CHAPTER VI

But like the good ol' U. S. Cavalry in the movies, several events came along at the last moment to save the day.

First, prohibition was repealed and the bar began doing some business but not very heavily as it was on the third floor.

Thirty-nine members put up $10.00 each to defray costs of building the downstairs bar. Equipment was transferred from the upstairs bar as was its stock and the brothers did the work.

Those brothers who put up the $390.00 were given a ten dollar credit rating at the bar over a period of several months.

However, the Bank's liquidators were still threatening to foreclose in order to gain capital to meet obligations.

Here is where Brother B. B. Lippman stepped in to save the building. He purchased the mortgage for $20,000, $5,000 less than the amount due. And a good samaritan, Thomas Kavaney, Wilmington businessman who was not a member, purchased the lot, held it without charge until the Lodge could buy it from him several years later.

To go back a bit. The first proposal to re-open the downstairs Club was bitterly opposed by some of the Lodge's "old timers". It was Foot's idea voiced in June of 1934 but it wasn't until October 1934, that he got the "go ahead" and even then, there were dire predictions the Club would not justify the expense.

When Lippman was paid off in 1938, the opposition had, quite understandably, dissolved. He was given a gold card and life membership for his services to the Lodge.

The mortgage was burned in a regular meeting October 21, 1938, with appropriate ceremonies, Michael Shannon, Past Grand Exalted Ruler (was an interested onlooker), Theodore W. Marks, now Deputy Collector of Customs, was Exalted Ruler.

By this time the depression was well over, San Pedro and 966, as they had once before, survived and grew strong. From less than 500 members in 1934 the membership rose steadily to more than 1,000 and today is approximately 1500.

World War II came along and again the brothers did their duty. The seafarers among them went into the Navy, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine, others held important jobs in military logistics, and, of course, the Army and Marines got their share.

The brothers contributed to the war effort by purchasing $30,000 worth of bonds, and the clubrooms were open to all servicemen.

Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo fell. The boys came home and life around the Lodge settled down to routine operations.

The voice which inspired the founding fathers and continued authoritarian in the Lodge's history was stilled on December 3, 1946, when William "Billy" Wickersham answered the call beyond.

He lies at rest in the Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetary and truly, of this Brother, we have written his "faults upon the sands, his virtues upon the tablets of Love and Memory."

A succession of capable Exalted Rulers led the Lodge on a steady course. LeRoy Byrne saddened the brothers when he passed away during the middle of a highly successful term in 1954. He was the first and only Exalted Ruler to date to heed the call beyond while in office.

In recent years the Lodge has contributed greatly to humanitarian programs. It is one of the leading Lodges in the Statewide battle against cerebral palsey, its members contributing heavily all-year round.

There are those who say that Fraternal Orders are "dying on the vine." But this does not seem apparent at B.P.O.E. 966.

Today, the brothers, like the founding fathers 50 years ago, are turning their thoughts toward acquiring a new home. Funds are being accumulated for the purchase of a site and plans for a new building overlooking the harbor are in mind.

Yes, B.P.O.E. 966 is strong, solvent, and continues to grow. Perhaps, the first 50 years ARE the hardest!