Yesterday I carpooled up with my Lodge Secretary and several others to the historic mining town of Silver City, "the queen of ghost towns". While it is only 72-miles from that town it is located deep within the Owyhee Mountains and is one of the few mining towns that didn't get commercialized or burn down. Going to Silver City is like taking a step back in time and it isn't just the view that will make you breathless, the town sits at over 6,100-ft elevation.
The Lodge in Silver City was built in 1864, but Silver City Lodge No.13 wasn't founded until 1881 after Owyhee Lodge No.5 and War Eagle Lodge No.6 decided to consolidate and form a new Lodge; Owyhee Lodge No.5 and War Eagle Lodge No.6 were two of the founding Lodges of the Grand Lodge AF&AM of Idaho. In the winter months, Silver City Lodge meets in the small town of Homedale, ID, because the roads are closed due to the snowfall and lack of resources in the area. At the Annual Homecoming, they perform a 3rd-degree ceremony. If Silver City doesn't have a candidate, another Lodge can bring a candidate and that Lodge confers the 1st section then afterward the Grand Lodge is invited to preside over the Raising and then closes the Lodge. At this meeting there were more than 15 Lodges represented from multiple states, some of the Brothers were the candidate's father and brother.
This meeting is an interesting one as the Lodge building has no electricity which means no A/C. Normally it is a heatwave in the Lodge room and requires us to have all the windows open and lots of water to keep everyone hydrated. This year wasn't too bad as it has been raining and storming the last couple of days so it kept the temperature down, and Mother Nature provided some acoustics during the degree with some thunder and rain.
Today was filled with a Grand Lodge Planning Meeting in the morning and the Idaho Masonic Family Association in the afternoon. Now it's time to catch up with homework and get some sleep.
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