Las Palmas Masters 1905 to 1924

(numbers refer to findagrave.com memorial links)

PottleJ C Pottle newspaper1905   James Cyrus Pottle  (1845 – 1917)  (79408252)  Brother Pottle was born in Westbrook, Maine, migrated to North Dakota and moved with his family to Sanger in 1890.  There, he purchased 50 acres of vineyard, had a home built in the Fruitvale Tract, and came to own a grocery store.  With his wife Esther Bundy Pottle, he had three children; James Jr. (1893), Fred, and Ada May.

He was a member of IOOF in Sanger, and served as its treasurer in 1893.  He was also active in Sanger Masonic Lodge No. 316 where he served as Master and Secretary in 1896.

In 1903, he moved his family to Fresno, took up residence and again set up shop.  He joined Fresno Lodge No. 247, but soon set out with a group of Masons to form a new lodge.  Las Palmas Lodge was formed in his living room at 1526 'K' Street (now Van Ness Avenue).  He served as Las Palmas' first Master, while Under Dispensation, in 1905. 

Worshipful Pottle was also active in the Scottish Rite as a charter member of the Lodge of Perfection, and served as Orator in that same year.  He later served as Venerable Master in 1908, and Standard Bearer, Council of Kadosh in 1909.  In 1911, he was coroneted with the 33º, only the second man in Fresno County to receive such an honor.  The Fall 1980 Scottish Rite Class was named in his honor.

In 1910 he was instrumental in forming Clovis Lodge No. 417.  In 1914, he served as Grand Junior Deacon and in 1916 he assisted with the opening of Center Lodge No. 465 serving as Grand Lecturer.  He was also the Inspector for the Lodges in this area.

Brother Pottle was politically active as a member of the Democratic Party and served on the Fresno County Central Committee, as well as being a voting inspector.  In 1914 he became a member of the Progressive Party.

Pottle street signHe was a Fresno City Trustee (now referred to as City Councilmen) of the 3rd ward beginning in 1910, and served as a county superintendent (now County Supervisor) in 1912.  Pottle Avenue is named in his honor, although the honor was bestowed during his tenure as City Councilman.

Brother Pottle remained very active in the affairs of Las Palmas  up until his sudden death on August 19, 1917.  His son, James Cyrus Pottle Jr. petitioned Las Palmas Lodge for the Degrees of Masonry shortly before his father died. Bro. Pottle Sr. did not live to see his son receive any of his degrees.

During his year as Master, Brother Pottle raised 9 Master Masons and had 28 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.  This is in addition to the 15 Charter Members.

Clark1906  Albert Bazzle Clark  (1855 – 1923)  (78836106)  Brother Clark was born in Iowa and moved to Fresno in the 1880’s.  He served as our second Master at the age of 51.  He had also been our Lodge Treasurer.

Clark was a prominent banker in Fresno having been with Fresno Savings Bank up until the bank's dissolution in April of 1895 and as vice-president of Union National Bank (which merged with United Bank & Trust).  Brother Clark also served on the City Board of Education.  He was also a partner in a successful vineyard in the Parlier vicinity.

He was also a member of Fresno Knights Templar Commandery No. 29, and the Islam Temple of the Shrine.  He was also coroneted with the 33º in Scottish Rite.

During his year as Master, Brother Clark raised 13 Master Masons and had 7 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Bernhard1907  Joseph Philip Bernhard (1874-1950) (41369232)  Brother Bernhard was born in the town of Mariposa.  His father, George, was a "Forty-Niner" coming to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, and opened a general store in Mariposa.  Brother Bernhard attended Fresno High School, and received his B.A. from Stanford.  Two years later he received his law degree from New York City Law School.  In 1900, he opened a law practice in Fresno.  He eventually partnered with William A. Sutherland (Master 1909). 

Bernhard was a charter member of Las Palmas, and served as Master at the age of 33.  At the same time, he was a Grand Lodge Representative.  He was present at the May 9, 1903 meeting to form a Lodge of Perfection for the Fresno Valley, was a charter member, and became Venerable Master in 1906-1907.  He was also the first Commander of Kadosh in 1908-1912.  In 1914, Bernhard was elected third master of the Fresno Consistory.  At the same time, he was Commander of Fresno Commandery No. 29 of the Knights Templar, and Coroneted  33º in Scottish Rite in 1918.  In 1985 a Scottish Rite class was named for him.

Bernhard was politically active, serving as the Republican Central Committee of Fresno County from 1907 to 1911.

