Episode 35. Foster Solem (Grand Master 2024-2025)

Minnesota Grand Master, Foster Solem

Episode Transcript

(00:20):
Good day and welcome toMinnesota Masonic Histories and
Mysteries Hello, everyone.
Welcome back.
My name is Reed Endersby.
I'm the Director of MembershipEngagement for the Grand Lodge
of Minnesota, joined by mycolleague, John Schweitz, the
CEO of Minnesota MasonicCharities.
Hello, sir.
Hello.
Good morning.
Fantastic.
Other than flat tires two daysin a row.
It seems to be a thing rightnow.

(00:41):
You had two flat tires,sequential days, two different
cars.
This is a construction issue?
I think that Tires Plus drivesaround town and throws nails out
the window of a car.
That's my plan.
I'm going to go with the Goodconstruction everywhere.
It took me forever to get ashort distance last night, but
that's pretty much common inthis time of year.

(01:02):
Hey, by the way, our guest todayis a third generation Mason
joined in 1998.
His home lodge is mini ha halodge.
Number one, six, five inMinneapolis.
He served as master in 2003.
And again, in 2018, also a pastmaster of Templar lodge in 2015.
He is a member of the ScottishRite, former Master of Kedosh

(01:23):
for the Consistory, MinnehahaChapter No.
37, Order of Eastern Star, PastWorthy Patron, York Rite, Zura
Temple.
He is Proud of being a Mason aswell as his Masonic heritage.
And Oh, by the way, he's thecurrent grandmaster of Masons in
Minnesota.
Welcome Foster Solomon.
Welcome Foster.
Reid and I are standing as istradition and you're telling us

(01:45):
to sit down.
So we'll do just that.
Thank you.
Foster.
Welcome.
It's great to have you, uh, herein the studio.
Um, I always like to know whatwas it that compelled you to
become a Mason in the firstplace?
How did that come to be?
I was singing a concert at theMinneapolis Scottish Rite

(02:06):
Temple.
And, uh, there's a window thathas a drape over it in that
sanctuary.
And, uh, as we were done withthe concert and we're leaving,
one of the people said, Why doyou suppose they pulled the
drape over that window?
And somebody told me, becausethis is one of those cults.
Oh yes.
Of course.
And that made the hair on theback of my neck go up, because I

(02:26):
knew my dad was, uh, A member ofthe cult, yes.
So, uh, my dad was old school,and until I went home and said,
Dad, we need to talk.
I just heard, and he said, well,do you think I'm a member of a
cult?
And I said, no, he said, do youwant to know more about it?
And I said, sure.
And that was the end of thestory.

(02:46):
But he was one that I had to asksure.
Five boys in my family and noneof them asked.
I was the only one that did.
And I'm the only Mason.
Wow.
And, uh, what year was that?
That was in, would have beenback in 1998, probably.
All righty.
And what lodge was your dad amember of?
Minnehaha.
Oh, he was Minnehaha, so you gotraised in the same lodge.

(03:07):
Very cool.
And probably the neatest storythat goes back to that is, um,
the first person I met when mydad took me to my first Masonic
function was Neil Neddemeier.
Oh, that'll get your attention.
The interesting two fold thingis Neil was Grand Master the
year I was Master of Minnehaha.
Okay.

(03:27):
And Neil became my great, greatGrand Lodge.
Masonic Father.
Oh, no.
So who was it that appointedyou?
Um, John Studdell appointed me,John Cook appointed John
Studdell, and Neil Meyer.
Neil appointed John Cook.
Yep.
John Cook, who happens to be thechair of our, uh, board, of the

(03:49):
Masonic Charities Board.
Wonderful guy.
Yeah, nice lineage there.
But I think the lining up of allthat happened is kind of weird.
It's weird.
It's weird.
So where did you grow up?
Were you set nearby?
I grew up in South Minneapolis.
Where'd you go to school?
Uh, well, Miles Standish GradeSchool, then we left and moved
to New Holstein, Wisconsin.
That's right.
And what brought you toWisconsin?
Uh, my dad transferred.

