Perry Lodge Journal

What made you a Mason? Where were you first prepared to be made a Mason? How were you prepared? Probably like most of us, if not all of us, these questions made no sense to me as a new EA. Starting out, they just seemed like random questions that were a part of an ancient tradition. They had no real meaning to me. Now, they actually make sense to me and, in various ways, have begun to form the way I think about Masonry and what it teaches me. Each of these questions are answered for the candidate, but in reality, these are questions that all of us should think about seriously. It was the moment I took my obligation that I "became a Mason"; but was it? That's what I thought at least when I became an EA. I repeated some words and was introduced to my brethren. Wasn't that what  made  me a Mason? It wasn't until quite a bit later that I realized the second question comes before the first chronologically.  Where was I first prepared?  This gave the first question a wh

My masonic story starts Back in the 90s. I was recently divorced and looking for a new direction in life. I was bar tending at a local bar in Youngstown and saw a Masonic ring on a friend’s finger. I thought, what a cool ring! I had seen Masonic emblems on cars before and inquired what they were for. He told me he could not give me details but if he ever saw a person on the side of the road that had an emblem on his car, that he would stop and render aid. I said like AAA huh! He laughed and said “Yeah kinda”. I asked him what it took to become a Mason to which he replied, “You have already taken the first step”. I had no idea what that meant. I was introduced to yet another Mason which was also a regular at the bar and received a petition which they both had signed. It was a petition for Argus Lodge #545. I knew another Brother from Argus and asked him about things, thinking that since we worked together once and went to school together that he would surely tell me. All he said was to