Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska

On Monday and Tuesday of this week (April 20 – 21), I attended the Fortieth Annual Communication of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska. Unfortunately, because of my visit to the Grand Lodge of Hawaii, I was unable to participate in all of the festivities marking this milestone in the history of Alaskan Freemasonry.

Alpha Lodge No. 61 in Anchorage (under the jurisdiction of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Oklahoma) became the first Prince Hall Lodge in Alaska. In the subsequent years that followed, four additional Prince Hall Lodges in Alaska were granted constitution from the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Oklahoma and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge Washington. In September 1969, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Washington organized the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the State of Alaska with Alpha Lodge No. 1, Mt. McKinley Lodge No. 2, and Midnight Sun Lodge No. 3. In 1971, the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska established Castle Rock Lodge No. 4 in Big Delta, Alaska. Also, in 1971, Pillar Mt. Lodge No. 5 and Summit Lodge No. 6, both previously under the jurisdiction of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Oklahoma, joined the Alaska Masonic Family.

As accounted on the web site of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska:

“One of the most significant events while in office was the ceremony of mutual limited recognition between the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge, Alaska and its Jurisdiction, Free and Accepted Masons and the Grand Lodge of Alaska, Free and Accepted Masons, which occurred on 10 May 1997 at the Fairbanks Masonic Hall (Non-Prince Hall) . . . in Fairbanks Alaska. Most Worshipful Brother Stanley Foulke, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Alaska and Most Worshipful Brother Michael Boone, Grand Master of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Alaska officiated at the Ceremony. Over one hundred and thirty Freemasons and their spouses attended to witness the signing of this document. Many in attendance shed tears of joy as the two Grand Bodies join hands in hands to end segregation of Freemasons within the state of Alaska.”

Today, the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska is comprised of five lodges, which include:
Alpha Lodge No. 1 (Anchorage, AK)
Mt. McKinley Lodge No. 2 (Anchorage, AK)
Midnight Sun Lodge No. 3 (Fairbanks, AK)
Summit Lodge No. 6 (Anchorage, AK)
Arctic Lodge No. 7 (North Pole, AK)

On Monday, in my message to the brethren of the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska, I acknowledged that, in the 12 years since Mutual Recognition was established between our two bodies, the Grand Lodge of Alaska has unanimously granted full recognition to the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Connecticut; the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Inc.; and the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of North Carolina. Each of those occasions where the Grand Lodge of Alaska has granted recognition to a Prince Hall Grand Lodge has been at the request of that particular Prince Hall Grand Lodge. I noted that, since the Grand Lodge of Alaska has only been in existence for twenty nine years, we are one of the youngest Grand Lodges in North America, and as such, I believe we should be the ones extending the hand of brotherly love and friendship to all Grand Lodges who meet the standards of regularity, have treaties of shared jurisdiction, and who have existed longer than us. I requested assistance from the Grand Master in extending the bonds of brotherhood that the Grand Lodge of Alaska enjoys with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska to all Prince Hall Grand Lodges that meet the criteria previously mentioned and proposed that we form a joint committee to explore this possibility.

On Tuesday, in his message to the craft, the Grand Master, Most Worshipful Edward Miller recommended that a committee of Past Grand Masters be formed to work with the Grand Lodge of Alaska to expand on the brotherly love and friendship between our two jurisdictions. This recommendation was unanimously approved by the members present.

The election of officers for the ensuing year was held and the following brethren were elected to serve the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska for 2009 – 2010:
MW Clifford Hastings, Grand Master
RW Timothy Mullins, Deputy Grand Master
RW Curtis Harris, Senior Grand Warden
RW Joe Rogers, Junior Grand Warden
RW Kenneth Holmes, Grand Treasurer
MW Doyle Williams, Grand Secretary
RW Lawrence Hicks, Grand Lecturer

I wish to thank Most Worshipful Edward Miller and the Brethren of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Alaska for the many courtesies and honors extended to me. I would especially like to thank Most Worshipful Ruben Jackson for the many years of friendship and brotherly love that has existed between us for much longer than I have been a Mason. I hope to see them all again at their next Annual Communication, which will be April 17 – 21, 2010 in Fairbanks, Alaska.