(04:09):
Worked for a farm equipmentcompany and they transferred to
Wisconsin.
How many years were you there?
Ten.
Ten years.
And came back, moved out therein 73 and moved back here in 83.
Okay.
Wow.
That was a So How was Wisconsin?
Was it good to come back, or didyou just make, at the time, was
it okay, this is where we'regoing?
Very different, because movingfrom the cities, and left after

(04:31):
I was in 6th grade, we weretaught to be very afraid.
Really?
Be afraid of Wisconsin people?
No, in Minneapolis.
Oh, I understand, yes.
So as a young child was taught,you lock everything up, you
can't go out at night, everybodyhad to know where you were.
And we moved to this town where,if you lock something up, there
was something wrong with it.
Right.
What are you hiding?
Um.

(04:51):
I have a funny story along thoselines.
I, uh, the first time I went togo visit my in laws, at the time
Becky was my girlfriend, theylive on this farm, and my car
was parked behind my brother inlaw's, my future brother in
law's car.
And he went to go open the doorto back it out, to move it.

(05:13):
And the door was locked.
And he comes in and he said, youknow, down here, not only do we
not lock the doors, we leave thekeys in the car.
And I thought, boy, is thatdifferent now as a guy who's had
two cars stolen.
I, uh, I disagree with thatplan.
I'm not allowed to leave keys incars any longer.
Have you thought about justusing Uber every day between

(05:34):
your car stolen, your multiple?
Well, I was hoping maybe youcould come by and pick me up in
the morning.
That would be terrific.
That's how this works, right?
Foster, you may make asuggestion in the back.
You could wear one of thoselittle black hats.
That would be fantastic.
Let's talk about that.
I did, uh, think his second namewas Carlton.
Carlton, yes.
He's kind of got a Carlton airabout him.
We digress.

(05:55):
Yes, exactly.
So, that's, so, going to thelittle different vibe of being
in Wisconsin where, It soundslike there was also, was it more
like a, everyone's sort ofeveryone's parents that you
could go to anyone's, any ofyour friend's parent to ask them
something if you need something.
Very community.
Right.
Very small town.
Everybody knew each other.
More cows than people in thetown.

(06:15):
So it was a farm community.
Yeah.
Um, but everything was totallyopen.
Well, then when I moved backhere, it was culture shock again
because now it's lookout murderson the streets, lock everything
up again.
And did you go back to SouthMinneapolis?
Uh, yeah.
Okay.
Yep.
So it just that was veryinteresting to go from scared to
totally open to scared again.

(06:36):
When did you lose your dad?
Uh 2020.
Oh, so he's okay Very recently.
Yep.
Curious.
Was he a victim of kovid?
He was he was oh god And kovid.
Yeah, not a good not a good nodeal.
No.
Sorry Yeah, hear that again, andhe's still still with us and In

(06:56):
thought and memory at all times.
Tell us a little about your yearso far.
So you've been Grandmaster sinceApril, your travels.
I know you've been to Manitoba,Indiana.
You're heading to the ShrineImperial in a few days.
How's it going so far?
Busy.
Yeah.
More than you anticipated orwere you prepared for?
I think probably was preparedfor it, but you just, until you

(07:18):
start physically doing it.
Being on the road all the timeand coming home and getting
ready to repack to go somewhereelse.
I hadn't quite, I knew it wasgonna be that way, but until you
do it, it, yeah.
How many nights a week,typically, so far?
Four or five.
Wow.
It's quite a commitment.
It really is.
I don't know if our membersrealize.
Trying to keep up with the HiramAwards, with the banquets, with

(07:40):
the 150 anniversaries, orwhatever anniversary it is.
Just lots of stuff going on,trying to keep up with degree
work and stay active with lodgesand do stuff for me.
Keeps you busy.
And probably still attend yourown lodge when you can.
When I can.
Yeah.
Can I speak to the degree work?
Yeah.
So, I've always known Foster asthis kinda hugger guy who likes

