was the first Worthy Matron and Mrs. Anna L. Rice, Associate, with Mrs. Jane Ayers, Secretary, and Mrs. F. I. Pillsbury, Treasurer. Mrs. Jemerson was succeeded by Mrs. Rice as Worthy Matron either in 1878 or 1879. The charter bears date February 26, 1880. The first Worthy Matron under the charter was Mrs. Anna L. Rice with Mrs. D. Eighmy, Associate, and J. A. Smith, Worthy Patron. Mrs. Rice was succeeded by Mrs. E. Palmer in 1882 or 1883.

After a time the interest began to flag. The attendance was light until finally the meetings ceased altogether. A small company of members, consisting of Mrs. F. I. Pillsbury, Mrs. Minnie Francis, Mrs. Ella Johnson, Mrs. Anna Chisholm, Mrs. M. C. Cory, Mrs. Jennie Ayers and possibly one or two others (this list is made from memory), rather than see the charter surrendered and the chapter fall to pieces, kept up the Grand Chapter dues and the annual reports and did what else was necessary to keep the organization intact and save the charter. Matters drifted along in this unsatisfactory manner until 1894 when the members who had stayed by it decided that it was time to make an effort either to revive the work and place the now nearly defunct organization on its feet once more or to abandon it altogether.

The attempt at reorganization was a marked success. Many accessions to the membership followed and soon the chapter came to be one of the most popular of the social organizations of the day. The first set of officers under the new dispensation was as follows: Worthy Matron, Mrs. L. H. Farnham; Patron, L. H. Farnham; Associate Matron, Mrs. J. W. Cory; Secre tary, S. L. Pillsbury; Treasurer, Mrs. S. L. Pillsbury. In 1899 Mrs. Farnham was succeeded by Mrs. Palmer as Matron, who in turn was succeeded by Mrs. H. A. Miller in 1901. The other officers at the present time are: Associate Matron, Mrs. V. C. Hemenway; Patron, Thomas Burt; Secretary, Miss Ma

bel Carlton, and Treasurer, Mrs. S. L. Pillsbury. The total membership is about forty-five. Much credit is due the faithful few who stood by the organization in its hour of adversity and contributed so much to its subsequent prosperity.

A chapter of Royal Arch Masons was organized at Spirit Lake May 24, 1901, under a dispensation granted May 15, 1901. The Beacon of June seventh gives the new organization the following send-off:

"Spirit Lake Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, is now in working order under dispensation officered as follows: High Priest, Chas. I. Reigard; King, Dr. Q. C. Fuller; Scribe, T. E. Burt; Treasurer, J. W. Cravens; Secretary, W. A. Siddall; Captain of the Host, L. H. Farnham; Principal Sojourner, W. P. Stone; Royal Arch Captain, A. B. Funk; Master of Third Vail, H. A. Miller; Master Second Vail, P. E. Narey; Master Second Vail, C. T. Chandler; Tyler, O. Crandall. The regular night of meeting has not yet been appointed. The next meeting will be this (Friday) evening. Nine candidates await initiation."

Soon after the building of the railroads to Spirit Lake some members of the Grand Commandery of the Knights Templar conceived the plan of erecting somewhere in the lake region a structure that would be regarded by members of the Order as a kind of home or headquarters where they could spend their annual summer vacation and which would serve as a proper place for holding their annual conclave and banquet. In pursuance of this design a committee was appointed to examine and select suitable grounds for that purpose. After examining several that were offered them they decided to report in favor of what has since been known as Fort Dodge Point on West Okoboji Lake, but when this report was presented to the Grand Commandery it was so strongly opposed by the officers and agents of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway, who were mostly members of the order, that they succeeded in defeating it and a second committee was appointed.

This committee, after examining the several points offered, reported in favor of the place that was afterward selected and which is now known as "Templar Park." This consists of a wooded promontory of about twenty acres situated on the southwest shore of Spirit Lake and but a short distance from the Burlington depot on the isthmus. This tract was purchased of Mr. A. Kingman by the people of Spirit Lake and the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railway and donated to the commander for the purpose heretofore indicated. It was conveyed by deed to Right Eminent Sir James Martin, Grand Commander; W. A. McGrue, Very Eminent Deputy Grand Commander; S. J. Bennett, Eminent Generalissimo, and A. R. Dewey, Eminent Grand Captain General, and their successors in office as trustees of the Right Eminent Grand Commandery Knights Templar of the state of Iowa. The work of improvement commenced in the summer of 1885 and has been gradually carried forward to the present time.

Minnie Waukon Lodge, No. 274, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was organized March 5, 1874. The officers elected for the first term were as follows: A. A. Mosher, Noble Grand; L. E. Holcomb, Vice-Grand; William Helms, Treasurer; N. J. Woodin, Permanent Secretary, and R. D. Owen, Recording Secretary. This lodge has had a somewhat checkered existence. A portion of the time it has been on the high waves of prosperity, and at other times the interest has fallen to a low ebb. The present membership is forty-one. The Past Grands are: A. A. Mosher, L. E. Holcomb, J. A. Smith, S. E. Evans, George Hilbert, Orson Rice, C. C. Perrin, D. L. Riley, C. A. Arnold, E. F. Hill, William M. Smith, J. S. Everett and Clarence Hite. The present officers are: N. G., J. E. Russell; V. G., W. F. Beerman; Secretary, J. W. Chestnut; Treasurer, A. Hurd; Conductor, Chas. Linder, and Warden, O. Bjornsen. The Rebekah degree was organized September 5, 1876. At the present

time the lodge is in first-class condition and prospering finely. The Patrons of Husbandry were but are not. When first organized they manifested a great degree of zeal and enthusiasm. But it soon died out and the organization itself went a glimmering years ago. The Spirit Lake Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, was organized March 17, 1874, with officers as follows: W. B. Brown, Master; S. E. Evans, Overseer; C. E. Abbott, Lecturer; Isaac Ames, Steward; H. C. Owen, Assistant Steward; William Helms, Chaplain; George Hilbert, Secretary; James Cousins, Treasurer, and James Evans, Gatekeeper. Mrs. James Helms, Ceres; Mrs. W. B. Brown, Flora; Mrs. William Helms, Pomona, and Mrs. Thomas Pegdon, Lady Assistant Steward. The average membership was about sixty. The organization was maintained with a great deal of enthusiasm for about five years when the interest began to flag and by 1886 the organization was numbered with the things that were but

are not.

A lodge of Good Templars was another of the early day institutions of Spirit Lake. Statistics are not at hand for much of an outline of it. Among its more prominent promoters were G. S. Needham, A. W. Osborne, J. L. Coppoc, C. H. Ayers and others of the principal citizens of the town. In 1876 J. A.Smith of the Beacon wrote of it as follows:

"A lodge of Good Templars has been in existence at Spirit Lake for several years past with intermittent success, sometimes flourishing and then gradually losing ground. At present the tide of its fortune is at such a low ebb that it can scarcely be reckoned among the living institutions of the county."

These four comprise the civic societies of the pioneer days. Those of later date are the Grand Army of the Republic, the Knights of Pythias, Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Modern Woodmen of America and the American Yeoman.