DRIPPING SPRINGS — The Rambo Masonic Lodge will be celebrating 150 years of camaraderie June 14 with an open house for the community.
According to secretary Lynn Alderson, the lodge is part of the Freemasons of Texas, which stems back to 1733, when the men’s fraternal organization settled in New England. Though, the Dripping Springs location began prior to the city itself.
“In 1875, there wasn’t a Dripping Springs,” said Alderson. “What happened was, there was a lodge in — now it’d be South Austin … called Onion Creek Lodge. Some of the members that live out [in Dripping Springs], they received a charter and it was at the Friendship Baptist Church in Cedar Valley, Texas … So, that’s the reason the Rambo Lodge was named after a family that owned a bunch of land out here and they gave the land for that friendship church and that’s where the Rambo Lodge came from.”
The goal of the organization is to “make good men better,” explained Alderson, with the idea that being around a group of men with common goals and aiding charity and society allows men to improve themselves.
Each month, there is a meeting to discuss business ventures, as well as meetings for educational activities, get-togethers and social activities.
This camaraderie often creates long-lasting friendships, as many groups continue their interactions outside of the organization: “Some of our members, they go up every year to go pheasant hunting in Kansas,” he said.
Although the goal of the organization is to form connections and better each other, the group often does this by supporting local community groups, such as Dripping Springs High School and the Hays County Livestock Show. This is either through fundraisers, including an annual turkey and ham drive during the holidays, or, sometimes, the members themselves will band together to provide money for scholarships and more.
Bringing the community into their organization is one of the reasons the group is celebrating its 150th anniversary, Alderson said.
“One of the things we realized [is] the larger society gets, the more we seem to be this closed door thing. So, that’s why we’re having an open house. How many people have driven by this old building and have no idea what goes on in it and much less, ever been in it,” he asked.
The open house will include information that Alderson has been compiling, including how many Hays County commissioners have been Freemasons, how many people in the Battle of the Alamo have been Freemasons and more, to showcase the importance of the organization throughout not only the state and nation’s history, but specifically, Dripping Springs. He noted that even a current council member is part of the fraternity.
Additionally, Speeding Springs will be providing a car exhibit and North Hays County Fire and Rescue will be bringing a fire truck for children to explore. There will also be free hotdogs, hamburgers and drinks.
“We didn’t want this to be a fundraiser,” he shared. “[One time], two old ladies came up … They went to school here [in this building[ over 75 years ago. They were little old ladies, but they wanted to come in and look and see what it looked like. So, I think that’s what the 150th is celebrating.”
The celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 14 at Rambo Masonic Lodge, located at 103 Old Fitzhugh Road in Dripping Springs.
For those interested in joining, Alderson suggests one thing: visiting.
“We normally have dinner before our meetings. Come meet the people because there’s many lodges around Austin and the area and each lodge has its own unique feel. I used to be a member of the university lodge in downtown Austin and that was more of a business legislature, things of that nature. I moved out to Dripping Springs and was pleasantly surprised that we kind of consider this a boots and jeans lodge, meaning you don’t have to put on a coat and tie,” Alderson said.
In the future, the organization simply wants to continue educating and providing opportunities for men to become better, as well as opening itself up for community members.
More information can be found by visiting www.rambo426.org.
