Philadelphia----The German-American community has always been an important participant in the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania. Currently, there are two active German-speaking lodges within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; Herman-Humboldt Lodge No. 125 (warranted in 1810) and Teutonia Lodge No. 367 (warranted in 1866). These lodges and their members play a vital role in preserving their German heritage.
To mark the 1683 anniversary arrival of the first German families in America, the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania, the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania, and Herman-Humboldt Lodge No. 125 will join with the German-American Day Celebration Committee on Friday, October 5, 10:30 AM at the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia (located at One North Broad Street across from Philadelphia City Hall) for a special tour of this 1873 National Historic Landmark. All participants (for this tour only) will receive complementary admission. Following the tour, a special talk on Germans in Pennsylvania Freemasonry will be conducted by Dr. Glenys Waldman, the Senior Librarian for the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania, at 11:30 AM in the building's beautiful Oriental Hall, followed by a reception by the Honorable Mayor John Street in City Hall from 12:00-2:00 PM. "We are very pleased to play a small role in this important commemoration, "said Andrew A. Zellers-Frederick, the Executive Director for the Masonic Library and Museum of Pennsylvania. "We hope that everyone will be encouraged to visit the Masonic Temple for this special program and to participate in the three days of wonderful events organized by the German-American Day Celebration Committee." For information, please call (215)988-1909 or visit online at www.GermanAmericanDay.org. Benjamin Franklin, a two-term Grand Master of Pennsylvania, may have well articulated it best when he stated. "America cultivates what Germany brought forth."
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