Latest / Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries / Episode 28. Steve Johnson (Grand Master 2006-2007)

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Episode 28. Steve Johnson (Grand Master 2006-2007) · Minnesota Masonic Histories and Mysteries

• 0:36
  Greetings from the Minnesota Masonic Charities Studio.
• 0:40
  This is John Schweitz.
• 0:42
  And we are going to be trying something new today.
• 0:46
  Uh, we are starting a new series where we're going to visit with some of the past Grand Masters.
• 0:53
  And I would like to start today with a past Grandmaster who happens to be on our Board of Directors and was probably one of the very first Masons that I ever met about 20 years ago when we were doing the Partners for Life campaign for the Masonic Cancer Center.
• 1:13
  Welcome, Most Worshipful Brother, Steve Johnson.
• 1:16
  Welcome, Steve.
• 1:18
  Good morning.
• 1:19
  How are you?
• 1:19
  I'm doing just dandy.
• 1:21
  Last night I was invited to a function at a couple of doctors from the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain and they had a little event at the home of one of these folks and we heard from Dr.
• 1:38
  Toller, who is the Dean of the Medical School, as well as Damien Fair and Dr.
• 1:45
  Michael Georgief, who are the co directors of the MIDB.
• 1:49
  And to say that the Masonic, investment in the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain was a good one, I believe will prove to be an understatement.
• 1:58
  I am so excited about the things that they're discovering and I just think that, uh, we've made a lot of Great decisions over the years at Masonic Charities, but I think this one's going to prove to be pretty impactful for young people in our, in our community.
• 2:15
  Well, I'm, I'm very pleased to hear that.
• 2:18
  Autism and, uh, the, the, uh, maladies that, uh, kids are facing in today's world, uh, are, uh, we've all been touched by it, just like we've been touched by cancer.
• 2:33
  in our circle of friends.
• 2:36
  One of the things, one of the things that I find most fascinating is they are discovering that a lot of those autism issues have to do not just with the diets, for example, of the people that, of the children themselves, but prenatal, the parents of those.
• 3:04
  children.
• 3:05
  And even before the, uh, the, the, the mothers are getting pregnant, some of the intake of different, uh, different vitamins and nutrients, the impact that that's having on increased possibilities for, um, for autism spectrum disorders and a number of other maladies.
• 3:24
  It's really just, it's just so fascinating the research that's being done there.
• 3:28
  So very cool.
• 3:30
  Yeah, yes it is.
• 3:32
  So it's part of, uh, The whole, uh, umbrella of Masonic Charities and the effect that it's had on our world around us, um, since its inception, um, a lot of good things have happened, um, through Masonic Charities, and, uh, we're so fortunate that we came under the umbrella then.
• 4:01
  And, uh, I'm proud to be one of the signatories to the Articles of Incorporation.
• 4:06
  Indeed you were.
• 4:07
  In fact, I would say that, uh, you and a couple of other, uh, guys that were in the Grand Lodge line at the time, and obviously, Eric Neatenbeak really created this organization out of whole cloth.
• 4:19
  But I want to go back further.
• 4:22
  than that.
• 4:23
  And I, I, I, how did you become a Mason?
• 4:26
  What was it originally that compelled you to become a Mason?
• 4:29
  And, and, uh, yeah, just give us a little background in your Masonic history.
• 4:34
  Well, John, uh, my dad, uh, was a Mason, uh, an inactive Mason, as a matter of fact, uh, never took a, a chair or anything out in Fortitude Lodge in Salem, South Dakota, which is no longer in existence.
• 4:52
  And, uh, But, uh, my father died when I was 14 years old, and, uh, it became apparent to me that not only were there his circle of friends, friends, but also brothers, and, uh, they made an impact on my life, um, and when I moved to Minnesota, uh, in eighth grade, uh, The, uh, community members and, uh, uh, friends of my dad, uh, a lot of them were Masons and it intrigued me, uh, I asked, uh, my dad one time, uh, about it and of course he couldn't say anything, but, uh, I said, would you, uh, think that it's a good organization for me to become a member of someday And he said, yes, it would.
• 5:50
  So, um, after his passing and.
• 5:54
  As I matured, uh, I, uh, realized that those, uh, gentlemen were, were my dad's brothers and that, uh, there was a special bond.
