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The historic stone building on Old Fitzhugh Road, built in 1881, has a central part in the history of Dripping Springs. But for decades now, a local group with even older origins has called it their home. On Saturday, June 14, the masons of Rambo Masonic Lodge celebrated their 150th anniversary.
“The lodge itself is number 426. That delineates that we were the 426th lodge that was chartered in the state of Texas,” Blake Fasel, senior warden and incoming worshipful master, said. “It is a big deal to be 150 years old in the state of Texas. That's a very long time for one group to stay alive and active.”
Will Fisher, who is the lodge’s junior warden, agreed. “When this lodge was originally chartered, the president was Ulysses Grant,” Fisher said. “We were a very young state. It was the frontier at the time.”
Fisher said the masons originated in England in the 1700s, and these days the fraternity has chapters worldwide. He said masons are welcomed at other chapters as brothers - whether that chapter is in another town, another state, or another country.
“It's an organization with a lot of history, and there's been a lot of mystique about it, even though we are the worst people ever for keeping secrets,” Fisher said. “You can find a masonic lodge everywhere. We are in every small city in Texas.”
Fasel said he joined the lodge after getting married into the Hudson family, who are longtime residents of the area.
“I love helping people in any way I can and it just makes it easier to help with like minded men, like myself,” Fasel said. “That is the biggest thing, is the brotherhood it brings.”
Fasel said the lodge has several key philanthropic activities.
“One of them is Fantastic Teeth, which has been going on for 25 years now. The lodges in this district which is San Marcus, Kyle, Buda, Wimberley, Dripping Springs, Johnson City, Blanco, and New Braunfels - we all get together and put together toothbrushing packets for all of the first graders every year,” Fasel said. “Every single first grader in all of those areas gets one of those packets.”
The packets contain toothbrushes, toothpaste, dental floss, instructions on how to brush your teeth, some fun games, and stickers to make it fun for kids. The lodge’s scholarship program is one of its other big projects.
“The Grand Lodge gives us a matching donation and every year, we always give out at least $3,000 to $5,000 to seniors that are graduating in the Dripping Springs and Lake Travis areas for their further education, whether it be college or trade schools,” Fasel said.
Fasel said being part of the lodge is the best thing he’s done in his life, after having kids and getting married to his wife.
“Joining masonry was amazing, and still is, even ten years in,” Fasel said. “I'm one of the younger members and I hope that I get to give another 30, 40, 50 years to it. It fulfills life a little bit more.”
Fisher said that the lodge actually predates the city of Dripping Springs. It came from another lodge outside of Austin called Onion Creek, whose members came over here.
“It used to be something that's called the moon lodge, where they would meet in the evenings, the first Thursday after a full moon, because they came there by horses and by buggies,” Fisher said. “You didn't want to get your horse in a pocket and break its leg or anything like that, so they would make sure they would be in a full moon so everyone could see on their way there and on their way home.”
Fisher said one of the figures that is famous in Rambo Lodge is his mentor, Benny Hudson. He and his brothers were an institution of the Texas Hill Country and the masons.
“The man was larger than life with a heart of absolute gold, who did more for charity fundraising than anyone I've ever known,” Fisher said. “You can almost name any of the local charities and he was engaged in it.”
Fisher also counts Walter Hudson, Benny’s brother, as a mentor. Walter is a current member of the lodge.
“So it's the people, perhaps not the building, that really makes us what we are here,” Fisher said.
As for the building, it has its own interesting history, according to Charlie Haydon, who has been a member of Rambo Lodge for close to 60 years. It was built on land donated by W.T. Chapman, who was a deacon in the Baptist Church.
“He donated the land, people donated rock, and they built the ground floor rooms of this building,” Haydon said.
The building served as the community’s first school from 1881 to 1949, and it was also the meeting place of the Baptist Church for 20 years.
Haydon’s parents and a grandfather both attended school there, but he missed it by one year. The school had moved to a new location, and the old building sat vacant.
Not long after, the masonic lodge, which was located on Mercer Street at the time, burned down. With the old school sitting vacant and the lodge members needing a home, an agreement was soon reached.
“They were able to buy it from the school district, and that's how we got here,” Haydon said. “It’s been a good fix. Good for the lodge, good for the community.”
Fisher agreed.
“We love being in the heart of Dripping,” Fisher said.
Fisher said that the organization still has some of the paperwork from around the time of the fire.
“I was going through all our records and we were looking at and laughing about some of the old electrical bills from 1950-something,” Fisher said. “I think it was one dollar and three cents, was the electrical bill at the time.”
Haydon comes from a long line of masons. His grandfather, his father, and an uncle all served as worshipful masters. Though he personally is not very active in the lodge, he said it’s a very good organization.
“You know, sometimes there's a misconception of masonry that it's this secret organization,” Haydon said. “And there is secret work, you know, that's part of the fraternity, but there's nothing subversive about it or anything.”
Haydon said that if you look back through history, a lot of the country’s leaders were masons.
“Through the years, there have been so many community leaders who have probably become stronger leaders because of masonry and because of the principles, the fact of trying to make good men better,” Haydon said. “I think that has spilled over into all of our communities, really.”
At the 150th celebration on Saturday, visitors got a peek inside the old building and even inside the meeting room. Tom McCormick, who has been a Dripping Springs resident since 1993, was visiting the lodge for the first time.
“I've driven by it a thousand times, and I've met people that went to school here when they were kids. They're in their 80s and 90s now,” McCormick said. “We were glad to see this building being used instead of having it crumble to the ground like a lot of small towns let their buildings go.”
Fisher emphasized that the lodge is a very open place, even on ordinary days.
“So if you're ever curious about that old building, and you wanna know more, come find us,” Fisher said. “We're here and we'll be happy to talk to you about it or give you a tour.”
