Serving Their Country and Each Other

Members of Joseph Warren Lodge No. 726 exemplify the ideals of Freemasonry in northwest Pennsylvania through their time serving our country and the community at large.

The lodge, which meets at Stillwater Lodge No. 547 in Youngsville, has 11 brothers who are veterans. These veterans are involved in various activities, such as overseeing the daily operations of The American Legion, belonging to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Amvets and helping to open the Allegheny Valley Veterans Center for homeless veterans. Many of the lodge’s roughly 90 members are involved in veterans’ affairs in one form or another. Some drive vans to transport veterans to doctors’ and other appointments.

Eight lodge members belong to the Warren County United Veterans Council, which supports veterans during times of crisis and educates the community through the re-integration of Warren County veterans.

The council is comprised of nine entities, including The American Legion, VFW, Amvets, the Marine Corps League and the Disabled American Veterans office. To belong to the council, you must be honorably discharged from the Armed Services and live in Warren County.

On Veterans Day each November, the lodge hosts a dinner for veterans, and in July, they host a picnic for Warren County veterans and their families. One of the lodge members, who is not a veteran, organized a motorcycle ride that raised several thousand dollars for the Veterans Council.

“The members of our lodge are a great asset to the county council,” said Brother Paul Lauffenburger, Past Master of the lodge and a Veterans Council trustee since 2003. “As far as I know, we’re one of the only lodges in the area that are so involved with veterans’ organizations.”

Paul, a veteran himself, spent six years in the U.S. Army Reserve National Guard, with active-duty training at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

Paul has been a member of Warren Lodge since 1986. When he first joined, the lodge had over 200 members, but many of them were older and have since passed away. The lodge celebrated its 100th anniversary last year with a dinner at a local country club. The event was attended by about 150 people, including R.W. Past Grand Master Jeffrey Wonderling and several District Deputy Grand Masters, Paul said.

Brother Ryan Knopf, District Deputy Grand Master for District 56, said the lodge has become a “success story” over the past few years. Today, the lodge has about 82 members, a respectable number for a less-populated, rural area.

“They had hit a lull where they weren’t bringing in a lot of guys, but they got out there, brought in new guys and new officers in line, and the next thing you know, they are starting to flourish, bringing in up to five new members a year,” Ryan said.

In fact, the district has been able to maintain two additional lodges, in Corry and Tionesta, and plans are underway to open a third lodge next June in Spartansburg, Ryan said.

Warren Lodge has increased communication among its members through its own dedicated Facebook page, as well as a District 56 page, where members from all the district lodges can exchange ideas and information, Ryan said.

The lodge has stepped up its programming through lectures by members on topics such as the steel-making process and antique fishing lures in Pennsylvania. All events are open to the other lodges.

Warren Lodge was named District 56 Lodge of the Year in 2024, and their Worshipful Master, Michael Barrett, was named Mason of the Year, Ryan said.

While all the lodge accomplishments are things to be proud of, he said, the lodge’s service to veterans is at the top of the list.

“The lodge is probably the biggest lodge in terms of veterans outreach since there are so many veterans in the lodge,” Ryan said.

“These rural lodges are extremely involved in their communities. They may not be writing large checks to non-profit organizations, but they are involved in their churches, fire departments, scouting. [Warren Lodge] started thinking outside the box, and it’s working well for them. They’ve made a lot of progress and will continue to do so.”