• 6:07
  Where in Minnesota did you, uh, did you move to?
• 6:09
  Where did you grow up?
• 6:11
  Sacred Heart, Minnesota.
• 6:12
  what, what lodge was it that you were raised in initially?
• 6:16
  Renville Lodge number 195 in Renville, Minnesota.
• 6:20
  Renville Lodge.
• 6:21
  And how old were you when you, uh, were raised?
• 6:23
  21, I believe.
• 6:24
  Okay, so you got started, uh, quite early.
• 6:27
  And you're, where are you at now?
• 6:29
  Winthrop?
• 6:30
  Well, it's Sibley Lodge.
• 6:32
  And we just moved from Winthrop to Arlington.
• 6:35
  to a one floor facility that's absolutely gorgeous.
• 6:40
  Oh, nice.
• 6:41
  We just love it.
• 6:42
  So, are you renting there or is it a building that you own?
• 6:46
  No, we purchased it and remodeled it and it's a cozy, wonderful lodge.
• 6:54
  Terrific.
• 6:55
  It's great.
• 6:57
  I'm a member of St.
• 6:58
  John's No.
• 6:58
  1, and if you've ever been there, it's, uh, 51 steps, and, uh, let's just say that it gets a little tough.
• 7:06
  We were 27, and I probably wouldn't make it.
• 7:10
  Well, especially now that you've, uh, had a little bit of, uh, work done on the knees.
• 7:15
  Yeah, early on, who were some of your Masonic mentors?
• 7:18
  it's interesting in contemplating that, um, of course my petition signers, one of them was the farmer, one of them, the top line signer was the postmaster in Sacred Heart.
• 7:30
  Oh, cool.
• 7:31
  And, uh, going through Lodge and my Masonic journey, I found that I have noted extraordinary in the ordinary.
• 7:42
  one guy that, uh, uh, there's several guys that stick out, on my Masonic journey.
• 7:49
  Mount Rushmore, which was the speech that I gave, uh, at, uh, Zura Temple, uh, you know, the first talk that the Grandmaster gives after he's been installed.
• 8:00
  And, uh, one was the guy that, uh, we always called him Grant Trumgard.
• 8:05
  And Grant Strungard was the janitor at the Renville School.
• 8:08
  I love it.
• 8:10
  He pushed the mop around on the basketball floor at halftime and everybody thought that he was just a common old joe that was just a janitor at the Renville School.
• 8:23
  Cool, but he was more than that.
• 8:25
  He was an excellent ritualist in Lodge.
• 8:28
  Love it.
• 8:29
  Another one that went on my Masonic Mount Rushmore was Merle Virginius, World War II veteran.
• 8:36
  Landed at Iwo Jima.
• 8:38
  Wow.
• 8:39
  He was away from Lodge for probably 30 40 years as an itinerant welder and he came back and was settled in Gaylord.
• 8:49
  And he started coming back to lodge and he went through the chairs in the 60s and served two or three terms as master probably.
• 8:56
  Wow.
• 8:57
  he was a good ritualist and a common old Joe who had a heck of a life with, with, serving in at Iwo Jima and, uh, came back to lodge in his retirement and, uh, served admirably as master.
• 9:13
  you just sit there and say, wow.
• 9:15
  we don't look for, for those extraordinary and the ordinary often enough in masonry, because everybody has a story to tell.
• 9:25
  And, they're pretty important.
• 9:26
  I'm always amazed at, the guys that were members here that have moved away and lived in Ohio for 40 years or more.
• 9:36
  And they still pay their dues because that special bond that they have to masonry.
• 9:42
  one of my favorite things about, masonry just is that intergenerational exchange of stories and you know, I always talk about with my children it's more important to be interested than interesting and I find that I find that masons really are interested but they're also very interesting and you gotta pry it out of some people but man there's some great stories out there and I just love the fact that the guy that was pushing the mop around in between during halftime of the basketball games was this great ritualist.
• 10:17
  Who would know?
• 10:18
  How would you ever know that unless you're a member of the fraternity?
• 10:21
  Nope, everybody thought that he was just the guy running the mop.
• 10:26
  He had more masonry in his heart and in his mind.
