Shakespeare Lodge 750

Free & Accepted Masons of the

Grand Lodge of the State of New York

W.˙. Julio Duran, Master

I became a Mason because so many of the outstanding men of my acquaintance were Masons.  I wanted to belong to an Order which had numbered among its members such men as George Washington, Lafayette, Goethe, Mozart, the Kings of England, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.  I wanted to be able to wear the same emblem that thirteen* of our Presidents have worn, and men like DeWitt Clinton, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, Sam Houston, Generals Pershing, Mark Clark, George Marshall, Lyman Lemnitzer, Douglas MacArthur and Montgomery; Admiral King, and Richard E. Byrd, just to mention a few outstanding leaders of American life and world figures who have been members of our Order.

I wanted to be a part of the great Fraternity which took a leading part in forming this country, writing the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; men who led us to victory in the Revolution, nurtured the infant country to its present magnificent status in world affairs; men who gave us freedom of speech and press; founded our system of free public education and established the policy of separation of Church and State.

I wanted to be part of an organization which administers homes for the aged, a free clinic for eye diseases, a student assistance program, a system of hospitals for crippled children regardless of race, creed or color.  I felt I must be a part of an Order which has led so many movements for the betterment of mankind and the dignity of the individual, movements like Simon Bolivar's campaign for freedom in Latin America; Martin Luther's Reformation, and the French Revolution, as well as well as our own Revolution.

Therefore, I asked to be a member, was given the test which all persons are given when the apply for membership, and was accepted.  Since then, I have learned many things about Masonry which I did not know before.  I learned that we participate in many worthwhile activities, such as the Go-to-Church Sundays, fund campaigns, patriotic observances, veterans' welfare problems, the Boy Scouts and the DeMolay.  I learned of the vast number of charitable enterprises which Masons have undertaken, such as family welfare, assistance to the unfortunate, supplying hearing aids to persons unable to buy them, and countless other worthwhile charities.

I found that, once we enter a Lodge, all rank disappears, and generals sit side by side in equality with buck privates.  Admirals sit with able seamen; civilians who work with their hands for their living, with presidents of great corporations.  In the Masonic Lodges I found complete democracy and understanding.  In the Masonic Lodges I found men who recognize the Supreme Being under many names, according to their manner of worshiping him.  In the Masonic Lodges I found brotherhood and companionship and wholesome relations with my fellow men.  Masonry is completely tolerant.  Anybody of any color or any nationality who has a good character and who believes in the Supreme Being is eligible to apply to the Masonic Fraternity.

Nobody asked me to become a Mason.  No one will ever ask you to become a Mason.  Masons never solicit members.  However, Masons do accept applications from worthy men, and if anyone voluntarily applies to us and passes our tests of citizenship, personal integrity and reputation, he becomes a member of the oldest, most powerful, most powerful, most respected secular Order the world has ever known.