by Christopher Hodapp
I always knew Reba McIntyre was a lady of great esteem.
Many years ago, back when the Earth cooled and dinosaurs ruled the world, I made TV commercials. One of our biggest clients was HH Gregg appliance stores, and some of our most enjoyable projects were for them. We made multiple (and VERY different) campaigns for them for many, many years.
One year, they decided to hire a celebrity spokesperson for a new campaign, and they chose country music superstar Reba McEntire to be on camera for a handful of TV spots. This meant that four times a year, Reba and her husband would fly to Indianapolis and we'd knock out the shooting in a day. What you saw on screen was the person you met behind the scenes; she was warm, funny, generous, and a pleasure to work with.
(That's me next to Reba during a location shoot, back when I weighed so much that I looked like three guys stuffed into a Chris Hodapp costume.)
What's the Masonic connection?
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Photos: Reba's Place website |
Opened in 2023 in collaboration with the Choctaw Nation, Reba's Place features two stories of dining areas, an antique bar, memorabilia from Reba’s personal archives, and a stage that hosts live music. The menu is full of Southern classics. The library is filled with her mom's books from when she was growing up ("Momma never threw away a single book," she explains. Sounds like a household I know.)
Reba rescuing the Masonic Hall was very big news locally. Sleepy Atoka was a dying little down, just off Oklahoma Highway 75. An estimated 3,000 tourists a year were coming through town back in 2022; in the first two months of 2023 after the restaurant opened, more than a half-million out of town guests came through, most of whom who wanted to visit Reba's Place.
Reba will be making a live appearance at the restaurant on April 9th with a VERY small-scale version of her usual big-stage show. It's a rare chance to see her VERY close up and performing in an extremely intimate setting, compared to the massive events she usually does. If you'll be near the area, CLICK HERE for details.
So what about the building?
Built in 1915, the Atoka Masonic hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was the long-time home of Ok-La-Ho-Ma Lodge No. 4, the oldest lodge in the state. (Atoka was also once the location of the Masonic Orphan's Home between 1908-1910.) I don't know when the lodge moved out, but the building was used as a hospice for a while.
Reba's and the old lodge are easy to spot - it's the only 3-story building in town, making it the most prominent place around. The Masons in 1915 wanted to make damned sure everyone knew they were there, and Freemasonry was THE fraternal group to belong to. Even with the new Reba's Place signage, a cornice plaque still proclaims 'Masonic Temple,' and there are still three small stone medallions depicting a square and compass and Royal Arch symbol over the second-floor windows.
While it's otherwise pretty plain looking outside, there were supposedly stained glass windows on the third floor, where I presume the actual meeting room was originally. Looking at construction photos of the restaurant, I see no Masonic symbolism of any kind left inside. The old hospice likely removed any of those years ago.
Just as a point of comparison, here is where the oldest lodge in Oklahoma meets today, about a mile and a half from the center of the town, where it once was central to the community.
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Google Maps |
One casually wonders if their steel pole barn will one day be placed on the National Register as "architecturally significant." Or if another future celebrity will snap it up because of its unique charm, character and commanding location.
"O!, but a lodge isn't a building, and a lodge can meet in a tent, and it's the INTERIOR, not the EXTERIOR that matters in Masonry, and there's great parking, and it's sure cheaper than maintaining some old place with a leaky roof, and..."
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