WHY I BECAME A MASON
Stewart M. L. Pollard is a member of Ralph J. Pollard Lodge # 217
Orrington Maine and served the Masonic Service Association as its Executive
Secretary from 1977-87. Stew shares many stories of "why" men have become
Masons. MSA would encourage Lodges to use this STB as a program and ask the
Brothers present to tell their story too!! Editor
Prior to his initiation, a candidate is asked pertinent questions relative to
his motivation in seeking the privileges of Masonry and is asked to give
assurances that his decision was not influenced by mercenary motives. However,
he is not asked to be specific as to what actually influenced him to become a
Mason. It is not until we listen to the ritualistic exchange between the
Worshipful Master and the Senior Warden that we hear the question "what induced
you to become a Master Mason?" The ritual answer to that question is familiar to
all of us.
The Master of a Virginia Lodge a few years ago received word just as he was
about to Open his lodge that his guest speaker for the evening had been rushed
to the hospital moments before. Undaunted, he opened the lodge, conducted the
necessary business, and then announced the alternative program for the evening.
"What induced YOU to become a Mason?" he asked. After allowing the brethren to
think about it for a few minutes, he called upon several brethren to give their
answers. It seems that each of us have vivid memories of when, where and why we
made the decision to apply for membership in the world's largest and oldest
fraternal organization.
This paper was inspired by the answers given on that night. Since then, all
over the country, that question has been posed to many brethren. The responses
have been fascinating, inspiring and interesting. Basically, the responses fall
into several general categories:
Example set by family and friends Urging of wives, mothers or sweethearts
DeMolay activities Impressive Masonic funerals Masonic Charities Curiosity
Surprisingly, the number who indicated that they joined just so they could
get into one of the appendant bodies, or who acknowledged that they were ASKED
to join, were so few that it appears not to be a major factor. One Grand Master
confided that when he proposed to his wife, one of the stipulations she made
before she would agree to marry him was that he would have to petition a Masonic
Lodge. (She was active in Job's Daughters.)
R.W. Brother "Jack" Kelly, Past Grand Master of Texas, recalls that when he
was a small boy in Indiana he was recuperating from pneumonia at the time that
his grandfather died. He remembers being wide-eyed when the house seemed to be
filled with men wearing funny hats with white feathers on them and carrying
swords. He was told that they were Knights Templar and were there to conduct
Grandpa's funeral. He also has fond memories of the kindnesses and concern the
men had for him. When it was explained that his grandfather had been the
Commander of the Knights Templar and the men were there because of their love of
his grandfather it made a great and lasting impression upon him. One of his most
cherished possessions is the engraved Templar sword which had been his
grandfather's. He claims that that early exposure to Masonic brotherhood was a
great influence on his desire to become a Mason. A surprising number of brethren
informed me that they were Masons as a result of the urging of their children,
who were anxious to join one of the youth groups, and many of them expressed how
surprised they were when they learned that other close family members or
business associates were sitting on the sidelines when they were raised. Had
they known that these family members or friends were members of the fraternity
they would have petitioned sooner. This points up the fact that we tend to carry
Masonic "secrecy" too far when we fail to talk about our Masonic activities to
our friends and family.
A young Junior Warden of a Wyoming Lodge, approached me at a Grand Lodge of
Wyoming Annual Communication and announced that he was a Master Mason as a
result of an M.S.A. Short Talk Bulletin. When asked to explain, he said that he
had come home from work one day and his father passed him a copy of the Short
Talk Bulletin, suggesting that he read it. That evening he did read the bulletin
and the following morning asked his father for a petition. As a matter of
curiosity, I asked him if he recalled the title of that Short Talk Bulletin. It
turned out that it was a bulletin I had written several years before, entitled,
"Dear Son". I hope his father knows how proud I am to have assisted in being an
influence.
A District Inspector in the Grand Lodge of Maryland is quick to explain that
he was influenced to become a Mason by the example set by Past Grand Master
William Jacobs of the District of Columbia, who many years before had been the
Dad Advisor of his DeMolay Chapter. "I wanted to be just like Dad Jacobs, who so
willingly gave of himself to every boy in the Chapter. If Dad Jacobs was a
Mason, then I wanted to be one! What an example he was to us!"
