Dispensation to open a Temple of the A.A.O.N.M.S. at Roanoke, Virginia, under the title of Kazim, was granted the 13th day of July 1916, by the Imperial Potentate Henry F. Niedringheas.
The following Nobles were granted authority to open Kazim Temple to confer the Order and transact the business of the Temple: Robert H. Angell, O.D. Oakey, John T. Cullen, R. Frank Taylor, Charles T. Jennings, C.S. McNulty, J.C. Bandy, Chris Markley, and 439 other Nobles.
The following Nobles were appointed as the Divan by Noble D.C. O’Flaherty, presiding as Special Deputy of the Imperial Potentate, at the Institutional meeting held in Lakeland Lodge on the 14th of October 1916: Robert H. Angeil, Potentate; O.D. Oakey, Chief Rabban; W.C. Stephenson, Assistant Rabban; H.P. Getys, Oriental Guide; H.A. Pratt, Treasurer; and John T. Cullen, Recorder.
Imperial Potentate Charles E. Ovenshire, appointed Past Imperial Potentate Harrison Dingman of Almas Temple, Washington, DC, to institute Kazim Temple and present the permanent charter, dated the 27th of July, 1917. One hundred and three Nobles were created and 12 affiliated by demitting from other Temples on the 17th of September, 1917.
A special meeting was called on the 29th of August, 1924. The Building Committee moved that they are authorized to purchase a lot on Church Avenue. The motion was lost. Noble J.O.D. Copenhaver presented a map of a plot of 100 acres in Raleigh Court, at the intersection of Gradin Road and Brandon Avenue. The Building Committee was requested to give consideration to its purchase. There had been considerable interest and much promotion towards the building of a Shriners Crippled Children Hospital in the Roanoke Valley. One facet of the purchase of the 100-acre plot in Raleigh Court was the proposal that ten acres be set aside, for donations to the Crippled Children’s Hospital, if built.
A special business meeting of the Kazim Temple Corporation was held on the 17th of May, 1947. The sale of the property owned by the Temple in Raleigh Court to the Roanoke School Board was approved. The Temple would receive $125,000 and a deed to the W. K. Andrews property on West Campbell Avenue.
The “Gambill House,” located on the W. K. Andrews property on West Campbell Avenue, became the permanent home of Kazim Temple through its acquisition in 1947 by the Kazim Temple Corporation.
The Building Committee reported that the architects had secured a map of the Shrine property; progress was being made in the development of the construction plans. The report was made at a business meeting held on the 10th of April, 1956.
Cornerstone Laying Ceremonies
Cornerstone Laying Ceremonies Of Scottish Rite Bodies and Kazim Temple
Mt. Wor. Earl S. Wallace, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Virginia, laid the cornerstones on the Scottish Rite and Kazim Temple, Friday, the 23rd of May, 1958, at 11:00 a.m. in accordance with the “Ceremony for Laying Cornerstones” published by order of the Grand Lodge A.F. & A.M. of Virginia 1953 Edition. The occasion was witnessed by T.J. Craig 32-degree Venerable Master and Commander, Frederick Grimm 32-degree Wise-Master, and C. B. Nerren 32-degree Master of Kadosh, representing the Scottish Rite Bodies. D. Marvin Penn, a Potentate, represented Kazim Temple. Five hundred members and Nobles attended the Ceremony. Brother Earl S. Wallace believed that the laying of Corner-Stones on two buildings side by side was the first event of record in the 180-year history of Masonry in Virginia.