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#MasonicRelief has taken many forms over the years—but few stories are as moving as that of Walter Wilcox. In 1878, 4-year-old Walter was orphaned by a yellow fever epidemic in #Louisiana. Among his late mother’s belongings, funeral workers found a watch engraved with a Masonic emblem. That small symbol changed the course of his life. A petition reached the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, which arranged for Walter’s train ride to Oakland, where his grandmother lived. Around his neck hung a note that read: “The bearer of this is Walter Wilcox, who has been orphaned by the epidemic... I bespeak for him... every possible attention, looking to his comfort and protection.” California Masons met him at the station—among them Grand Master Nathaniel G. Curtis—and made Walter a ward of the fraternity. When his grandmother passed away years later, Grand Treasurer Nathan Spaulding adopted him and raised him as family. In 1895, Wilcox joined the fraternity that had once saved him, becoming a Master Mason at Oakland Lodge No. 188. His story is a timeless reminder of the compassion, brotherhood, and enduring legacy of Masonic relief. #MasonsofCA #MasonicRelief #Brotherhood #Freemasonry #MasonicHistory #ThrowbackThursday #TBT (fb)