During his year as Master, Brother Bernhard raised 18 Master Masons and had 2 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

AustinH Z Austin1908   Herbert Zibah Austin (1864-1951)  (41696841)  Brother Austin was born in DePeyster, St. Lawrence County, New York and moved to Fresno in August of 1888 as a young attorney.  Three years later he became a Justice of the Peace.  From 1901 until 1920 he was a Superior Court Judge.  He then became a Trust Officer for a Bank.  In 1930 he was elected again to the Superior Court and finally retired in 1942. 

He joined Fresno Lodge No. 247 before 1893, but transferred to Las Palmas Lodge in 1905 as a charter member.  He was also a member of the first Lodge of Perfection in the valley, and was the first Almoner and Recorder of the Council of Kadosh in 1909, followed by first secretary of the Consistory in 1911.  Brother Austin was Coroneted to the Illustrious 33 º in Scottish Rite in 1915, and was Precepter at the dedication of the Scottish Rite Temple Building on Oct 1, 1938.  In 1980 a Scottish Rite class was named for him. 

He had an outstanding memory and was said to have memorized nearly 150 books of the Bible.

During his year as Master, Brother Austin raised 7 Master Masons and had 2 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

1909   William Angus Sutherland  (1874 – 1935)  (148299381)  Brother Sutherland was born  in Oakland, attended public schools in Oakland and San Francisco, and received his juris doctorate from Stanford Law School.  In 1901, he came to Fresno to practice law as a partner in Barbour & Sutherland.

Brother Sutherland was a charter member of Las Palmas Lodge, serving as Secretary in 1905-1906, Junior Warden in 1907, Senior Warden in 1908, and finally as Master in 1909 at the age of 35.

Sutherland was also active politically, serving on the Republican Central Committee of Fresno County, and successfully being elected as State Assemblyman for the 51st District from 1911 to 1915.  He continued to practice law with a new partner as the firm Short & Sutherland and later with Joseph Bernhard, our Master in 1907.

He was active in the Fresno community, serving as chairman of the Fresno County Highway Commission, and worked tirelessly to pass the "Good Road" bonds campaign in 1916.  Later in 1923-1924, he became the President of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, a director on the San Joaquin Water Storage District board, chairman of the Fresno Fair District, and serve as a director on the California State Automobile Association board.

In 1920, Sutherland elected to put aside his law practice to become Vice President and Manager of Fidelity Trust and Savings Bank in Fresno.  In 1922, he became President of the financial organization as it merged with Los Angeles Bank & Trust to become Pacific Southwest Trust and Saving Bank.  He was a managing director during the construction of the Pacific Southwest Building at Mariposa and 'J' Streets (now the Fulton Mall), and had an office overlooking the main banking lobby.  He later maintained a law office on the 14th floor.

In 1926, he returned to his law practice as a partner in Sutherland and Dearing, though he maintained a position on the bank board.

During his year as Master, Brother Sutherland raised 11 Master Masons and had 5 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

James Smith1910   James Wiley Smith  (1846 – 1929)  (148764114)  Brother Smith moved to Fresno at the age of 18 in 1864.

He was a charter member of Las Palmas Lodge and at the age of 64 was our sixth Master.  He presided over the Lodge during the laying of the cornerstone for the new Masonic Temple at Merced and Van Ness Avenues. 

During his year as Master, Brother Smith raised 12 Master Masons and had 4 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Briggs1911   Herbert Frederick Briggs  (1872 – 1951)  (148299861)  Brother Briggs was our first Master to have received the degrees of Masonry in Las Palmas Lodge, having been raised January 9, 1908.  At the age of 38, he was our seventh Master.  He served on the Grand Lodge Educational Committee in 1930. Briggs was a Police Judge for the City of Fresno, and elevated to Superior Court Judge in 1912.  By 1928, he had become the Fresno County District Attorney.

During his year as Master, Brother Briggs raised 9 Master Masons and had 5 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

S B Leas 1961S B Leas1912   Speed Butler Leas  (1884 – 1964)  (148300249)  Brother Leas was born in Keokuk, Iowa, and was educated in Decatur, Illinois.  He worked as a stenographer and clerk for the Wabash Railroad, and later worked for the Santa Fe Railroad Company in Needles, California.  He came to Fresno in 1906 with Santa Fe to work as a stenographer, timekeeper, and divisional accountant.  Eventually, he set out on his own to work as a Real Estate Agent and in the insurance business with offices located in the Helm Building in downtown Fresno.  Many fast food restaurants in Fresno have large old pictures of Fresno on their walls.  One such picture shows some windows in the Helm Building with the name Speed B. Lease on them.  Brother Leas was the father of Hambleton Leas, our Master in 1961.

