NUTLEY LODGE NO. 167, F. & A. M.

FRANK R. FORRESTER

NUTLEY LODGE No. 167, F. & A. M. was instituted under dispensation by Most Worshipful James H. Durand, Grand Master on November 1, 1893. Its warrant which was presented on March 5, 1894, names it Nutley Lodge and gives its location as Franklin, N.J., the name of the town at that time.

The charter members were Lewis M. Thatcher, Adrian Vreeland, David W. Sherwood, Ernest Faith, James Guiles, George S. Coe, Ben N. Marsh, and Jabez Freeman. Its first officers were: Lewis M. Thatcher, Worshipful Master; Adrian Vreeland, Senior Warden; David Sherwood, Junior Warden.

Nutley Lodge originally met in Rusby’s Hall which was located opposite the present High School on Franklin Avenue. It later met in Dittig’s Hall on the top floor of the building still standing at the northeast corner of Chestnut Street and Hamilton Place. It moved to the Masonic Hall at High Street and Franklin Avenue in 1905 and from there to the present Masonic Temple on Chestnut Street in 1954·

Nutley Lodge participated in the laying of the cornerstone of the Nutley Free Public Library by Most Worshipful Fred E. Tilden, Grand Master, on November 29, 1913. Many of its members both past and present have taken an active part in the civic life of Nutley some having served as Mayor, Commissioners, members of the Board of Education and in other civic posts.

Nutley Lodge supports the Masonic Home at Burlington operated by the New Jersey Masonic Home and Charity Foundation, as well as local charities. It co-sponsors two youth groups, Nutley Chapter Order of DeMolay for Boys and Nutley Assembly No. 54 Order of the Rainbow for Girls. Its other affiliated organizations are Nutley Chapter No. 121, Order of the Eastern Star and Nutley Craftsmen’s Club.

The present officers of Nutley Lodge are: George C. Graham, Worshipful Master; Langdon A. Wagner, Senior Warden; Burton E. Wright, Junior Warden; Clifford W. George, P.M., Treasurer; Herbert B. Reed, Secretary; Robert W. Simpson, Chaplain; George F. Steutel, Senior Deacon; Willard S. Bell, Junior Deacon; R. Keith Anderson, Sr. Master of Ceremonies; Sherman S. Haggerty, Jr., Jr. Master of Ceremonies; Samuel C. Watkins, Senior Steward; Robert W. Landis, Junior Steward; Irwin T. Jacobus, Marshal; Clarence B. Iliffe, Organist; Robert Baird, Jr., Tyler; Frank R. Forrester, P.M., Historian.