HISTORY
of MERIDIAN MASONIC LODGE No. 129
ANCIENT FREE and ACCEPTED MASONS
STONY PLAIN, ALBERTA
In the 1800s all the land west of the city of Edmonton was unofficially
called "Stoney Plain" having received its name from the early
inhabitants who lived in the surrounding area, the Stoney Indians.
In 1905 the Canadian Northern
Railway was constructed from Edmonton to the present site of the
town of Stony Plain where a railway station was built. In 1908
the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Company commenced construction
of their railway from Edmonton to Prince Rupert, British Columbia,
passing through the town of Stony Plain.
With a population of about 500 people there were a number of Freemasons
in and around the town of Stony Plain who belonged to various
Lodges in different parts of the world. Much of the early history
of Meridian Masonic Lodge Number 129 in Stony Plain starts with
Pryce Jones, who joined Meridian Masonic Lodge Number 83 in Macklin
Saskatchewan in 1911 prior to moving to Stony Plain.
Upon his arrival in Stony Plain,
Brother Jones immediately affiliated with Strathcona Lodge Number
77 in Edmonton, the closest Lodge. With a keen interest in forming
a new Lodge meetings were held and an application was made to
the Grand Lodge of Alberta for dispensation, with Strathcona Lodge
Number 77 as its mother Lodge
On 15 July 1921 an institutional
meeting was held and Meridian Lodge had its beginning with 52
members and visitors present to witness the grand occasion. It
wasn't until 09 September 1953 that the Lodge was able to hold
their first meeting in their own building.
Some of the furniture of the
Lodge has been donated from other Lodges and has added greatly
to the uniqueness of Meridian. As an example the two ashlars were
presented to Meridian Lodge and are of the same material that
was being used in the construction of the Edmonton Masonic Hall
in 1930.
Meridian Lodge is the mother
Lodge of Onoway Number 138, Drayton Valley Number 182 and Baseline
Number 198 in Spruce Grove.
As in every organisation it
is the people that make the difference and Meridian Lodge is no
exception. A prime example of this quality is reflected when in
1932 Thomas Graden Sr. became a member of Meridian Lodge followed
through the years by four of his sons and one grandson.
Meridian Lodge has provided
an educational scholarship award to a student of Memorial Composite
High School in Stony Plain since 1985.
In the fall of 1937 the members
of Meridian Lodge were instrumental in procuring a railway car
load of vegetables and sending them to the people of southern
Alberta to provide relief to those who had suffered crop losses
due to the severe drought that had occurred.
Meridian Lodge has celebrated
its 25th anniversary on 15 July 1946, its 50th on 18 September
1971 and its 75th on the 21st of September 1996 and looks forward
in anticipation to its 100th in 2021.
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