H. Burgay Staley was Secretary of Ocean Lodge for 46 years until his death in 1998. Some years previous to his election to that office, his father had served the Lodge in like capacity for 27 years. I was honored that, before he left us, he had urged his family to assure me that he wanted me to succeed him. I'm sure that if Burgay's son, H.B. Staley, Jr. had resided locally, the Secretary's post would have gone to him.      

This having been his lifelong interest, when Brother Staley realized, regrettably, that he would likely not survive until our sesquicentennial, he decided, with the unqualified support of the membership, to have a gala celebration of the 140th anniversary. The public would be invited, as well as the Masonic family.

The talk he prepared for that evening is transcribed below. I have seen his personal notes of preparation for this, and can attest to the work of research of, particularly, the old minutes, that went into it. It is, nevertheless, the presentation and view of Brother Staley, and is presented as such. The minor corrections to grammar and punctuation I have inserted would, I think, have been approved by him.

Masonry in Georgia, as well as all other States, is governed by what we call a Grand Lodge; ours is located in Macon. Ocean Lodge is a subordinate Lodge, and there are some 440 subordinate Lodges in the State of Georgia. One of the purposes of Masons in Georgia is to support the Masonic Home for Orphans, which is also located in Macon. Any child up to the age of eighteen years is eligible, whether or not it comes from a Masonic family. Our children were, for a long time, sent to public schools. However, a few years ago, they were taken out of public schools and all sent to private schools. The reason for this is that, sometimes, small children can be very cruel, though they do not realize it. They would tease [our children that] their parents did not want them, or that their parents did not love them.

When the superintendent of the Home heard of this, he met with the Trustees and they decided to pull all of the children out of the public schools and place them in private schools. When this was done, it seemed to have solved the problem.

Each subordinate Lodge is required to put a small receptacle on the Altar after each meeting, and the members are ask[ed] to put their change, or whatever amount they wish, into the box. We call this box a Penny Box, and all the monies coming through this are used to send our children on to college, if they qualify, and desire a higher education. At present, I believe we have four children in college.

In the early part of 1857, application was made by nine Masons for a dispensation to organize a Lodge. The following members signed the application for dispensation:

Rev. Luther H. Green leaf
Patrick Henry McConn
Dr. Benjamin Monroe Cargile
Augustus Friedlander
Alex Scranton
A.G. Osgood
Judge Arthur E. Cochrane
D.B. Emory
Dr. Wise

The first meeting was held February 5, 1857, in a wooden building near the corner of G and Newcastle Streets. Here, the Lodge held its first meetings until August 18, 1861, when the Lodge was suspended until May 25, 1866, due to the Civil War.

The first applicant for membership was Samuel Bruce Moore. The first member raised, however, was Luther C. Roll, on July 17, 1857. The Lodge was duly chartered by the Grand Lodge at the 1857 session in October.

The first Masonic funeral [at Ocean Lodge] was that of John Roper Wood. While a resident of Brunswick, his membership was in St. Marys Lodge No. 126, of St. S Marys, Georgia. He was killed by Charles C. Moore at the Ocean Hotel. [Here, Brother Staley transcribes the story for the History prepared by Brother Ballard]

At the meeting on June 15, 1866, a page of the minutes is set aside as a memorial for those members who had died between 1861 and 1866. Unfortunately, the exact dates of their deaths, and where buried, is not recorded:

Arthur C. Cochrane
George W. Pettigrew
Henry B. Wilson
Samuel Wiggs Laurence
Robert H. Powell
Robert S. Piles
Sam Brooks
Luther C. Roll
Woodfrey Mabry

From the revival of the Lodge in 1866 up to 1871, the Lodge met in McConns Hall. This was a large building on Gloucester Street, near Grant. About this time, the Lodge joined with the City in the erection of a City Hall in the center of Hanover Square, where the present fountain stands. This was a two-story building, the upper story belonging to Ocean Lodge. Here, the Lodge held monthly meetings until1885, when they moved into their own building on Newcastle Street.

In 1871, the Ladies held a fair to raise money for a Masonic building. It was a great success, more than a thousand dollars being raised. This was loaned to Major Urbanus Dart and protected by a mortgage on Old Town Lots Nos. 118 and 133. By 1885, the interest and principal on this loan amounted to more than $2,500. These two lots were deeded in fee simple to Ocean Lodge, and the sale of these was the chief source of funds to erect the Newcastle Street building.

During the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1876, large sums of money from other Lodges were sent to {Ocean} Lodge for relief of the stricken members.

The cornerstone of the Newcastle Street building was laid on March 11, 1885, and the Hall dedicated on October 14, 1885. This building was 30 x 60 feet. In 1904, the building was extended 30 feet, the entrance changed from the front on Newcastle Street to the rear of the building?
[Here, Brother Staley quotes at length from Ballard.]

The members of Ocean Lodge are all proud of their Masonic affiliation and, at the risk of seeming immodest, Id like to say that I am particularly proud of my family, Masonic history. My father was a member of Ocean Lodge for [many] years, and served as its Secretary for 27 years. I have been a member for 54 years, and have served as its Secretary for 43 years. Of Ocean Lodge's 140 years of existence, my father and I have served as Secretary for 70 years, or half of its existence. My brother and son are also members of Ocean Lodge.

I can think of one member who, I know, is very proud, and that is Brother Lester W. Drawly, St., whose son, Lester W. Drawdy, Jr., and grandson, Lester W. Drawdy III, are all current members of Ocean Lodge.

In 1936, Atlantic Lodge No. 82, of Brunswick, surrendered its charter and merged with Ocean Lodge. Besides sponsoring Atlantic Lodge, Ocean Lodge has sponsored two other Lodges, Golden Isles Lodge No. 707 and Brunswick Lodge No. 717.

Militarily, Ocean Lodge has [had] its members serve in defense of its country. As noted, we have no record of how many served in the Civil War, we only know that there were enough to keep the Lodge from meeting, for the lack of a quorum, and that 9 lost their lives.

It was said that 26 members served in the World War, and again, we don't know how many lost their lives. In World War II, 51 members served their country, and three were lost.

Ocean Lodge has assisted the Grand Lodge of Georgia in laying the cornerstone of [at least] four very important buildings in the City: the First Baptist Church, the First United Methodist Church, St. Marks Episcopal Church, and the Old Historic Courthouse.

Ocean Lodge held the first ever Open-Air Meeting on January 28, 1921, on Glynn Isles. The second Open-Air Meeting held was on August 8, 1927, when the Entered Apprentice Degree was conferred on [noted aviator] Paul R. Redfern in the Old Sea Island Casino. [Seventeen days later, Redfern would take off on his ill-fated flight to South America, never to be seen again.]

Ocean Lodge has been greatly honored to have had two of its members serve as Grand Master of the State of Georgia; Nathan H. Ballard was elected to both the 1914-1915 and 1915-1916 terms, and John Christian Kaufman to the 1957-1958 term, the year that Ocean Lodge celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Ocean Lodge sold its building on Newcastle Street on February 26, 1945, and built and dedicated its new Temple at the corner of Parkwood Avenue and Hampton Street in 1955.

[Here, Brother Staley introduced a speaker to relate the history of the City.]