Scottish Rite Journal Online - September-October 2017

without visiting the Iowa Masonic Library. One cannot talk about visiting the Iowa Masonic Library primarily to review Prince Hall Grand Lodge proceedings without telling the truth about the lack of a central repository of proceedings and other documents pertaining to Prince Hall Freemasonry.”

Who does not want to be strand- ed on a magical island? The annual meeting of the Peace Garden Lodge of Freemasons (see the Extraordinary Opportunities for Affiliation section), may also include a journey to Masonic Island, a landmass owned by the Grand Lodge of North Dakota. The 7.2-acre property was, according to research from Grand Historian M∴W∴ James Savaloja, purchased from the Government in 1899 by Brother V.B Noble. The property was transferred to the North Dakota Masonic Foundation in 1933. The Grand Lodge dedicated the property in 1934, and built an outdoor lodge and a Fellowcraft stairwell on the island in 1935.

The stairwell, reached by passing two pillars, and consisting of three, five, and seven steps, carries travelling men from the boat dock toward the outdoor lodge room and is decorated in beautiful Masonic blue with gold accents. The outdoor lodge features the three officer stations, pedestals, and a Masonic altar in the center constructed with mortar and beach stones and trimmed in blue. Here, the second section of the third degree is conferred and, as you might expect, is a meeting only open to Master Masons. Profane friends and family are sometimes given a pontoon boat tour of Lake Metigoshe during this time.

Perhaps the most interesting histori-
cal account of this island comes from the
North Dakota Mason Magazine (Novem-
ber 2012): “It is known fact that Masonic
Island was probably the first place where
visas to enter the United States were lifted
for Masons of Canada during WWII by an
agreement between President Roosevelt
and Prime Minister Mackenzie King, who
were both members of the Fraternity. This
agreement stated that the Canadian Ma-
sons could enter the United States by boat
from the north shore of Lake Metigoshe,
which is in Canada. As long as their feet
never touched the shoreline of the lake in
the U.S., and they landed only at Masonic
Island when a meeting would be held, they
would not be in violation of our wartime
rules of entry.” Thus, when your feet touch
the shoreline of Masonic Island in Lake Me-
tigoshe, you are visiting a part of an amazing
Masonic history of our country shared with
our Canadian neighbors to the North.

Lake Metigoshe lies across the U.S.-Canadian boundary line. About 1. 5 miles south of the Canadian boundary is the 7.2- acre spot of land, Masonic Island.

The first Masonic meeting was held there in 1906, when Tuscan Lodge opened lodge, and then permitted Westhope Lodge to confer the Master Mason Degree.

Over the years, the island was frequently used for Masonic meetings, with attendance sometimes reaching 500 or more. A complete outdoor Lodge room and a staircase leading up from the dock were built in 1935.

Today, Masonic Island is being restored as a special historic location in the Turtle Mountains. The island lays claim to being the only spot in the area untouched by the fires and other disasters of nature which decimated old growths of oak trees and other flora and fauna. Because of the island’s location in the center of the lake, it has some of the oldest trees and most unusual plants in the state. Every Mason should visit at least one of these treasures in his lifetime.