Victoria Lodge No. 2
The Lodge celebrated its Centennial in 1958. The Worshipful Master was W.Bro. Keith MacKinnon. The Centennial Committee included M.W.Bro. W.R. Carson PGM, W.Bro. J.P. Miller PM and Bro. G.L. Bennett. Celebrations were planned for September 28-29. Seventy-seven Brethren representing eleven Craft Lodges in the Jurisdiction attended a Rededication Service in the Lodge Room. The Worshipful Master shared highlights of the Centennial History of the Lodge prepared by Bro. Bennett. The sermon was delivered by Bro. J.T. Ibbott of St. John’s Lodge. Organists, Bro. C.D. Gillis and Bro. R.M. Smallman, accompanied the Masonic Quartet comprised of members from Mizpah Lodge and Saint Andrew’s Lodge. On Monday evening a banquet and dance was held at the Charlottetown Hotel. M.W.Bro. D.M. Sinclair, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Nova Scotia was the guest speaker at the Banquet. The Lodge conferred thirty-four Degrees in 1958 and recorded a total membership of one hundred and seventy-six.
Victoria Lodge recorded the highest membership in its history on December 31, 1960. New entrants in that year included Bro. Talmage Foster, Bro. Keith Carver and Bro. Robert Jones. The Worshipful Master was W.Bro. T.I. Knox. The one hundred and eighty-nine members on the Roll included twenty-two Life Members. Since 1975 Victoria Lodge has consistently recorded the largest membership among the Craft Lodges in this Jurisdiction.
Victoria Lodge has been one of the most active Lodges in the Jurisdiction in arranging exchange visits with Lodges from outside the Jurisdiction. The first exchange occurred in June 1949 and involved Tweedie Lodge No. 41 in Moncton. Twenty-six Brethren travelled by air to Moncton on June 14. The Worshipful Master was W.Bro. C. Gordon Lord. On June 28 twenty-one Brethren from Moncton were hosted at a lobster supper before attending a Special Communication where the guests conferred the Master Mason Degree for Bro. Elmer Laurie Johnston and Bro. Robert Claude Barwise of Victoria Lodge. In 1953-54 an exchange was arranged with Hibernia Lodge No. 3 in Saint John. Thirty-five Brethren travelled by chartered bus to Saint John on October 16, 1954 and conferred the Master Mason Degree at a Special Communication attended by one hundred and eighty-eight Brethren. W.Bro. E.H. Lord PM led the Degree Team.. Beginning in 1959 the Lodge had several exchange visits with Acacia Lodge No. 8 in Amherst. It was during that era that the catering prowess of Bro. Reuben Cross of St. John’s Lodge emerged. His Swiss Chicken Dinners brought rave reviews from members and guests. In 1965 the Lodge conducted an exchange with New Brunswick Lodge No. 22. The Brethren chartered a bus for $200 plus boat fare and paid $12.50 for each room at the Wandlyn in Saint John. In 1968 the Lodge began a strong relationship with St. Mark’s Lodge No. 44 in Derry, New Hampshire. For two decades exchanges were arranged between the Craft Lodges and Orders of the Eastern Star in the two centres. Other exchanges were recorded with Albion Lodge No. 5 in New Glasgow and Truro Lodge No. 43. Degrees were conferred on all occasions and respect for different Rituals was observed. Often a class of candidates accompanied the Lodge Brethren on the trips.