The Valley of Tulsa

 The valley of Tulsa is one of three Scottish Rite Valleys in the State of Oklahoma. The other two are located in Guthrie and McAlester

Organization of the RiteThe government of the Scottish Rite is lodged in the bodies called Supreme Councils, one for each nation, except the United States of America where there are two – the Northern having jurisdiction over the states north of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi, and the Southern having jurisdiction over all the other states and territories, our island possessions, the Army and Navy, as well as China and Japan.

In the Southern Jurisdiction the number of members of the Supreme Council is “forever fixed as a maximum of 33.” The biennial meetings of the Supreme Council of the Southern Jurisdiction are held at Washington, D.C., in the House of the Temple. The members of the Supreme Council are known as “Active” Thirty-thirds and there can only be one “Active” Thirty-third in any one jurisdiction. The Bodies of the jurisdiction constitute an “Orient,” and the bodies in a city constitute a “Valley.”

 

History of the Tulsa Scottish Rite BodiesThe Valley of Tulsa, Orient of Oklahoma, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, Southern Jurisdiction of the U.S.A., was created in 1958 under “Letters Temporary” issued by the Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Oklahoma, William S. Key, 33°. The Inaugural Class was assembled at a temporary site, the Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, on May 29, 30 and 31, 1958, with a total of 531 receiving degrees. The Executive Council, at that time, consisted of Glen R. Ames, 33°, Arthur J. Black, 33°, Charles P. Rosenberger, 33°, and Richard K. Lane, 33°. The General Secretary was Guy C. Tetirick, 33°.

For several years, degrees were conferred at Will Rogers High School and Tulsa Memorial High School. During those years, all degree paraphernalia was stored in trailers, unloaded for each reunion, and then reloaded again. The spirit of cooperation among the brethren was exemplary. Brotherly love and enthusiasm was demonstrated by the hard work and devotion to the Rite. The first class was held in the Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 6355 E. Skelly Drive, on May 2 and 9, 1970.

The Temple on Skelly Drive was sold on August 9, 2007, and we moved into our new location at 9525-H E. 51st Street immediately thereafter. The first reunion in the new facility was held on April 19 and 20, 2008.

Since the Valley of Tulsa was created, the Orient of Oklahoma has had six Sovereign Grand Inspectors General: William S. Key, 33° Charles P. Rosenberger, 33° C. Fred Kleinknecht, 33° Frederick A. Daugherty, 33° Paul T. Million, Jr., 33°, Joseph C. Jennings, Jr., 33°, and Joe R Manning, Jr., 33°

Brother Joe R. Manning, Jr., was crowned Sovereign Grand Inspector General in Oklahoma on August 2011, at the Biennial Session of the Supreme Council in Washington DC.

What Is A Reunion?A Scottish Rite Reunion is exactly what the term implies. It is a reuniting of the membership after a period of separation. It is a homecoming get-together of the Brethren in a continuing fellowship of the fraternity.

The days of the Reunion are rich in the comradeship among those of like mind and purpose. We here recognize stability and strength, and feel proud to be a part of a program of such magnitude and worth. Within this fellowship the horizons of our own lives are lifted. We see anew that Masonry is big with a bigness that keeps life Masonically big. The Reunion is a time of renewing our interest and devotion to the program and purpose of the Scottish Rite.

The sheer beauty of Masonry enthralls and amazes as the panorama of centuries passes by. It is a time of sharing the significance and sacredness of the Scottish Rite Degrees together.