Latest / Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries / Episode 29. Tom Hendrickson (Grand Master 2011-2012)
Transcript
- 0:37As part of our new series of getting to know our past Grandmasters, I have asked past Grandmaster Most Worshipful Tom Hendrickson to join us today.
- 0:46Good morning, Tom.
- 0:47Morning John.
- 0:48I got to know Tom, probably 8 to 10 years into my Masonic journey when he became Grandmaster.
- 0:55What year were you Grandmaster?
- 0:57Uh, 2011 2012.
- 0:59And who, who was it that appointed you to the line?
- 1:03Uh, Neil Nettermeyer initially, uh, uh, appointed me as, uh, Marshal.
- 1:07Okay.
- 1:08And then I, I continued from there.
- 1:11That's an impressive heritage that you have there.
- 1:13Lineage.
- 1:14It is.
- 1:14I interviewed Neil a couple of weeks ago and what a fascinating guy he is.
- 1:18Holy cow.
- 1:19Oh, absolutely.
- 1:20From one cop to another.
- 1:21You were a Minneapolis police officer?
- 1:23I was.
- 1:24And how long were you, uh, a cop?
- 1:27I had the privilege and the honor of being a public servant for 33 years.
- 1:33Wow.
- 1:34And when did you retire?
- 1:362014?
- 1:38one of the questions that I always ask is, you know, go back to your early days of masonry.
- 1:43What compelled you to become a mason in the first place?
- 1:46Well, my sister was a Job's daughter.
- 1:49And uh, All her, she had a whole bunch of cool friends, and I get invited to a lot of different events, and I, I said, uh, to a bunch of the guys, I said, geez, how can I get to be part of you guys from DeMolay?
- 2:07They said, well, you gotta ask.
- 2:11So DeMolay.
- 2:13And through that, you know, the World War II generation, those guys were very quiet about their Masonic membership.
- 2:21My neighbors, my family members were all Masons.
- 2:25And I was a young man, and the men in my life weren't going to ask me until I was 18.
- 2:32But the people that I grew up with and I had a great amount of respect and admiration for.
- 2:38And so I started off as a DMOA in Richfield.
- 2:42Okay.
- 2:43So what lodge were you raised in?
- 2:46I was raised in Century Lodge in Richfield.
- 2:49Okay., as I went through all the chairs, I had the, uh, the privilege of helping merge Century Richfield into Cataract.
- 3:00Into Cataract, okay.
- 3:02And we had to sell our building through Power of Condemnations.
- 3:05That was an event.
- 3:06And we moved, moved our lodge in.
- 3:09We rent space at, uh, Minnehaha.
- 3:12Yeah, weren't you guys right where the Best Buy headquarters is?
- 3:17our place was at 7615 Logan, which is part of the parking lot.
- 3:23But they paid a million dollars for that little parking lot.
- 3:27Oh wow.
- 3:28I got to sign the check.
- 3:30Did you really?
- 3:31I did.
- 3:32Yeah.
- 3:32Oh, that's cool.
- 3:33the last ones to, to settle on the whole thing, so.
- 3:35Okay.
- 3:36So you worked your way through the chairs became the master your lodge, and uh, were you involved in other Grand Lodge activities?
- 3:44Were you ever like a DR or any of that stuff?
- 3:48No, I was awarded a Hiram award and, uh, Neil Mattermeyer and, uh, Terry Tilton had come to it and recognized me as a leader.
- 3:59I was, you know, I had a young family.
- 4:02I was very, very active in my, in my lodge and, uh, I had a very demanding career.
- 4:10And so I never ventured off into the other, uh, Grand Lodge activities.
- 4:15So.
- 4:17People tend to fall into one of three categories.
- 4:19They tend to join Masonry because of brotherly love, relief, or truth.
- 4:26They end up, you know, falling for all three of them.
- 4:29But, initially when you were brought in, was it, which of those three was it that attracted you the most to the craft?
- 4:37Brotherly love and then truth.
- 4:40Introspection and learning to become a better man.
- 4:43And applying the, the principles to my life.
