Santa Maria Times from Santa Maria, California • 28

C8 SANTA MARIA TIMES Sunday, Dec. 15, 2002 HISTORY THE UNTOLD STORY 'Twenty gods or no History of Guadalupe Masons long, involved battled such malicious slander and vilification. "Whereas, Guadalupe Lodge 237, AM, has heretofore met in the town of Guadalupe, upon 10 per month. To procure the money to defray expenses, the group borrowed Santa Barbara County, California; and "Whereas, at the present time there does not appear to be any immediate prospect of worthy persons applying for membership in Guadalupe Loge 237 from Guadalupe $150 from William St. Ores.

From its beginning days, both the Odd Fellows and Masons began planning and saving towards its goal of one day putting up a building of their own. On Aug. 21, 1874, Lewis St. Ores aDDlied Shirley and the immediate surrounding area; and "Whereas a majority of the present membership of Guadalupe Lodge 237 now resides Contrcras forDegreesofMason" TL ry. and was elected to 1 heXjOOa membership the fol- lowing month.

St Ores 1 t-ui eventually sold a par- eel of his property to the Masons and Odd By Rqsaund Perlman SPECIAL TO THE TIMES Warning that Thomas Jefferson "would do more to destroy the gospel of Jesus than a whole fraternity of infidels!" the Reverend John Mason poured hot coals upon the fiercely burning religious issue that turned Jefferson's presidential campaign into a blazing orgy of slime and slanderous hate. Never before had any American political figure been subjected to such vicious abuse and blatant lies. The religious issue was deliberately trumpeted across the land by the Federalists who hated Jef-fersonis ideals of democracy. Alexander Hamilton, a rabid Federalist, exhorted his party to forget ethics in their fight to keep that Republican "atheist in religion, and fanatic in politics from getting possession of the helm of state." "Atheist!" The charge burst upon the states with the force of a thousand bombs. Jefferson realized he had made himself vulnerable to such accusations when, in his "Notes on Virginia," he had boldly stated: "It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god.

It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." "Twenty gods or no god!" The nation stood aghast. But Jefferson had gone even further when he had drawn up the "Statute of Religious Freedom" enacted by the State of Virginia in 1779. One of his greatest achievements, it stated: "No man shall be compelled to frequent or sup-Port any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or beliefs; but that all men shall be free to profess their opinions in matters of religion." These words nearly destroyed him. They mobilized the clergy who accused Jefferson of every conceivable crime and every unspeakable evil. Outraged clerics denounced him from their pulpits and outdid themselves in vilification.

An avalanche of church leaflets screamed hell-fire and warned their appalled congregations that, if the vile atheist was elected President, he would confiscate all their Bibles, that a vote for Jefferson was a vote for Satan himself. "Should the infidel Jefferson be elected to the Presidency, the seal of death is that moment set on our holy religion!" roared the New England Palladium, "Our churches will be prostrated, and some infamous prostitute, under the title of Goddess of Reason, will preside in the Sanctuaries now devoted to the worship of the Most High!" Gossip babbled of heresy and branded him a coward, a thief, a godless villain unfit for the Presidency. Perhaps, among all American Presidents, only Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman It was not until 1960 that John ltzgerald Kennedy, the first Catholic to run for the office, found himself drowning in the identical religious frenzy that had threatened to destroy Jefferson. Kennedy fought back. Jefferson remained silent.

The Connecticut Courant warned that if that Republican atheist "became President, civil war would follow. Murder, robbery, rape, adultery and incest would be openly taught and practiced; the soil will be soaked with blood and the nation black with crimes." Still, Jefferson remained silent. The Federalist press unleashed a torrent of slander and abuse. Federalist pamphlets, distributed by the thousands, accused him of treason, of plotting to overthrow the government and proclaim himself an American Napoleon. The Columbian Centinel shrieked hysterically, "Citizens beware! You are on the margin of a precipice!" and warned its readers to "crush the monsteri before it is too late." While his enemies railed and thundered, Jefferson ignored the venomous accusations.

He was confident that his past reputation and record of achievement, as the author of the Declaration of Independence, would refute the ridiculous charges hurled at him by the Federalists. He was almost too trusting. The election returns were so close, the decision was thrown into the House of Representatives where Jefferson won over John Adams by only two electoral votes. Ironically, Jefferson considered himself "a real Christian." Throughout his life, he proclaimed his belief in the Christian ethic. In his eightieth year, he wrote to Dr.

Benjamin Waterhouse, a medical scientist in Massachusetts: "The doctrines of Jesus are simple and tend to all the happiness of man: 1. That there is only one God and He is all perfect. 2. That there is a future state of rewards and punishments. 3.

That to love God with all thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself, is the sum of religion." But, finally, convinced that definite plans were afoot to establish a bigoted, repressive brand of Christianity in the United States, he wrote to a close friend of his determination to oppose their schemes. The letter written to Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Philadelphia physician, contained a sentence that encapsulated Jeffersonis entire philosophy. Its twenty inspired words are carved in huge letters into the stone frieze decorating the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. "I have sworn upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against any form of tyranny over the mind of man." Rosalind Perlman contributes occasional articles on history.

