ADDRESS FOR 2023 PANHANDLE MASONIC COWBOY HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CEREMONY
Welcome everyone. I’d like to speak to you today about the Panhandle Spirit and Masonic values and the impact of Masonry on the early Panhandle settlement. You can’t separate the history of the birth of the United States- the independence of the 13 colonies or the freedoms we have today- from Freemasonry. Nine signers of the US Constitution were Freemasons.
You can’t separate Texas history and Texas independence from the Masonic Fraternity. Over 200 Masons died at the Alamo- Bowie, Crockett, Travis, Bonham, to name a few. The original Charter to form the Grand Lodge of Texas was brought to Texas and carried in the saddlebag of Anson Jones during the Battle of San Jacinto. Our first Grand Master and Officers were installed by Sam Houston in 1838.
And you can’t separate the formation of the Texas Rangers from the Freemasons, either. Four of the Texas Rangers we honor today came to the Panhandle as Frontier Rangers during the change from Frontier to Civilization. It was a harsh, tough era of the Panhandle . They could have served their duty as Rangers, and returned to an easier, more civilized placed to live and work and raise their families. They didn’t. They stayed and through sheer strength and tenacity, facing enormous hardships and disappointments, they shaped, fashioned and formed this beautiful place we call home.
They bequeathed to us the Panhandle Spirit.
Dr. Walter Wendler, President of West Texas A&M University said “The places we live shape us, and then we shape the places we live.” I would add our values shape us and we impart those values to the places we live. And so it is with our Texas Panhandle and its history.
These four Rangers each came to the Panhandle from other places : Goodnight from Illinois, Arrington and Locke from Alabama, Hoffer from Missouri. While each were different individuals, they all shared the same fundamental core values. They had the same standards. They shared same ethics, the same principals and ideals. They believed in God and had strong religious beliefs. These are strong statements to make about someone I’ve never met, but I know this for a fact. I know this because I share these same tenets. They were Masons and so am I.
These tenets are the universal and timeless building blocks of Freemasonry. Unchanged for hundreds of years. But we as Masons aren’t the only ones who share these beliefs. It should be said these men were not Masons first- they were good men first, God fearing Christians who joined a fraternity that showed them the ways to become better men.
This room is full of Panhandle residents that aren’t members of the Masonic Fraternity, but share our values. Here’s a Masonic secret for you- you must possess these values before admission to the fraternity. We take Good men and make them Better.
These men, and those like them who settled here, were self-reliant out of necessity. Independent, yet recognizing their dependence on others and ultimately on God, was the commonality that unified them and gave them the strength for the great project of settling the Panhandle. This led to a trust in each other and in democracy akin to religious faith. This faith was adopted in frontier communities as the foundation for survival. The importance of family and fraternity was emphasized, and adapted into their way of life, and it enabled them to govern themselves with dedication to future generations, thereby building the very foundations upon which we stand today.
This trust and faith continues to have an impact on our community today, manifesting itself constantly as one of the elements of the Panhandle Spirit.
Those that came before us taught their sons and daughters this self-reliance and independence, and they in turn passed those values to their sons and daughters, and the next generation? They are sitting in this room! We are sitting next to Great great Grandchildren of our honorees. That’s how close we are in the span of time to the these great men and the teachings and lessons they left us.
We now live our lives in the communities they built, and we pass on their values to our children.
It was important to us as Masons to be here today in this wonderful museum to be able to showcase these men and their histories. We have a quote from an unknown author on our Panhandle Masonic Cowboy Hall of Fame website that says “A museum is a place to explore the world around us, to be transported to another time and place, and to be inspired by the stories within.” Museums ground us to our past and hold us true to our values through the art and the artifacts. This storytelling shapes our ideals and molds our standards.
This museum is crucial to the continuation of the future we’ve been given. It is the vault in which we hold our patriotism, our civic virtue, our faith and family life, and our individualism, that we will share with those who come after us.
It protects and nurtures the legacy of the Panhandle Spirit. The Panhandle Spirit is unique. It is a kaleidoscope of courage, virtue, honor, and integrity, mixed with family values, initiative, perseverance, responsibility, and self-reliance. Our enduring commitment to these characteristics is the heart and soul of the Panhandle.
These Freemasons helped shape the Panhandle at its beginning, and without their influence we wouldn’t be the communities we are today. These founders, as Rangers and Masons, based their opinion of what we and this country should become on enlightenment and Masonic ideals. Undoubtedly, who we are and the Spirit we each share today is the result of their Masonic influence on the Panhandle. Their commitment to these principles strengthens our resolve to continue to make the Panhandle the best part of Texas.
Keeping alive this Spirit we’ve been given is critical to our future. At our strongest, we are communities bound together by the ties of our past linked to our future.
That is our inheritance -The Panhandle Spirit- and it is truly who we are.
Thank you very much.