- 4:46That'll complement my, my, my faith.
- 4:50Well, I know as a guy who signs all the thank yous that, uh, that relief has become part of, tom's, uh, priorities as well.
- 4:57So, thank you for your support of Masonic Charities.
- 5:01it's a, it's a valuable institution.
- 5:03tell me about your years as Grand Master.
- 5:06I remember those years well.
- 5:07I, recall there was a story that you would often tell that if I, I mentioned the dog that might, uh, ring a bell with you.
- 5:15Do you recall that story?
- 5:16Yeah.
- 5:17Could you tell that story to the brothers that are new that never got the opportunity to hear about that?
- 5:22Uh, it was kind of a life-changing moment for you, it sounded like Yeah.
- 5:27I had the opportunity to save my own life.
- 5:29Uh, when I was in the Army, I had the privilege of being, uh, a narcotic patrol dog handler.
- 5:36My dog's name was Sam.
- 5:38And one of the, one of the, the basic principles of a, of a dog, uh, of a working dog is to the ability to track people.
- 5:47Yep.
- 5:50It was January and in Alaska and, uh, I had just gotten back from the kennel and someone said, there's a missing child.
- 6:00We need your help.
- 6:03And so the, the, the child was a challenged child with, with learning disabilities.
- 6:10And so I went and got my dog.
- 6:11We went to the home.
- 6:13The child had.
- 6:14Gotten off the bus, didn't make it the 40 feet to the house.
- 6:21So we get out there and we, uh, Sam and I get tracking and there's this large park with a, with a, a river that runs through it.
- 6:31And, um, it was barely cold and you don't get a lot of daylight, uh, in the wintertime in Alaska.
- 6:40And so we tracked, we tracked, uh, through the park and up to the river.
- 6:46And we're exploring out of the river and all of a sudden, you know, you're kind of crunching along, crunching along.
- 6:55And my dog turns his head and looks at me and I go through the ice.
- 7:00Oh, jeez.
- 7:02And, um, it was a scramble to, uh, you know, the shock and to be prepared for it.
- 7:10And wearing long underwear, wool pants, parka, gloves, the whole thing.
- 7:20And I was struggling.
- 7:22And, um...
- 7:24I was having great difficulty getting out of the, out of the hole because the water had splashed up and made the ice.
- 7:33Slippery.
- 7:33Very smooth.
- 7:34Yeah.
- 7:35And as I was clawing, Sam came up and he kept looking at me and I reached up and I grabbed his collar and he helped me get out of the hole.
- 7:44And, it's sub zero.
- 7:46I'm soaked.
- 7:47And the Army does a very good job at teaching you about survival.
- 7:51So we started running.
- 7:53And, uh, long story short, it was a long run back to the main road.
- 7:58And, uh, I was taken to the hospital.
- 8:01the child had, uh, actually had walked around, got into the park, went home, unbeknownst to everybody, and had fell asleep between the bed and the wall playing with his toys.
- 8:15So it was not a heroic act that I did, was saving my own life.
- 8:23It was a, it was a very good wake up call, is that every day is a gift.
- 8:27You bet.
- 8:29I always recall that story and, the politics that are going on in the world right now and, uh, the craziness that's happening in the Middle East, it does make you appreciate how, fortunate we are here and, moments like that really, Amplify the joy that you have, just with the mundane tasks of a day.
- 8:48That story actually helped when, uh, when I became grandmaster, you know, it's not being a grandmaster that where you do all your great work, you do your great work when you're going through the 10, 10 years to that job.
- 9:05And so grandmaster is a victory lap in the celebration.
- 9:08So I had started.
- 9:11Talking about his deputy grandmaster forming polar bear plunge teams across the state.
- 9:18Yeah, that's right.
- 9:19And we did.
- 9:21We worked with the Special Olympics cause I had run in a couple of the law enforcement torch runs Yep.
- 9:27With, uh, various police departments, uh, and raising money for, uh, the Special Olympics and the Grand Lodge of Minnesota.
- 9:36With the blessing of Minnesota Masonic charities raised$73,000.
