El Paso Lodge # 130 AF & AM

10/17/2026

El Paso Scottish Rite’s 267th Reunion, Honoring Illustrious Brother Willard A. Simms.

From the Archives: C. M. Vozza.

10/12/2026

William Ward Turney was born on July 11, 1861, in Marshall, Texas. He attended Sam Houston Normal Institute, now Sam Houston State University, and began his career as a schoolteacher. His work took him to Fort Davis, a military town with “eleven saloons, four stores, a fort, and seventy-five school children.” He held several jobs while working as an educator. 
 
Turney later passed the bar examination and obtained his license to practice law, eventually becoming county attorney of Brewster County. He earned a reputation as a formidable prosecutor, particularly in cases involving gambling. In a region where judges customarily carried fi****ms, his legal practice often brought him into contact with ranchers who paid for his services in cattle. These arrangements eventually contributed to his acquisition of the 200,000-acre O2 Ranch. While in Brewster County, he also met Iva Guthrie. 
 
In 1892, Turney arrived in El Paso while campaigning for the state legislature, a visit that proved consequential to his future. He subsequently served in both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. He practiced with Turney, Burges, Culwell, and Pollard from 1893 to 1938, and with Jones, Turney, Hardie, Grambling, and Howell from 1938 until his death. 
 
As an attorney and legislator, Turney advocated for Southwestern cattlemen. Alongside fellow Freemasons, he played an instrumental role in the Elephant Butte Dam project and served as president of the Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. He and his wife are regarded as founding figures of modern El Paso. 
 
The Turneys built a grand neoclassical residence designed by Trost & Trost, whose principals were fellow Masons. Distinguished by six Corinthian columns, it was the largest residence designed by the firm. General John J. Pershing, also a Mason, was among Turney’s guests. 
 
Turney belonged to El Paso Lodge No. 130 A.F. & A.M., the El Paso Scottish Rite, York Rite, and El Maida Shrine. Many of his associates were likewise members of the lodge. 
 
Photo Archive, El Paso Lodge No. 130 A.F. & A.M. Archives and Library. 

10/06/2026

10/05/2026

In this photograph, a young girl stands beside a Shriner clown during El Paso’s Annual Thanksgiving Parade, circa 1982, along Montana Avenue near Cotton Street. Shriners are especially known for their longstanding commitment to pediatric care through Shriners Children’s, including specialized treatment for children with severe burns and other complex medical conditions.

10/04/2026

Our Fall Reunion is almost here!

Join us at the El Paso Scottish Rite on Saturday, October 17, 2026, for a day of fellowship and brotherhood.

Whether you’re participating in the Reunion or coming out to support our new candidates, we hope to see you there!

Attendance is limited to Scottish Rite Masons.

10/02/2026

Dr. Felix P. Miller was born on August 20, 1874. He moved to El Paso in the 1880s, later left the city, and eventually returned. 
 
Miller was a member of the American Medical Association and a past president of the state association. He was an honorary member of the American Board of Surgery and, from 1916 until his death, held a leading position representing Texas in the American College of Surgeons. He was also a member of the International College of Surgeons and served on the executive committee of the Southwest Indian Welfare Commission, among his many professional and civic affiliations. 
 
His medical career included treating the wounded revolutionary Pancho Villa. On one occasion, he treated 100 soldiers within 24 hours. In El Paso, Miller also led efforts to combat a typhoid epidemic and helped establish the city’s first water purification system. 
 
Miller’s Masonic career began in Midland Lodge No. 623. He was also a member of Hella Shrine in Dallas before affiliating with El Paso Lodge No. 130 A.F. & A.M. He later became a charter member of Fraternity Lodge No. 1111 and a member of Five Points Lodge No. 1137, located near the Masonic hospital he had helped establish. 
 
Miller was also a member of the El Paso Scottish Rite, where he helped confer the 32nd degree for 27 consecutive years. 
Archival Photograph, El Paso Lodge No. 130 A.F. & A.M.  

10/01/2026

In this photograph, Federal Judge and former Congressman Robert E. Thomason administers the oath of office to Raymond Telles as mayor in 1957. Telles was the first Hispanic elected to the office of mayor in El Paso in eighty-four years. He would later serve as Ambassador to Costa Rica. 
 
Thomason was a member of El Paso Lodge No. 130 A.F. & A.M., a 32nd-degree Scottish Rite Mason, a York Rite Mason, and a Shriner. His legacy in El Paso was further commemorated in the naming of Thomason Hospital and the Robert E. Thomason Federal Courthouse. 
 
Archival Photograph, El Paso Lodge No. 130 A.F. & A.M. Archives & Library. 

09/29/2026

On March 15, 1911, Theodore Roosevelt visited El Paso and Albuquerque as a former President of the United States. 
 
Although Roosevelt was no longer president, his arrival still drew considerable public attention. That morning, he arrived in El Paso, Texas, where he was greeted by civic leaders and a crowd eager to hear him speak. After breakfast at the Sheldon Hotel, Roosevelt delivered a public address, possibly outdoors in Cleveland Square, before touring the city by motorcar. There was also discussion of a brief trip across the border into Juárez. 
 
By evening, Roosevelt had reached Albuquerque, New Mexico. Former Rough Riders helped es**rt him to the Alvarado Hotel, and thousands gathered at the Armory Building to hear him speak. 
 
Roosevelt was a member of Matinecock Lodge No. 806 in New York. Some scholars have suggested that his conception of the “Square Deal,” with its emphasis on fairness, reflected principles consistent with the principal tenets of Freemasonry, particularly the obligation to deal fairly with others. 
 
Source: Theodore Roosevelt Center 

09/29/2026

This photograph depicts more than 200 Knights of El Paso Commandery No. 18, Knights Templar, assembled in front of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church circa 1910. 
 
St. Clement’s was founded by Masons Albert Jennings Fountain, who served as a state senator, and Judge A. J. Clarke. Clarke had been persuaded to move to El Paso through the influence of Anson Mills. The church’s history has also included Robert E. McKee and John Temple Rice, among others. 
 
According to some historical sources, St. Clement’s was the oldest Protestant church between Santa Fe and Brownsville. 
 
Archival Photograph, El Paso Lodge No. 130 A.F. & A.M. 

09/26/2026

El Paso Commandery No. 18 Annual Inspection.