Fidelity Lodge's Organization

Truly Bro. Knapp must have said to his faithful companions, "In this our affliction what shall we do?" The he started out, like Diogenes with his lantern, to find one more. The lantern was a necessity in those days. There were no gas or electric lights in the towns; the houses were scattered; there were no sidewalks and darkness brooded over the hamlet at night. Commuters, who traveled to and from the city, could only be seen at night. He could not find another Mason who would be willing to join the enterprise. In his wanderings, however, he found a man who was willing to be made a Mason. This was Mr. John A. Ackerman.

Brother John A. Ackerman - Charter Member

Mr. Ackerman was proposed at Paterson-Orange Lodge and received his degrees there. He was 41 years of age when he demitted from that Lodge and joined his six Brethren in a petition to the Grand Lodge for Dispensation to open a Lodge in Ho-Ho-Kus to be known as Fidelity Lodge. We know only that Bro. Ackerman was born in Washington Township which means that he came from one of the several Ackerman families residing at that time along West Saddle River Road between Glen Avenue and Allendale Avenue. At the time of his demit from Paterson-Orange Lodge, Bro. Ackerman was a resident of Ridgewood.

A casual examination of the characters and attainments of the seven Brothers who founded Fidelity Lodge indicates quite clearly that it owes its existence more to the energy and ability of two great Masons, Bros. John Martin Knapp and John Andrew Marinus, than to any other single Brother or group of Brothers.

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