- 9:41That's right.
- 9:43For Special Olympics and across the state.
- 9:45It was a great unifier, you know, and the Grandmaster gets to go to Duluth and jump with the guys in Duluth when he jumps with the guys in Rochester and Farmington and the big finale was in, Lake Harriet.
- 10:02And, um, it still was not as cold as that day in Alaska, but it was.
- 10:08It was great camaraderie, uh, Lodges had a, had a unifying charity, and they're still jumping to this day in Farmington and Rochester, so.
- 10:21one of the questions I'm going to ask you in a moment is, what are the greatest challenges of, of masonry at this point in time?
- 10:28when I look back on, those days, the unifying, element of having everybody get behind a particular charity it's a fun event and they're parts of a community event.
- 10:39I just don't feel like we're doing enough of that right now.
- 10:43No.
- 10:43And we, we have some real jewels in the crown.
- 10:47Uh, one is a Red Wing Lodge and down there, uh, they do a salsa.
- 10:53Yes, sir.
- 10:55A salsa tasting eating contest involving all, uh, 13, 14 different nonprofits, and it brings five, 600 people, uh, to the St.
- 11:06James Hotel.
- 11:08And with the, with the blessing of, of Minnesota Masonic Charities as a partner in that.
- 11:14Um, able to raise a lot of money for a lot of great community, uh, organizations that serve that town.
- 11:22People, people that the guys that live there, people that they know, their neighbors makes it, uh, just a direct impact.
- 11:31I've had the privilege of being a judge at Salsalicious and it's a huge event down there I mean it might be the largest charity event in Red Wing and uh, you know, I think of Evolith Lodge They've turned their their kitchen into like an industrial pasty kitchen And they're raising money for all kinds of different organizations by partnering with these organizations and then Masonic Charities gets to match their donations and it just It helps everybody, so it's wonderful.
- 12:05Having a common goal helps make your lodge relevant.
- 12:10And if your lodge isn't relevant, you're not going to be able to bring in good men to make them masons to become better.
- 12:17Well, let's talk about that.
- 12:19Um, you know, when you look at the modern lodge, you know, it's no secret that our membership Numbers, uh, have consistently been going down like every other fraternal organization or membership organization in the country.
- 12:35Um, what is it that we're doing that you think we ought to lean into?
- 12:40What is it that we're doing as Masons that we should be focusing more of our energies on?
- 12:45things and times change.
- 12:46You bet.
- 12:47But our principles don't.
- 12:49So what we need to do is introspection.
- 12:51We need to look at ourselves, see what, who we are, and see what things there are today that can continue to make us relevant while preserving our, uh, our Masonic traditions.
- 13:07And it just means that we need to do things a little bit different.
- 13:11We really need to spend time with our members, get to know them even deeper, uh, because it's brotherly love.
- 13:20Freemasonry isn't.
- 13:22At a GPS exact coordinate, and it's only practiced once a month pre masonry is a way of life.
- 13:30And if you know the people, you know, they're what what they want to do.
- 13:34They know their, you know, their talents.
- 13:37And then you, together, uh, create programs and activities that are relevant.
- 13:45one of the things that I love about Minnesota Masonic Charities is our Matching Grant Program.
- 13:51And I always say that the Matching Grant Program is our opportunity to reflect the interests of the brothers and OES sisters.
- 14:01the state, but particularly to what's important to them in their community.
- 14:07And it's not a one size fits all.
- 14:10And for Masonic Charities, we get the opportunity to attach our brand in some..
- 14:16Meaningful way to the brand of that lodge or that chapter.
- 14:21And I, I agree.
- 14:22I think that, you know, relevance and trying to find that thing that rings the bell with as many people, but most importantly, the people that you already have as members of your lodge.
- 14:34I've heard some crazy statistic that, and I don't know if this is statewide or if this was just two of a particular lodge, we have X number of people That, go through the first three degrees and something like 60 percent of them you never see again, which is just crazy if you ask me.
- 14:56And many of them will continue to pay their dues.
