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Early Morning Lodge #672 history
Early Morning Lodge #672 was not the result of one or two master masons’ thinking, but rather came about through propitious timing and unselfish cooperation.
The inspiration may have started with an article in the March 1977 Iowa Grand Masonic Bulletin, announcing a new daylight lodge in Waterloo. The purpose of a daylight lodge was to give opportunity for industrial shift workers to join and participate in lodge. It was not feasible for shift workers, especially second shift, to attend evening lodges.
On June 19, 1977, members of area lodges as well as Grand Lodge officers and personnel met at Bettendorf Masonic Temple to discuss the possibility of forming a daylight lodge locally. The manufacturing businesses in the area employed large numbers of shift workers at that time.
Iowa Masonic code provisions permitted membership in two lodges, a provision known as dual membership. This provision went far to enable the forming of a new lodge. But also crucial to the formation of Early Morning Lodge was the concurrence of nineteen master masons who were willing to sign a petition, requesting a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Iowa to form a daylight lodge.
Early Morning Lodge #672 was chartered on July 17, 1977 with the following members: Dennis Zahrt, Hubert Carotius, David Mason, Jim Decker, Aaron Lake, Don Koss, John Page, Lewis Gerth, Harold Herington, and John Regennitter
The man who was the first Secretary of Early Morning Lodge, Dennis Zahrt, is went on to become the Most Worshipful Grand Master of Masons in Iowa in 2006. Other members of Early Morning Lodge who have also served as Grand Lodge officers are Bill Odom and Realff Ottesen.
In 2008, Early Morning Lodge continues to serve a need in the community through its emphasis on fellowship and charity, and to provide attendance opportunities to those men who need a daylight lodge’s meeting schedule.
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