The Knight Templar Masons recently provided aid to Old Independence Regional Museum for its upcoming fundraiser. Gerald Nash, Master, Mt. Zion Masonic Lodge #10 and Ted Stepanek, Commander, St. Elmo Commandery #13 presented the museum with $1500.00 to support the USO style dance taking place at National Guard Armory on September 19. As part of the event, the 17 piece Stardust Big Band from Hot Springs will perform period music. The generous donation from the Knight Templar Masons covered over half of the expense of the band. The remaining cost has been paid through an Arkansas Arts Council Arts on Tour grant.
The Knights Templar will have a featured exhibit on display during the month of October at the museum in commemoration of the 125th anniversary of the organization. The exhibit will include the history of the Knights Templar in the area, the current work of the organization, and artifacts associated with the group.
Anyone interested in having a custom exhibit can contact the museum and ask about the “Spotlight On…” wall. The cost for a custom exhibit is $500 for a month long exhibit and an event hosted by the museum.
Old Independence serves a 12-county area: Baxter, Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Marion, Poinsett, Sharp, Stone, White, and Woodruff. Parts of these present-day counties comprised the original Independence County in 1820s Arkansas territory.
The museum is located at 380 South 9th street, between Boswell and Vine Streets in Batesville.
This humanities program is made possible by local support from Independence County and the City of Batesville, as well as by Challenge Grant Endowment funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
(870) 793-2121