- 15:00A healthy lodge is an active lodge with active members that are engaged and, it's one thing to have members.
- 15:07Gross numbers, but it's another thing to have those numbers actually contributing and doing something to, to make the Lodge more relevant.
- 15:16That's the most important part about the Lodge is how you treat your new candidate.
- 15:22You know, Neil Neddermeyer said to all the, had all the masters rise and he said, look at your candidate.
- 15:30Now be really nice to him because maybe they'll come back.
- 15:34Yes.
- 15:35That sounds like me.
- 15:37It sums it up in a nutshell is that it's our contact, you know, it's, it's the phone call saying, hey, hey, Tom, I know you're really busy, but, uh, are you going to be able to make it to Lodge on Wednesday night?
- 15:49And it's sending out.
- 15:51Sending out an email, it's the newsletter and what's going on and making that personal contact.
- 15:58And, you know, for me, it was instrumental that the old guys, the old guys really took an interest in me because the other guys, they're busy with families and working and.
- 16:10They come in kind of disheveled and I'm here, you know, um, it's those guys that really was my hook to returning to lodge month after month.
- 16:22Just from personal experience, I look at my relationship with the Don Seversons and.
- 16:28Colonel Leadings and Chuck Dietz's of the world and I've said this many times and people that listen to this podcast probably get sick of me saying it but to me the most joyful part of the Masonic experience is the intergenerational exchange You know, it's an opportunity for us young guys to, to get those, to get to know those older guys and vice versa.
- 16:49I think that connecting with the younger guys fills their cup as much as it does the other way around.
- 16:57Um, so I agree with you.
- 16:59I think that.
- 17:01Those guys that are raising families, they've got a lot going on, but the connection between those, uh, those people that are on the front end and the back end of that equation really is what makes Masonry special.
- 17:13So another question that I always ask, uh, guys when I have them on here is, if you were to give me your Mount Rushmore of influencers in your Masonic life, who would they be?
- 17:24And I know that it's a difficult question because, you don't want to forget somebody.
- 17:30But, that's just fine.
- 17:31We know that you have lots of Masonic mentors, but, really, who are the ones that, uh, that you connected with?
- 17:37And they don't have to be famous ones, like the Neal Nettermeyers.
- 17:41You know, they can be sideline guys.
- 17:44Bob O'Donnell from, um, from Century Lodge.
- 17:48Bob O'Donnell was with Northwest airlines and we, Ray France, and we had a whole bunch of guys that were from, from Northwest airlines.
- 17:58They were all in a mechanic shop and, uh, they were the ones that took the time, uh, And explain things and help me, uh, learn my ritual as I'm not a great ritualist by any means.
- 18:14Uh, but help me learn the ritual.
- 18:17And, uh, oh, Gary Bill.
- 18:21Oh, gosh.
- 18:21You know.
- 18:22And, uh.
- 18:23Gem of a guy.
- 18:25Great powerhouses of Masonic wealth and, uh, information and caring and brother to brother.
- 18:34Neil Neddermeyer had a big personality and I saw how Using your personality, uh, which is one of the traits of a good leader, using your personality and influence to get people to do things and to motivate, to inspire, and the guy at the Delta Ticket office in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 18:56I was at a law enforcement conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
- 19:00I had, I had received an award.
- 19:04And I had to get home for an emergency, and they canceled my flight.
- 19:11And I walked up there, and I showed them my ticket.
- 19:15I asked, you know, what can I do?
- 19:18And he says, I see you're a traveling man, you come from the east.
- 19:22And I said, yeah, I'm from Minnesota.
- 19:24Oh, that's funny.
- 19:26And he says, your ring, nice ring.
- 19:30And I went, yes, I'm Tom Hendrickson, blah, blah, blah.
- 19:32And he goes, what's the problem, Tom?
- 19:33And I explained to him.
- 19:35And he says, he looks over his shoulder and tells, tells the clerk next to me, next to him that he was going to take a break.
- 19:43And so he worked on his computer.
- 19:46I was on Delta.
- 19:48And he walks me over to the United checkout.
