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About Us - Orange County Valley - 1977

    For several years the Scottish Rite Club of Orange County held regular meetings in the Santa Ana Masonic Hall on the corner of Fifth and Sycamore Streets. A letter dated January 4, 1977 invited Master Masons to a meeting of the Club to seek Letters Temporary for a Lodge of Perfection and a Chapter Rose Croix. At that time there were about 250 members in the Club and on April 25th they borrowed costumes from the Los Angeles Bodies and conferred the 14th Degree. Again on May 23 the Santa Ana Team conferred the 18th Degree. The October, 1977 Club Bulletin carried a "HALLELUJAH" headline; "Scottish Rite comes to the Valley of Santa Barbara!". At the first stated meeting of the new Lodge of Perfection, the Club held its last meeting after cleaning up loose ends.     The Rite was constrained in its activities in the Temple because of their expanding membership. The typical Blue Lodge seating made it difficult to portray some degrees that are best staged. They appointed a committee to look for larger and more suitable quarters. The committee found many advantages offered by the nearby Ebell Club at 625 French Street. The facilities included a theater with a large stage, excellent lighting and sound equipment, plenty of parking and adequate dining space. The Rite still meets at this location.     The first Charter Class at the Ebell Club was held in February, 1979. An explosive growth followed and by June 1979, less than two years after Letters Temporary were issued, the membership exceeded 1100. The Valley was rated the fastest growing in the Orient in 1979 with a growth of 78% and a membership of 1536.     Finally, on November 8, 1979, the Valley of Santa Ana received its charter for all Bodies. Another highlight for the Rite in 1979 was the investiture of Knight Commander of the Court of Honour on seven brothers and two were coroneted Thirty- third Degree.     The Valley of Santa Ana works closely to maintain friendly working relationships with the Shrine and York Rites and holds regular visitations with the Craft Lodges. The Rite also supports two Clubs in Orange county--the Saddleback Valley Scottish Rite Club and the Scottish Rite Association of Orange County in Corona del Mar.  The Saddleback Club frequently participates in the Maundy Thursday Observance. The Orange County Association pre- dates the Rite by thirteen years. The Santa Ana Scottish Rite News frequently carries a column featuring one of the workers in the Rite with is picture and a short biographical sketch.     In the Spring of 1987 the Rite established a building fund and sent another committee out into the community to search for a building site. They found what seemed to be an ideal place, but the cost of required code renovations and the installation of a sprinkler system made the cost prohibitive. However, the fund remains intact in spite of offers to return contributions, so plans for a future building move ahead.     The first mention of "childhood aphasia" at the Santa Ana Rite was a program and movie in June 1981. Again in May of 1987 the ladies heard a talk on the Clinics that were springing up around the State of California and around the Country. (1) The Childhood Language Center was established in July of 2001 and has continued to grow. The Center provides complete speech language diagnostic evaluations from age 3 and provides remedial treatment to those selected. The result is helping children learn "To Hear, To Speak, To Understand."     On November 3, 2014, the Valley voted to amend its bylaws and officially changed the name of the Valley from Santa Ana to the Orange County Valley. Bibliography Sources        My thanks to all those, names and nameless, who helped me amass the materials used in compiling this history of the Orient of California. Ill:. Robert D. Haas 33° 1.  Santa Ana Bodies - Dean Bradley 33 o , Secretary      and Santa Ana Scottish Rite News (Bulletin).

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