History:
The Charter was received on June 19, 1907.
Early in the life of all pioneer settlements, there comes a time when sober and industrious men, having completed the urgent tasks at hand, desire to further the ethical, social and moral side of their natures, and consequently band together to attain those aspirations. The result of such a process of events often resulted in the formation of a Masonic Lodge, a process that has been repeated times without number in the history of the world, and the well-used pattern was followed in this locality in the fall of 1906.
On Thursday, October 4, 1906, a preliminary meeting was held for the discussion of the formation of a Masonic Lodge in the very small, year old village of North Battleford. A number of Brethren met in the Victoria Hall, upstairs in the North Battleford Trading Company building (later, the Victory Motors Building, at 1292 Main (100th) Street). Those present were: Bro. John R. Chisholm, Bro. Dan B. Detwiller, Bro. Wm. E. Ramsay, Bro. H. H. Estridge, Bro. R. C. Pettypiece, and Bro. Harry Cameron. At this meeting it was decided to proceed with the organizational work, and the name suggested for the proposed Lodge was “Saskatchewan.”
On Wednesday, December 19, 1906, acting under a dispensation (U.D.) from the newly-formed (August 9, 1906) Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan, R.W. Bro. Warwick, and six other Brethren from Battle Lodge No. 19 (Battleford, Saskatchewan), proceeded with the first Installation Ceremony. As the necessary equipment had not yet arrived, the Brethren, nothing daunted, had recourse to carpenters’ aprons and tools.
The Lodge made sufficient progress to make it possible to seek a Charter. The names of the first Officers of the newly organized Lodge now known as “Warwick” were:
- Master – W. Bro. J.R. Chisholm
Sr. Warden – Bro. D.B. Detwiller
Jr. Warden – Bro. Harry Cameron
Treasurer – Bro. John Manson
Secretary – Bro. A.W. Sutherland
Tyler – Bro. Hugh Smith
At the meeting held on Tuesday, January 29, 1907, the name of the Lodge was changed from “Warwick” (being a name of a person and contrary to the laws of the Grand Lodge of Saskatchewan) “Ionic”, the number assigned being No. 31.
Ionic History by V.W. Bro. Frederick G. Walker
