In the year 1952, Worshipful, Bro. Robert R. Savage, P.M. of St Alban’s Lodge No. 56, of Floral Park, New York, decided to implement a long-held vision by gathering the addresses of secretaries of Lodges named St. Alban’s in other states and in Canada and wrote to each, suggesting that the common name was a point of basic affinity for an experiment in international good-will and fellowship. He envisaged at least one annual gathering of members from all these Lodges with the object of becoming acquainted, and that from these roots might spring the pattern of friendship which could spread the world over, whether among the members of Lodges of the same name or not, or even among non-Masons.

Having received cautious but agreeable answers from a number of St. Alban’s Lodges, Wor. Bro. Savage, whose brethren have constantly been behind him in this venture, caused invitations to be sent from his Lodge to a “First Meeting of Lodges Named St. Alban’s” to be held on Saturday October 9, 1954. The date fixed was the Canadian Thanksgiving week-end in deference to Canadian St. Alban’s Lodges, which are situated in Montreal, Toronto and further west, and whose members in general would require to travel much farther than most of the Lodges in the United States.

This meeting was held with much more success than was expected, for large delegations came from St. Alban’s No. 68, Newark, NJ, St. Alban’s, Foxboro, Mass, St. Alban’s No. 108, Montreal, Quebec. St. Alban’s No. 514, Toronto, Ontario, and even St. Alban’s No. 28, Jackson, Louisiana and St. Alban’s No. 29, London, England, were represented. At this meeting where everyone was received so hospitably, the success as a future annual event seemed to be thoroughly established. St. Alban's No. 106 gave its invitation to hold the Second Meeting in the Masonic Memorial Temple in Montreal on October 9, 1955. This meeting, where was first introduced the principle of inviting the ladies of members to attend the festivities, was also a great success, for there were about 400 who sat down to the banquet table.

Like all first steps in any project, mistakes were made which could not be corrected until after they were recognized. We were surprised to note that one of the Canadian Lodges, who at Floral Park was among the largest representations, had but one member present at the Montreal meeting, and we later learned that it was because they feared the financial burden such a gathering would place on their Lodge should they in turn offer to act as host. This was confirmed by the forthright declaration from St. Alban’s, Foxboro, Mass., who expressed the desire to act as host for the Third Meeting in 1956; putting forth the reasonable proposition that so far the host Lodges had borne the cost of these meetings, but that they, whose membership was relatively small, could only undertake to continue to associate with these meetings under the condition that all future gatherings should be financed by ticket, the guests and their own members attending, thus taking share in the costs.

The Foxboro gathering was undoubtedly different in aspect, for it was the first time that all the visitors had a taste of the homeliness of a small town gathering. Between the meetings and the evening banquet we were treated to a picnic on the shores of beautiful Cocasset Lake on the grounds of one of the Foxboro brethren.

The arrangements were so smoothly organized that in the short week-end the visitors were made acquainted with so many points of interest that they came away feeling that they had lived there a long time. The invitation to the fourth meeting in 1957 was somewhat of a surprise in the Committee, for it came from St. Alban's No. 20 in what seemed to be far-away Marshall, Michigan.

The Marshall committee arranged for the proprietor of the Schuyler hotel there to throw open his doors to the entire assembly of guests and the pattern of enjoyable small town living was repeated, with many variations of course, in points of interest. The Worshipful Master at Marshall had received a request by letter from St. Alban’s No. 6, in Bristol, Rhode Island to be permitted to act as host for the Fifth Meeting, but as some other programme had prevented his presence in Marshall, and Wor. Bro. Martin Griffin, who had been present at every previous meeting, gave a personal invitation on behalf of St. Alban’s No. 28, Jackson, Louisiana. The committee decided to accept this and to defer the Bristol meeting until 1959.

A surprising number journeyed to deep south Louisiana in October 1968 and were received with such well ordered hospitality that must have taken months of planning. A company of seven of the State police of Louisiana, six of them on motor-cycles and dressed in the regalia of the Shrine of Jerusalem, escorted a cavalcade of about forty automobiles of guests wherever they went, and from the hotel in Baton Rouge to the meeting at Jackson, to the picnic in the Audubon State Park, through a tour of antebellum homes of the State, back to Jackson for the banquet in the evening and finally to sleeping quarters in Baton Rouge, must have traveled over 200 miles under police escort with no traffic hindrance or delays. This Fifth Meeting will long be remembered by all who participated.

The Sixth Meeting is to be held at St. Alban’s No. 28, at 361 Hope Street, Bristol, Rhode Island, on Saturday, October 10, 1959, and the committee wishes to emphasize that any Freemason whose mother Lodge is named St. Alban’s, from anywhere in the world, will be welcomed at this meeting.

The last paragraph holds true today, more than fifty-five years later tfor he Brethren of Lodges named for St. Alban and their friends.

Masonic Lodges Named for St. Alban

This article was first published in

The Freemason Canada’s Masonic Magazine, in 1958

Written by V\ W\ Bro. A. G. Charlton