Making Waco Men Better Since 1852

Past Masters

Past Master is a term that is unique to freemasonry. It alludes to a year or years during which a Brother Master Mason served as the leading officer of the lodge. We call this position the “Worshipful Master” whereas other organizations might call it a president or chairman. “Past Master” simply means that a Brother was a Worshipful Master and has since left that position and returned to general membership. Below is a slideshow of our Past Masters. You can click an image to read more about the man you’re seeing or you can scroll down to see the complete list.

C. Alderton: Creator of Dr Pepper

S. Trice: built Waco Suspension Bridge
J. Strayhorn: Past Grand High Priest, led relocation of Grand Lodge to Waco, Spanish-American War vet
J. Elgin: founder of Aransas Pass and Rockport, mentored by Texas legend Anson Jones
JH Gurley: youngest Master in Waco 92 history, namesake of JH Gurley Lodge #337
Tom Street: FBI agent and son of fellow past master, E.C. Street
G. Barnard: first settler in Waco
J. Stanford: Texas State Senator
C. Varner: hired Charles Goodnight into the cattle business
W. Quebe: long-time secretary of Waco 92, our current Temple bears his name
JW Speight: Past Grand Master of Mississippi, verifiable legend of Waco, master of Waco 92 sixteen times
A. Upleger: first CPA in Texas, formed Waco 92's musical degree teams
S. Owens: 1849 goldminer, medic in three wars under three flags
D. Carpenter: witnessed construction of Panama Canal
J. Davis: Waco's first judge
G. Denton: district judge, George N Denton Lodge #24's namesake
L. Studer: prominent jeweler, Grand Secretary of Texas, Grand Treasurer for 18 years
Joe Loy: Accounts Manager at Hillcrest Hospital
James Rushing: Brought A/C to our lodge downtown
S. Moore: Led Sunday School at Austin Avenue Methodist
Clyde Turner: played center for Baylor's 1916 Conference Champion football team
Jim Love: presided over 100+ meetings as Master
O.T. Ekelund: Waco 92 acquired a seeing-eye dog for blind activist Sammie Rankin
John Geiger: of the Southern Pacific Railroad 
Orville Jobe: Baylor Law grad, politician, and WWII veteran
C.E. Studer: prominent jeweler, brother of Past Master L.E. Studer
F. Compton: Founder of Compton Funeral Home
B. Perry: Helped make Lake Waco possible
J. Crews: longtime Waco ISD business manager
J. Heyman: of the MKT railway
J. Bourn: of the MKT railway
R. Echols: registrar of ALICO company
W. Curry: condemned infamous public lynchings as "repulsive"
R. Hodges: WWI vet, shipbuilder during WWII
D. Hudson: discovered a species of grasshopper
J. Willis: early Waco doctor and leader of Medical Association
B. Scott: early Waco farmer
C. James: master when the Depression struck
J. Gauntt: county judge, law partner of Waco 92 member and Baylor legend Pat Neff
E. Hooks: first tour guide of current Grand Lodge building
J. Harris: lifelong railway employee
G. Lester: Chief Justice of Court of Appeals
J. Reece: of Texas Life Insurance, conferred 60 degrees per month as Master of Waco Lodge
E. Lagow: insurance man, conferred hundreds of degrees as Master
J. Alexander: Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Texas
G. Zimmerman: mayor of Waco, president of William Cameron Company
J. Maxwell: first president of Mclennan County Bar, elected State Rep, Assistant Attorney General of Texas, masonic Grand Orator of Texas in 1932
C. Durie: founder of Alamo Steel
Ollie Jenkins
F. Miller: Tax Assessor-Collector
O. Griffin: youngest with esoteric certificate
A. Bryan: Grand Master of Texas, developed Lake Waco
E. Street: district attorney, only man whose son also was master of Waco 92
W. Schaffer: invented a tire machine, gave 92's first lectures with projector
J. Hall: early Waco dentist, hired full-time nurse for the lodge
W. McCollum: first auditor of Mclennan County
E. Canon, first Master of Fidelis Lodge 1127, Deputy Grand Master of Texas, first mayor of Pecos
L. Black: came to Waco by stagecoach in 1876
J. Gallagher: first principal and superintendent of Waco schools, first Chief Justice of Court of Appeals, member Philosophical Society of Texas
J. Earle: born in Earl-Napier historic home, early telephone businessman
M. Bell: founder of Artesia Cream Company, president of Waco Electric, Grand Patron of Eastern Star
S. Hill: founder of Hill Brothers Plumbing, helped bring Grand Lodge to Waco
J. Gambrell: early principal of Waco High, County Judge
T. Cranfill: of the Cranfill's Gap family
W. Long: beloved early Baylor professor of languages
E. McKenney: mayor of Waco in 1870
B. Kendrick: ordained by Judge R.E.B. Baylor
W. Barker: pioneer for mental health in Texas
M. Surratt: District Judge
A. Bryan: Grand Master of Texas, developed Lake Waco
B. Kendrick: ordained by Judge R.E.B. Baylor

