The Matinecock Masons need your help to complete the re-building of their lodge on West Main Street. A sign outside the lodge asks people to send donations to help re-build the lodge, but Masons Warren Obes and Richard Hutchinson on the Matinecock Lodge restoration committee agreed that, "The message isn't getting out that we need help."

The first place they are going to for fund raising is their own group. "We have to reach out to our members to show everyone that the Masons really care about the project. If we can say we have 100 percent support from members and now are reaching out for participation from the community we will be very happy," said Warren Obes. Donations are also welcome from other Masonic groups many of whom have had to sell their buildings because of the pressure of taxes and maintenance. "The result is that there are precious few Masonic Halls left," he said.

When the building is finished, the Glen Cove Lodge will be taking over one of their rooms. They recently sold their building. Interestingly, said Mr. Hutchinson, "The Matinecock Lodge was formed in 1896. It was formed with members from the Jeptha Lodge in Huntington and the Glen Cove Lodge. Now Glen Cove is coming back to us."

The Masons originally planned to erect the building in two phases. That first part of the plan is just about completed and they are so pleased with their contractor they want to keep him on the job, that means they need more money now.

"The contractor is fabulous," said Mason Richard Hutchinson. "He was recommended by Jim Longo who said he was always on top of his game. He's not out there for general work, unless you happen to work for Cablevision and Verizon - who he builds for as well as a lot of drug stores.

"He is Vincent Matassa of Matassa Construction of South Hempstead. He picks one job a year that he takes a personal interest in. He has been there every day hammering, measuring and telling people what to do. He was there Saturday, Jan. 28 making the whole staircase. He's built skyscrapers in Manhattan."

"He immerses himself in the work and we are thankful for his diligence and craftsmanship," said Mr. Obes.

Mr. Hutchinson said, "Mr. Matassa gets to see the lodge guys watching as the building goes up. He is used to having corporate clients who never see what is going up."

Mr. Hutchinson said it was first determined that the building would cost $1.5 million plus the cost of the sidewalk at the front of the building. The town told them they are responsible for putting it back when the construction is completed.

Mr. Obes said there have been cost increases since they signed their contract in October. "Now the cost is between $1.6 to $1.7 million, depending on how long it takes to get the rest of the stuff purchased." They need about $700,000 and hope to raise half of that in donations so that they can keep the mortgage down to between $300,000 and $400,000.

Mr. Hutchinson summed up their needs: he said, "The lodge burned down in October of 2003, since that time we were hit with Katrina and the tsunami and a real estate boom that raised the cost of building material 30 percent." Added to that, they are erecting a larger building by adding on to the back and adding a full basement to what will be a fireproof structure. He said, "We have people going to NYC to talk to some fund raising professionals who are telling us what to do."

The Matinecock Masonic Lodge is planning a fundraiser on March 11 for the laying of their cornerstone. The event will start at 10:30 a.m. and will take about an hour. It will be followed by a cocktail reception at the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club on Centre Island from 4 to 7 p.m. "There is a special ceremony for laying a cornerstone that has been practiced for centuries and it will be an excellent opportunity for a fundraiser," said Warren Obes. The reception is open to the public. Tickets are $150 or $250 a couple. The yacht club will hold about 150 guests. If you want tickets please call committee member Bob Schlegal at 364-1069.

There is a tie-in between the Masons and the Seawanhaka Yacht Club. "William Lincoln Swan was the first Master of Matinecock and he was involved in the formation of Seawanhaka. He was the organist at the First Presbyterian Church and a lawyer," said Mason Richard Hutchinson, an attorney. "I have seen his name on many titles such as at the founding of the Oyster Bay Water District and the Oyster Bay Electric Company. He was also instrumental in bringing Theodore Roosevelt into the lodge."

Warren Obes said, "William Swan was a NYC mason and an accomplished musician, and raced sailboats. It was aboard his boat, The Glance, in 1872 that they founded Seawanhaka. He was known as Commodore Swan and was written up in the book Matinecock Lights by John Hammond, now Town of Oyster Bay historian."

Mr. Hutchinson described the new lodge. To begin with, the Masons decided to center the building on the property they owned so that the setback would be consistent on all sides and with the driveway to the back.

The original building had a partial basement: there was none under the porch or the extension in the back. Now the new basement is under the entire footprint of the building, including the porch. There will be 10 ft. to 11 ft. ceilings so that it will be comfortable. There were old heating pipes everywhere - now that is all cleared up. There will be a complete commercial kitchen and seating for about 80 people downstairs. There will be much more space for community groups who use the lodge, said Mr. Hutchinson.

A lot of groups used the building for different events. Raynham Hall used it for lectures and local residents used it for family events.

