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At the stated meeting of February 9, 1900, Brother F. B. Fillmore made a motion, which was unanimously carried, that Hayward Lodge move from Half Moon Bay to San Mateo. The first meeting was held in San Mateo on May 19, 1900, in the I.O.O.F. Hall. At that time the jurisdiction of Hayward Lodge included all territory from Belmont to the San Francisco County line.
The year 1902 was a very momentous one for the Lodge. During the first part of the year a finance committee was appointed, with full power to act, and was instructed to look for a suitable site on which to erect a temple. On May 10, it reported that a lot, located at the northeast corner of Tilton Avenue and Ellsworth Street, had been purchased at a cost of $1,650.00, with added costs of $14.00 for recording the deed, etc. The brethren thought it wise to get options on the lot next to the one purchased. The committee, therefore, was authorized to buy it if it was reasonably priced. It reported at the next meeting that an option had been taken on the second lot, but that the Lodge was financially unable to negotiate further. Our late Brother William Tumbull offered the sum of $1,125.00 to the Lodge without interest. This generous offer, which the Lodge accepted, enabled us to pick up the option.
On January 19, 1905, a committee was appointed to interview what was then San Mateo Lodge No. 168 at Redwood City to see what could be done about changing its name. This committee secured their approval and at the stated meeting held on October 12, 1905, Brother Joseph Levy moved that the name of Hayward Lodge be changed to San Mateo Lodge. This motion was carried and, on October 30, official notice was received from the Grand Secretary that the name had been changed from Hayward Lodge to San Mateo Lodge No. 226.
On April 18, 1906, the I.O.O.F. Hall was badly damaged by the earthquake, which left the Lodge without a meeting place. Brother Richard R. Jury was Secretary at that time, and gladly donated the basement of his building on B Street. Business meetings were held there until the I.O.O.F. Hall was rebuilt.
On March 5, 1908, a petition was received from the Burlingame Master Masons, requesting permission to form and conduct a Lodge at that location. A committee was appointed by Worshipful Master W. L. Johnstone. This committee submitted a favorable report on May 7.
In 1908, San Mateo Lodge began to look forward to owning its own building, and the Masonic Hall Association was created. On April 1, 1909, the committee, which was created for the purpose of securing a hall site, declared it was in favor of the lots owned by the Lodge, and it was therefore decided to erect the temple on this site. Building operations were commenced in 1909, during the term of our late Brother Grove Lawrence. He and his co-workers spared neither time nor energy in erecting our present temple.
The construction of the temple was under the supervision of our late Brother August Berg. The interior woodwork and decorations were executed by late Past Master Lou A. Smith. He also made and presented the pillars. It is of interest to note that these pillars are made to the exact scale of the original pillars that stood in King Solomon’s temple. Brother Smith searched through ancient Masonic history until he found the correct information as to the size of the pillars and designed them accordingly. He was our Master when the cornerstone of the temple was laid on February 22, 1910.
The Officers of the Grand Lodge of California conducted impressive ceremonies at the dedication of the Temple on October 29, 1910. Among items deposited in the casket were the names of Lodge Officers and members of the Hall Association and Board of Directors. In addition daily papers, blueprints of the temple, data on proceedings of the Grand Lodge for 1909, Masonic Manual, and a silver plated horseshoe (made and presented by our late Brother F. J. Cochran) engraved with the names of the officers of the Lodge, were also deposited included.
In moving the belongings of the Lodge from the Odd Fellow’s Building to the new temple, the Master’s hat became lost. As there was only one hat in those days, each Master, as he ascended to the office, used it. This caused an emergency situation at the first meeting in the new temple when it was discovered that the Master had no hat. Accordingly, Brother L. A. Smith, who occupied the Oriental chair, took charge of the matter and ordered his officers out into the night to get a hat by any means, without undue injury to anyone. Knowing the coachmen from the large estates nearby wore such hats, the men thought their errand would be an easy one and, sure enough, there sitting in a cab was such a coachman, fast asleep. It was a simple matter for the officers to acquire the hat but, when the coachman awoke, he swore vengeance on those who stole it. Needless to say, the hat remained inside the Lodge room thereafter.
During the following years, whenever a visitor attended San Mateo Lodge, the Secretary notified his lodge of the fact on a post card bearing the picture of the new temple. This picture brought many inquiries from lodges all over the country as to cost, plans, and so forth.
On October 18, 1923, the fiftieth anniversary of the Lodge was celebrated and a pamphlet was issued commemorating the event. Past Master George E. Munro was chairman of the Anniversary Committee, and sincere thanks are due him and his committee for much of the historical information contained herein.
P.M. James R. Eubanks, Superintendent of the Masonic Home at Decoto for many years, served as Master of San Mateo Lodge in 1924. In October of that year, a committee of two was appointed to investigate the matter of issuing a monthly bulletin. This is the first mention in our records of a bulletin.
In October 1929, our late Brother Fernand Levy was awarded a fifty-year emblem from the Grand Lodge. At that time, San Mateo Lodge also presented him with a Masonic watch.
On the evening of the installation of officers in December 1930, Junior Past Master George E. Riddle, as a climax to a successful year, presented the Lodge with a beautiful emblem to be mounted over the door at the exterior of the building. It was subsequently wired for electric lights and installed by Past Master Charles E. Morrison, and now serves to inform everyone that the building is the Masonic Temple.
Pursuant to a request on the part of Postmaster John H. Kelley, an envelope containing a history of the Lodge, a roster, and a communication signed by both Master Hjalmar Johnson and Secretary E. A. Davis, was placed in the history box of the new post office building on the occasion of the dedication ceremony, December 14, 1935.
During the middle ‘30’s, a period of bleakness enshrouded San Mateo Lodge, as it did all lodges of California, because, although the peak of the depression had passed, it had left in its wake very few applications, a number of deaths, and an impoverished membership. Needless to say, the long suffering Hall Association had its hands full carrying on the bare necessities and meeting the mortgage payments.
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