(08:03):
to give hugs, who seems verysort of understated in the way
that you present yourself to thepeople around you.
Then I witnessed you doing athird degree at St.
John's Lodge, and I wasabsolutely blown away.
One, by how amazing you are atritual, but how this other

(08:24):
foster comes out, and I am justso amazed at your, one, your
ability to, to, to perform isexceptional.
Were you in like drama whenyou're, okay, so you have some
experience.
This is a, a speaking, noddingdoesn't work on a podcast.
Yes, yes.
I can see you nodding, but thelisteners can't.

(08:46):
Yeah, this is an audio, uh,format.
Gotcha, gotcha.
Um, so tell us about how you, Imean, you're like an actor.
Where did you get that actingbug?
Well, I was in drama in highschool.
Okay, so you did drama in highschool.
Yes, I did plays in high school.
Did you do any plays that wemight have heard of?
Uh, Life with Father, um, we didMASH.

(09:07):
Really?
Who did you play in MASH?
I, I was not a big part in MASH.
Okay.
Um, A very small part, but.
And you can't spin, because thenit sounds like this.
Oh, I'm sorry, yeah.
We're gonna get this figuredout, uh, Grandmaster.
Um, so, not a big part in MASH.
Were you in drama, Reid?

(09:27):
I wasn't.
I did the uh, Wizard of Oz, Iwas the Tin Man.
Really?
And I still know all the, all mylines.
Really?
Yeah.
Do you, do you wow them?
Oil can! Do you, do you wow thefamily with those still?
Do the kids facepalm?
Well, you know, if I only had aheart, I know all the, you know,
I, I sing it.
When a man's an empty kettle.
Anyway, sorry.
We can, we can edit that out.

(09:48):
We're not going to edit, peopleneed to know of my talents.
so, that's where the ritualability, uh, came from.
Yeah.
I'm, I'm also OCD, uh, OCDC,yeah.
OCD, and so when I did myproficiency work, um, it was at
the time when the proficiencylectures were there, and I had

(10:08):
been told you could go the longway or the short way.
Let me guess.
I want to go the long way.
Of course you did.
You are a traditionalist.
Correct.
To say the least.
Correct.
And that is one of the thingsthat I admire about your, what I
have witnessed during your yearas Grand Master.
Well, you have to know who youare or you cease to exist.
Right.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.

(10:29):
You have to know your identityand what you represent and who
you are.
And I think if Masons forgetwhat we're really here to do,
we're going to turn into asocial club.
And I also want to say, forthose of you that have only
witnessed the foster who likesto hug and is this sweet guy, I
don't think you want to crossfoster.
I have seen a side of foster, ifsomething, irritates foster,

(10:52):
You'd rather be on the right endof that irritation.
It's a very different vibe.
It's a, it's a different foster.
The year of the hug is veryfitting though.
And one of the things that aboutyou that resonates with members
and even non, non masons, you'rea Mason in your heart.
And as you alluded to, you takethe value teachings seriously

(11:14):
and live it and walk the walk.
And it's a tremendous example toset.
How do you see us as anorganization continuing to see
that our new members are notjust joining a Lodge, but
becoming a Mason?
Well, I think the only way wecan do that is by the people

(11:35):
that are in the craft now, byliving and doing what we're
supposed to be doing.
And I think remembering whatwe're supposed to be doing, um,
which comes from the ritual tome.
If we forget to live the lessonsthat are taught in the ritual
and, and do those things, thenew people coming in won't see
it.

(11:55):
And the meaning, the meaningbehind the words being so
crucial that yes, we, and youbeing a, a, a custodian and
monitor, you're all of that, youletter perfect on and the
delivery of that.
But sometimes we see a little,which is wildly important, yes,
but sometimes we see the focuson.