• 10:31
  Then a lot of us do, past Grandmasters, uh, uh, uh, Lewis and Luman and I, uh, we arranged to have a, uh, an afternoon, uh, lunch, went on for two, three hours with, uh, none other than the boy wonder of Minnesota, Harold Statham.
• 10:54
  Oh, the governor.
• 10:58
  And, uh, he told about his, uh, service, uh, leaving the governor ship to, uh, Uh, served in World War II under Admiral Halsey, and how he was present at the signing of the truce with the Japanese.
• 11:16
  Wow.
• 11:17
  And how he was master of his lodge while he was governor.
• 11:23
  Nope.
• 11:24
  What lodge was he a member of?
• 11:26
  Chikina Lodge.
• 11:28
  He was master of the lodge.
• 11:31
  But he offered to resign and step out of the line because he'd been elected governor of Minnesota.
• 11:38
  And they said, no, we'll cover for you.
• 11:41
  If you can't make the meeting, he stayed on and was a past master.
• 11:49
  Who was it that appointed you to the Grand Lodge line?
• 11:52
  Phil Soderbergh.
• 11:53
  Yes.
• 11:54
  From, wasn't he from Pleasant Grove?
• 11:57
  Yup.
• 11:57
  Absolutely.
• 11:59
  Delightful.
• 12:00
  Pleasant Grove Lodge, oh my, that's a, that's a step back into a Simpkins, uh, painting.
• 12:07
  Yes.
• 12:07
  Uh, I don't know why in the world he would affect me, but, uh, we met several times and he was keeping on encouraging me to accept the appointment as, uh, Grand Percival.
• 12:22
  And, uh, finally I said, okay.
• 12:26
  I had served as, uh, Grand chaplain, uh, twice and as, uh, a regional lodge education officer in the Grand Line, in the Grand, uh, Grand Lodge, and, uh, enjoyed my association, and that's probably the most important thing, and we can take it down to the macro or the micro level.
• 12:49
  But in Grand Lodge, I was always impressed with my associations with my fellow Grand Lodge officers and where they came from.
• 12:59
  I was in banking and insurance and there was, uh, uh, a preacher, a cop, um, a nurseryman, um, all different walks of life.
• 13:12
  And we all had that common bond of wanting to promote Freemasonry because it had done so much for us.
• 13:19
  We wanted others to experience it.
• 13:21
  one of the challenges as a fundraising guy that I discovered very early on in my Masonic journey is when, you know, typically in fundraising, you do some research.
• 13:33
  Uh, one might say even do some profiling to find out, okay, who has the capacity to be a donor.
• 13:42
  And is, you know, who's got money, who's got the big jobs and.
• 13:47
  Just about every person you would ask the response would be yeah I don't really even know what he does for a living because yeah, it's not important, you know We all meet on the level that so from a fundraising guy's perspective.
• 14:02
  That was a bit of a challenge I'm always mindful of Uh, brother Steve Bernoulli, uh, who's a great friend and brother, uh, always told about in the, in the car sales and how the guy would come in with bib overalls and, uh, Looking at Lincoln Continental and the rest of the salesmen would run away from him because they figured What the world is he doing?
• 14:35
  Right.
• 14:36
  He was the one that paid cash for that Lincoln.
• 14:39
  Yeah I I often believe that the Don't judge a book by its cover might might be more of a Masonic term than we want to give it credit for because the Other meaningful things is that we put kind of an emphasis on it Uh, for a while and I don't know what the status of it is, and I think it's very important is to be mindful of our health aid and assist a poor, distressed, worthy brother, his little an orphan, and, uh, we would, uh, quietly, uh, have.
• 15:20
  Requests come in to the Grand Lodge for assistance for a brother who's experienced a fire or medical emergency or, or, uh, problems and, uh, there, there is a fund to, to assist them and, uh, alleviating their distress.
• 15:41
  And, uh, that was very meaningful, but it was quiet under the, under the radar, they think.
• 15:48
  And perhaps the reason that I have the affinity for that and, uh, is, is that too often we have people drop for non payment of dues and we don't look into why they're not paying their dues.
• 16:07
  Sure.
• 16:08
  And maybe they're having a financial problem because that's what happened to my father and dues were probably 5 a year back in 1960.
