IONIC LODGE NO. 45 and IONIC LANDMARK LODGE NO. 45

East of the town of Lacombe, the small community of Alix received a dispensation to erect a Lodge on April 16, 1909.  The M.W. the Grand Master, J. J. Dunlop, constituted Ionic Lodge No. 45 on July 7, 1910.  The institution ceremonies had been carried out on May 21, 1909. The D.D.G.M., in reporting to Grand Lodge, said in part:

“There is much enthusiasm among the Brethren of this Lodge, and since the New Year this Lodge has steadily advanced and made much progress under capable officers.”

Ionic Lodge, from its first meeting in 1909 until December of 1947, continued to meet “on the Thursday preceding full moon”.13

Lodge records indicate that during the early days many of the meetings were exceedingly lengthy. For example, the August 26, 1909 meeting closed at 4:30 A.M. This was possibly justified by Degree work, plus a lengthy discussion regarding a correspondence over unsatisfactory rituals received from Grand Lodge. It is also recorded that during their first year of operation there was not one meeting without petitions for both initiations and affiliation, with up to as high as nine at one meeting.

In December of 1927 Ionic Lodge No. 45 was preparing for the Installation Ceremonies of its Worshipful Master. Before the Lodge could get underway the W.M. – elect was taken seriously ill and it was essential that he be taken to hospital in Camrose. Arrangements were made to hold the C.N.R. train at Mirror.  The Brethren, equipped with shovels, decided to open the snow-drifted road between Alix and Mirror to get their W.M. – elect to the train.  It was a long and difficult trek through the snow and when the cavalcade arrived at Mirror the train had left. There was a Brother in Mirror who was the Section Foreman of the C.N.R. He located a locomotive and a caboose, which was driven to Camrose with the patient aboard. He arrived in time to receive the emergency treatment that was necessary. Installation Ceremonies finally took place in February 1928 and the now fully recovered Worshipful Master was duly installed.

Ancient Landmark No. 109 in Mirror found it necessary to request amalgamation with Ionic Lodge in 1940. The Mirror Lodge was one of the most prosperous lodges in the district; however, its membership was composed of railroad men who were away at work most of the time. Also, World War II military enlistments were very high, creating a shortage of new members. The Lodge continued under the name of Ionic Lodge No. 45.

At the May 1st, 1947 meeting, following the end of the war, a Notice of Motion was carried unanimously to reestablish Ancient Landmark Lodge at Mirror under Lodge Charter No. of 163.

The loss of the Mirror members was heavily felt by the Alix Lodge, which at that time only had 14 resident members. Consequently, a number of meetings were canceled due to the lack of a quorum. The brethren of Apollo Lodge in Stettler and Mirror’s new Ancient Landmark No.163 were both extremely helpful in assisting with degree work and infilling vacant stations in the Lodge.

In 1970 the C.N.R. left Mirror. With the relocation of this division point, many of the Masons also relocated elsewhere. Ancient Landmark No. 163 again requested amalgamation. The new Lodge name agreed upon was Ionic Landmark Lodge No. 45 with meetings to be at Alix.

This Lodge met in one of the oldest buildings in the Village of Alix. Being metal clad, it did not have a very good appearance nor was it insulated. Shortly after the Lodge surrendered its Charter in December 1996 the Lodge sold the property for the price of $500. Of interest is that this property had been originally purchased from the Village of Alix, in 1961, for the price of $600.00.

In 1995 the Lodge membership was down to 19 members. In 1996 it was agreed, after considerable discussion, that the Lodge at Alix could no longer sustain itself.

Ionic Landmark Lodge surrendered its Charter on December 31, 1996.

This history is copied from the unpublished manuscript “Alberta Freemasonry 100 Years”
The building burned to the ground February 2022