(12:16):
Just getting the words rightSometimes the meaning takes a
back seat, and that's somethingwe've talked about at length in
the last couple of years.
Can I just ask something?
You said something that reallystruck me just now.
The distinction between joininga lodge and becoming a Mason.
I don't think we lean into thatenough.
I think that that is such animportant part of, Is that

(12:38):
something that you said a bunchof times, and I just have not
been paying attention?
I have heard that said, I wish Icould say I, I coined that
phrase I heard it said recently.
Let's just say you did at at a,uh, at, at a Master Mason
degree.
And, uh, grand Lodgerepresentative stood up and, and
congratulated the new newlyraised master masons and said,
now, tomorrow is tomorrow.

(12:59):
You're gonna wake up and thingsare gonna feel different.
And when you think about yourlife now moving forward, this is
a new beginning.
And, and there's a differencebetween joining a lodge, wearing
the pin, wearing the ring.
And actually being a Mason inone's heart and living by the,
as we say in Freemasonry, thetenets of our profession, right?

(13:21):
Or brotherly love, relief,truth, friendship, providing
relief to those in need andliving a life of, of integrity,
not, and these aren't justpassive, you know, platitudes,
but truly it's a lifestyle.
And not to pander to the GrandMaster, but I sincerely mean
this when I say, you really arethe embodiment of those things

(13:43):
to me.
Like when I think of the personthat exemplifies brotherly love,
Relief and truth, I see all ofthose things in you, your
interest in just the fraternalside of the fraternity, the
brotherly love piece.
you've been a strong advocate ofMasonic charities for as long as
I've known you.
And when it comes to theesoteric stuff, I'd put you up

(14:04):
against just about anybody whenit comes to ritual, but along
those lines, who would you puton your Mount Rushmore of
ritualists that you've, uh,encountered in your years as a
Mason boy.
Oh, that's a tough one to hit meright out of the gate.
Well, that's what I do, maybethere's more than one.
I said Mount Rushmore.
Usually we put four on MountRushmore.

(14:25):
I think Jerry Oliver is one ofmy Oh gosh, yes.
I, Jerry has given lectures andspeeches He, that The room goes
dead when he speaks.
And he has a way of captivatingan audience and makes you think
about what he's saying.
You bet.
Jerry's a very powerful speaker.

(14:45):
Neil Neddemeier is another one.
Another gregarious guy.
When they speak, they just getyour attention.
Yep.
And know how to do things.
you mention Jerry and Neil,they're both big guys.
But what I think is interesting,Foster, it's no secret, you're
not a big guy, and yet you stillcommand the presence of a guy

(15:07):
that's six foot five, which Ithink is pretty, which I think
is just cool about thisfraternity.
you are, how you presentyourself, not necessarily how
your physical stature is, whichis, you know, which I think is
very unique in the world.
Reed, who's on your MountRushmore?
In what way?
In, in, in ritual ability.

(15:30):
well, I would've put Jerry inthere as well.
Um, I'm gonna say some of the,maybe some of the John Gann is
awfully good.
John is excellent.
And some of the new up andcomers too.
Uh, Ty Schmidt.
Oh.
Clint LaFave.
Okay.
Uh, there, there's There's manynew brothers, new ish, that are

(15:52):
tackling learning the ritual andmaybe not even trying to become
a certified monitor right away,but it ends up becoming that.
They have a passion for it.
I have noticed, um, a guy thatI've become increasingly
impressed with is MarcusMueller.
Marcus, you know, and plus withthe accent, he sounds cooler

(16:15):
than we do.
Oh, big time.
There's something about thataccent that really elevates his,
uh, his presentation.
He just sounds cool.
But he can take an ordinarysubject that you know nothing
about.
Oh gosh, Kenny.
And can he get you interested?
I'm interested.
The crosscut saw presentation.
It just, I popped into one ofthe Red Room presentations, Um,

(16:37):
or actually it was an educationthing in the candidates room,
sorry.
And heard him talking to thecandidates about numbers.
And where they came from.
Oh yeah.
Like the 3, 5, and 7 and howthey, And in 5 minutes I had my
tongue on the floor and wasgoing, Oh my god, I had no idea
these numbers lined up that way.
The crosscut saw.

