Why did you become a Freemason?

Message-ID: <000201c2b057$7283d180$6f57f0d8@your318ruqz03z>
From: "Bill Dilbeck" <bdilbeck@shawneelink.net>
To: <masonry-ask@mit.edu>
Subject: Why I Joined Freemasonry
Date: Mon, 30 Dec 2002 16:29:34 -0600

Dear Brother,

Sitting here exploring your site I find that it is great. In order to answer your question, why did I become a Mason, I will have to journey back in years to a small town in Indiana, to the early 30's.

Now being 74 years young, this would make me about 7 or eight years old. The town's name was Ft. Branch, and their lodge no is 696.

My first encounter with mason was way back them, as in our town, there was a two story brick home. Located on one corner of this home was a very large Christmas Tree. Each year there was a long line of children waiting in line to visit Santa Claus and get a treat, consisting of fruit and candy. I can recall sometimes this was the only thing that I got for Christmas, because this was during some very hard times.

My love for masons grew from that point forward, as I thought this is a great group of people that would give me something for Christmas. I always had in the back of my mind I want to be a part of this kind of organization some day.

Then when I was about 35 years young the place where I worked had a bunch of Masons and I got real interested in joining then, but something stuck in my mind that I hadn't noticed before, and a lot of the guys were joining because the main boss was one. I then became disinterested until about 1987 when I ask another Mason, from Hermitage lodge 356, how do I become a mason, and he pick up on it and that was about 14 years ago.

I went through all the chairs, I liked the Sr. Deacon best of all. I have enjoyed every minute of it and those Masons back at the Ft Branch Lodge had the most part in me becoming a Masion.

MAY THE GOOD LORD BLESS AND KEEP YOU

BILL & RUBY