• 16:21
  But he was spending a hundred dollars a month on medications and had to cut corners.
• 16:29
  Yeah, you just, you never know.
• 16:30
  Why would a lodge drop somebody that's experiencing that sort of thing?
• 16:38
  That's not living up to our obligation.
• 16:40
  We need to, we need to look out for our brothers.
• 16:44
  And, uh.
• 16:46
  Find out why.
• 16:48
  And if we help, let's forego their dues.
• 16:53
  Before I, uh, move on to Masonic Charities, who did you appoint to the Grand Lodge line?
• 16:58
  None other than David Olson.
• 17:00
  Oh, you appointed Dave Olson?
• 17:03
  Yep.
• 17:03
  Who appointed Ethan, I think?
• 17:06
  Yep.
• 17:08
  Yeah, I, you know, if you ever spend any time with Don Severson, he, he is, uh, he always likes to remind me of his Masonic lineage.
• 17:20
  He's very proud of who his Masonic father and grandfather and great grandfather and great great grandfather and it's, you know, it truly almost feels like a great bloodline for him and, uh, I think we probably all the PGM probably feel that, uh, and PGM is, uh, uh, the, uh.
• 17:47
  One of my great, great, great grandfathers, Vern Long.
• 17:52
  Oh, no kidding! Yeah, and he always said that PGM stands for Power Gone Man.
• 18:01
  you participated in the interview of Vern Long that we did shortly before he passed away.
• 18:08
  Yeah.
• 18:09
  And, uh, that is one of those podcasts that I am so grateful that You had the insight to get this on tape before he, uh, moved on to his great reward because, you know, the, the history that that guy had in masonry and in the state of Minnesota and the impact.
• 18:30
  You know, people need to know that, that, you know, masons have been historically...
• 18:35
  Titans of industry and, and, you know, Titans in education and really impactful people in the community beyond their Masonic impact.
• 18:45
  And uh, Verne would certainly qualify for that, uh.
• 18:48
  I think, Vern's, is it Vern's son in law is Grant Lillevold?
• 18:54
  Correct.
• 18:54
  Yes.
• 18:55
  Grant, uh, Grant was at our gala the other night and I'm gonna pivot now to Masonic Charities.
• 19:02
  You were involved in the very earliest days of, uh, you know, putting Minnesota Masonic Charities together.
• 19:10
  Can you give us your recollection of how that came about and, uh, you know, kind of the process that you remember?
• 19:19
  Well, of course, past Grandmaster Nietenbeek's mind is something to be admired, and he envisioned having an umbrella corporation over all of the different Masonic charities.
• 19:35
  I served on the Minnesota Masonic Foundation that provided scholarships.
• 19:42
  We struggled.
• 19:43
  We didn't have a whole heck of a lot of money.
• 19:46
  Um, we did, uh, finally pivoted to the, to the, uh, local matching, uh, scholarships.
• 19:55
  Um, and, uh, it was, it was a struggle and, uh, we weren't making the impact that we're doing today, uh, in all of them.
• 20:09
  Uh, the cancer fund, uh, was a struggling organization.
• 20:15
  And, uh, we've, uh, Expanded it many fold, and, uh, it's, uh, heartening to see the impact that we're making in Minnesota and the world because of the work of, uh, of Masonic Charities, the scholars that we're funding.
• 20:41
  Uh, we don't realize what they're accomplishing now, after they've graduated.
• 20:50
  I think Those are impacts we don't feel, we don't know about.
• 20:54
  It would be interesting to hear some more of them, um, uh, and, uh, the impact that we've had on cancer research, the impact that we've had at the Children's Hospital, uh, and the impact that we're going to be having at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain.
• 21:17
  Um, these are things that, uh, are just beyond belief of our imagination.
• 21:26
  When it was created and, uh, really heartening.
• 21:32
  And of course, the Masonic home board that I have served on, um, the elder care, uh, is absolutely fantastic.
• 21:41
  And I've been the recipient of some of that care, uh, twice, uh, knee issues and, uh, uh, in the transitional care unit.
• 21:51
  And, uh, I love those people.
• 21:54
  I have the utmost respect for those people that are serving.
• 21:58
  Uh, in the care of our, our friends and brothers and sisters and the general public as a whole.
