
SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. - Western Nebraska Community College and the Masons of Nebraska
will celebrate the culmination of an $18.5 million renovation project with a ceremonial
cornerstone laying at the Main Building on the Scottsbluff Campus.
The ceremony is scheduled for 4 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 24, as part of the 2019 Homecoming
week. Masonic officers from across the state will take part in the ceremony. Community
members are invited, and encouraged to attend.
WNCC and the Robert W. Furnas Lodge #256 of Scottsbluff are coordinating the event.
Items are being assembled to include in the cornerstone that reflect today's culture
and the events surrounding the ceremony.
Cornerstone laying is a tradition as old as the Masonic Fraternity. The Grand Lodge
of Nebraska has offered the ceremony since 1869 and has performed it on more than
530 buildings in the state, including the state capitol building in Lincoln. The Lodge
performs this ceremony to celebrate the opening of buildings such as schools, hospitals,
churches, community centers, and court buildings. The ceremony is a symbol of pride
that local lodges and all Nebraska Masons take in their communities. The process is
still similar to the one used by President George Washington when he laid the cornerstone
of the country's capitol building in 1793.
Immediately following the cornerstone laying ceremony, WNCC will provide guided tours
of the new facilities from 4:30 - 5:00 p.m. Additionally, community members are encouraged
to attend WNCC's Business After Hours, co-sponsored by the Scottsbluff/Gering United
Chamber of Commerce, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. in the new Learning Commons, on the second
floor of the Main Building. The event allows WNCC students to connect with area business
professionals and leaders, and pursue job and internship opportunities.