The Past Masters of Waco Lodge 1851-2020

ROBERT HULME – 1851*

CLAIBORNE VARNER – 1851

BEVERLY D. SCOTT – 1852

J. H. GURLEY – 1853, 1860, 1861, 1863

JOSEPH W. SPEIGHT – 1854-56, 1859, 1864-72, 1878-79, 1881

JAMES F. DAVIS – 1857-58, 1875-76

GEORGE BARNARD – 1862

SION B. TRICE – 1873-74

JOE S. WILLIS – 1877

MARSHALL SURRATT – 1880

JOHN E. ELGIN – 1882

SHERWOOD A. OWENS – 1883-84

WILLIAM A. BARKER – 1885-1888

B.J. KENDRICK – 1886

ERNEST A. MCKENNEY – 1887

WILLIAM H. LONG – 1889-91

THOMAS E. CRANFILL – 1892

JOHN N. GAMBRELL – 1893

LEMUEL B. BLACK – 1894

JESSE N. GALLAGHER – 1895-96, 1899

JOHN B. EARLE – 1897-98

MARK T. BELL – 1900

JOHN M. STRAYHORN – 1901

NICHOLAS S. HILL – 1902

EDWARD C. CANON – 1903

WILLIAM C. MCCOLLUM – 1904

JAMES O. HALL – 1905

WILLIAM A. SHAFFER – 1906

EDWIN C. STREET – 1907

ALVA BRYAN – 1908

JOHN MAXWELL – 1909

GEORGE N. DENTON – 1910

CHARLES O. DURIE – 1911

CHARLES C. ALDERTON – 1912

OLLIE JENKINS – 1913

FRANKLIN M. MILLER – 1914

OSCAR C. GRIFFIN – 1915

G. H. ZIMMERMAN – 1916

JAMES P. ALEXANDER – 1917

DOYLE G. CARPENTER – 1918

ARTHUR C. UPLEGER – 1919

ESTRAL G. LAGOW – 1920

WILLIAM F. QUEBE – 1921

JIM R. G. HARRIS – 1922

GILES P. LESTER – 1923

LEONARD E. STUDER – 1924

JOSEPH G. REECE – 1925

EARLE F. HOOKS 1926

JOHN N. GAUNTT – 1927

C. E. JAMES – 1928

RAYMOND B. HODGES – 1929

DUNKER HUDSON – 1930

JAMES A. STANFORD – 1931

JOHN S. BOURN – 1932

R. C. ECHOLS – 1933

WILLIAM H. CURRY – 1934

JOE HEYMAN – 1935

THEODORE M. GRIBBLE – 1936

FRANCIS M. COMPTON – 1937

BERT PERRY – 1938

JAMES E. CREWS – 1939

CLARENCE E. STUDER – 1940

ORVILLE M. JOBE – 1941

SAM HOUSTON MOORE – 1942

CLYDE TURNER – 1943

JAMES E. LOVE – 1944

OSCAR T. EKELUND – 1945

JOHN V. GEIGER – 1946

TOM STREET – 1947

JAMES C. RUSHING – 1948

JOE F. LOY – 1949

JOSEPH E. SAWYER – 1950

JAY C. CARNAHAN – 1951

ROY C. THOMPSON – 1952

T. JESSE BROOKS – 1953/4

LONNIE A. RIDDLE – 1955

ALBERT B. LEWTER – 1956

O. E. MONNIG – 1957

ROGER N. CONGER – 1958

JOHN L BATES JR – 1959

FRED W. ANDERSON – 1960

JOHN R. ROGERS – 1961

O. G. SANDERS – 1962

JOE E. CREED – 1963

R. J. EPPERSON – 1964

WILLIAM F. SWIGERT – 1965

PAUL R. OAKES – 1966

