Oscar Hild

Oscar Hild was born in Galveston on November 22, 1879, and came to Houston about 1917. He was a salesman when he petitioned Gray Lodge and spent most of his working life as a wholesale grocer. He was a member of the Second Presbyterian Church and of the Benevolent League of Texas Travelers.

He received his degrees in Gray Lodge: the Entered Apprentice on November 23, 1923, the Fellowcraft on December 27, 1923, and the Master Mason degree on January 25, 1924. He was appointed Junior Deacon in 1928 and was elected Junior Warden and then Senior Warden. Past Master Joe A. Hudson installed him as the 60th Master in 1931, with Past Master Kurtz E. Gaugler as Marshal.

He led the lodge through the deepening Depression with steady care for those in need. The lodge extended $10 a month to Mrs. Wm. Van Glahn, a 95-year-old widow, and to a member in Los Angeles who was ill and in need. In December 1931 the lodge welcomed Past Master John H. Crooker as the newly elected Grand Junior Warden of the Grand Lodge of Texas. In February 1932 the historic frigate Constitution, “Old Ironsides,” docked at the Port of Houston, and Brother Harry Overman proposed a monument at the San Jacinto Battlefield honoring Sam Houston and his men.

The year’s great Masonic event was the George Washington Bicentennial. Grand Master Alvah Bryan announced a special session of the Grand Lodge of Texas at Alexandria, Virginia, in May 1932, and Gray’s delegate, W. E. Namendorf, returned with an account of the dedication of the George Washington Masonic National Memorial. At home, with notes on the Temple coming due, the lodge approved refinancing $45,000 owed to Rice Institute over six years. Brother Hild served as a director of the Gray-Temple Masonic Corporation.

He died on April 29, 1948, and was buried with Masonic rites by Gray Lodge. He was survived by his wife, Julia Janssen Hild, and two sons.