Because so many members of District 107 are involved with the cave degree in Yreka, CA, I was persuaded to publish my committee report in the Triple Links Newsletter. This report was not written in time to appear in the Advanced Proceedings, though it should appear in the final report for 2025 Grand Lodge Sessions.
— Mason Wolf
I am pleased to report that during the latest term (2024-2025) the cave degree advisory committee completed the work for which it was established, both in terms of restoring the cave and operating a successful degree weekend. In fact, we held two of them.
To give credit where it is due, in 2024, by the time I was appointed chair, most of the actual reconstruction at the Pythian cave near Yreka was already completed under past chair Rodney Metoyer.
To provide a brief recap, in late 2023, Grand Lodge entered into a contract with Pacific Coast Construction, a contracting firm led by brother Michael Steineke of French Gulch Lodge #75. Fundraising began at the same time and as of today has pulled in $28,300. This left a balance of $20,000 to be covered by the Grand Lodge, which has now been paid.
The reconstruction was something of an act of faith. Work was started before the funds were in hand, under the belief that once progress was shown, more funds would be forthcoming.
Fundraising got a boost in July of 2023 with the passing of long-time supporter of the cave degree, Richard Brouse (my grandfather), whose family requested that donations in his memory fund the reconstruction effort. In November of 2023, the previous committee began a plank sponsorship program, whereby donors could have their names recorded on an individual plank, recognizing their contribution. For a larger donation, their names could appear on one of the stairs leading up to the cave.
Today, work is nearly complete. There is some welding work that needs to be completed on the fencing, and this will happen within a few weeks, at which point the contract will be fully satisfied. But enough was finished by last August that we were able to hold degree work at the cave. Not only that, but on August 16th 2024, on behalf of the committee, I announced to the Grand Master that our work was complete in a formal temple dedication ceremony.
Across the two cave degree weekends of 2024, we conferred 104 degrees on 35 candidates from 10 lodges in California and 1 in Oregon.
While the cave is now safe to use for degree work once more, there are still a lot of very old planks that show the wear of age, marking a keen distinction between the recent renovation and what came before. While none of these planks are in danger of giving way, they do present tripping hazards.
However, this is no longer the responsibility of the Grand Lodge directly, nor is the Grand Lodge responsible for organizing future degree weekends, and so I recommend that this committee be honorably retired. The entity now responsible for ongoing operations and maintenance is the new Richard Brouse Degree Lodge #190, a duly chartered degree lodge in the jurisdiction of California, and a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. They are also some of the finest members of our Order that I have ever had the very great pleasure of working alongside.
Brother Michael Steineke is prepared to continue his work renovating the cave, and the degree lodge is now fundraising to make this happen. So far, the degree lodge has raised just over $10,000, and has a goal of raising $32,000 over the next two years in order to finish restoration work on the cave, as well as set up a fund for maintenance costs for both the cave itself and the access road leading to it. If you would like to contribute to this fund and support future work of the cave degree, please visit oddfellowscavedegree.com/donate.
To register to attend an upcoming cave degree weekend, visit oddfellowscavedegree.com.
The next one will be held September 5-7, 2025.
In Friendship, Love, and Truth,
Mason Wolf
Chair, Grand Lodge cave degree advisory committee
Degree Master, Richard Brouse Degree Lodge #190