The Masonic Temple has been a fixture in Callaway for almost as long as there has been a town. In recent years, as the Lodge membership has dwindled, the building has not been used much and has fallen into disrepair. That is changing, and so is the appearance of the old building.

Adam Bailey had been renting office space from Jim Jenkins until he sold the building to the Callaway District Hospital last summer. That prompted Bailey to go on the hunt for a new location for his office, not an easy task in Callaway.

“The Masonic building has sat vacant for a really long time, and I talked to Ed Lashley, who is kind of the head of the Masonic organization in Callaway, about either doing a long-term lease or buying the building just so there would be something in there,” Bailey shared. “We originally agreed on doing a long-term lease, and then I started the construction project. Justin Mason did the first part of the construction, and once we got in there, we realized there was a lot of termite damage, and we ended up having to take all of the woodwork out of the first floor and replace all of that.”

Once the damaged wood was replaced, Mason framed in the walls to create four office spaces, a conference room, a bathroom, and a small kitchenette/breakroom area. Lashley did the electrical upgrades in the building, and TJ Elliott did the plumbing work. Drywall has been put up and finishing touches are now being put on the space.

“The first floor will be all office space,” Bailey explained. “The top floor will either be left as the Masonic meeting room or, if the Masons don’t get going again in Callaway, I might turn it into storage or more office space. We will just have to see.”

While the Masons don’t currently meet very often in Callaway, they have maintained their charter. Parian, No 297 Lodge was authorized on Feb. 13, 1891, and chartered on June 18, 1891, and was named by the Grand Master, Robert E. French. The lodge was destroyed by fire on Oct. 21, 1908, with the charter and all the furniture lost.

On Feb. 19, 1913, the Masonic Temple was dedicated. Its total cost was $8,430.13, which was raised by selling shares of preferred stock to members of the Masons and Eastern Star. The cornerstones of the Episcopal Church in 1890, and the Callaway School in 1908 and 1974 were laid by the Masons.

Bailey is himself a Mason and was active in the organization in the communities where he lived prior to moving to Callaway seven or eight years ago. He is a financial advisor and owns and operates the company Coordinated Planning, which specializes in small business transitions and financial planning services. Of course, one of the offices in the newly renovated building will be used by him.

Due to the condition of the exterior of the building, Bailey said it will require a process called tuckpointing. He said the tuckpointing, along with replacing the front windows, will make the most dramatic difference to the look of the building, and will likely be about the last part of the project to be completed. A new roof was put on the building last summer.

“When we started doing this project, all of the windows were broken out, the floors were weak, and there was no electricity or water in there. Hopefully, after we’re done, when people drive by they will think it looks a lot better,” he laughed.

At the time of this interview, Bailey believed he had three of the four office spaces spoken for. He intends to allow the community to utilize the conference room for meetings, etc.