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The Lodge Room Over Simpkins' Store
Lawrence N. Greenleaf, 33°, Grand Master of Masons in Colorado, 1880
Deputy of The Supreme Council, 33 Degree, for Colorado, Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction 1878-1917
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The plainest Lodge
room in the land was over Simpkins' store,
Where Friendship
Lodge had met each month for fifty' years or more.
When o'er the earth
the moon full-orbed, had cast her brightest beams,
The Brethren came
from miles around on horseback and In teams,
And 0! what heavy
grasp of hand, what welcome met them there,
As mingling with the
waiting groups they slowly mount the stair,
Exchanging
fragmentary news or prophecies of crop,
Until they reach the
Tyler's room and current topics drop,
To turn their
thoughts to nobler themes they cherish and adore,
And which were heard
on meeting night up over Simpkins' Store.
To
city eyes, a cheerless room, long usage had defaced,
The tell-tale lines
of lath and beam on wall and ceiling traced.
The light from
oil-fed lamps was dim and yellow in its hue,
The carpet once could
pattern boast though now 'twas lost to view
The altar and the
pedestals that marked the stations three,
The gate-post pillars
topped with balls, the rude-carved Letter G,
Were village joiner's
clumsy work, with many things beside,
Where beauty's lines
were all effaced and ornament denied.
There could be left
no lingering doubt if doubt there was before,
The plainest Lodge
room in the land was over Simpkins' Store.
While musing thus on
outward form the meeting time drew near
And we had glimpse of
inner life through watchful eye and ear.
When Lodge convened
at gavel's sound with officers in place,
We looked for
strange, conglomerate work, but could no errors trace.
The more we saw the
more we heard, the greater our amaze,
To find those country
Brethren there so skilled in Masons' ways.
But greater marvels
were to come before the night was through,
Where unity was not
mere name, but fell on hearts like dew
Where tenets had the
mind imbued, and truths rich fruitage bore,
In plainest Lodge
room in the land, up over Simpkins' Store.
To hear the record of
their acts was music to the ear
We sing of deeds
unwritten which on angel's scroll appear;
A widow's case for
our helpless ones Lodge funds were running low
A dozen Brethren
sprang to feet and offers were not slow
Food, raiment things
of needful sort while one gave load of wood,
Another shoes for
little ones, for each gave what he could.
Then spoke the last
'I haven't things like these to give out then,
Some ready money may
help out'; - and he laid down a ten.
Were Brother cast on
darkest square upon life's checkered floor
A beacon light to
reach the white was over Simpkins' Store.
Like scoffer who
remained to pray, impressed by sight and sound,
The faded carpet 'neath
our feet was now like holy ground.
The walls that had
such a dingy look turned celestial blue,
The ceiling changed
to canopy where stars were shining through.
Bright tongues of
flame from altar leaped, the G was vivid blaze,
All common things
seemed glorified by heaven's reflected rays.
0! wondrous
transformation wrought through ministry of love-
Behold the Lodge
Room Beautiful! fair type of that above,
The vision fades-the
lesson lives! and taught as ne'er before,
In plainest Lodge
room in the land-up over Simpkins' Store.
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November 19,1898
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