• 22:07
  And I, I, I could tell you that they love when you're there, not that they want you there.
• 22:13
  Because that would mean that you're, that you're recovering from some sort of a, of an ailment.
• 22:19
  Usually of an orthopedic style.
• 22:22
  Um, but can you tell the story of the, uh, I, I just love this story and I hope, I, I'm sure that there are no state, uh, health department auditors listening to this podcast, but you happen to be In as a patient, as a resident, so to speak, and they were doing one of their surveys of the Masonic home and they happened to, uh, ask you a few questions about your feeling of the place.
• 22:54
  Can you remind, uh, or, or share that little story with the listeners?
• 22:59
  Absolutely.
• 23:01
  Um, shortly after I, uh, gained admittance to the transitional care units.
• 23:09
  Uh, there was an announcement over the loudspeakers that, uh, the, uh, Minnesota Masonic Home was welcoming, uh, the Minnesota Department of Health for a survey that they were going to be doing.
• 23:22
  And, uh, I watched, uh, the staff and administration run with, uh, around, uh, checking to make sure that Uh, everything was in order.
• 23:36
  Uh, I sit there and excuse me for the expression.
• 23:40
  They were walking around with their butts puckered.
• 23:42
  There was some puckering going on.
• 23:44
  There's no doubt about that.
• 23:47
  And, uh, then, uh, the second day, uh, one of the, uh, survey team came into my room and shut the door and stood there with her laptop, uh, on a harness in front of her, uh, recording my answers to.
• 24:06
  Her inquiries and I went on and, uh, said that it was just absolutely superb.
• 24:13
  There was nothing that I could think of that they've done wrong or, or any way that they could be better than what they are, of course, not, not revealing the fact that you were on the board of directors at the time.
• 24:30
  No, I didn't.
• 24:32
  Not important.
• 24:33
  Get that from the surveyor and, uh, I told Beth Schroeder and, uh, and, uh, uh, Della, uh, the, uh, director of nursing, that there was no need to be worried that I think that they'll be packing up in a day because there's nothing to see here.
• 24:55
  And the good news is just to put everybody's mind at ease.
• 24:59
  That there really is nothing to see there.
• 25:00
  Nothing but goodness.
• 25:03
  Yep.
• 25:03
  Nothing but goodness.
• 25:05
  It's for sure.
• 25:07
  As uh, as evidenced by our uh, recent uh, awarding of the best Senior care facility in the state of Minnesota.
• 25:16
  Um, by a, uh, a survey that was done by Newsweek magazine.
• 25:23
  So that's something we're very, we're quite proud of.
• 25:26
  So, you're on the board right now of Masonic Charities.
• 25:31
  I would imagine that at some point in the near future you will be the chair of the board.
• 25:35
  What are you, are you aware of that?
• 25:37
  That you're going to be chair of the board?
• 25:38
  You're annoying.
• 25:40
  Okay.
• 25:43
  um, always the elections, you know.
• 25:46
  Oh, there's always that.
• 25:47
  But, uh, what are you most, uh, bullish about in terms of the future of Masonic Charities?
• 25:53
  What are you most enthusiastic about?
• 25:55
  Uh, continuing to expand our horizons.
• 26:02
  Uh, I think that, uh, in doing what we do better, uh, make the.
• 26:14
  Folks at the University of Minnesota are in three different areas, the developing brain, the cancer research, and of course the children's hospital.
• 26:29
  Boy, if that doesn't make your chest swell, I don't know.
• 26:33
  We should be, uh, buttons and almost hurting people when they pop off, uh, um, because of the work we do there.
• 26:43
  Steve, the thing that can I just, the thing that I always think of is, you know, we are the beneficiaries of, uh, brothers and Eastern star sisters who came before us, who, the forethought to leave a part of their estate to us.
• 27:01
  And obviously our obligation as an organization and specifically as a board of directors is to make sure that we are being as thoughtful with their investment in our organization, with how we deploy those resources.
• 27:17
  And I, I, I tell you, I couldn't be, More proud of the work that we're doing because the people that left those gifts to us have got to be looking down just with great enthusiasm that they are having such a meaningful impact on so many people in so many different ways and you know to me that is the most compelling reason to support Minnesota Masonic Charities is it's It's just the, it's not just the depth of care, it's, you know, the, it's the broadness of the, the work that we're doing as well.