At the age of 23, he petitioned Las Palmas Lodge.  He was initiated May 23, 1907, passed on June 6, 1907 and raised on June 27, 1907.  In 1912, he became our eighth Master.  After his year as Master, he served as Lodge Treasurer for 32 years.

Brother Leas was also very active in the Fresno community.  He was chairman of the Fresno County Planning Commission, and president of the Fresno Board of Education.  Leas also served on the Fresno City and County Chamber of Commerce industrial and tax committees, and had been a director of the California School Trustees Association.

During his year as Master, Brother Leas raised 15 Master Masons and had 4 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Lazarus1913   Samuel Joseph Lazarus  (1868 - 1931)  (83676921)  Brother Lazarus petitioned Las Palmas Lodge in September of 1907 and was elected to receive the degrees of Masonry on October 17, 1907.  In his application he listed his occupation as Watchmaker. 

During his year as Master, Brother Lazarus raised 19 Master Masons and had 10 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

We are attempting to gather additional information on Brother Lazarus.  If anyone has information about him, please contact our Lodge Secretary.

BarnwellDave Barnwell 21914   David Monroe Barnwell  (1875 - 1935)  (40081805)  Brother Barnwell was born in Comanche County, Texas, and came to Fresno in 1888 at the age of 13 with his family to farm.  He attended Fresno public schools and was elected President of the Fresno High School student Senate in 1896, the same year he graduated.  He then went to UC Berkeley and graduated with a law degree in 1900.  To put himself through college, he worked for a time at both the San Francisco Examiner, and the Oakland Tribune.

Upon returning to Fresno, he worked for a short while for the Fresno Democrat newspaper, and taught school.  In 1904, Barnwell accepted an appointment as deputy county clerk until 1910, when he was elected Fresno County Clerk as the Democratic candidate.  He was again elected unopposed in 1914, 1918, 1922, 1926, and 1930.  He resigned in June 1933 to accept the position of Federal Comptroller of Pacific Customs, as a reward for many years of service to the Democratic Party.  The appointment was made by President Roosevelt.

Barnwell was the tenth Master of Las Palmas Lodge in 1914 at the age of 39.  He was also a member of both York and Scottish Rite as well as the Shrine.

Barnwell moved back to San Francisco in 1933 with the Customs appointment.  On September 23, 1935, while visiting his daughter in Fresno, he suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 59.

During his year as Master, Brother Barnwell raised 17 Master Masons and had 10 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Williams1915   Clarence Nelson Williams (1884 – 1948)  (148953629)  Brother Williams was born in Southern California.  He was raised to Master Mason on April 15, 1909 in Las Palmas Lodge at the age of 25.  His membership number was #152.  In his application for degrees, he listed his occupation as telegraph operator.

 

He served as the eleventh Master of Las Palmas in 1915 at the age of 31.  For a time during the Great Depression, he demitted from the Lodge as many men did due to the expense, but later remitted on July 1, 1933.

During his year as Master, Brother Williams raised 12 Master Masons and had 7 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

DickMIchael Dick at GG Grandfather tomb1916   Wm. Dick  (1856 – 1924)  (46983899)  Brother William Dick was born in Sterlingshire, Scotland.  He also lived in Australia, before coming to Fresno at the age of 36 in 1892.

Besides his work with Las Palmas Masonic Lodge, Brother Dick was also active in several Fresno organizations; St. Andrews Society (1899), IOOF (received second degree in 1905), Woodmen of the World, and the Scottish Rite.

At the age of 60, he served as our twelfth Master.

He was employed at Graffs, Donahoo-Emmons as a department manager.  Later he worked at Barrett-Hicks.  In 1917, after completing his year as Master of the Lodge, he announced plans to move to San Francisco to join a hardware manufacturing company.  He never moved his family, and returned to Fresno shortly thereafter.

At the time of his death, his occupation was that of rancher, living out in the Wolters Colony in Fresno.  He was survived by his wife Amy Phillips Dick, four sons (John, Donald and Dr. Phillip Dick of Fresno; Phillip of London England), and one daughter Anna K. Campbell.  All of Brother Dick’s sons would become members of Las Palmas Lodge, but Donald James Dick was one of the original 4 members of Las Palmas Lodge to become Charter Members of the to be formed Ponderosa Lodge.  Brother Donald James Dick was Master of Ponderosa Lodge in 1953 and 1954.

During his year as Master, Brother Dick raised 25 Master Masons and had 7 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.  Pictured to the right is Michael Dick, the Great Great Grandson of William Dick.  Michael Dick is a member of Las Palmas-Ponderosa Lodge.

SwartzF L Swartz1917   Fred Lloyd Swartz  (1885 – 1968)  (148764645)  Brother Swartz was born in Gerard, Kansas.  In 1890 his father brought the family to California to work a surveying project on the coast for the Santa Fe Railroad.  The project fell-though, but the family settled in Fresno.

Swartz was educated in Fresno, attending the elementary grades at the old White School (situated on the site where Fresno Memorial Auditorium now stands), then Fresno High where he played football from 1901 to 1903.  He studied architecture through a correspondence course while working as a logger at Shaver Lake.  He worked for an architectural firm in San Francisco for a time and then enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1909.  Swartz worked with his father, Alexander C. Swartz until the senior's death in 1919 (flu epidemic), then worked with C. J. Ryland until 1934 when the partnership dissolved.   He worked alone until 1946, when he took on William G. Hyberg (of San Mateo) as a junior partner.  He finally retired in 1965.

During World War II, he was a civilian architect for the U.S. Navy.  He helped design the giant SeaBees base at Camp Parks near Pleasanton and the 3,000 bed Camp Shoemaker Hospital. 

He was a prominent architect who designed many public buildings in Fresno.  Among the buildings his firm designed were the Fresno County Public Library, the (old) Fresno County Jail, the Elks Lodge, the Science Building at Fresno State, the Greyhound Bus Terminal, McLane High School, and several hospitals around the valley.  He also helped design the Scottish Rite Temple in Fresno.  Before he would design a building, he would interview everybody who worked or had business in that building to determine their needs so that the building would be most functional.

He petitioned Las Palmas Lodge for the degrees of Masonry in 1909 at the age of 24.  He then served as our thirteenth Master in 1917 at the young age of 32.   Brother Swartz was part of the Lodge Committee that oversaw the building of our present Lodge building in 1959 and 1960.  There is a plaque with his name on it in the entrance way to our Lodge building.

During his year as Master, Brother Swartz raised 25 Master Masons and had 11 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Thomson1918   Thomas Rogers Thompson  (1882 – 1958)  (155201511)  Brother Thomson was born in Paterson, New Jersey.  He was the youngest of 13 children, and was self-supporting from a young age.  He worked at a silk mill as a weaver, and went to night school to learn shorthand and bookkeeping skills.  He came to California in 1904 to attend UC Berkeley.  Thomson graduated 5 years later and then completed his law degree in 1910, and was admitted to the bar in 1911.

He came to Fresno later that year to practice with Sutherland and Barbour (who later became a congressman). He later worked with Harris and Harris, then for a number of years as a sole practitioner.  Thomson was also a Federal Bankruptcy Referee.  In 1929, he was appointed Superior Court Judge by Governor C. C. Young, and later won successive terms in 1930, 1936, 1942, and 1948.

Thomson wife was Ada May Pottle, the daughter of James C. Pottle, the first Master of Las Palmas.

His Masonic life started when he was raised in Berkeley Lodge No. 363 while in college.   When he moved to Fresno, he demitted to Las Palmas.  He served as the fourteenth Master of Las Palmas in 1918 at the age of 36.  He also served in the same year as Scottish Rite Venerable Master of the Lodge of Perfection.  In 1920, he was the Commander of Kadosh.  In 1947 he was coroneted an Inspector General Honorary 33 º.  The Spring 1982 Scottish Rite Class was named in his honor.

He was also a member in O.E.S. No. 295, the Fresno Sciots, the Shrine, past president of the Moose Lodge, member of Fresno Elks, Fraternal Order of the Eagle, Woodmen of the World, Modern Woodmen of America, and Fresno County Peace Officers Association.

Thomson was very active in the Fresno community.  He was President of the Fresno County Bar Association, and sponsored a movement to create the 4th District Court of Appeal to sit in Fresno.

He was chairman of the Fresno County Red Cross, Executive Committee Member of the Fresno County Tuberculosis Society, a Director of the Kiwanis Club, and served 20 years on the Boy Scouts Sequoia Council Committee for Advancement.  In 1948, he received the Silver Beaver, the Boy Scouts of America's highest award, signed by President Truman.

