Mill Valley Lodge History

Retrospective of Mill Valley Lodge’s Second Fifty Years

1950 to 2000: A Mid-life to Present Retrospective

By Richard K. Mills, P.M., P.H.P.

100 years! A century is a long time or a short time. It all depends upon which end of the spectrum you are looking at it from. This year Mill Valley Lodge is celebrating its centennial. As a member who has spent 74 years of his life in the 20th century, I have been asked to write a short essay about what the Lodge was like 50 years ago - right smack dab in the middle of that century.

I will start by telling you that anyone younger than 50 would not even recognize the Lodge. We had just finished World War II. A war which came, incidentally, a mere 25 years after the 1st World War. We had not recovered from the Great Depression before that catastrophic war tore into all of our lives. By 1950 the veterans of WWII wanted nothing more than to return to some sense of normalcy. Plus, society expected us to perform certain tasks - get a job, buy a home, marry and have kids. Society, our parents and we thought that this was the normal thing to do.

It was a time of innocence - socially as well as politically. We did not question authority, we lived by it. We may have voted Democrat or Republican, but when the election was over, whoever won became our President and we all rallied behind him until the next election four years down the road. Granted, there were a lot of injustices at that time that have since been partially addressed. At that time you must remember that television was in its infancy. The family was lucky to have at least one car and shopping malls had not become commonplace. One went to the grocer and to the stores within one's small community. Freeways hadn't been built. The news media didn't bring every event in the world into your living room. Sure sex was always there but pregnancy was the big fear rather than AIDS. Like I say, those under 50 would not even recognize that bygone society of the 1950's.

Getting back to the reason for this dissertation, 1953 - that was the year I joined Mill Valley Masonic Lodge. I was 24 years old, married with one child. I had recently been discharged from the U.S. Navy after serving in the Korean War. Instead of returning to Reno where I was born, I opted to stay in the Bay Area were I thought job opportunities would be better. I did this even though neither my wife nor I knew anyone in Mill Valley. Since my family was Masonic, it seemed logical for me to join the Mill Valley Lodge as a way to get to know someone here in Marin. It seems hard to believe now with our membership being about 100 that in 1953 we had over 400 members. Some were old timers but most were veterans like myself who wanted to get back into the stability of a solid society. We fell into the routine of Lodge functions as easy as pins being set up in a bowling alley.

At that time, there were so many men wanting to join that every week we would have at least 2 candidates for 1st and 2nd degrees, but never would we put two 3rd degrees on in the same night. Our calendar was so full that many times we'd have a 3rd degree on Saturday afternoon. Every new member learned a charge and became a candidate's coach. We were all expected to cook and serve the many dinners and perform functions that took place at that time. There was a regular competition among new members to be appointed to the line, which included 7 full years of hard work. Junior Steward had to give the 1st degree charge; Senior Steward gave the 2nd degree charge. Both had to supply the refreshments, set the tables and be in charge of securing and cleaning for each meeting. The Marshall had to give the 3rd degree charge as well as introduce visiting dignitaries. The Junior Deacon's duty was to write the bulletin and Trestleboard, then proceed to the Post Office to se that all were mailed properly and on time. If there was a misspelled word or an incorrect date (God help you), at least 50 members would let you know. The Senior Deacon's job was horrendous. He had to learn the floor work, the prayers, plus the staircase lecture to get his feet wet for the next three years of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree lectures. Even after one became Master he was not through but had to become Chaplain so he would be in the East to prompt the new Master. This was only the ritual part. Members were also expected to attend all other Lodges occasionally; all Officer's Association Meetings at different Lodges; Hall Association and visit the sick and families of deceased Masons.

As you may have guessed, with so many members our social calendar reflected about the same proportion of active members as we have now. There were at least 100 members that regularly attended, starting with election of officers and installation of officers, which were closed. Incidentally, there was always a full house. Every seat upstairs was taken. Blank ballots were passed out and you voted individually and secretly. Then, the Tellers counted the votes. No one, not even the Secretary who occupied that position for 48 years was voted in on an unanimous ballot. I remember distinctly when I was new and dumb, I thought we should get rid of the secretary, Jake Uhrig (who had a strong German accent), and select someone who I could understand when he read the minutes. When the ballots were read, Jake had all the votes except one - which was my vote for my Uncle Tracy.

