Grand Master of Masons in the State of Indiana, and his Grand Officers, presided over the dedication of the Temple on Saturday, October 23, 1982. The Lodge continued to prosper in the 1980’s as they enjoyed the new building. In 1985, Clifford C. Lewis was elected as Worshipful Master. He continued to serve as an officer of the Lodge for the next 30 years. Cliff served as Treasurer, Junior Warden. Senior Warden, Trustee and Secretary. When he retired in 2014, He was named Secretary Emeritus. The Lodge was honored in 1992, when Past Master Robert E. Hancock, Jr. was appointed to the Grand Lodge Line as Junior Grand Deacon.
To assist with the fundraising efforts needed to support Bob’s upcoming year of service as Grand Master, Cliff Lewis, PM established “The Fourth and Final Lecture”. He wrote the obligation and other details of the ceremony on the back of a cocktail napkin during one of his many visits to the Oasis Lounge at Murat Shrine. The ceremony of “The Fourth Lecture” proved to be quite popular and as he was the founder, Cliff was conferred with the title of “The Very Puissant and Sovereign General Grand Master of the Fourth and Final Lecture of Calvin W. Prather Lodge”.
Bob Hancock served as Potentate of Murat in 1997. Cliff Lewis and many of the Brothers at the Lodge joined the Shrine that year. In May of 1998, Bob Hancock was installed as the 148th Grand Master and the Lodge held a reception for him in August of that year. Then in May of 1999, Worshipful Master Michael A. Moxley and the officers of the Lodge had the honor of opening the Grand Lodge Annual Communication. The June stated meeting in 1999 was declared as “Bob Hancock Night” as the Lodge celebrated Bob and his many contributions to our fraternity. The tradition has continued to this day and each June the Lodge recognizes the legacy of its most beloved and most famous member. The June 2003 issue of Murat Magazine had a cover of Bob and his appointees (sons) to the AASR Consistory, Grand Lodge and Murat Divan lines. That year one of his sons or grandsons was presiding over each of the three bodies. The headline read “The Sons of Bob preside over Indiana Freemasonry”. The “SOB’S” as the group became to be known,
continues to this day.
At the Lodge installation in December, 2003, Brian Lewis, the incoming Master had an installing team that consisted entirely of SOB’s: Ed McGonigal, George Proctor, Jim Chesney, and Jeff Zaring. On the west wall of the lobby, along with the portrait of Calvin W. Prather are the photographs of the Prather SOB’s. They include Bob Hancock, Jeff Zaring, Mark Genung and the next to be added to the wall will be Carl Culmann.
Faced with a gradually declining membership, by the early 2000’s the Lodge found themselves unable to support the building and fund the needed repairs. The Trustees reluctantly agreed to accept offers to sell the property. The lodge was approached by Meridian Real Estate in 2004 with an offer from The
Monterey, LLC to purchase our property. We retained the services of Brother Larry Hansen, a member and an attorney, to represent the Lodge. After considerable discussion and deliberation, the Lodge agreed to an offer of about twice the appraised value of the property on October 14, 2004. The offer to purchase was contingent on the developer getting the land rezoned for
commercial use. The option to purchase expired after 270 days. It was twice renewed by the Lodge. The approval of the Zoning Board was not received until the Spring of 2006.
On June 29, 2006 Calvin Prather Lodge held “A Night of Memories” open house as the final meeting at the location on Haverstick Road. The personal property including the records, furniture and officer stations was packed
up and placed in storage. The moving and storage arrangements were spearheaded by committee chairman George Buskirk. Mike Moxley, Trustee and Bob Hancock met with Ancle Jones, PM and Bob Jones, PM of Mystic Circle Lodge No. 685 and worked out the details of a
lease agreement. The Lodge approved the lease agreement and on July 6, 2006 Calvin Prather opened its first stated meeting in its new location at 7502 E. 56th St.
On August 19, 2008 Bob Hancock, PGM passed away. The Lodge mourned the loss of one of the greatest Masons of our time. When Bob finished his term as Grand Master, the membership at the Lodge was less than 150 men. Bob said that he wanted to work on membership for the Lodge. By the time of his passing the Lodge membership had increased to over 300 members! Bob was very proud to be a Mason and would never hesitate to encourage other to join the fraternity. His legacy of membership recruitment lives on with us today.
Mystic Circle celebrated its centennial in 2012. In the fall of that year, they approached our Lodge about the possibility of consolidating the two Lodges. Discussions were held during 2013, but an agreement could not be reached.
In 2014 Grand Master Mark Genung appointed Carl Culmann as Special Deputy to work with both Lodges. Larry Hansen was appointed to represent our Lodge and John Powell, III represented Mystic Circle. These discussions led to an offer by Mystic Circle to sell the property to us. A contract for sale was negotiated and the sale was closed on August 31, 2015.
On September 1, 2015 Calvin W. Prather Lodge took legal possession of the property and the Lodge now had a permanent home. The Trustees developed a plan to finance the cost of the purchase using investment income. The building was in need of repair and in the summer of 2016 it was closed for two months for extensive repairs and remodeling. The original furniture and officer stations from our first building were returned from storage and placed in the remodeled Lodge Room. A new floor was installed in the dining room. Archival photos were cleaned and reframed and placed on display in the Dining Room. The Lobby was redecorated with new wall treatments and new furniture. The entire interior was repainted. A new Chair-Lift was installed in the stairwell. Designated areas for the York Rite and the Eastern Star displays and memorabilia were redone. In 2015 Worshipful Master Tim Gann and the Lodge not only received the Grand Master’s Award with High Distinction, but by virtue of having the highest point total in the competition, was Named as the Number One lodge in Indiana. In 2016, under the leadership of Worshipful Master Jason Voyles the lodge again earned the Grand Master’s Award with High Distinction and repeated as the Number One lodge in Indiana!
“All of the history of progress and growth which has marked the decade just closing inspires the officers of the lodge with the conviction that success will continue to crown the present effort… After all Solomon had the joy of fulfillment. That joy is in store for the members of Prather Lodge. May every brother have a share in that joy.”
—From David to Solomon,1929
