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Masonry In
North Dakota Forward |
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AFTER HAVING WRITTEN an autobiography and a short story of Congregationalism in North Dakota, I come now to the story of Masonry in North Dakota with the deep conviction that: 1) it must be factual; there is no excuse for inadequate research and names, dates and events must be as correct as access to original documents can make them; 2) it must be complete; the smallest lodge has equal rights with the largest and the smallest event may rival the largest in the eyes of someone; and 3) it must be personal; no one can have lived his Masonry in North Dakota for over forty years without some of its mantle falling on him and whatever personal opinions I have expressed, as the story has unfolded, have been the results of my own beliefs and thoughts and experiences. I could write no other way. To quote Don Berry in his Preface to "A Majority of Scoundrels", an informal history of the Rocky Mountain Fur Co.. Harper and Brothers, New York, 1961: "There is one principal difference between the amateur of history (which I am) and the professional historian. Not, I hope, in competence; the day is long past when inadequate research might be excused, and we are well rid of it. The difference is in the matter of opinions. The amateur can afford to have them. Too often the academician has to endure the sidelong glances of his |
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conferes, if he expresses his own notions in language insufficiently academic, whereas I have cheerfully set down whatever happened to catch my fancy without making much attempt to phrase these personal observations in formal terms." Don Berry goes on to say: "This of course gives the book a somewhat conversational tone and, if anyone is offended by the lack of dignity herein, he has my regrets, and I wish him better luck elsewhere. Doubtless a good many of these hard-gained opinions are quite wrong; but all surmise is so labelled and shouldn't cause any confusion. For my errors I apologize, and invite the reader to form his own judgments from the facts as given. If the quotations seem to indicate conclusions different from my own, their evidence is much to be preferred." To all of which I agree, with the possible exception that he states that he has cheerfully set down whatever happened to catch his fancy, while I maintain that every word I have written is the result of painstaking research and heart searching conviction. My opinions are sincere and if they have added to the reader's interest, I am well repaid; if not, I trust they have done no harm. In a work such as this, there are so many to whom my gratitude knows no bounds, as without them it never could have been completed. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to M. W. Ben G. Gustafson, who as Grand Master in 1959-60 commissioned me to write and publish a History of Masonry in North Dakota, to be prepared for the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Grand Lodge of North Dakota in 1964; to M. W. J. Marlin Kyle, who as Grand Master in 1961-62, read the "copy" as it was written, and counselled and upheld me when I most needed his advice; to M. W. Rilie R. Morgan and M. W. Edward J. Franta, Past Grand Masters, who as publishers of experience and close personal friends, were appointed my publishing committee and have been my critics and advisers through it all; to Katherine Fitzloff, registrar of the Grand Lodge office, and Vivian Hay, librarian-in-charge of the Grand Lodge Library, for hours of assistance in searching records and supplying information no one else could have found; and finally, to my wife, Caroline, who has typed my "copy," hour after hour, who has listened to my unending "chatter" about the "History" and whose advice has been final, "when the chips were down." To all of you my eternal gratitude.
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