Posted by: thepinetree on 07/27/2010 05:39 PM
Updated by: thepinetree on 07/28/2010 11:34 AM
Expires: 01/01/2015 12:00 AM
Murphy’s Masonic Lodge, a Fraternal Organization with Charitable Focus~by Charity Maness
Murphys, CA....What began as a way for the closely guarded secrets of the mason trade to be passed from generation to generation, from the building of Solomon’s Temple in 960 BC to the fraternal organization in the late 16th century Europe, had traveled to the ‘New World’ by 1730 and subsequently evolved into the modern day free and accepted masons, known better as the Freemasons. Using symbols of architectural tools; the square & the compass, teaching moral and ethical lessons on “liberty, equality, and fraternity” and subscribing to the belief of a “supreme .....
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being” are all corner stones to the fellowship of the Freemason. Candidates swear to follow the rules of the fraternity and to keep the “secrets of freemasonry” harking back to the day when a master mason would closely guard his masonry secrets, only passing them along to an apprentice or a son, ensuring his creative craft would remain his.
The Murphy’s Masonic Lodge, known as Ophir Bear Mountain Lodge #33 F.&A.M., has its own amazing history dating back to 1853, when Murphys was known as “Murphy’s Rich Diggins.” When the gold rush came catapulting into the Sierra Nevada so did violence, greed, and hope. Out of this collection of folks seeking gold came a group of men that brought with them “the civilizing Masonic virtues of temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice.” By “1853 Ophir Lodge received its charter from the Grand Lodge of California and began regular meetings in private homes.” In 1988 the Angels Camp lodge, Bear Mountain merged with Ophir to create the current lodge known as Ophir Bear Mountain.
With the current lodge understandably showing the wear of time, built in 1902, a new lodge was constructed in 2002. The dream of a new Masonic lodge had become a reality due to a generous endowment from George Trumper. With the completion of the lodge George still felt he could do more for his community and the Masons as a whole, posing the question, “What can I do to benefit the masonry the most?”
Enter the scholarship endowment fund set up five years ago in George’s name. Following George’s wishes to the letter, each year the Murphy’s Masonic Lodge gives one scholarship to a well deserving senior from Bret Harte High School. Receiving many applications, a trio of elected trustees base their choice on multiple facets: top 10% of the class in GPA, school essay, and an essay that answers the question “What effect has masonry had in the field of the arts, sciences, etc.?” From the applicants, five finalists are chosen and are then interviewed, with one becoming the recipient of the scholarship. The scholarship amount varies with the amount of interest received for that year on the initial invested amount. Recent recipients have gone on to study at CalPoly, Chico and UCLA. The most recent recipient Wesley Sagewalker, is headed to Harvard this fall.
Though George Trumper did not live long enough to see the first recipient of his scholarship endowment fund, he knew he would make a lasting difference. Before he passed he stated, “I am certain that the spirit of my dear wife Betty, who awaits me in the hereafter, shares my joy.”
A couple historically notable local Mason’s: Albert Michelson, the first American to receive the Nobel Prize in the Sciences, resided in Murphy’s: Samuel Clemens, served as a junior Deacon in February 1865 in the Angels Camp lodge. Famous Mason’s: Benjamin Franklin, Bob Hope, Paul Revere, John Glenn, 14 US Presidents, 33 Supreme Court Justice, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Francis Scott Key, and the list goes one.
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