Today’s THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT subject is the Champlin Memorial Masonic Temple. It now houses the Boone Historical Center.
I didn’t look to deep into the history of this building because I watch a lot of History Channel and I don’t want to get on the bad side of the Masons. I know that they are apparently responsible for the New World Order and covering up everything from the Kennedy assassination to flat earth. I don’t want to mysteriously disappear in the middle of the night because I said the wrong thing about them. So these facts should be sufficient:
The Champlin Memorial Masonic Temple was built in 1907.
It housed Mr. Olive Lodge No. 79 until 1990, when they moved to a new, more secretive building.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
It is haunted, obviously, cause who knows what kind of weird rituals this building has housed.
Click on the link below to read about the hauntedness of the building:
Iowa Paranormal group checks out Boone History Center
Here is a look at the pictures from THE POSTCARD RECREATION PROJECT:
Original
Redux
Original
Redux
Original
Redux
Modern Interpretation
I have found that a key aspect of the “modern interpretation” is the avoidance of power lines, and stop lights, and other signs, as best as one can.
The next time we visit this project, it will be of one of the most beautiful churches in Boone.
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This is your reminder that this week’s THE WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE theme is COLORFUL:
COLORFUL
A COLORFUL image is an image of something that is filled with color.
Happy photo harvesting.
Sorry I’m commenting so much on these – I find all of the history and town stuff so fascinating.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time in different masonic temples over the years, and this one is by far the weirdest. Your photos are great!
Comment all you want. I love getting comments on these things. I live in less of a vacuum that way.
There are definitely some beautiful Masonic Temples out there.
Wait are you a Mason? Crap. The History Channel was right.
I’ve been working almost entirely from home, too, and we don’t go out much – so I completely agree. It’s almost like talking to people who aren’t obligated to talk to me by law.
Oh, Chris, you know I can’t be a Mason – I have boobs. The Masons are a patriarchy. My grandpa, dad, and now husband all are, however. I’d have to join the Eastern Star, which I refuse to join because I refuse to pay dues to be a servant.
Have you been in the Scottish Rite building down in Des Moines? If not, that’s another post-COVID trip to make. It’s beautiful. Several of Jon’s longtime friends are also Masons, they all grew up doing DeMolay (which I didn’t know was a thing until they all talked about it) – one and his wife got married there, and we’ve been to several formal galas and such there. Another couple of friends run it, so we have gone in and used it for New Years Eve to watch the fireworks once or twice in years past. It’s a really neat old building. I bet I could get us backstage tours if you ever want. https://dmscottishrite.org/about-the-building/the-building/
Lotta old white dudes with money in there.
What are the odds that I, a non Mason, go into this building and it doesn’t end with me being the victim of a human sacrifice in some kind of freak masonic ritual? I’m guessing not good.
But sure, mark me down. For a post-covid trip. To be murdered, by Masons.
They definitely have rituals, and I know some of them at least simulate death. So… the odds are better than I want to admit. But at least you’ll die with honor, or the elderly white man version of it.
Looking forward to having my throat slit east to west as the north star rises in the background.
As long as we get to watch stag films before the murder ritual. And I do mean stag films. They have to be in black & white and preferably on 8mm with no sound.
I’ve never been considered a person worthy of a secret society, so I always imagine it really is just a lot of old dudes watching vintage pornography in a basement 364 days of the year. Then giving away scholarships the other day of the year.
I guess Masons also run the world and drive those little cars in the parades. Do you have access to any of those little cars. I’m amazed the headlines aren’t splattered with them murdering small children with those cars every year. But, they run the world, so they run the media and just cover all that stuff up, I suppose.
Am I allowed to say any of this stuff when we go to this building?
I’ll see what I can do with the stag films – I’ll ask around with Jon and my dad. I’m going to guess they wouldn’t tell me the truth regardless, so you may have to ask them that directly without any womenfolk around.
I’m going to guess you may want to keep at least 45% of what you said under your fez/hat. They all have really sharp protractors and knives and stuff down there. Especially since there is a little bit of overlap in your scenario – a lot of what you describe is the Shriners, which are basically advanced Masons who had to go through separate degrees and pay a whole additional due. There are It’s sort of like – Masons are sort of like the high school baseball team. They’re great, everyone knows them – Scottish Rite and York Rite are sort of like the varsity, while lower level Masons are JV. But if you pay extra money and do extra work, you can buy your way onto a travel team: https://www.dummies.com/religion/spirituality/groups-affiliated-with-freemasons/.
The Shriners are one (and are sort of the silliest one), and they have the cars and the circuses and the hospitals. What’s sort of bullcrap is that not everyone can drive the cars – you have to be in a special group to do that. My dad and grandpa were in Shrine, and they were “greeters” – which basically means that their entire job was to shake people’s hands as they walk in doors and stuff. I think they had to sell more tickets to the circus, etc. – I don’t know, it sounds like a crap job compared to bowling or driving a car. I think the Isettas are the ones with the little cars, but there are also motorcycles: https://www.zagazigshrine.org/home/shriners/units-clubs/ The names are definitely not okay. The Shrine is the big pyramid down in Altoona – we usually go down and watch fireworks with Jon’s high school buddies there when the world doesn’t suck.
I shouldn’t totally mock – my grandpa used to drive a girl up to the Shrine Hospital who was in our class and got hit by a car while getting on the bus our freshman year. She didn’t have insurance and the college kid who hit her also didn’t. I think her family tried suing the school, but didn’t get anywhere w/it. So Grandpa got her free care up at the Shrine Hospital, because they were really, really not in a good place financially for all of the surgery and therapy she needed. But I also had to watch a bunch of drunk old guys in funny hats eat scalloped potatoes over the years, so I think I can sort of ride in both lanes. I don’t have any real ability to get you into many Shrines, unfortunately – I don’t know that Dad still belongs to the one in Pilot Mound. A couple of Jon’s buddies may belong to the Za-Ga-Zig one in Des Moines, but it’s a much bigger building and not so cloak-and-dagger-y as a small one.
Whew, all my formatting and paragraph breaks went away there, I’m sorry.
I do acknowledge that the Shriners do some good work. I don’t concede that it isn’t to throw us off the trail of all the things they are doing at the Bohemian Grove with the New World Order.
It is amazing how many organizations are based on, if you just give us more money. I wonder where L. Ron Hubbard got the idea for Scientology…
I hope it’s clear that I’m not over here beating a drum for Shriners or Masons. I generally don’t love entire organizations steeped in misogyny and cultural appropriation. I do understand that they do good things and that some people can get good things out of the fraternity. But yes, I’m pretty sure someone somewhere is skinning a cat for tonight’s ritual or something.
It really is a wonder. Almost like he had a perfect model somewhere or something.
What I want made clear is when does Charlie get initiated into the organization?
They skinning cats? You definitely know how to make me like an organization. But it is a myth that I hate cats. They just suck and I report on that fact. Commitment to the truth in all. If anything, I hate the fact that cats suck.
Apparently DeMolay is “junior Masons” (or similar). I guess you have to be 13 or so to join, and so apparently Charlie is going to be taken down for meetings when he is older. I had figured maybe he could try 4-H or Boy Scouts or something, but Jon told me this is the only thing he cares about Charlie at least trying.
It’s not your fault cats suck, nor that it is a fact. I think that people like Shannon who try to help out these unfortunate animals are true martyrs.