PAONIA, COLORADO
Paonia Lodge No. 121 was granted a Charter by the Grand Lodge of Colorado, September 19, 1906. The Lodge was constituted and dedicated November 26, 1906 with Deputy Grand Master Joseph A. Davis, presiding.
Brother Judge J. H. Baxter was installed as the first Worshipful Master with Brother John McNaughton as Senior Warden, Brother Tom Duffield as Junior Warden. There were twenty-two (22) Master Masons who became Charter Members.
Our present Secretary, Brother M. H. Chrissman, was installed in his present station on December 21, 1921. He will have served continuously in that capacity for forty (40) years this coming December. He has served his Lodge as an elective or appointive officer for fifty-one (51) years.
Paonia Lodge No. 121 celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary in 1956. Fifty different Masters have served this Lodge. In its fifty-five years of Chartered existence the Lodge has had three hundred members on the Master Mason’s Degree.
The Lodge is buying, through the local Masonic Building Association, the present temple, which they now occupy.
There are at present 125 members in good standing. Our present Grand Chaplain, Brother Eric A. C. Smith, was raised in our Lodge on June 20, 1925. Our late Brother, Past Master Robert F. Rockwell, served two terms as Representative from the Fourth Congressional District. Past Master, Brother Thomas H. Wand served as Worthy Grand Patron of the Order of the Eastern Star 1957-58, and as District Governor of Rotary International in 1959-60.
At the present time the Lodge is very active with much work laid out on the Trestle Board. The younger members are quite interested. They are imbued with the proper zeal and are prepared to carry on in the true Masonic tradition.
Membership November 30,1960 119
