A lot has changed since 1906. The United States has seen two world wars. Televisions have invaded living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and even bathrooms. People have gone from using the telephone for emergencies and special occasions to using it every time they get behind the wheel of their car or step out of their house. Loudoun County has gone from an almost completely rural county to an ever-growing suburban landscape.
Over the last century, however, at least one thing hasn't changed in the county, the Ashburn-Sterling Masonic Lodge. The lodge, which sits inconspicuously near the intersection of Waxpool Road and Ashburn Village Boulevard in Ashburn, celebrated its 100th anniversary last December and some long-time members say it has been a constant in their ever-changing lives.
"Little hasn't changed in the world in the 55 years I have been a mason," Walter "W.O." Harrison said. "But through our rituals, traditions and grand lodge rules, we haven't changed much."
ACCORDING TO LOCAL legend, in 1896, in a village known as Farmwell, lightning struck an ash tree on Sen. William Morris Stewart's farm. The ash tree was rumored to have burned and smoldered for a week, thus giving the area the name Ashburn.
Nine years later, on May 10, 1905, a group of master masons from other lodges in Northern Virginia gathered at the same spot to form a new lodge. The lodge charter for Ashburn Lodge No. 288 was issued in 1906.
"To me one of the interesting things about masonry is the depth of the institution," Charles Maranto, a four-year member of the lodge who serves as junior deacon for the organization, said. "There is so much information passed down. There is such a history."
THE LODGE HAS been at its current location since 1969, when the land was purchased for $7,000. Before then, the lodge met in the upstairs of the Weller Tile and Mosaics building in Old Ashburn.
"In certain years, they would meet at the firehouse and even the Partlow Brothers' store," Maranto said.
The lodge was constructed mainly by master mason Richard H. Stuart, whose name now appears on the lodge's sign and whose photo hangs in the lodge meeting room.
"The lodge is not fancy, but it has everything every other lodge has," Maranto said. "A lot of the items were donated by older members."
WHILE MANY consider freemasonry to be a secret society, Maranto said it is much more of a fraternity for men, giving them the opportunity to bond through mutual traditions.
"Masonry is essentially a fraternity with a shared moral philosophy," he said.
Harrison said that as the decades have passed and the world has changed, masonry has offered men a comfortable place to come together.
"Everything we have is passed on from generation to generation," he said. "When you have that oral history it draws men together. When you follow the rules of masonry, you can't stray too far morally."
Due to the oral nature of masonry's rituals and traditions, lodges from different parts of the country begin to conduct their meetings differently, Maranto said. All lodges in Virginia are under the umbrella of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, but there is no national organization to ensure continuity across the country.
"If a mason moves here from Maryland and wants to join, he's going to find he has to learn a new way of doing certain things," Maranto said.
MARANTO ADMITS THAT when many people here about a Masonic lodge, they assume it is only for older men, but he says that is simply not true, particularly in a growing area such as Loudoun County.
"The past 10 to 15 years, we went through a period where we were struggling and membership was down," he said.
Indeed, in 1998, the Ashburn lodge absorbed the Sterling lodge No. 268, which was established in 1971, due to falling membership in the younger organization.
"Fortunately in this area we are attracting younger members, which isn't necessarily true other places," Harrison said. The lodge's youngest member is 25 years old.
Harrison said he believes the changing landscape and morality of the population is allowing for the lodge to grow.
"Many generations went through some bad times," he said. "Now people are getting smarter every day about how they live their lives. I have to say I am really optimistic."
The range in ages helps add to the fraternal aspect of the lodge, Maranto said, as well as the diversity in lifestyles represented.
"There are people here with such different backgrounds," he said. "That's one of the great things about it. When we get together, it's interesting. The older guys have been around so long and sometimes those are the coolest guys to spend time with."