During his year as Master, Brother Thompson raised 21 Master Masons and had 10 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Wilber1919   Harry Clinton Wilber  (1864 – 1935)  (143954133) Brother Wilber was the fifteenth Master of Las Palmas at the age 45.  He was also vice-president of the Fresno Masonic Temple Building Association that same year.

Wilber was active outside of Masonry, serving on the Fresno local Draft Board during World War I.  He was also a charter member and Royal Patron of the Court of Amaranth, and Commander of Commandery No. 29 of the Knights Templar.

Harry was born in Dearborn County, Michigan to grocer Robert C. Wilber and his wife Alice V. Cheek.  He grew up in San Francisco attending Grant Primary and Clement Grammar Schools. In 1894, he married Grace Aileen DeLong, the daughter of Ambassador DeLong. He was active in political movements and civic organization throughout his life starting with the Woodmen of the World in San Francisco in 1901. He was very active in Democrat party politics in the early 1900s and in the Monticello Club, Elks, as well as the Masons. At this time San Francisco was caught up in graft scandals involving the county commissioners and Harry began working as a detective for Francis J. Heney's team against the corruption, and later as Heney's campaign manager for district attorney in 1909. By 1910 he and his first wife were separated and they went on to get a divorce. Henry moved to Fresno from San Francisco in 1911/1912 and continued his work in Progressive Party politics. In 1915, he married Grace M. Young, a San Francisco socialite who made her fortune marrying wealthy Klondike miners.  Grace joined him in many fraternal society events in Fresno serving on the Parlor Lecture Club and as Worthy Matron in the Eastern Star. During the first World War, he served as the Assistant Fresno County Director urging support for the troops and for people to buy Liberty Bonds. Harry tragically lost his ex-wife and two of his children in a boating accident on Fallen Leaf Lake near Tahoe in June of 1921. His only surviving daughter, Louise, secured a PhD in education and went on to be a lead teacher at the Arizona School For the Blind in Tucson (being blind herself).

Harry changed voter registration party affiliations multiple times. In San Francisco there was a fusion of Democrats and Republicans against a Union ticket. He was consistently in the “good government” camp..against graft where he saw it, and in support of effective policies and actions where possible.

Brother Wilber did not stay in Fresno, although he continued to hold interests in a ranch on Willow Ave.  At the time of his death in 1935, he was living in San Francisco.

During his year as Master, Brother Wilber raised 13 Master Masons and had 7 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Vianello1920   Ralph Dunham Vianello  (1882 – 1969)  (148328922)  Brother Vianello was born in Yarmouth, Maine.  His father, George, had been a merchant seaman, and died off the coast of Africa of Yellow Fever, just about the time Ralph was born. 

He later moved to Massachusetts, where on October 28, 1910 he was raised in Mt. Tom Lodge, in Holyoke.  He came to Fresno in 1913 with his mother, and joined Las Palmas Lodge on February 19, 1914. 

Vianello had a number of occupations over the years.  He had worked as a local newspaper man during his early years, but later became involved with financial recordkeeping.  He had been a Trust Officer for Fidelity Trust & Savings Bank, and was also involved with insurance transactions (1920).  There were a number of times Vianello had been considered as an appointee to various City of Fresno financial positions, but was passed up in favor of political cronies. 

Vianello eventually became involved with sports promotion; he was the business manager of the Fresno Speedway & Motorcycle Association (1933), and later Twentieth Century Sports Promotions.  Vianello was also a baseball fanatic, which led him to become a bookkeeper for the Fresno Cardinals, and eventually the Fresno Giants after the single-A farm team was acquired by the San Francisco ball club (1958).  He finally retired in 1964 at age 81.

Vianello was the sixteenth Master of Las Palmas in 1920 at the age of 38.  But Vianello's heart belonged to the Fresno Sciots.  He was the Scribe of the Sciots for nearly a decade, and often the group's spokesman.  He participated in their lavish affairs, and being an amateur magician, often entertained many people with his slight-of-hand.

Vianello was also an active recruiter for the YMCA in his younger days, and a member of High Twelve.   He was also the Director of Surplus Commodities Corporation, a group who provided food and clothing to local indigents.

He had also owned Swift's Cafeteria on Van Ness Avenue during his early days in Fresno.  According to family oral history, Vianello had to sell the restaurant due to lack of business during the Great Depression.

Vianello's son-in-law, George Posson (married to Marion) would become our Master in 1962.

