Tennessee Colony Order of the Eastern Star No. 102

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say, right out of Anderson County, Texas. Now, every good story starts somewhere, and this one starts in 1902, out in the Tennessee Colony community, when a group of women and men decided that brotherhood was fine and well, but fellowship ought to stretch a little further than that. The Order of the Eastern Star, always tied to a Masonic Lodge, took root here in Anderson County for the very first time, making this the first OES chapter ever chartered in the county.

It was founded for the wives and female relatives of the members of Tyre Masonic Lodge No. 198, and that connection to the lodge was built right into its bones from the start. Now, the chapter didn't start out with the name you might know it by. In those early days it went by the Redbud Chapter, which has a certain quiet beauty to it.

But in 1936, it took the name of the community it called home, Tennessee Colony, and that's the name it carried forward. The charter members of this chapter were a real cross-section of that community. Will H. and Annie Calcote, Pete Oldham, Tom Wyley, H.H.

Auld, Marcus E. and Tennie Avant, Albert Dupuy, T.F. Wylie, and John L. Carroll.

Members of the Tyre Masonic Lodge were in that founding circle too, which tells you something about how tightly woven this community was. And then there were the officers elected for that very first year, and I want you to hear every one of these names, because a name is a kind of monument all its own: Bula Graham, W.N. Montgomery, Mamie Dupuy, Fannie Holt, Jesse Graham, Missie Swayze, Maud Montgomery, Emma Swayze, Eva Woolverton, Addie Carroll, D.

Welborn Gore, Carrie Carroll, Annie Calcote, Alice Swayze, Vera Vannoy, Mattie Woolverton, E.A. Swayze, and Will H. Calcote.

Eighteen people standin' up in that first year and sayin', we will lead this thing. The chapter held its meetings once a month, gathering in the Masonic Lodge hall, and that was the rhythm of things right up until 1940 and 1941, when they decided once a month just wasn't enough. Twice monthly from then on.

And after World War II, membership increased substantially, with local and area residents joining in numbers that gave the chapter real weight and reach. Members carried the work up to the district level and the state level, and the charitable works of the Tennessee Colony Order of the Eastern Star have been, by the marker's own reckoning, an important part of the cultural heritage of this community. That's the thing about a chapter like this one.

It started in 1902 with a handful of names, met in a borrowed hall, once a month by lantern light, and it kept going. The names changed over the decades, the frequency of meetings changed, the world outside changed plenty. But the purposes stayed the same: fellowship, and charitable works.

Out in Tennessee Colony, that was enough to build something lasting.

What the marker says

Tennessee Colony Order of the Eastern Star No. 102 The first Order of the Eastern Star (OES) Chapter chartered in Anderson County, this organization was founded in 1902 for the wives and female relatives of the members of Tyre Masonic Lodge no. 198. Originally known as the Redbud Chapter, it took the name of the Tennessee Colony Community in 1936. Charter members of this chapter, which included members of the Tyre Masonic Lodge, were: Will H. and Annie Calcote, Pete Oldham, Tom Wyley, H.H. Auld, Marcus E. and Tennie Avant, Albert Dupuy, T.F. Wylie and John l. Carroll. Officers elected for the first year were: Bula Graham, W.N. Montgomery, Mamie Dupuy, Fannie Holt, Jesse Graham, Missie Swayze, Maud Montgomery, Emma Swayze, Eva Woolverton, Addie Carroll, D. Welborn Gore, Carrie Carroll, Annie Calcote, Alice Swayze, Vera Vannoy, Mattie Woolverton, E.A. Swayze and Will H. Calcote. The Order of the Eastern Star is always associated with a Masonic Lodge, and its purposes are fellowship and charitable works. Meetings of the Tennessee Colony Chapter were held once a month until 1940-41, when a change was made to hold meetings twice monthly. The chapter met in the Masonic Lodge hall. Membership in the Tennessee Colony OES increased substantially after World War II, with many local and area residents accepted into membership. Members have been active at the district and state level, and their charitable works have played an important part in the cultural heritage of Tennessee Colony. (2002)