- 19:51And he goes, they'll give you a ticket at United.
- 19:54And he got me on the plane.
- 19:56And he took, that got me home.
- 19:59Wow.
- 20:00I don't know how he did it, and he did it because I was a Mason.
- 20:05He was one of my heroes of, you know, taking the time to help, to taking a time of interest.
- 20:11I just have to tell you, I had a similar situation.
- 20:14I was down in, the Virgin Islands.
- 20:18And my family and I were taking a a ferry from St.
- 20:24Thomas to St.
- 20:25John's.
- 20:26Okay.
- 20:26And on that ferry there was this group of guys, native, Virgin Islanders if that's what you call them.
- 20:33And I noticed several of them, uh, had, uh, stuff on that had the square and compass.
- 20:40So I just went over and, made a comment that kind of got a glance at me and He threw me the grip and I threw it back at him.
- 20:48And these guys invited our family to go, they're having a a lodge picnic over on St.
- 20:54John's Island and they treated us like royalty.
- 20:58And what was really cool is one of the guys was a jeweler and he said to me, I'd love for you to come to my jewelry store.
- 21:09I'll hook you up, at below cost.
- 21:12there's a part of you, if you hear that from somebody...
- 21:15Generally speaking, you might be skeptical, but I just knew that this guy was a legit guy and I, we went and we bought my wife some, uh, chocolate diamond earrings and a chocolate diamond ring and it was quite an investment, but I had such trust in this guy.
- 21:33But, uh, in the spirit of trust but verify, I took him to my friend at, uh, Moeller Jewelers, and I said, Bobby, is this stuff, is this stuff good?
- 21:41And he looked at it and he goes, man, this is beautiful stuff.
- 21:43Where'd you get it?
- 21:44And I explained and he was upset that I didn't buy it from him, but I said, I said, this is what I paid for it.
- 21:50And he's like, that was a hell of a deal.
- 21:52So it's just, there is, there is that connection there that, It's hard to describe, but I think that that's an example of how you just have a trust for the people that have the same values that you do.
- 22:07Um, you know, we talked earlier about your blog.
- 22:11Can you talk a little bit about what inspired you to start your blog and where people can find it?
- 22:19Well, my blog is called All Things Masonic at blogspot.
- 22:24com.
- 22:27And in 2009, I, I decided that, uh, well, first of all, I believe that Freemasonry is a way of life.
- 22:35And every day I think about it.
- 22:37How can I help it?
- 22:39How can I improve myself?
- 22:40And so, I was always looking for information.
- 22:44It was like a three to five minute read.
- 22:47And, um, because I had an active career, active in Freemasonry, and I didn't have a lot of time to sit and peruse, you know, some of the great works.
- 23:00So, initially I wanted to write a Masonic Almanac, something like that.
- 23:05The old Farmer's Almanac?
- 23:08For Freemasons, a place to find articles, information, inspiration for 365 days.
- 23:16Well, you know, writing, having to write articles and research, I didn't have that kind of time.
- 23:24Right, that is a commitment.
- 23:26So, blogs were just becoming pretty popular, so I thought...
- 23:31I could, I could do that.
- 23:34So I initially started off to be, you know, a short read, something you can read at work, something you can read after you put the kids to bed.
- 23:42And every article is related to Freemasonry.
- 23:47And probably, to describe it, it's an assortment, a medley, a patchwork of pieces that cover the wide range of Freemasonry in all the appended bodies.
- 24:00Like, uh, being in the Grand Lodge and Grand Master, traveling across the state and the nation.
- 24:07Uh, and I still do.
- 24:09Uh, so getting the content is easy.
- 24:12And, uh, like in 2009, I covered the Charities Gala.
- 24:16Yep.
- 24:17And all of the Minnesota Masonic Scholarships and of course our Masonic Hospital Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota.
- 24:29And, and You know, tell people about those great, great things that go on.
- 24:35I just posted from a recent gala yesterday because my bicycle riding has been interfering with my, uh, riding.
- 24:43Yeah, you were on a trip, weren't you?
