Thursday, February 18, 2016

Masonic Cornerstone Ceremony 1947

I really miss Lisa.  She could have found an article or booklet about this ceremony in the bat of an eye.  Me? I spent an hour looking through the Masonic Organizations files with no luck at all.  I have no idea where this took place.  Maybe it wasn't even in this county.

I need a lot of help from you guys.  Does anyone know where this ceremony happened?

Before anyone else arrives on the scene, an old woman pauses to look up at the camera while a technician gets the sound system ready.


The stone is ready to be lifted into place.

Waiting for the crowd to gather.

The celebration starts with a parade.

Dignitaries introduce other dignitaries as the stone begins to rise



Dignitaries make speeches.

A detail from the above picture.

Dignitaries make presentations.

A detail from the above picture.


A few words over the stone.


Masons admit they know nothing about masonry.  Hire real masons to place the cornerstone. (Note worker under the stone.)


I added closeup pictures of the kids who attended the ceremony because they are the most likely to be alive after nearly 70 years.  Maybe you were one of those kids and know something more about this day.  Here is another details from a picture that I didn't use.



6 comments:

  1. I believe this may the laying of the cornerstone for Diemer Hall on he UCM campus. I have seen some of these photos in the UCM Archive, and I believe they are the same.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I believe this may the laying of the cornerstone for Diemer Hall on he UCM campus. I have seen some of these photos in the UCM Archive, and I believe they are the same.

    ReplyDelete
  3. https://www.ucmo.edu/today/archives/13/winter/article6_last.cfm

    Central Yesterday

    A Campus Community

    By Mike Greife

    During his presidency of Central Missouri State Teachers College, George W. Diemer advocated creating an environment on campus where students could feel "at home" as part of a community where they learned and lived.

    Diemer's commitment to providing this environment for students resulted in the completion of the North Morrow Social Hall in 1939 and ultimately laid the groundwork for the planning under President Warren Lovinger that led to the construction of the current Elliott Union.
    Key to Diemer's plan to build a sense of community on the campus was the construction of residence halls for men and women. Students commonly were housed in local boarding houses and private homes, but as enrollment continued to grow throughout the 1930s, the need for housing for students also grew. Diemer's dream was realized with the construction of Yeater Hall for women in 1941 and East Hall for men in 1949.

    The college president announced the women's residence hall project, long a dream of former faculty member Laura Yeater and former Normal School No. 2 President E.B. Craighead, to the faculty during the summer of 1940. With no state funding available for such a project, the local community founded the College Dormitory and Development Association to provide the financial backing for the project through a bond issue.
    Yeater was delighted when notified the building was to be named in her honor. Retired in Fayetteville, Ark., she returned to campus for the dedication in May 1941. The new residence hall provided a college home for 150 women in a home-like setting that included formal living rooms with fireplaces and family-style meals served by uniformed waitresses in a dining hall that was added at a later date. Upon her death in 1954, Yeater willed the furnishings of her home to be used in Yeater Hall. An addition in 1946 expanded occupancy to 232.


    Following World War II, enrollment of young men taking advantage of the GI Bill at CMSTC increased the need for campus housing for men. Planning began in 1947, and in January 1948 suggestions were accepted for the name of the new hall, with East Hall selected.
    The formal ceremony for the laying of the cornerstone drew a large crowd, and the dedication of the new building, located on Maguire Street across from the campus, on May 22, 1949, drew more than 1,000. James C. Kirkpatrick, president of the college's Board of Regents, presented the ceremonial key to Missouri Gov. Phil Donnelly, who cut the ceremonial ribbon.
    Later renamed Diemer Hall in honor of the former college president, the hall provided housing for 168 men in 59 rooms. Described as masculine in décor, the hall did not include a formal dining hall. Male students dined in local homes that served two meals a day to a large group of men on a subscription basis, restaurants in the nearby "Buentetown" business district, or the college cafeteria.

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  4. I was a junior in Warrensburg HS and attended the ceremony. Further note: my parents were farmers and raised chickens--we butchered plenty of these young fryers and delivered them to Yeater Hall. Also, the Diemers loved our fresh fryers and my mother stopped by the President's home--Mrs. Diemer was a lovely lady I recall my Mother stating.

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  5. Love your work on this Peggy...I am not far away! But Thank you for missing me as soon as I left!🤭

    ReplyDelete