World War II In 1939 the General Westover Air Base was established and it was not long before we received visits from Brothers in the Air Force who were stationed there. These visits continued to grow and developed into very cordial relations. From time to time applications were received from members of the Air Force who desired to become members of the Fraternity. As a result the Lodge now numbers among its membership a fair sized group from the Air Base. Many of the Masons at the Air Base hold membership in Lodges throughout the United States and these as well as local members formed the General Westover Square Club in 1941 for social and fraternal fellowship. Its degree team has taken part in the work in many of the local and nearby Lodges and is noted for the excellence and sincerity of its work. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese struck their sudden and infamous blow at Pearl Harbor and on the following day we declared war against them. Three days later we were at war with Germany and Italy, and the world conflagration had begun. Our Government rushed plans for building up its armaments and increasing its Armed Forces far beyond anything heretofore dreamed of. Every home and family, every industry and every activity felt the effects of the impending actions that followed. The youth of the nation was alert and preparing for its country's call and with the growing seriousness of the situation many were planning for the branch of the service they preferred. Throughout the next four years fraternal organizations saw their young men depart for training camps and fields across the land. Mount Tom Lodge felt the effect of these departures, some never to return again alive. At home the older members assisted in the war effort in many ways. Volunteers from the Lodge joined the air patrol service as watchers at Scott Tower against air raids on a 6:00 P.M. to 6:00 A.M. tour. Others trained as air raid wardens to apprise our people should incendiary fires break out, while others joined the auxiliary fire force to assist the regular Fire Department if needed. After four long years of anxiety it was with joyous feelings that we looked forward with hope to the early return of our Brothers. On March 3, 1943 the Lodge received the pleasant announcement that Bro. George W. Collins had remembered it in his will to the extent of $2000. A resolution was adopted on October 1, 1943, in which was stated the high esteem of the Lodge for Bro. Walter P. Crosby who received his Master Mason Degree on January 19, 1883, shortly after his twenty first birthday. Brother Crosby is still with us at the age of ninety and attends to his duties daily as Deputy Sheriff at the Hampden County Court House, being the oldest active deputy sheriff in the United States. He was made an Honorary Life Member, exempt from all dues. The Lodge lost its second oldest member on September 5, 1947, when Bro. Michael Abraham Marks passed away at the age of eighty-eight. Bro. Marks had been a member of the Lodge for sixty-four years. In the Fall of 1945 the Holyoke Masonic Association decided to organize a drive for the purpose of wiping out the mortgage on the Temple. Its first act was to request loans without interest from both Mount Tom and William Whiting Lodge to enable it to make an immediate payment prior to the drive. Our Lodge voted to grant a loan of $3000 for that purpose with specific terms for its repayment. The drive which followed was a great success, exceeding the quota by $7000. Today the Lodge meets in a Temple free from all external debt and which would cost at least a half million dollars to replace. In November 1949, the Lodge was further remembered in the will of our late Bro. Robert E. Newcomb, who left a sizeable estate which upon the death of the beneficiaries named therein will be divided equally between Mount Tom and William Whiting Lodges. The turning of the tide was first felt in 1942 and since then the Lodge has resumed its general growth year by year so that today it numbers over four hundred members. | Previous Page | Contents | Next Page | | Mt. Tom 100th Anniversary | | Mount Tom Lodge Home | | HolyokeMass.com Blog | HolyokeMass History | Hampden County | | Western Mass History & Genealogy | © Laurel O'Donnell 1997 - 2012, all rights reserved This is an adaptation of the original publication This document may be downloaded for personal non-commercial use only and cannot be reproduced or distributed without permission.