• 27:51
  And we're just fortunate to be the caretakers of those, uh, of those generous gifts.
• 27:57
  Boy, we certainly are.
• 27:59
  We need to tell that story amongst ourselves so that more of us do likewise.
• 28:07
  So that legacy continues.
• 28:09
  Um, we have the stories to tell.
• 28:14
  They're real.
• 28:16
  They're not made up.
• 28:19
  And, uh, we can be proud, we can be proud of what we've accomplished, but we can be even more hopeful of what we will accomplish in the future.
• 28:29
  We need to tell the story.
• 28:33
  The, um, the 35 million pledge that was made to the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, one of the comments that was made last night at the event that I was at, was just the multiplier effect that that kind of philanthropy has on getting other grants.
• 28:50
  A lot of these granting organizations want to see what kind of philanthropic support you have for the community.
• 28:56
  And when you make a transformational gift to a brand new entity like that, It gets the attention of the National Institute of Health and the CDC and all of these other organizations that are interested in advancing medical research in, uh, and I think that, uh, you know, I've heard the multiplier effect, you know, 13 to 1, 14 to 1.
• 29:22
  We give a dollar and they can secure 13, 14 dollars in, in grant money.
• 29:28
  So I'm, uh, And that's the case with the Masonic Cancer Fund dollars that we've spent over 60 years probably.
• 29:40
  Yep.
• 29:42
  It's, it's made such an impact.
• 29:45
  Um, it's, uh, it's heartening.
• 29:48
  It really is.
• 29:49
  And, and like I say, we don't, we don't realize the impact that we've made.
• 29:56
  The one that flies under the radar is the difference that we're making with the scholarships that we've given and what those.
• 30:05
  recipients of those scholarships are doing in today's society for our benefit.
• 30:12
  Yeah, it's, it's very, um, I think it's very heartwarming when, and I think that it's important for our organization to create awareness of masonry through the scholarship program with young people.
• 30:27
  And I always like to say to, to attach our brand.
• 30:31
  to their brand, uh, really is meaningful.
• 30:35
  And I think, you know, the process of people applying for the scholarships really gives them an opportunity to, at the very least, understand what Masonic is all about and what being a member of this fraternity is all about.
• 30:47
  And, you know, I, like you said, it kind of flies under the radar, but it really does, uh, attract the attention of a lot of people that would otherwise not know a thing about us.
• 31:01
  Oh, absolutely.
• 31:02
  Absolutely.
• 31:03
  Yeah.
• 31:04
  Our, our, uh, our brand is good.
• 31:07
  Uh, uh.
• 31:09
  But, uh, we don't have enough people going through the checkout for a check.
• 31:17
  And, uh, the other thing that we need to, to address is that people hear of us, but they don't know how to reach us and we need to be more open.
• 31:30
  And, uh, inviting.
• 31:32
  And, uh, keep our eyes open and think of, uh, a good solid person that would make a benefit from becoming wiser, better, and consequently happier.
• 31:48
  Well, the old saying that your actions speak louder than words, um, I am hoping that the things that we do are getting people's attention.
• 31:57
  And I think that, uh, you know, some of the...
• 32:00
  The, if you want to call it advertising or promotion that we've been doing through some different, you know, we're, we're telling our story on the garage logic podcast, which goes out to 800, 000 unique individuals every month.
• 32:16
  And I'm one of the individuals.
• 32:18
  Yeah, and I'm one of them too.
• 32:20
  And it's just fun to hear Rookie talking about, you know, Masonry.
• 32:25
  And I can tell you that, uh, I've gotten some calls from individuals and a few...
• 32:31
  estate gifts from individuals that aren't even a member of our fraternity but were motivated to learn about the work that we do through the podcast and you know the people that listen to that podcast specifically I think are very like minded, uh, with most of the, the, the Masonic values and, uh, and they, they, they're, they're not Masons but they probably conduct themselves in a very Masonic way.
• 33:00
  Yeah, all they are, they're not carrying a card.
• 33:04
  Right! It would be nice if they would.
• 33:07
  Yes, it would.