During his year as Master, BrotherVianello raised 25 Master Masons and had 6 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Streeter1921   Jarvis Stretter Jr. (1869 – 1938)  (148338223)  Brother Streeter was a native of Mariposa County.  His father was a pioneer of Mariposa County and one of the early explorers of Yosemite Valley.

Streeter was a prominent Title Abstractor, coming to Fresno in 1888 at the age of 19.  He worked in the Stewart S. Wright Abstract Office until 1891, and then worked for the Fresno County Abstract Company for 16 years.  In 1907, he founded San Joaquin Abstract.

He was elected to receive the Degrees of Masonry on April 21, 1910, and was raised June 16 of that year at the age of 40.  Twelve years later, he became the seventeenth Master of Las Palmas Lodge at 51 years of age.

In addition to his work at Las Palmas, Streeter was also a member of the Scottish Rite, Fresno Sciots No. 10, secretary of the Shaver Lake Fishing Club, and chairman of the Road & Highways Committee of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.

Streeter had been married to Alice Fleming, whose father, Russell Fleming, was the first postmaster of Fresno.  Alice pre-deceased Streeter in 1931.

During his year as Master, Brother Streeter raised 43 Master Masons and had 5 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

McMurtry1922   Preston Hays Mc Murtry  (1879 – 1949)  (148338656)  Brother McMurtry was born in Modoc County, California.  His father had come from Jackson County, Missouri in 1875, eventually settling on government land in Watts Valley (southeast of Fresno) in 1883, and later moving to Tollhouse, California in 1904.

At the time McMurtry petitioned Las Palmas Lodge for the Degrees of Masonry on December 29, 1913, he listed his occupation as rancher and merchant (grocery clerk).  In 1922, McMurtry served as eighteenth Master of Las Palmas at the age of 43.  He had gone up the line beginning in 1916 as Junior Steward.

Brother McMurtry served as a Fresno County Supervisor (3rd District) from 1924 to 1948.

During his year as Master, Brother Mc Murtry raised 37 Master Masons and had 5 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Horn1923   Andrew Whitmer Horn  (1881 – 1957)  (102215916)  Brother Horn was born in Washington, Kansas.  He came to Fresno in 1911, having lived in Broken Bow, Nebraska (1897-1910), Woodbins, Iowa (1910-1911), and Lindsay, California for a few months. 

He petitioned for Degrees on June 7, 1912, and was raised on October 17 of that same year at the age of 31.  He was also involved with the Scottish Rite, the Shrine, and had been a past patron of Raisina O.E.S. No. 89 in 1920.  He became our nineteenth Master at the age of 42.

In 1925, Horn pulled up stakes in Fresno and moved to Berkeley, California.  He arranged a lease from UC Berkeley and opened a barbershop in the Student Union on campus.   He cut hair until his retirement in 1956 at the age of 75.  Brother Horn, as a Past Master of Las Palmas Lodge, made it a point to attend the Grand Lodge Communication every year.

During his year as Master, Brother Horn raised 30 Master Masons and had 4 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

Erskine1924   James Ralph Erskine  (1871 - 1946)  (71374728) Brother Erskine was born in Bloomington, Illinois.  He was raised in Rich Hill Lodge No. 479 in Rich Hall, Missouri on October 23, 1899, he demitted and joined Detroit Lodge No. 2 in Detroit Michigan in 1904 and demitted and joined Las Palmas Lodge in April of 1916. 

Brother Erskine had little opportunity for schooling and at age 12 started working in the coal mines of Rich Hill, Missouri.  After 6 years he entered Battle Creek college for three years. After his father died, he returned to work in the coal mines in order to support his father's family of seven.

Early on he became interested in mining machinery and rose to be superintendent of construction.  He would later work as an engineer for Dr. J. L Kellogg, and in other health food plants, in Battle Creek and Detroit. In 1904 he went to Los Angeles and worked for the Southern Pacific Rail Road, and then for the Globe Grain and Milling company. He later went to El Paso, Texas for Globe Grain where he constructed their ice plant and flouring mills.

As an engineer,  he managed the Peoples Ice Company (later Central California Ice) in Fresno, and was also manager of The Calwa Water Works Company. 

Brother Erskine became the twentieth Master of Las Palmas in 1924 at the age of 52.  He was also a member of Fresno Knights Templar, Fresno Lions Club, and a director of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.

During his year as Master, Brother Erskine raised 26 Master Masons and had 4 Masons affiliate with Las Palmas Lodge.

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Last revised October 19, 2018