Ed Rose, former Director of the Veterans Administration Voluntary Services
Division, tells his fascinating story related by his Grandmother when he was
growing up. It seems that she and his grandfather had gone to Arkansas from
their home in Virginia for a vacation. While there, his grandfather became
gravely ill and passed away. His grandmother was at wits end. She wanted to take
the body back to Virginia for burial in the family plot, but she had no funds
until she could get back. Fortunately, the Coroner learned that her husband was
a Mason, and contacted the local Arkansas lodge. Almost immediately, members of
the lodge were there to comfort and console her and to offer assistance. Within
a few hours, they had made arrangements for the body to be shipped to Virginia
by train and she was provided with a train ticket to accompany the body. Members
of that lodge also traveled with her until they were met by members of her
husband's lodge. She quickly went to the bank and withdrew funds so she could
repay them, but those who had accompanied her could not be located. She told
that story over and over again to her grandchildren, emphasizing that that was
the kind of men they should try to be. Ed likes to tell that he made the
decision to be a Mason when he was eight years old. Isn't it great to know that
there are men of that stature in our government!
Ill. Bro. Joseph R. ("Jose"') Gilbert, 33ø, a Pennsylvania Mason living in
New Jersey gave this reply when asked what had induced him to become a Mason.
"Without the 'builtin ' advantage of having my Dad or brother as members of the
Craft, I made my decision to petition a lodge for membership only after much
thought and some years of decision. I did my best to find things I did not like
about Freemasonry and found that I was wasting my time; there was no such thing!
Every man I saw with that pin on, every man I called a dear friend who wore the
Square and Compasses, every man I met in business, at church, socially . . . all
were of a purpose, a principle, a way of life . . . that I felt a kinship with.
I felt quite sure, even before I submitted my petition, that the men I assumed
to be Masons as I went through life, were an accurate representation of what I
would find if I were fortunate enough to be accepted. That was over forty years
ago and I have no reason to think otherwise since that night I was raised. I
thank God for that!"
In the January 1989 issue of The Virginia Masonic Herald, there was an open
letter from a newly raised brother (Bro. Michael Stairs of Willis V. Fentress
Lodge #296 Virginia Beach, VA.) As his letter so graphically explains his
motivations in joining the fraternity, generous extracts from his letter follow:
* * *
"Several years ago I met and married a young woman who would turn my life
around in ways neither she nor I expected. You see she is the daughter of a
Master Mason. I knew very little about Freemasonry then, but the more I became
acquainted with her father the better my perception of Freemasonry became. My
respect for this man has grown to immense proportions. He is a good man, an
honest man, a man of virtue and integrity, a spiritual man; a man that will go
out of his way to do what he feels in his heart is right; a man that can't be
swayed by the evils of the world and a man of immeasurable character and pride.
The more I got to know this man the more I began to think to myself that there
must be something to Freemasonry.
Several years after I married, I approached my father-in-law and asked him
how I could become a Mason . He said, "All you have to do is ask." I did and
soon thereafter, I was initiated into the mysteries of Freemasonry. This was the
first step towards what have been some of the richest, greatest, and most
profound experiences of my life."
* * *
To avoid him any embarrassment, we won 't identify the brother who confided
that his original motivation to join the Craft was because he thought it would
be "good for business." He had noticed that a number of men who were in the same
line of work were Masons, and that maybe he could gain some advantage if he were
to become one. As he progressed through the degrees he realized how wrong he had
been. One of his business competitors served as his mentor as he learned his
catechisms and became one of his closest friends. On the night that he was
raised he was amazed to find his father, his father-in-law and two of his uncles
had flown in just to be with him on that "special milestone" in his life. It was
then that he fully realized how wrong his initial motivation had been.
Think about it! What induced YOU to petition for the degrees? Think about the
Masons who have influenced your life, and your way of thinking.
We thought that the poem "I See You've Traveled Some" (on page 8) would be a
nice way to end this STB. We do not know the author but the poem is in our file
here at M.S.A . Editor
I SEE YOU'VE TRAVELED SOME
Wherever you may chance to be-Wherever you may roam Far away in foreign
lands, Or just at Home, Sweet Home; It always gives you pleasure. It makes your
heart strings hum Just to hear the words of cheer-"I see you've traveled some."
When you get the brother's greeting, And he takes you by the hand, It thrills
you with a feeling That you cannot understand. You feel that bond of brotherhood
That tie that's sure to come When you hear him say in a friendly way, "I see
you've traveled some."
And if you are a stranger In strange lands all alone, If fate has left you
stranded-Dead broke and far from home, It thrills you makes you dumb, When he
says, with a grip of fellowship, "I see you've traveled some."
And when your final summons comes, To take a last long trip, Adorned with
Lambskin Apron White And gems of fellowship; The tiler at the Golden Gate, With
square and rule and plumb Will size up your pin, and say, "Walk in-I see you've
traveled some."
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