# Cornerstone Stolen from Phoenix, Arizona Lodge



## My Freemasonry (Dec 1, 2019)

​Have you seen this cornerstone? Because it's missing.

It seems that exterior displays of the square and compasses within reachable height are occasionally attractive to the destructive-minded miscreant. 

For reasons known only to himself, a thief bashed out and made off with the 1963 cornerstone of Paradise Valley Lodge No. 61 in Phoenix, Arizona earlier this month. 



​That temple is now the home of the combined Paradise Valley Silver Trowel No. 29. 



​
An unidentified white male with a hat was recorded on multiple cameras around the Masonic hall as he approached and subsequently busted out the stone. But police have been unable to find him so far.


​You'd think stealing a lodge cornerstone was about as ungainly and labor intensive a bit of vandalism as you could dream up, but this isn't the first case of it in that state. 



​
Several years ago, Acacia Lodge 42 in Avondale, Arizona was hit with a hugely destructive episode of mindless vandalism, and one of the casualties of that attack was their lodge cornerstone. And unfortunately, numerous lodges these days no longer have the sort of budgets to replace the irreplaceable once something gets destroyed. Acacia's has never been replaced, but a 'new' cornerstone can never have the sentimental or historic significance of the original to the fraternity and its members. 

And yet, they are worthless to a thief.








Continue reading...


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## Bloke (Dec 6, 2019)

In many ways a Corner Stone is a kind of Historic "Document" -  recording details. If it happened to my building, I would be replacing it to honour the man who built our Masonic Home....


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## Bro. Landry (Dec 12, 2019)

Crazy!


Sent from my iPhone using My Freemasonry mobile app


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## David612 (Dec 13, 2019)

This sort of senseless vandalism is so sad to see as it serves no purpose at all.
Personally I’d be replacing it, it’s about commemorating the Brother/lodge/benefactor/wormhole/conjuring magic the building owes its existence too, not the sentimentality of the stone itself.


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