Executive Officer History
Prepared by "Dad" Miles Flamme-Wiese
Jesse Alden West of Des Moines 1921 – 1925
He is mentioned in the book Hi, Dad! as one of six men elected to serve as Grand Council members at the first Grand Council meeting on March 7th and 8th, 1921. However, he was not present at the meeting [1].
Jesse Alden West was born in Greenfield, Iowa on July 26th, 1872. He graduated from Greenfield High School in 1889 and began working in the local pharmacy, becoming a registered pharmacist in 1894. In 1900, he graduated from the Northwestern University Dental School and practiced in Creston and Des Moines. Dr. West served as secretary of the Iowa State Board of Dental Examiners for nine years and secretary of the National Board for five years. In 1922, he moved to Sioux City and established a funeral home.
Jesse West was a member and Worshipful Master of Crusade Lodge #386 A.F. & A.M. of Greenfield, a member and Worshipful Master of Capital Lodge #110 A.F. & A.M. of Des Moines, a member of Al Gabil Chapter #121 Royal Arch Masons of Creston, a member of Alpha Council #1 Royal and Select Masters of Des Moines, a member of Bethany Commandery #29 Knights Templar of Creston, a 33ÌŠ member of Des Moines Consistory #3 Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and a member of Za-Ga-Zig Shrine Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Noble Shrine of Des Moines. He held District Lecturer Certificate #11 in the Grand Lodge of Iowa and he served the Grand Lodge of Iowa as Deputy Grand Master in 1912, Grand Senior Warden in 1915, and Grand Master in 1920.
Jesse West passed away on May 3, 1935 due to a cerebral hemorrhage that he suffered while assisting with the degrees of Cobia Lodge #631 A.F. & A.M. in Council Bluffs [2, 3, 4].
Hubert Utterback of Des Moines 1925 -1940
Hubert Utterback was born on June 28th, 1880 on a farm near Hayesville, Iowa. He attended the local rural schools and received a degree from Hedrick Normal and Commercial College in Hedrick, Iowa. In 1908 he graduated from the Drake University Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1906. After graduation he began practicing law in the Des Moines area and was an instructor of law at Drake University from 1908 to 1935 and a medical law lecturer at Still College (now Des Moines University) in Des Moines from 1911 to 1933.
Hubert Utterback served as a judge of the Des Moines Police Court from 1912 to 1914 and as judge of the ninth Iowa judicial district from 1915 to 1927. He also served as an associate justice of the Iowa Supreme Court from December 5th, 1932 to April 16th, 1933. In addition, he was chairman of the state parole board from 1937 to 1940.
In 1934, he was elected to represent Iowa’s sixth congressional district in the United States House of Representatives for the 74th Congress. In 1936 he was the democratic candidate for the United States Senate but was not elected to the office.
Judge Utterback was a member and Worshipful Master of Adelphic Lodge #509 A.F. & A.M. of Des Moines.
He passed away on May 12th, 1942 due to complications from a stroke he suffered in 1938 [5, 6, 7].
Frank Joseph Iten of Clinton 1940 – 1941
Frank Joseph Iten was born on November 2nd, 1873 in Rock Island, Illinois. He completed grammar schooling in Davenport, Iowa. After finishing school, he assisted his father and brothers in the baking industry in Davenport. Then, in 1893, the Iten family moved to Clinton and Frank, his father Louis, and two brothers Louis and John established the L. Iten & Sons baking company, which became the Iten Biscuit Company in 1905. From 1906 to 1928 the Iten Biscuit Company operated facilities in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Memphis, Tennessee, and Omaha, Nebraska. In 1928 the Iten Biscuit Company merged with the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco), which allowed Frank to pursue other business interests and charitable work.
During World War I he served as the chairman of the Clinton County Chapter of the American Red Cross. Also, he was a director of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, the first president of the Clinton Boy Scouts of America, and a member and president of the Clinton County Country Club.
In association with his brother Louis, they were some of the first citizen of Clinton to provide property and equipment for schools, recreation areas, and the Jane Lamb hospital. They provided a recreation field for the Hawthorne School, playgrounds for the Franklin School, the Washington Junior High School, and the Jefferson School, the Iten Stadium and practice field for the Clinton High School. The family was a benefactor for the Jane Lamb hospital and they frequently visited the children’s ward and provided headsets for the patient rooms, so that patients could listen to radio broadcasts.
