Olive Union’s 150th meeting minutes will be gold dust for future researchers
Chapter webinar explores the story behind the ceremony – and you can share the next instalment
May 12, 2020
On the trail of the Freemasons’ Imp in Lincoln
May 13, 2020
Freemasons scouring the Minute Books of Horncastle’s Olive Union Lodge in preparation for its 200th anniversary will no doubt pause when they get to the minutes of the 150th, which has just taken place – because the meeting never happened as it should have done.
Covid-19 restrictions meant that the formal proceedings couldn’t take place as planned, so a Zoom meeting was set up instead, and Secretary Mel Murfin took the opportunity to create a very special set of minutes recording a snapshot in time with more informality than is usual in such records.
He said: “It should have been a significant moment in the history of the lodge, but given the circumstances we were fortunate that our member Gary Hurst, who is quite proficient with IT, arranged a Zoom meeting attended by 31 members and guests.” Mel’s minutes, shown below, blend a view of informality and history that nevertheless united members in their isolation. Mel added: “I’ve tried to make the minutes a glimpse of life at present rather than the usual where, when, who, and why. It might be of interest to someone arranging the 200th meeting of Olive Union Lodge in 50 years’ time.”
Who knows? Perhaps when that day comes there will be a very elderly member of the Lodge who will be able to give a first hand account of what life was like in the spring and summer of 2020…
OUMinutes20200507
