Page 12 - 2017 Summer

Gr and Lodg e of W ashingt on Portraits of Our Grand Masters: MWB Jeremiah
Grand Lodge of Washington
Masonic T r ibune Neterer 1910-1911
Masonic Tribune
Volume XCVIII No. 4 - Summer 2017 Issue - Page 12
Volume XCII No.1 - Summer Issue - Page 3
s the final installment in this series I have chosen to high-
Alight the life of MWB Jeremiah Neterer who I first discov-
Legislative Update: ered while creating Past Grand Master Displays for District
10. He was born January 22, 1862 on a farm near Goshen,
Indiana to a family of Swiss descent. He graduated from
Progress in the 2017 Legislative session Northern Indiana Law School (now Valparaiso Law School) in
y Brothers, the 2017 Legislative regular Session has 1885 and was admitted to practice law in Indiana and in the
Mjust come to a close, and although it is likely now in State of Kansas the same year.
special session, our Fraternity has made some amazing In 1890, he moved to Bellingham to practice his profession.
progress! From 1890 to 1913 he operated a private law practice. In
More than 2,500 bills had been introduced in this session, 1893, he was elected city attorney for the City of Bellingham
and while many of them have made it through both houses and served as a judge for the Whatcom County Superior
and have been signed by the Governor, most have stalled in Court from 1901-1913. During this time, Judge Neterer or-
committee. I had brought up some of the bills in discussion ganized the juvenile court in Whatcom County and set aside
in my area here in Thurston and Lewis counties, with varying Saturdays for conferences with youth and their parents.
amounts of interest. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson appointed Judge Neterer to the
Two bills had been introduced in the Legislature that we have bench of the United States District Court for the Western Dis-
focused on this session. House Bill 1194 and Senate Bill trict of Washington. He served in that capacity until his man-
5346 both would establish a Scholarship program for Legis- datory retirement on May 31, 1933. During his time on the
lative Pages. My committee was present to testify in support Federal Bench he tried some very notable cases. He tried
of both bills. Our testimony was very well received by many several cases of conspiracy during the prohibition era and
of the Legislators, furthering our positive relationship with is credited with many important decisions in admiralty and
our elected officials. You can watch our testimony on both maritime law. Throughout his career, he was considered an
of these bills by checking the bill information on the Legisla- expert in these areas of law.
ture’s web site, then use the links to go to TVWB’s website. I One of the most notorious cases he presided over was the
invite you to make the effort to watch, it’s a great example of case of Louise Olivereau in 1917. Ms. Olivereau worked as
our Brothers Being the Difference at our State Capitol! As of a stenographer in the Seattle office of the International Work-
this time, SSB 5346 has passed both houses, and will soon ers of the World (IWW) more commonly known as the Wob-
be signed into law by our Governor. Our Fraternity will be blies. She was opposed to the United States involvement in
making an annual contribution to this scholarship fund. World War I and as a protest she created a flyer which she
And on top of that, several of us came to the Capitol on began mailing to young men selected for the draft. The flyer
March 20 of this year to talk with our Legislators. We had vis- argued that each draftee should decide for himself whether
its with Legislators from the 20th, 14th, 28th, 22nd, 39th and or not to enter the military. Because of this, Ms. Olivereau
25th Districts, and again, we were very well received. We was tried as a traitor under the Espionage Act. During the
even had 4 Brothers make a 4-hour drive from Goldendale trial, Ms. Olivereau represented herself and Judge Neterer
Lodge, No. 31 to Olympia for this event. They spoke with all did his best control the amount of drama she brought into the
3 Legislators from the 14th District, with very good results. I’d trial through her speeches and the questions of principle she
like to thank each of you who attended this great event, as all insisted on asking the jurors.
of you found it to be a worthwhile effort! We will do this again Justice Neterer was quite active in civic and religious affairs.
next year, and I strongly encourage you, and your Lodge, to He was chairman of the State Democratic Convention in
come to the Capitol and visit with your Legislator. 1898 and a delegate to the Democratic National Convention
And now that the session is over, it’s again your turn. Over in 1912. He served on the boards of several educational in-
the past year, some of our Lodges have invited Legislators stitutions including Bellingham Normal School (now Western
to their Lodges, and we have now visited some legislators Washington University) and Whitman College.
in Olympia. Your Lodge can also participate! I invite you to In May 1887, he married Sarah E. Becker. This union was
contact your legislator this summer or fall. You will find the blessed with four children. His first wife died in 1936 and
effort very worthwhile. several years later he married Linda J. George who survived
I will be at the Annual Communication this coming June in him.
Yakima. I look forward to Meeting all of you for this great an- Most Worshipful Brother Neterer was made a Mason in Bell-
nual event! See you there. ingham Bay Lodge, No. 144 on March 21st,1889 and served
Fraternally, as its Worshipful Master in 1905. At the same time, he be-
came an active participant in the Grand
VWBB Clayton La Vigne Lodge. He was appointed Grand Orator
Chairman, Legislative Affairs Task Force in 1905 and elected Junior Grand War-
den in 1907
In his Annual Message at the 1911 Grand
Lodge Session in Spokane, MWB Neter-
er concluded his message with a section
called, “Character Building,” in which he
argues for the value of Masonry consid-
(Continued in page 12)
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