NOLAN H. FLOWERS – 1967

BOYD W. GRAHAM – 1968

BILL BUZZE – 1969

O.K. AUSMUS – 1970

LAVAUN DEMONNEY – 1971

EMERY L. STEWART – 1972

ROY P. BRYAN – 1973

ROBERT A. LUTTRELL – 1974

ADRIAN SMITH – 1975

KEITH KINLAW – 1976

C. D. RICHARDSON JR – 1977

ALLEN M. WILSON – 1978

MAX L. SEIER -1979

JERRY E. COLLIER – 1980

LYNN TALBERT – 1981

JAMES LOWE – 1982

CHARLES A. HAYES – 1983

LONNIE L. NORRIS – 1984

GLENN S. TRUAX – 1985

GEORGE ERICKSON – 1986

FRANK M. GENTSCH – 1987

BILLY D. SMITH – 1988

PHILLIP EDDINS – 1989

JIMMY D. WOODRING – 1990

RAYMOND G. HUBBARD – 1991

WALTER MILLER – 1992

HOMER LEE STEELE – 1993

DONALD F. MULLICA – 1994

HAROLD T. ALEXANDER – 1995

PAUL COX – 1996

CAMERON M. TALBERT III – 1997

RANDY RIGGS – 1998

CLAUDE O. ERVIN – 1999

LARRY G. HARLAN – 2000

CHARLES M. McCHESNEY – 2001

RICHARD HAMBLIN – 2002

JEFFERY C. DAVIES – 2003

STANLEY C. PATRICK – 2004

MICHAEL W. FAIR – 2005

ADAM HARRY – 2006

DAVID RIVERS – 2007

ORBORN “SALTY” BROWN – 2008

KENNETH E. YOUNG – 2009

THOMAS E. WADEN – 2010

STEPHEN KIM COWART – 2011

BRETT CARROLL -2012

CHARLES “FLUFFY” ELKINS – 2013

TROY WINNETT – 2014

EDWARD C. BROWN – 2015

ROBERT W. MARSHALL – 2016

MARK A. BRICKHOUSE – 2017

ROBERT “KEITH” SANDERS – 2018

WALTER “DAVE” MCHAM – 2019

WILLIAM “TYSON” HOLLOWAY – 2020

*Hulme was Worshipful Master Elect on 92’s Charter but died before he could hold office.


Living Past Masters

JERRY E. COLLIER – 1979-1980

LYNN D. TALBERT – 1980-1981

FRANK M. GENTSCH – 1986-1987

WALTER G. MILLER – 1991-1992

 CAMERON M. TALBERT – 1996-1997

RANDY H. RIGGS – 1997-1998

CLAUDE O. ERVIN – 1998-1999

LARRY N. HARLAN – 1999-2000

CHARLES M. MCCHESNEY – 2000-2001

JEFFREY C. DAVIES – 2002-2003

STANLEY C. PATRICK – 2003-2004

MICHAEL W. FAIR – 2004-2005

ADAM HARRY – 2005-2006

DAVID L. RIVERS – 2006-2007

ORBORN “SALTY” BROWN – 2007-2008

KENNETH R. YOUNG 2008-2009

THOMAS E. WADEN – 2009-2010

S. KIM COWART – 2010-2011

BRETT CARROLL – 2011-2012

CHARLES “FLUFFY” ELKINS – 2012-2013

TROY WINNETT – 2013-2014

ED BROWN – 2014-2015

ROBERT MARSHALL – 2015-2016

MARK BRICKHOUSE – 2016-2017

ROBERT KEITH SANDERS – 2017-2018

WALTER DAVE MCHAM – 2018-2019