By: Edmund Rinner, Copernicus Lodge 545
It was in the latter part of August 1866, when several German speaking Master Masons from German and English speaking Lodges came together to discuss the feasibilities in forming another German speaking Masonic Lodge in downtown New York. The Civil War had ended the previous year, the soldiers came home again and the economic conditions in the Country and especially in the City of New York were getting better. At that time, a large percentage of Germans and German speaking immigrants were living east of the Bowery, between 12th and Houston Street, which was called “Little Germany” and like other residents of the City, these German immigrants became more involved again in activities of religious, ethnic and fraternal organizations, which included the founding of several new Masonic Lodges.
The R 
W Brother Carl F. Bauer,
who was the District Deputy Grand Master of the 28th District, which
included New York’s German speaking Lodges, did the liaison with the Grand
Lodge. The petition for this new Lodge
with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the great German poet as their patron, was
signed by eleven Lodges. The Grand
Master, the M W Robert D. Holmes approved and granted the
Dispensation. It was presented in the
Lodge’s second communication on November 30th 1866 by the R W Carl F. Bauer. The Charter with the number 629 was presented
on June 13th 1867, also by Brother Bauer. On that date, Goethe Lodge had 63 members
already. The first meeting was held at
77-79 Essex Street, there were two location changes until 1880, when Goethe
Lodge moved to the German Masonic Temple at 200 East 15th Street,
New York.
The
Lodge became very active and lived up to the basic Masonic principles;
Brotherhood, Charity, and search for the Truth, donations were made to Brother
Masons in distress, widows and orphans, charity organizations, hospitals,
victims of yellow fever, floods, fire, etc.
Great contributions went to the Masonic Hall at 6th Ave. and
23rd Street, the Masonic Home in Utica. In 1877, the Lodge became a member of the
German Masonic Temple Association. In
the same year, the Master of Goethe Lodge, W Friedrich Michel was
involved in obtaining the burial site at the Lutheran Cemetary in Middle
Village for free burials of needy Brothers.
Contributions for the 15th Street Masonic Temple, the old
folks home in Tappan became an annual priority, the needy in Germany and
Austria after World War One and Two, many times the Lodge paid for medical
treatments, surgeries and funerals for members, supported widows and their
children of deceased Brothers.
There was at one time a Goethe Quartett Club, which was quite often invited to perform at other Lodge affairs, such as: degree work, District Deputy visits, funeral services etc. The peak of membership was reached in 1929, when 314 members were recorded. When the Lodge celebrated it’s 100th anniversary in November 1966, the membership at that time stood at 180.
Several
Brothers served in Grand Lodge appointments: R W Gustav Kotzenberg, R W Hans Jaeger and R W Karl Hoffmann served as
District Deputy Grand Master in the District; R W Leopold Guggenberger , R W Peter Engel, R W Phillip Mueller and R W Paul Schmidt served as
Grand Lodge Staff Officers and Grand Lodge Representatives. The Goethe Lodge Sister Circle was founded in
1911 and the Fellowcraft Club in 1950.
After the 100th Anniversary, the momentum in Goethe Lodge began to slow down. The retirement communities in the Southern States, Long Island and New Jersey attracted retirees, industrial relocations caused members to move away, suburban areas offered opportunities for better homes, schools, and safer surroundings, crime in public transportation and safety in parking facilities left a lot to be desired. All these changes effected meeting attendance, which gradually reached a point where it became impossible for the Lodge to field a slate of officers. On December 10th 1971, Goethe Lodge consolidated with German Pilgrim Lodge 179 and became Goethe Pilgrim Lodge 629.
CHRONOLOGY OF THE FORMER
GOETHE PILGRIM LODGE 629
The trend of times, which brought on the demise of many German American Organizations including Masonic Lodges, continued in the functioning of Goethe Pilgrim Lodge. Unfortunately, the Lodge’s lifespan lasted only 8 and ½ years. It started on December 10th 1971 and ended on June 20th 1980, when Goethe Pilgrim Lodge with 125 members, having an average age of 60 years, consolidated with Copernicus Lodge 545, with Copernicus being the surviving Lodge. The W Wolfgang Farnung served as their last Master. This ended the final chapter of two German speaking Masonic Lodges with a colorful history lasting 130 years.
PAST MASTERS – GOETHE LODGE 629
| Gustav Zibelin | 1866-67 | Martin Nolde | 1925-26 | |
| Paul Hartley | 1868-69 | Henry Behrend | 1927 | |
| William Roth | 1870 | W. von Husen | 1928-29 | |
| Adam Fontaine | 1871 | Joseph Zeller | 1930 | |
| Friedrich Mohr | 1872-73-74-75-76 | Marat Merten | 1931-32 | |
| Friedrich Michel | 1877-78 | Joseph Weber | 1933-34 | |
| Jacob Metz | 1879-80-81 | Bernhard Jaborg | 1935-36 | |
| Peter Rauch | 1882-83 | Alfred Kutz | 1937-38 | |
| Friedrich Mohr | 1884-85 | Carl Raether | 1939 | |
| Charles Motz | 1886-87-88 | Philip Mueller | 1940-41 | |
| Carl Jung | 1889-90-91 | Alwin de Haan | 1942-43-44 | |
| August Egenolf | 1892-93-94 | Paul Schmidt | 1945-46 | |
| Fred Neff | 1895-96-97 | Max Joyce | 1947-48 | |
| Fred Neuhardt | 1898-99 | Karl Behrens | 1949 | |
| L. Guggenberger | 1900-01 | Alfred Zahler | 1950-51 | |
| George Weis | 1902-03 | Ernest Graewe | 1952-53 | |
| Louis Schneider | 1904-05 | Dr. Karl Hoffman | 1954 | |
| George Rhein | 1906 | Karl Schuler | 1955-56 | |
| Carl Vill | 1907-08 | Dr. Karl Hoffman | 1957 | |
| J.D. Blome | 1909-10 | Karl Schuler | 1958 | |
| G. Kotzenberg | 1911-1913 | William Barsig | 1959-60 | |
| John Schmelz | 1914 | Hans Bogner | 1961-62 | |
| G. Kotzenberg | 1915-16-17 | William Seger | 1963-64 | |
| Adolf Keller | 1918 | Henry Kern | 1965-66-67 | |
| Hans Jaeger | 1919 | Guenter Mueller | 1968 | |
| Peter Engel | 1920-21 | Erwin Muentener | 1969-70 | |
| W. Wassermeyer | 1922 | Guenter Mueller | 1971 | |
| William Spiegel | 1923-24 |
PAST MASTERS
GOETHE – PILGRIM LODGE 629
| Rudolf Proske | 1972-73 | Wolfgang Harzmann | 1976-77 | |
| Kurt Telge | 1974-75 | Wolfgang Farnung | 1978-79-80 |