Potentially, the most famous activity that Mr. Iten was known for was his annual Christmas lights display that began in 1927 and ended in 1941 due to restrictions caused by World War II. The display gained nation-wide and world-wide interest due to the wonderful visual display of fairy-tale characters and figures depicting the birth and life of Jesus Christ.
Frank Iten was a member and Worshipful Master of Western Star Lodge #100 A.F. & A.M., a member of Delphic Chapter Knights Rose Croix, a 33ÌŠ member of DeMolay Consistory #1 Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, a member of Keystone Chapter #32 Royal Arch Masons, a member of Delta Council #23 Royal and Select Masters, a member of Holy Cross Commandery #10 Knights Templar, a member of Kaaba Shrine Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Noble Shrine of Davenport, and was an honorary member of The Supreme Council of Inspectors General of the Scottish Rite for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States.
He passed away on December 7th, 1946 in Clinton, Iowa at the Jane Lamb hospital [8].
Clarence Silas Armintrout of Des Moines 1941 – 1974
Clarence Silas Armintrout was born in Centerville, Iowa in 1898. He served in the Thirteenth Provisional Division of the Federal National Guard as part of the Iowa National Guard during World War I, acting as a trainer for new troops at Camp Cody in Deming, New Mexico. After completing his tour of duty, he moved to Des Moines and started working for the Rock Island Line Railroad in the engineering department as a maintenance clerk.
He was a member of Gnemeth Lodge #577 A.F. & A.M., a member Za-Ga-Zig Shrine Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Noble Shrine, a member of Des Moines Consistory #3 Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and a member of the York Rite orders in Des Moines.
During his Executive Officer term, the DeMolay members nicknamed him, “Army” and dedicated the 1964 State Conclave in his honor. He retired as Executive Officer in 1974 due to a heart condition.
Clarence Armintrout passed away on April 24th, 1983 due to the heart condition that ended his Executive officer term [9, 10, 11, 12].
Ralph N. Smith of Des Moines 1974 -1975
Ralph N. Smith was born on February 7th, 1912 in Denison, Iowa, the son of Rex B. Smith, from Sigourney, Iowa and Metta Smith Nielsen, from Denison. The family moved to Des Moines in 1919. After school, he founded the Ralph N. Smith, Incorporated flooring company and served as president throughout his life.
Ralph was the first Executive Officer of Iowa DeMolay who was also a Senior DeMolay. He was a member of Alverson Chapter in Des Moines where he served as Master Councilor. Both his son, Terry R. Smith, and his grandson, Kevin R. Smith, were also members of Alverson Chapter. Ralph was awarded the Active Legion of Honor in 1946 and served on the Advisory Board of Alverson Chapter for many years.
He was a member and Past Master of Moingona Lodge #633 A.F. & A.M., a 33° member of Des Moines Consistory #3 Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, an active member of the Des Moines York Rite bodies, a member of Za-Ga-Zig Shrine Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Noble Shrine, and a member and Past Sovereign of the St. Bartholomew Conclave of the Red Cross of Constantine.
Ralph N. Smith passed away on May 28th, 1975 due to a heart attack [13, 14].
Myles Robert Beitz of Muscatine 1975 - 1987
Myles Robert Beitz was born on April 22nd, 1922 in Muscatine, Iowa. He served in the United States military during World War II in China and Japan. When he returned from military service he became a vocational agriculture teacher at Muscatine High School. In addition to teaching, he ran a plant nursey, was an owner and operator at BiState Concrete Products, The Video Factory, and Downtown Laundromat, and was an Ag-Loan Officer at First National Bank.
He was a member of numerous Masonic organizations in Muscatine and served as an advisor for G. A. Reimcke Chapter Order of DeMolay for many years.
Myles Robert Beitz passed away on March 24th, 2004 [15, 16].
Dennis Huston of Dubuque 1987 – 1994
Bruce Besh of Cedar Falls 1994 – 1997
Lee Wilkinson of Cedar Rapids 1997 – 1999
Shane Harshbarger of Des Moines 1999 – 2005
Matthew Buckley of Davenport 2005 – 2007
William K. Paisley of Council Bluffs 2007 – 2014
Matthew Buckley of Davenport 2014 – 2019
Bradley Reichardt of Pleasant Hill 2019 - 2023