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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING THE LEE LOCKWOOD LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
______
HON. BILL FLORES
of texas
in the house of representatives
Friday, September 20, 2019
Mr. FLORES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Lee Lockwood
Library and Museum in Waco, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary
this year.
In the mid-1960s, planning began for a home base for the Scottish
Rite Freemasons in Texas. A committee was formed to raise the money
needed for the building. Members of this committee included many Waco
businessmen and leaders including Allen Shivers, the 37th Governor of
Texas; Abner McCall, President of Baylor University; and Robert L.
Lockwood, the building's namesake. Waco was selected as the location
for the building and construction began in 1967. The building opened on
September 27, 1969.
Since its opening, the building has served as a central meeting
location for Scottish Rite Masons as well as a library and museum. The
Lee Lockwood Library and Museum is home to a more than 1,200 piece
print collection by Waco photographer Fred Gildersleeve, a large coin
collection, as well as Civil War era letters, medical records, and
military enlistment data. It also contains more than 10,000 books on
world, American, and Texas history; as well as rare and first edition
prints from authors such as Mark Twain and Charles Dickens.
Throughout the year, the building hosts weddings, meetings, concerts,
veterans' events, and other Masonic and non-Masonic gatherings. The
auditorium is also home to the Waco Children's and Christian Youth
Theater, which hold many performances and camps every year.
The building is constructed out of limestone in a large rectangular
shape, has four, dramatic two-story columns at the entrance, and is
flanked by two, two-ton limestone sphinxes. The director of the Masonic
National Memorial called the Lee Lockwood Library and Museum ``the last
great Masonic building built in America.'' In 2014, the City of Waco
Historic Landmark Preservation Commission presented the library an
award for ``Recognition of Sustained Excellence for an Institutional
Structure''.
Madam Speaker, the Lee Lockwood Library and Museum has served as a
pillar for knowledge and public service in its 50 years of operation. I
congratulate the Scottish Rite Masons on reaching this milestone and I
look forward to seeing their continued success.
I have requested that a United States flag be flown over our Nation's
Capitol to recognize the legacy of the Lee Lockwood Library and Museum.
As I close today, I urge all Americans to continue praying for our
country, for our veterans, for our military men and women who protect
us, and for our first responders who keep us safe at home.
____________________
