Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
OXUS GROTTO M.O.V.P.E.R.
OXUS GROTTO M.O.V.P.E.R. In 1920 twenty-five Dubuque members of the Masonic Lodge rode to Rockford, Illinois with Harker Brentnal SPENSLEY, Sr. and became members of Koom Grotto. The returning Masons soon remitted their membership in the Illinois organization and began a Grotto for Dubuque.
The first meeting of Oxus Grotto was held in the office of Prophet Spensley on March 3, 1920. Members of the Koom Grotto came to Dubuque on April 29, 1920 to install the officers of Oxus Grotto. The new organization soon offered a band, fife and drum corps, a Patrol, and a degree team. In the succeeding year, the Band and Patrol Team won trophies in competitive events. A periodical "The Black Fez" was published beginning in 1923 carrying Masonic news of local and international importance.