Masons perform cornerstone ceremony, honor Searcy

Robert Jackson and Jim Searcy

Officers of the M.W. Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Arkansas performed the Cornerstone ritual on the new Allied Health Facility of the Drew County Memorial Hospital on April 21, 2012. The Cornerstone ritual dates back many hundreds of years, and its history includes President and Master Mason George Washington conducting same on such notable structures such as the United State Capitol and the White House.

The ritual is largely a dedication of the structure to good and laudable purposes throughout its useful life, and typically is done for public buildings, schools, and churches. In Drew County it has been performed on the Drew County Courthouse (1932) and more recently on the Taylor Library and Technology Center at the University of Arkansas at Monticello.

During the proceedings, the M.W. Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Arkansas, Robert L. Jackson, made a special presentation of the Pillars of Solomon award to James W. “Jim” Searcy. The Pillars of Solomon award was established by the Grand Lodge of Arkansas to recognize Master Masons for outstanding service to their Lodges. Searcy, a 32nd degree Scottish and York Rite Mason, has active as a member and officer of Eureka Lodge No. 40 in Monticello for many years.