- 24:46I went to Bemidji and I, I rode 72 miles in one day on the Paul Bunyan Trail.
- 24:51Oh boy.
- 24:53So.
- 24:54That'll, that'll get you where it counts.
- 24:57So I, I, I've written about 350 articles.
- 25:02And I always try to do something relevant and, uh, uh, on a wide range of subjects, uh, different events.
- 25:11I was just in Cannon Falls.
- 25:13And when I go to lodges, I try to take pictures and tell the story with photos as well.
- 25:20But I also always want to point out the quality of leadership that these lodges are demonstrating to inspire other people and other lodges to do more things like it.
- 25:34Uh, Cannon Falls said, uh, hey, bye.
- 25:37And the barbecue and one week before they returned to, uh, lodge after being dark for the summer, they had like 40 people, you know, so, and then they had 36 people for their first meeting.
- 25:56So it, you know, getting people back after COVID has been a tough path.
- 26:00You bet it has.
- 26:02For our lives, other Grand Lodges as well.
- 26:05Yeah, and I think, I don't think that's exclusive to Masonry.
- 26:08I think there are just so many organizations that COVID created just this whole, you know, I hate when people say new normal, but it really is what it is.
- 26:18It has.
- 26:18I think people have become lazy.
- 26:21And when Netflix is your biggest competitor.
- 26:26Yeah.
- 26:27Good.
- 26:28God help us.
- 26:31So, yeah.
- 26:33That's wonderful.
- 26:34When I go to lodges, I always try to show the leadership or the inspiration that that's going on.
- 26:40You know, I, um, I've written a number of articles that have appeared in, in the National, uh, Knights Templar Magazine, the Royal Arch Magazine, and they're being used.
- 26:51A lot of these pieces are being used for Lots of education across the United States and world.
- 26:58That is very cool.
- 27:00Yeah, there's, there are, there are, uh, quite a few Masonic scholars right here in the great state of Minnesota and, you know, quite a few of them have served, uh, as Grand Master.
- 27:11And, uh, I just hope that the, the, the young Masons that are out there, uh, get the opportunity to get to know you guys better.
- 27:19And, and I'm hoping that this podcast is one way for people to, to, to understand their Masonic heritage and the people that came before them and all the work that's been done.
- 27:30And I, uh, Tom, am grateful for, you know, your...
- 27:34interest in specifically Masonic Charities because, you know, it's, it's so great to see past grandmasters, you know, coming back and, you know, participating and contributing and being cheerleaders.
- 27:47And the fact that you addressed, you know, the Masonic Charities Gala in your, in your blog, it's just another way for people to learn more about the impact that we as Masons are having on, you know, not just the state of Minnesota, but in our local communities, but You know, some of the stuff that we're doing is really impacting the world.
- 28:08When you look at the, the, the research that's being done at the Masonic Cancer Center, the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, you know, I, I have a particular interest right now in our scholarships program, specifically our Selfless Scholar program, and I've always will take an opportunity to promote that because I feel like of all the scholarships we do, that one is the most Masonic.
- 28:33You know, it doesn't require you to be a 4.
- 28:350 with a 35 ACT.
- 28:39If you're a person who meets others on the level and make others feel like they matter and are selfless enough to take the time to recognize those other people in your life, uh, that just feels so Masonic to me.
- 28:54And, uh, it's been a real fun time presenting those scholarships throughout the state of Minnesota.
- 29:03And the Selfless Scholar Program is a wonderful way to reward and inspire others to be a good person and to do good things.
- 29:13And right now in this world, what work do we need?
- 29:16Oh boy.
- 29:17At this time.
- 29:18Ain't that the truth.
- 29:20Anyways, on that note, Tom, I will let you go.
- 29:23Most Worshipful, I appreciate your time and tell, give us the name of your blog one more time.
- 29:29The name of my blog is All Things Masonic at Blogspot.
- 29:34At Blogspot.
- 29:35Alright, well, people listening, check that out, and again, thank you Tom, and look forward to seeing you again soon.
- 29:43Thank you, John.
- 29:44Alright.