To contact her, call 925-7437. since the Masons received no specific offer to purchase the property, such rumors were ignored. In June of 1943, when the Odd Fellows approached the Guadalupe Masons with an offer to purchase the property, the members were already considering moving to Santa Maria. In July of 1944, the Guadalupe Masons petitioned for approval from the Grand Lodge to make the move, and a committee was formed to act for the lodge, not only to negotiate the side of its share of the Temple, but also to secure a suitable meeting site in Santa Maria. In a letter from the Grand Lodge dated Sept.

1, 1944, permission was granted, and the first meeting of the Guadalupe Masons was held in Santa Maria, at the Santa Maria IOOF meeting hall, then located on West Main Street. InJuly of 1945, the property at 949 Guadalupe St. was sold to the Grand Grove 100 of the United Ancient Order of the Druids for $12,000, half of which went to the Odd Fellows. In 1966, some time after the Di-uids disbanded, John Perry bought the property for $10,000 less than the Druids paid for it. In May of 1946, Donald C.

Melby applied for the Degrees of Masonry. In March of 1947, when Brother Melby received the Sublime Degree of Master Mason, Brother John Hamilton called him to the center of the lodge in order to make a presentation of a ring from Melby 's father. The following August, Douglas 1 1. Martin was elected to receive the Degrees and the following December he received tlie Subl i me Degree of Master Mason, an honor conferred to him by his father, Gene Martin, (Past Master of the Lodge). In 1055.

the Guadalupe group began to hold meetings at the newly built Hesperian Masonic Temple at Cypress and Vine Streets. In 1973. hen the Santa Maria Agency decided that the site of the Hesperian Temple was in the way of the proposed Mall development, the Guadalupe Lodge moved to temporary quarters in Orcutt, where it met for two years until the new Masonic Temple was built by the Hesperian Lodge at 700 E. Lake-view Road, the site of its present offices. Shirhy Contreras resides in Arroyo Grande and writes for the Santa Maria Historical Suciety.

Contact Herat 481-9559 or at shirley2a pronet.net. in Santa Maria, Santa Barbara County and it is now extremely difficult to obtain transportation from Santa Maria to Guadalupe; and "Whereas Guadalupe Lodge 237 and Hesperian Lodge 254 have concurrent jurisdiction over persons residing in and around Santa Maria, Califor-nia; and "Whereas, there are no means available in Guadalupe to furnish refreshment or entertainment for the members or their ladies; and "Whereas, the reason above specified, it is deemed to the best interests of Guadalupe Lodge 237 to remove its place of meeting from Guadalupe, California to Santa Maria, California." This petition made to the California Grand Lodge on July 5, 191, marked the end of a long history of a relationship between Guadalupe's Masonic Lodge 237 and the town of Guadalupe. This relationship began on June 12. 187-1, when nine men met at the Odd Fellows Hall for the purpose of forming a Ma--, sonic lodge. Within a month.

Brothers William Kemp, Benjamin Franklin Thomas and Martin Van Buix'n Robbins were appointed as a committee of three to confer with a like committee from the Guadalupe Laguna Lodge 224 IOOF, relative to procuring suitable grounds for a cemetery. The first meetings of the Guadalupe Masons were held in a room rented from the Odd Fellows for a mutually agreed Fellows, property that was destined to be the site of their meeting hall. In 1907, in order to regulate and take proper care of their mutual interest in the Hall property, the two groups formed the Guadalupe Hall Association (which eventually became the Guadalupe Hall Company). Although the first meeting of the Guadalupe Masons was held on May 14, 1914, the official dedication of the Masonic and Odd Fellows Temple didn't take until the following July 1. Throughout the ensuing years, both the Masons and Odd Fellows took care of the cemetery, splitting both the expenses and the profits gained through the sale of lots.

However, by 1918 it became apparent that the administration of the cemetery was getting out of hand. The last mention of the cemetery in the Masonic minutes appeared in 1918 when a motion was made and carried that the secretary communicate with the Hall Association about them making the necessary provisions for having the cemetery cleaned and kept clean. The cemetery was turned over to the newly formed Guadalupe Cemetery District in February of 1920. After the Laguna Ixxlge 224 IOOF merged with the Santa Maria Lodge in a rumor was spread that the Odd Pel lows wanted to sell its half interest in the temple. However, iw A EugjajiuajajcLiBjcugj OS on Nancy McGec Higgins 1 1 EH Attorney at Law Answers to this week's puzzles Misl1eadljsealers at li EH I.

JL A. .2. 2. A AH! A "Sjl mm I iBliltnslTlelvlilElsDs.MeMsnTTsTSl in PSIT A EN IT I JEjA I NlGf I I A I I 171 Ju1nstop SANTA MARIA 1 Agreeing to disagree, three members of the council held a press conference to discuss the problem. 2.

Annual literary award for the most creative work of fiction was presented to key corporation executive for his income tax return. 3. Tycoon holds major yard sale; sells every shipyard, junkyard, stockyard and lumberyard, but keeps his vineyards. 4. I vow I won't ever pass up an opportunity to stay quite quiet.

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