- The Convent General Knights of the York Cross of Honour was formed June 6, 1930. Sir Galahad Priory No. 7, Fremont, Nebraska, was granted a charter September 1, 1939.
The York Rite Masons of Nebraska introduced the organization of the Knights of the York Cross of Honour to the York Rite Masons of Iowa. Several Iowa York Rite Masons were elected to membership in Sir Galahad Priory No. 7, and some were elected to the office of Eminent Prior. Notable among them was Most Eminent Knight Charles Clyde Hunt who presided as Grand Master-Gereral 1944-1945.
At the 1944, convocation of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Iowa held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a York Cross of Honour dinner was held to honor Most Eminent Knight Charles Clyde Hunt. Some of those present were guests of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons and Grand Council of Royal and Select Masters of Iowa.
An informal meeting of Sir Galahad Priory No. 7 was held on April 9, 1946, at a luncheon during the Grand Chapter convocation in Muscatine, Iowa, and four newly elected knights were inducted.
April 15, 1947, Sir Galahad Priory No. 7 held a luncheon meeting in Council Bluffs, Iowa, during the Grand Chapter convocation.
During the Grand Chapter convocation held April 13, 1948, in Des Moines, Iowa, the Grand Chapter officers and distinguished guests were guests at a York Cross of Honour luncheon.
A petition for a Priory to be named Charles Clyde Hunt Priory (in memory of M.:. E.:. Knight Hunt who died July 24, 1948) was dated October 1, 1948, at Des Moines, Iowa and signed by the following members of Sir Galahad Priory No. 7: George E. Sanders, Past Prior; Walter E. Gillette; Nathan L. Hicks, Past Prior; Ralph B. Slippy; Alvin E. Kannewurf; Ross J. Camblin, Past Prior; Roy J. Eide; Earl E. Dusenbery; and Lloyd Rime. The charter was approved by the Grand Master-General, Most Eminent Knight George R. Hemenway, on October 1, 1948, and assigned the number 42. The first officers were:
Lloyd Rime……………………………. Eminent Prior
Walter E. Gillette…………………….. Deputy Prior
George E. Sanders…………………… Registrar-Treasurer
Peter C. McCracken………………… Warder
The first annual conclave of Charles Clyde Hunt Priory No. 42 was held April 5, 1949, in the Roosevelt Hotel in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, preceding the Annual Convocation of the Grand Chapter of Royal Arch Masons. Twelve candidates were knighted. During the calendar year 1949, sixty-two (62) candidates were knighted.
The minutes of the annual conclaves have usually been printed in the proceedings of the Grand Chapter and/or Grand Council of Iowa.
The Knight Templar sword of Charles Clyde Hunt was presented to the Priory by his son Lucien Hunt in 1960. In 1968 Mrs. Offie L. Leeper presented her late husband’s Prior’s jewel to the Priory with the request that it be worn by the sitting Prior. Two years later a new altar cloth was presented to the Priory by Mrs. Leeper. In 1976 a Prior’s jewel was presented to Past Prior Richard V. Dove for his service as director of the investiture team for many years. It was agreed to purchase a supply of Prior’s jewels to be presented to all past and future Priors; Knight Richard L. Campbell presented a new set of electrified candlesticks to replace the old ones. Eminent Prior Marion E. McClure presented a Bible and requested all Past Priors to sign it.
At the conclave held in 1977, it was decided to hold the annual conclave on the second Saturday of October separately from the Grand Chapter and Grand Council, because those two bodies had voted to meet together beginning in 1978. In 1978 a resolution was adopted that upon the death of a Knight, a memorial would be sent to the York Cross of Honour Medical Research Foundation, Inc. in lieu of flowers. Special conclaves are held during the Grand Commandery conclave or prior to the Grand Chapter-Grand Council annual meetings. Through the years the annual conclave was held following a breakfast or luncheon. In recent years the annual conclave has been held in the afternoon followed by a banquet with the ladies.
Charles Clyde Hunt Priory No. 42 hosted the annual conclave of the Convent General on three occasions. First, October 5-6, 1956, in Des Moines, Iowa, Most Eminent Earl E. Dusenbery, KGC, Grand Master-General, presiding. Second, September 11-12, 1981, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Most Eminent William Grady Cotton, KGC, Grand Master-General, presiding. Third, September 2-3, 1983, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Most Eminent John Harris Watts, KGC, Grand Master-General, presiding.
Charles Clyde Hunt Priory No. 42 is deeply indebted to John Harris Watts PGMG who updated and compiled the above History.