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    • Celebrating 100 years of Freemasonry
    • Posted Oct. 25, 2011 midnight
    • One of the city's most venerable institutions celebrated its 100th anniversary on Sunday in one of the city's oldest and most distinguished buildings. Taft-Midway Lodge No. 426, F&AM, hosted the officers of the California Grand Lodge to mark the centennial of Freemasonry in Taft in the 88-year-old Masonic Temple on North Street. Mason Kenneth Cooper, whose book, Freemasons in the Oilpatch, will be published next month, served as master of ceremonies and also spoke about the history of Masonry on the Westside. Taft Midway Lodge No. 426 was founded as Midway Lodge on Oct. 17, 1911 and over the past century, three other western Kern County Lodges, Temblor from Fellows, Maricopa and Taft Lodge, have merged with the Midway Lodge. The Taft and Midway Lodges consolidated in 1972 There are currently 94 Freemasons in Taft. Over the past century, 2,773 men have been Masons in the Taft area, and the four combined lodges have a total of 266 years of combined operation.