• 33:08
  And I know that, uh, I, I, I want to acknowledge the work that the Grand Lodge is doing, you know, they've decided to invest in, uh, a membership, uh, director who, uh, you know, I just hope that people understand that in addition to recruiting members as far as quantity is concerned, I know that there's been a great emphasis placed on the quality of the members You know, we're looking for people that can make an impact on their lodge and are connected to their community in a meaningful way.
• 33:43
  and can be influencers to possibly bring in other people into the lodge.
• 33:48
  So I, I hope that people are patient with, uh, the folks at Grand Lodge that are, that are out doing that work and understand that there is a, a method to the madness and it's, you know, it's gonna take a while but I think that the way that it's being done is gonna be very fruitful in the long run.
• 34:08
  I think it's gonna bear fruit.
• 34:15
  and I have one, I have one last topic for you, Steve.
• 34:18
  Um, you and I talked in the past about, uh, I want to have a segment in these podcasts called hearsay.
• 34:27
  And that is one of the great benefits of being a member of the fraternity is the exchange of stories that take place either in Lodge or before Lodge or after Lodge out in the parking lot.
• 34:39
  And you mentioned a story about Larry Bachman.
• 34:43
  And Larry Bachman, who was a long time supporter of the Masonic home and, uh, you know, just very generous in many, many ways.
• 34:52
  But he told you a story once that I think is a story that ought to be told.
• 34:57
  And in, you know, the legal, uh, world, this would be considered hearsay.
• 35:02
  But, uh, I think that it's a story that, that people need to hear.
• 35:07
  During one of my conversations with Pope St.
• 35:12
  Larry Bachman, God bless his soul, who's a great man, and, uh, he served, uh, in World War II.
• 35:22
  He, uh, of course, uh, ran the grater out at Bachman's, uh, nursery.
• 35:29
  And, uh, enjoyed mechanics.
• 35:32
  And when he went into the service, he was flabbably planning, uh, or thinking that he was going to be, uh, uh, working on the ground crew, uh, fixing airplanes.
• 35:45
  And it ended up that he ended up to be a pilot.
• 35:48
  Wow.
• 35:50
  World War II in Europe.
• 35:53
  And, uh, during one of our conversations, he told about that, uh, he was, they were assigned to fly over an area where The, uh, uh, Nazis, uh, had, uh, been kind of pinned in and, uh, they told him that, uh, they were going to, uh, fly over and, uh, get that, uh, area and that, uh, they were to tell no one it was a secret mission and, uh, they didn't know what they were dropping.
• 36:34
  And when they went over it, and they dropped in that area, uh, he said that the flames flew higher than the plane.
• 36:45
  Wow.
• 36:46
  They were to go straight, you know, go straight through, don't slow down, keep going.
• 36:54
  And, uh, afterwards he said, uh, what, what was that, you know, uh, was that napalm?
• 37:04
  And, uh, they said, uh, we'll never tell you, and you'll never tell us.
• 37:11
  And, uh, it eliminated that area, uh, from further harm to the allies.
• 37:19
  And, uh, um, but, uh, he said he never ever has read.
• 37:28
  He was an extensive student of the history of world war two.
• 37:33
  Never, ever read anything about that incident.
• 37:40
  Yeah, it is, uh, the, the, the stories like that are just, they're, they're mind blowing.
• 37:48
  And they exist in the minds of these brothers.
• 37:52
  Um, you know, there aren't very many World War II veterans still around.
• 37:58
  Uh, even our Korean War vets are, uh, are aging.
• 38:03
  pretty significantly.
• 38:05
  And, uh, I think it's a stark reminder that, you know, the wars that we will fight in the future are nothing like the wars that were fought in the past.
• 38:15
  And thank God for that.
• 38:17
  You know, I think of my dad and my uncle and the hell that they went through in both the Pacific and the European, uh, uh, fronts, uh, was just.
• 38:34
  Absolutely amazing.
• 38:36
  Yeah, I, I think about the, the fact that, you know, I think about my grandfather who went away in 41 and I don't think he came back until 45 and he was gone for all those years and nobody knew where he was.
• 38:51
  I mean, it wasn't like you had FaceTime, which you, you know, it's just, it, it's amazing how just selfless those people were.
