Old Lodge Hall
A narrowly enclosed
staircase on the side of Simpkins' Store leads to a small, rustic
Masonic lodge room. The room was completely replicated by the
Grand Lodge of Colorado as it appeared in the late 1800's. On
June 6, 1959, the lodge room was dedicated as a memorial to Lawrence
N. Greenleaf. Lawrence, a Past Grand Master of Colorado, was
also a poet whose 1898 poem "The Lodge Room Over Simpkins'
Store" gave this hall it's name. The beginning of this poem
can be read below.
"The plainest
lodge room in the land
was over Simpkins' Store.
Where Friendship lodge had met each month
for fifty years or more.
When o'er the earth the moon full-orbed
had cast her brightest beams,
The brethren came from miles around
on horseback and in teams,
And O! what hearty grasp of hand,
what welcome met them there..."
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