Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Meeting of the Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star of Wisconsin Held in Milwaukee, February 20 and 21, 1901

The eleventh annual meeting of the Grand Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star of the State of Wisconsin was opened in regular form in the Masonic building in the city of Milwaukee on Wednesday, February 20, 1901, every Grand Officer being present.

Worthy Grand Matron:

Official Acts:

I deputized the constituting officers that the newly chartered chapters might be constituted and their officers installed:

February 26th, Chippewa Chapter No. 112, Chippewa Falls. February 26th, Ellsworth Chapter No. 116, Ellsworth. February 26th, Loyalty Chapter No. 118 at Plymouth February 28th, I had the pleasure of constituting Alpha Chapter No. 114 at Argyle.

Growth:

While the growth of the Order in Wisconsin is not as rapid as in former years, six new chapters have been formed making a total of 124 chapters in good working order.

When we consider that our Grand Chapter is only ten years old with a membership of nearly 8,000 in the state, I think we may feel that the Order of the Eastern Star in Wisconsin is no longer an experiment.

Conventions:

With the Grand Patron’s assistance, I divided the state into sixteen districts calling a convention in each district. I attended every convention, meeting some of the Grand Officers at all but two.

While I feel that our conventions are a great success socially, financially they are a great burden to the chapters. It has been almost impossible to get chapters to do the work as so many feel that they cannot incur the expense. I think the time is not far distant when a Grand Lecturer can do more good than the conventions or even the Grand Matron herself. It is not so much in the ritual work that the chapters need help as in their manner of bookkeeping and conducting the general business. A Grand Lecturer could stop long enough to help in every little detail, while a Grand Matron is in demand everywhere with her correspondence settling points of law and visiting chapters that need her assistance.

Worthy Grand Patron:

I have issued dispensations for seven new chapters:

November 12th for a chapter at Wausau to be known as Marathon Chapter. November 16th for a chapter at Green bay to be known as Martha Washington Chapter.

Wednesday Evening, February 20

The work of the evening was the conferring of the Degrees by the officers of Electa Chapter No. 75 of Milwaukee and the Floral Work by La Belle Chapter No. 40, Mukwonago.

Report of Special Committee:

Your Committee to whom was referred that portion of the Worthy Grand Matron’s address to devise some plan by which the WGM might be relieved from visiting all the Chapters in this Grand Jurisdiction for the purpose of instruction recommend the following:

The appointment of eight Grand Instructors by the incoming WGM to be selected from the permanent membership of this Grand Chapter whose duties shall be to give instruction under the direction of the WGM, to visit at least once during the year each chapter in said GI District. The Jurisdiction of the Districts above referred to shall be determined by the incoming WGM as heretofore mentioned thus doing away with the District Conventions.

Eastern Star Home:

Your Committee recommend that the chapters and individual members continue to make voluntary contributions to the Home Fund until such time as the Grand Chapter may see fit to take other means to secure the necessary amount of money to erect or purchase the Home.

Trustees:

The Grand Matron brought to the notice of the Grand Chapter the fact that according to the constitution a Brother could not be elected a Trustee. An amendment was offered and approved.

118 Chapters
7,939 Members