WILLIAM D. STEPHENS NO. 698
was the newest lodge forming this select group that consolidated as Wisdom Lodge. In 1947, a group of Shriners, many of whom had served Al Malaikah Shrine as Potentate, decided to get back to the roots of Masonry by creating a very special blue lodge. These twenty-five dedicated brothers, most of whom were members of Henry Knox Lodge, applied for a Dispensation to form a new lodge. On November 26, 1948, Most Worshipful Edward H. Siems assembled the Grand Lodge and Constituted William D. Stephens Lodge No. 698. The first candidate was Walker S. Kisselburgh who later served as the Master, went on to serve Al Malaikah as Potentate, then became Imperial Potentate of the A.A.O.N.M.S.
The Charter Officers were exemplary. Curtis Legerton was Master; Arthur Loomis, whose credentials included P.G.C. Knights Templer and Past Royal Director of the Royal Order of Jesters, was the Senior Deacon; Alexander Kisselburgh was Chaplain; and Albert Malotte was the Organist. Most Worshipful Leo E. Anderson, P.O., was their Inspector that first formative year, a year that ended with the Lodge having a membership of 38 men.