• 39:03
  You know, the people that after the, uh, Pearl Harbor, you know, they, they say that the lines at the recruiting offices were out the door.
• 39:13
  And, uh, I, I just think that, that those people had a completely different, uh, set of, uh, cojones than, uh, than I'm afraid the, the, the present, uh, day people have.
• 39:27
  Yeah.
• 39:27
  Uh, it's, uh, they truly were the greatest generation.
• 39:31
  I know that, uh, my dad, uh, uh, my, my uncle Francis was, In the Ranger Battalion and, uh, World War II and in the invasion of North Africa, um, the Sicily and the boot of Italy and saw horrific actions.
• 39:54
  And of course, the Ranger Battalion was decimated many times.
• 39:59
  Uh, my dad was in the Pacific theater in Okinawa, in Lakey and, uh, was, uh, in the, uh, uh, K 9 Corps and, uh.
• 40:16
  Had his, uh, training in California, and, uh, a guy came up from Hollywood every week, uh, to, uh, assist the Army in starting the K 9 Corps, and his name was Rudd Weatherwax, and Rudd Weatherwax was always interesting as a child to watch a television show named Lassie and see Rudd Weatherwax as the And the credit.
• 40:50
  Oh, you're kidding.
• 40:52
  Yeah.
• 40:52
  He was like the handler for Lassie.
• 40:55
  Yeah.
• 40:56
  Oh yeah.
• 40:57
  All the last, there was a number of them.
• 41:00
  And my dad had a colleague over in, in, uh, in the Pacific and, uh, uh, just, uh, very few stories.
• 41:10
  Uh, I do have a, uh, a newspaper article that he, uh, was in or sent a letter back to Claire city to a friend of his and said that, uh, He, uh, was, uh, you know, they would go ahead with the dog to, uh, scout, and, uh, the dog would nudge against him and let out a little growl, and he would hold up his hand, and the platoon would stop, and then they would look, and they would see, uh, Japanese, uh, soldiers, uh, snipers in trees.
• 41:51
  Oh my god.
• 41:53
  And eliminate them before they eliminated them.
• 41:55
  Jesus.
• 41:55
  Yes.
• 41:57
  Uh, he, uh.
• 42:00
  Was involved in, uh, uh, an incident where, uh, a Japanese lieutenant, I believe it was, was, uh, chased into a cave in Okinawa.
• 42:16
  And, uh, he wouldn't come out.
• 42:19
  They threw grenades.
• 42:20
  They shot in there and everything else.
• 42:23
  And then they, he said that we sent the dog to bark.
• 42:27
  And, uh, the Japanese soldiers were afraid of the dogs.
• 42:32
  They were, they didn't have dogs as pets, I guess.
• 42:37
  And so that they were deathly afraid of the dog.
• 42:40
  And he came out with the white flag waving it when they said that they were going to, they had an interpreter, a translator and said that they were going to send the dog in after him.
• 42:52
  And then he came up with the white flag.
• 42:54
  Probably a wise decision.
• 42:56
  Yeah.
• 42:57
  All right.
• 43:00
  Yeah.
• 43:00
  Well, Steve, it's been, uh, delightful getting to chat with you about some of your Masonic, uh, history and, uh, I love the, the Larry Bachman, the Larry Bachman story.
• 43:11
  It's, uh, it's going to make me want to do a little more research on, uh, some of the, the weapons of, uh, of World War II.
• 43:19
  I got to find L.
• 43:21
  Malmberg, the, uh, the...
• 43:24
  WCCO guy?
• 43:27
  Yeah, yeah, and he did an interview with Larry.
• 43:32
  And we've got to find that record, whether it's a CCO or a pal Momberg has it, but, uh, we'll have to work on that together, John.
• 43:40
  Absolutely.
• 43:41
  We've got, uh, museum people that we can put on the case.
• 43:45
  Sounds like a great idea.
• 43:46
  We'll put Mark Anderson on it.
• 43:48
  Yeah.
• 43:49
  Yeah.
• 43:49
  Perfect.
• 43:50
  All right, Steve, well, thank you for your time and, uh, look forward to seeing you soon.
• 43:56
  Okie dokie.
• 43:56
  Thank you.
• 43:57
  Off we go.
• 43:58
  Thanks