Hospitality and a happy ending

There’s a happy ending to the story Steve Law will be telling Thursday night at Kells Restaurant in Downtown Portland. You’re welcome to join us to hear it at the Portland Hibernian Society monthly meeting. Failte. All are welcome.

Law’s new book – Peddlers of Hate – How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power in 1920’s Oregon – documents how Klan activists teamed up with Freemasons in Oregon to promote and pass a ballot measure shutting down private schools in this state. They also helped sweep several politicians into office in 1922.

As Law shows through historical records, the true target was Catholic schools. He’ll talk about how the Klan and Masons won the battle on election day but ultimately lost before the highest court in the land. 

Masonic temple.

So, where’s the happy ending? 

Obviously, relations between Catholics and Masons were not good anywhere in the world in the 1920s; they hadn’t been for centuries. In Oregon, Protestantism. which included all the Freemason sects, was dominant. Catholicism, embraced by Irish, German and Italian immigrants, accounted for less than 10% of the population. 

Beginning in 1915, many members of the local various Scottish Rite Masonic lodges were working on a ballot measure to abolish all schools but public schools. They were also building a grand home in Forest Grove for those members and their families who had fallen on hard times. Freemasonry was known for this kind of animosity towards Catholics as much as for its generosity towards members. 

McMenamin family history can be found in the artwork at the Grand Lodge. This is the room dedicated to their dad, Bob.

Here’s the happy ending 

By the end of the 20th century the Grand Lode was no longer grand or functioning. So, 1n 1999, a couple of Irish Catholic kids educated in the school system that survived the 1920s ended up taking over that Freemason facility. They transformed it into McMenamins Grand Lodge on Pacific Avenue in Forest Gove. 

Just this past weekend (Sept. 13, 2026), McMenamins hosted a gala for the 175th anniversary of Freemasonry in Oregon. It was Irish hospitality Oregon style at its finest for those who once were foes. Anniversary Gala. An evening celebration for members and guests, featuring a buffet dinner and drinks prepared by McMenamins, live music, remarks, fellowship, and commemorative photos. September 12, 2026, at McMenamins Grand Lodge Hotel. (Press release)

Brian and Mike McMenamin, graduates of Jesuit High School in Portland and grandsons of an Irish immigrant, gave the Masons a place for their celebration by rejuvenating the one-time Eastern Star Home, which was run by the Freemasons of Oregon. They’ve developed a 90-room inn with restaurants, pubs, music and many McMenamin-style amenities not to mention indoor and outdoor entertainment in the heart of Forest Grove. Failte. 

Grand Lodge History and Art Tour 

It just so happens that during the month of September you can learn a lot more about the Grand Lodge, which was dedicated on March 1, 1922. The public is invited to a $20 tour of the buildings and grounds. Amidst the museum-quality artwork you’ll find some family history. Click here for dates and tickets. Sounds like fun. (“Meet in the foyer next to the front desk of the motel. There will be stairs.”)