He said the first floor will remain the same, which included the offices of Active Motion which they hope will return to the lodge.

Mr. Hutchinson said they increased the size of the top floor by going out in back. There was a one-story extension at the back of the building so now that is all part of the building. They have three staircases to follow code, two outside for emergencies and one in the center, the main staircase, and the elevator following the American Disablities Act.

There is now a grand hallway entering into the lodge room. The lodge room has a balcony as the old one did but the orientation of the room has been changed. The former Masonic temple was backwards. The Master Station should be in the east of the room and it was in the west.

The lodge room will have close to a 20-foot barrel ceiling. The Masons were able to arrange for new furniture for the lodge room that will come from the Lodge of Ancient Landmarks in Buffalo, NY. One of their members had a furniture factory and made a Master's Station, the Cross, and the Senior and Junior Stations. Each is handmade and carved of walnut. The Master's Station is 18-feet tall, the others are 16 ft. and 12 ft. respectively. Therefore they needed a high ceiling, so the roofline was enlarged by creating a barrel ceiling, he said.

Mr. Hutchinson said, "A few of the members drove up to Buffalo and talked them into sending the furniture here. It happened because there is a Roosevelt connection between Oyster Bay and Buffalo. When President McKinley was assassinated, Theodore Roosevelt [a member of their lodge] was sworn into office in Buffalo. The father of one of the lodge brothers worked on President McKinley when he was shot. Unfortunately, he was a gynecologist.

"The furniture was valued at over $500,000 but the lodge was more interested in preserving it. We paid a nominal amount and the shipping costs but if our organization fails, it will revert to them," he said. "You can visit our website: matinecock.org and can view the furniture by clicking on the Ancient Landmarks link."

In erecting the building they tried to maintain the look of the historic building while using all fireproof materials. The roof is a composite project made to look like a slate roof with copper snow guards on it. Mr. Obes said, "Regular asphalt roofs don't have to have snow guards but since the material mimics slate, they have to put the snow guards in. They are used to hold back any large sheets of ice that can slide off a building. The whole outside of the building is made of composites. There are hardy plank shingles that look like cedar clapboard but are a composite. All the woodwork looks like painted wood but it's a composite. All the materials were picked to match what was there - but it is all fireproof."

In return for help in getting their mortgage, the masons will be giving the community a historic building - like the prior building - which means it is more expensive to construct rather than erecting a square building. "We are offering this special space to the community, it is an integral part of downtown Oyster Bay," said Mr. Hutchinson. He said they always made a donation back to the organizers of the Oyster Festival when they participated in the event with their Octoberfest celebration. He said they do not have a big operating budget and they handle their funds using good business practices.

Mr. Hutchinson said, "Much of the Oyster Festival funds were used to repair the building. In the 1980s they redid the kitchen and the front reception room. Step by step the guys re-built the whole building. I guess we won't have to do that anymore since it will all be new."

Mr. Obes said, "The masons have a tremendous history involved with honoring heavy hitters in the community. We've honored Mrs. Richard Storrs in the late '80s and George and Abby O'Neill in 1992."

Mr. Obes said, "Our focus is that we need to do something as quickly as we can in a really large way to finish the project. People may think it is finished. We want to let people know we really need help. We masons have raised about $70,000, the majority of which has come from our Masons and other Masonic groups. Ten years ago that would have put us a long way toward completion. Today building costs are up."

They asked that checks be sent to the Matinecock Lodge, 14 West Main St. or to P.O. Box 67, Oyster Bay, NY 11771. "It's the same thing. Charles Tastenson the secretary, will get them either way."

Send donations in checks payable to Matinecock Masonic Historical Society, a 501 3C organization so your charitable donations are tax deductible. They created the nonprofit status for the group in 1992, their 100th anniversary year.

Mr. Obes added to his appeal, that most importantly they want to keep the contractor they have to complete the work. If they can't they would have to go out to re-bid the project. "With a CO and a completed building we can reach out to new tenants. We also have requests from some of the lodges for space, and they need to know by September," he said.

There were several lodges that were using the Matinecock Lodge for their meetings and were displaced as a result of the fire. Now the governing body of masons said they need to find a home. One or two have a deadline, the Masonic calendar begins in September and is off for July and August just like the school district.

The photographs with this article include their recent archeological dig. When the excavation work began for the new building, the Masons had the opportunity to do an archeological dig to see if there was anything worth recovering. They found some sterling silver gavels and a number of small items.

They had already recovered the original charter after the fire; and the Roosevelt petition for membership from when he joined the lodge; and the handwritten ledger kept at the lodge in 1893 when it was formed. The lodge was granted a charter in 1892 and in 1923 moved into the building. The Matinecock Lodge contained a museum of Masonic memorabilia from all over New York State.