EC Masons set to 'level' new ECMS campus April 5
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

L-N Photo Seal Of Approval The public is invited to gather Saturday, April 5, for the formal leveling of the cornerstone at the new El Campo Middle School campus on FM 2765. The ceremony will be conducted by the Grand Lodge of Texas and El Campo's Masons.

The cornerstone leveling ceremony for the new El Campo Middle School, postponed from the facility's grand opening earlier this month, has been rescheduled for Saturday, April 5 at 11 a.m.

"Please mark your calendar and try to attend this event, and invite your friends," El Campo ISD Superintendent Mark Pool said.

The Hon. Brian Dodson of Missouri City, past grand master of The Grand Lodge of Texas, A.F. & A.M., has been deputized by current Grand Master Thomas Griffin to act as his representative in the leveling of the cornerstone.

D.D. Hill, master of El Campo Lodge 918, said local Masons who can attend the ceremony are asked to meet at the lodge at 9:30 a.m.

For hundreds of years it has been customary to have Freemasons perform a dedication ceremony to dedicate the cornerstone of a public building. The dedication ceremony is the symbolic laying of the cornerstone, which by extension, refers to the entire building project.

The Freemason officers conducting the ceremony symbolically square, level and plumb the cornerstone, assuring that it is set correctly, that "the craftsmen have done their duty."

After the Grand Lodge officers have squared, leveled and plumbed the cornerstone, the Grand Master "finishes the work" by proclaiming the foundation stone "well formed, true and trusty."

The Grand Master then dedicates the cornerstone by pouring corn, wine and oil. The Corn of Nourishment symbolizes health and heartiness of the workers, the Wine of Refreshment symbolizes plenty, and the Oil of Joy symbolizes peace and joy.

The fully-enclosed, $17.6-million campus on FM 2765 opened for its first day of classes Feb. 11, and held an official open house March 2. The cornerstone ceremony was to be held that Sunday until local Masonic officials found out the ceremony could not be held on a Sunday, which, for the ancient working mason, was a day of rest.