PERRYSBURG – The Zenobia shriners are preparing to work for future generations with a new temple in the
township.
A crowd of more than 200 shriners – setting off their blazers and slacks with the signature red fez and
black tassel – and their supporters attended a cornerstone-laying ceremony Sunday at the location of
Zenobia Shrine’s new temple site, near Ohio 795 at 8048 Broadstone Blvd. in the Cedar Business Park. The
traditional rites, performed by visiting officers from the Ohio Grand Lodge, ready the structure to
enhance services for existing members and to appeal to new members amidst what Masonic officials
identify as a period of overall declining participation in fraternal organizations.
The Grand Lodge led the audience, which included ambassadors from temples as far away as Ontario, through
tests of the cornerstone with various symbolic implements of the building trade. After applying the
square, the level and the plumb, the new temple was found to be "well-formed, trusty and
true." Showers of corn, wine and oil were then poured onto the stone as emblems of plenty, joy and
peace.
Documents from the current year and materials from Zenobia’s current building will be installed into the
new temple with the cornerstone.
"The generations yet to come will gaze with pride at this structure," said Charles Murphy,
Grand Master of Ohio Masons and a township resident.
The Zenobia Temple, which serves 16 counties in Northwest Ohio, has scheduled an open house at the new
6,000-square-foot building for Dec. 20, and construction should wrap in November. The temple moved from
its former building on Madison Avenue in Toledo about two years ago and has been using a rental space in
Toledo on Glendale Avenue while the new structure is being built.
Jerry Argabrite, Zenobia Temple president, said in an interview last week that the temple decided to move
into a smaller building at a new location because it would better suit the organization’s needs. He said
membership peaked many years ago and it was decided that the temple’s now 2,100 members could use less
space more efficiently.
Additionally, the former temple was landlocked by the city so there was little room for outdoor
recreational activities.
He said the new building, which can be expanded as membership grows, provides controls for zoned heating,
lower ceilings, options to divide off areas and more insulation. Over time, he said, the temple intends
to apply for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification.
Argabrite said the organization must continue to serve current members while appealing to a new
generation of members, whose lifestyles have changed since the height of Masonic popularity in the 60s.

"The family time together is certainly very critical when you’re asking people to come to things.
You need to be able to provide for the whole family in those activities, so that gave us the
possibility," he said, referring to the five acres where the new temple is being constructed.
Beyond the fraternal programming, he said, the shriners will also stress their organization’s more
meaningful philanthropic endeavors and its community service.
The Shriners Hospitals for Children provide special pediatric care for children under 18 with orthopaedic
conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate at 22 hospitals in North America.
Argabrite, who also serves on the Cincinnati Burn Hospital board, said funding for the hospitals and for
the fraternal system remains separate. Still, in addition to declining membership, the shriners have
seen some financial stress on its philanthropic arm.
Every day, the shriners run their 22 hospitals on a 24-hour basis. It costs about $1 billion a year to
run them, he said.
"We have to restructure," he said. "We’re spending more money than we’re taking in. We can
restructure and still treat all the kids that come through the door that we need to treat."
He said that could mean some of the hospitals will no longer be full-service hospitals, although the
system will still serve the same number of patients.
"We’re not brick and mortar," he said. "It’s our service. It’s our service. It’s what
we’re doing."
Argabrite said this stress seemed to be endemic of all charities at the moment.
During the past three or four years, he said, the organization hired about 10 people to focus solely on
fundraising for the first time.
"We’ll meet that challenge, but it’s a big one," he said.
After Sunday’s ceremony, Murphy acknowledged that membership has been on a steady decline since the
1960s. However, he said membership has seen a recent uptick. Whether that is related to the economy, the
film "National Treasure" or something else is unknown, he said.
"It’s a great time for Freemasonry, in general," Murphy said.
Zenobia Shrine’s new temple site. (Photo: J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune)