John
J. Mercer Lodge #290
A.F.A.M.
Bernie Hedstrom – Jordan Medal Holder
By John Dimon
What exactly is the Jordan Medal? No, it has nothing to do with basketball! The Jordan Medal is the bronze medal awarded to the member of our lodge with the most years of unbroken service since being raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason. There is also a state-level Jordan medal which is gold. It is named in honor of Most Worshipful Brother Robert Carrel Jordan, the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Nebraska, who served in that capacity for three years beginning in 1857.
Our lodge has had twelve Jordan Medal holders, including the current one, Axel “Bernie” Hedstrom, who was raised Jan. 28, 1941.
Brother Hedstrom worked at the Dundee Post Office during the 1938 and 1939 Christmas season and met two very nice co-workers, Alfred Walter and Earl Margritz. After talking with them, he discovered they were Masons, and he petitioned to join the fraternity. He subsequently received all three degrees, being raised to the Master Mason degree in January, 1941.
A few months later a job offer from the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C. beckoned, and so it was off to the East Coast. While there he met several Virginia and Maryland based Masons, and was invited to attend their lodges. Some of these lodges traced associations back to George Washington! Bernie still maintains dual membership with a Wheaton, Maryland lodge to this day.
The nation was at war, and President Roosevelt soon beckoned. Bernie was discharged from the military in January, 1946, and his bachelor days were numbered! He met Gladys, fell in love, and they were married later that year in September.
In the late 1980s, Bernie and Gladys were advised to return to the Midwest for health reasons. They returned here in June, 1998, and live at the Pacific Springs Village. They have never regretted returning to Bernie’s roots.
ROBERT CARRELL JORDAN, 1825-1899
January 18, 1825, Robert C. JordanBorn in Chillicothe, Ohio, on
received his early education in private schools (probably Quaker, as his
parents were Quakers). At that time there were no public schools for
this bright young man. While clerking in a hardware store, he took an
active part in local public affairs and held a number of important
positions in government and politics.
At that time, Freemasonry was not highly regarded in Ohio. Young
Robert, however, followed in his father’s footsteps and became active
in the organization. Like so many Ohioans of his generation, he went
west to earn his fortune, arriving in Omaha in 1857. Here, he helped to
establish a strong Masonic organization. On September 23, 1857, he
was a delegate to a meeting in Omaha to organize the Grand Lodge of
Nebraska, and was elected to become its first Grand Master, a post he
held for three years. His devotion to the principles of Masonry was
dubbed “outstanding.”
He served on the City Council in 1867, and was county surveyor from
1886 until his death in 1899. A trustee of Brownell Hall School, he
also helped found St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in 1869.
Following his death, the Masons struck a bronze medal in his honor.
In 1907, it was replaced by a gold medal to be awarded to and worn
by the oldest living Mason in Nebraska. Thereafter known as the
Gold Jordan Medal, men wearing it had their names inscribed on the
Mason’s Honor Roll. The first man to wear the medal was the 4
thgrand master, Robert W. Furnas, former governor of Nebraska, for
whom Furnas County was named.
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