W. Bro. Damon A. Allan

At the time that Wardrope Lodge was formed in 1919, there was a great demand for the brotherhood of Freemasonry. Receiving applications and initiating candidates were taxing lodges to the limit! This was due to the spirit of comradeship among the men who had served in the armed forces in World War I. It prompted them to seek a continuance of that comradeship in the Masonic Fraternity. Money was plentiful which made meeting the initiation fees with only slight difficulty. Usually, it would have caused a man to stop and consider before submitting his application. The existing Lodges could not cope with this influx of candidates and obviously new Lodges had to be formed. The question was how many? However, the Grand Master was the final arbiter as to the dispensation to form a Lodge. We may be sure that he obtained the best of advice from those who were qualified to give it. Actually, five new Lodges were formed in the City of Hamilton in 1919. Those Lodges were Ionic Lodge No.549, Buchanan Lodge No.550, Tuscan Lodge No.551, Wardrope Lodge No.555, and Hamilton Lodge No.562.

In later years however, Masonic numbers decreased because of the great depression. There was much anxiety, but these Lodges could weather the storm of the depression.  It was expressed then that the "economic membership of a Lodge" is when revenue from dues plus initiation fees along with investment income meets all of the expenses of the Lodge.  The Charter Members of Wardrope Lodge possessed vision, and were dedicated workers. The laid a solid foundation, and left a structure in which an active membership may continue to work and to transmit the genuine tenets of our time honored institution from generation to generation.  The said Lodge was to meet at Hamilton, in the Province of Ontario, on the fourth Monday of the every month and remains so to this day. The Lodge was duly consecrated and R.W. Bro. John Forth was appointed as Worshipful Master.  He went on to serve in this capacity for the term of 1919 -20 - 21.

From the original Lodge records, the first meeting of Wardrope Lodge was held on August 25, 1919.  It was at this meeting that the Lodge was instituted. At this meeting, there were 15 officers, 14 members, and 36 visitors present, for a total of 65 Masons.  In exactly one year to the date of institution, W. Bro. John Forth had conferred the following degrees; 67 E.A.'s , 53 F.C.'s , and 48 M.M.'s. That was some first year indeed!  This was accomplished in 12 regular meetings and 16 emergent meetings. By December 5, 1921, there had been the following degrees worked in Wardrope Lodge; 158 E.A.'s, 146 F.C.'s and 133 M.M.'s for an astonishing total of 437 degrees. That was an incredible record that our first W. Master John Forth attained in such a short period of time.  A great amount of the credit was due to his line officers as well for their part in this great achievement.

Today, Wardrope’s membership numbers are respectable and we continue to pride ourselves on the quality ritual work that we do and the many ways in which we aim to cultivate the mind of the new Mason and senior Masons alike.