Since most of us were veterans, there were at least 50 children at every Christmas party (which has since been taken over as an adult party at Deer Park Villa). These parties were held in the Lodge by an old Past Master who wore a Santa Claus suit. He would come on stage, sit in a chair from upstairs, and dispense gifts that the Stewards and their wives had purchased in San Francisco in some weeks before the party. The officers and their wives would meet downstairs to wrap all the children's presents. As you can imagine, this turned into an adult party of its own. It was at these and other like functions that our wives became involved and family friendships were formed. Friendships that remain to this day.

At our Installations, the wives worked in the kitchen and the dinners were stag. After dinner, as cigars were passed out, Irwin Low, Past Master always played his accordion on stage for a sing-a-long. It was a real guy thing. When Irv passed away, the music was taken over by Fred Wilson, Elmer Julian and myself. The three of us sang, accompanying ourselves with ukuleles. When we were tired of listening to the record of Bing Crosby singing "Now is the Hour", the above trio would go up to the organ loft and sing in harmony. Perhaps that was when attendance began to fall off.

Another big function was our annual crab bust, which was also stag, and free. That never failed to fill the banquet hall. A prize was given to the man who filled the most buckets with empty crab shells. It always seemed to go to our treasurer, Stan Aitchison, who could crack and eat more crab faster than anyone else.

Summer always brought a picnic either at Angel Island or Nicasio (which at the time had a swimming pool). This was a combined affair with the Lodge, Royal Arch, Eastern Star, Job's Daughters and DeMolay. It included an annual baseball game between the masons and DeMolay. Needless to say, we lost most of the time to the DeMolay. Mill Valley had a very active Royal Arch Chapter at that time and was composed of men who were involved in both Royal Arch and Blue Lodge.

Progressive dinners were very popular then and at that time drinking was more relaxed. We would start at someone's home for cocktails and hors'd'oeuvres, then pile in our cars and head off to someone else's home for salad and then on to another home for the entrée with wine and finally end up at still another home for dessert and after dinner drinks. I hate to say it but there were a lot of drunk drivers crisscrossing Marin County on those nights.

Speaking of drinking, as you know, it was not then allowed in the Lodge. But, there was a bar where Mill Valley Market Deli is now. It was called "Quinn's Bar" and owned by Jimmy Quinn, a good Irish Catholic bartender whom we made an honorary member of the Lodge. We did this because before and after a degree night we would meet there for a quick one. Even on 3rd degrees between 1st and 2nd sections some of us would race there in our tuxes and have a quick belt. There are lots of great stories about Quinn's. Sometimes, if we wanted something a little classier than Quinn's, we would close the bar at the Buckeye or at Sabella's, which was where Acqua Hotel is now located. Sabella's had a piano bar you could sing along with. So, the famous trio would convene there after Lodge if we felt like more singing.

I have to chuckle when a new member is asked to come just once a week to the meetings and they say they don't have time. I, myself, did all of the above while raising four kids and working two jobs to support them. After all that, I still made time to help out in Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and at school functions. Today's young members are in all likelihood not married. If they are, both spouses work, they have no children, live in an apartment, have two cars and say, "I have no time to be an officer or even attend some social functions." Times have changed. I believe that in the '60's and '70's everything changed in the twinkling of an eye. The Vietnam War, birth control pills, drugs, etc. No one is really responsible. If you look back in history, you find that many facets have changed our lives. You can name a million things that have been responsible for histories constantly changing path.

So it has been with Masonry in the last 50 years. We have lost our DeMolay, Job's Daughters and Royal Arch Chapters and have worked like hell to keep our Lodge and Eastern Star from going under. So far we have barely survived. In the last five years I've seen a resurgence of younger men joining in our Lodge. This is primarily because in the last few decades we as human beings have become disenchanted with our government, our life style, its greed and monetary standard. There is that small voice within us which hungers for that which is good, kind and giving which we seemed to have lost. These young men are searching for just that and have turned to Masonry and what it has to offer. Whether they will find what they are looking for or whether Masonry will be the answer to all their questions, only the Great Architect of the Universe will know. I hope it inspires them as it has inspired me in these past 50 years. It has given me a sense of purpose, life long friends, a belief in God, my neighbors and myself. If that happens to them, then I am assured that we will fact this new century with hope that Masonry will survive and progress successfully as it has in the past with confidence and pride in a job well done.