About
Follow the links to obtain more information
White River Lodge resulted from a Masonic Study Group in the White Mountains of Arizona. Masons in the area, many of them members of Chalcedony Lodge #6 in Holbrook, would get together to discuss freemasonry. They would visit lodges in the area such as to White Mountain Lodge #3 in Globe, Arizona or Chalcedony #6.
Two of our charter members, Brothers Levon Raybon and Hal Butler gave us histories of a Masonic Study Group that led to the founding of White River Lodge.
The Lodge met in the Elks Lodge after it first obtained its
charter. A couple of years after the
Lodge received its charter C. C. and June Haymond donated the Masons an acre of
land next the Elks Lodge. The brothers
completed a new
In 1970, David Camp Porter was initiated and received his
third degree in White River Lodge. In 1974, he was Worshipful Master of White
River Lodge and afterwards he served as secretary of the Lodge until 1989. In 1990-1991, he served as Grand Master of
Masons in
Between 1976 and 2003, White River Lodge had an outdoor degree at a location in Apache County called Buckelew Springs. The interest in the outdoor degree originated with the cowboy heritage of many members, an example is was brother Loy Varnell whose story was in the 1992 edition of Western Horseman magazine. Buckelew Springs is a beautiful area within the pine trees at an elevation of 7500 feet. A spring supplied water for making coffee, cooking beans, washing dishes, etc. Brothers would camp at the springs beginning on a Thursday and remain until the following Sunday. Normally the event occurred on the third Saturday in July. Beef, donated by a brother who ran cattle in the area, was cooked in a six-foot pit for brothers attending the degree work. The Lodge invited ladies and guests to an evening meal. A drought in the southwest put an end to the outdoor degree. Brother Greg Boyd wrote an interesting history of Buckelew Springs. Interest to restart the outdoor degree has not developed yet.
Presently the main fundraiser is a fall BBQ that occurs the Sunday before Labor Day. The BBQ only runs from noon until two PM. The lodge has been doing the BBQ since 1983. There have always been brothers in White River Lodge who like to cook.
Prince Hall Masonry in
the White Mountains: A complete history of Masonry in the
A little about Show Low:
Show Low is in eastern Arizona, half way between the Mexico and Utah borders
and about sixty miles from New Mexico.
The town is named after
an all night card game between two ranchers playing to see who would keep a
ranch where the town is now located. The town is at an elevation of 6400 feet
above sea level. On the south and west
side of Show Low are ponderosa pine
forests. The forest extends from
southern
When you travel south from Slow Low the elevation slowly increases. Mountains nearby include Mount Baldy with an elevation of 11,420 feet. The White Mountain Apache Indian Tribe runs Sun Rise Ski Resort if you like skiing. Between Show Low and Pinetop-Lakeside is the Mogollon Rim overlook walk that is about a mile long and well worth your while. The walk is easy and is highly recommend.
Fishing is very popular; the area has some of the best fly-fishing in the world.