(16:58):
Uh, presentation he does, MarcusMueller, by the way, when I
remember reading, he was goingto give that and thought, what
in the world will this actuallybe about?
And he, for anyone who hasn'theard this, and I highly
suggested for a lodge educationpresentation, he spells out the
science, the physics behind asaw in the different saw teeth

(17:20):
and the blades.
And then he, then.
makes them analogous to theofficers of a lodge.
That the worshipful masterrepresents this one and they all
have their place.
It was fascinating and socompelling.
It was tremendous.
Yeah, he, he does.
He sees things and researchesthings that, you know, that

(17:40):
really sort of add someinteresting meaning.
And you know, sometimes Iwonder, are we making this up or
is this legit?
Seriously.
And I guess who cares, right?
It's fun stuff.
We are honored to be joinedtoday by the Grandmaster of
Masons in Minnesota, FosterSolem.

(18:01):
One thing I noticed you hadwritten in the, uh, Ashler, one
of our publications, the Masonichome was something that early on
struck a chord with you.
And for our listeners who maynot be aware of the Masonic home
was opened in 1920.
Long before society had ourmodern day equivalent of nursing

(18:25):
homes, care facilities, and backin those days, if mom, dad,
grandpa, grandma were ill orincapacitated, they were going
to live with you.
And it was ahead of its time inso many ways.
But the Masonic Home stillthrives today, and a highly
rated care facility in theentire state of Minnesota,
really leading the way on somany different things.

(18:48):
All of that aside, the reason itwas even thought of and, and
ever opened is how we, how wecan take care of our people, our
members and those in need.
And you had quite a story about,about that, that really it was a
safe to say a light bulb momentfor you.
Well, I, for those of us thatdidn't read that, I read it, but

(19:10):
can you just explain what you,uh, what you presented?
Well, for a long time, I I had ahunch, and so far it's played
out true that I was going to besingle, and had the concerns
about what was going to happento me when I got old.
And when my dad took me out tothe home and showed it to me and
stuff and told me how it worked,and I thought, that's really

(19:33):
cool.
When I get old, if I don't havekids and I don't have a wife,
who's going to take care of me?
And knowing that I could come tothe home and they would take
care of me until I died.
That's really cool.
That was one of the grabbingthings that interested me in
masonry.
Because it gave me a future.

(19:53):
Yeah, absolutely.
And I knew, no matter what I didwith my life, the end was taken
care of.
And can I just speak to that?
That is one of the things that Ifind most beautiful about our
fraternity.
A couple of examples.
I recently, in the Pillarsmagazine, wrote about the fact
that One of the things thatinspires me more than anything

(20:14):
is the way that brothers takecare of senior brothers.
And, uh, Roger Taylor is anideal example.
He and Nancy, I mean, they havemade it their mission to make
sure that the brothers that areolder than them are well taken
care of.
Roger, says, I'm hoping that atsome point in the future, one of
those younger brothers will pickme up and take me out for a

(20:34):
burger when I'm in my 90s.
But the Eastern Star is the sameway.
the way, Janet Johnson, forexample, takes care of Dolores
Lutterall in her aging years,creeping up on a hundred years
old, but how fortunate We are asmembers of this fraternity that
that brotherly love exists.
And when you see it here at thehome, in fact, uh, every Tuesday

(20:57):
morning, there's a big group ofguys that meet for breakfast.
And many of them are masons andthe way that they support each
other.
And when, Jack Lindgren passedaway, the concern and the care
for his family that emanatedfrom this facility was just so
heartwarming.
The staff that went to hisfuneral, it was just incredible.

(21:19):
So I agree with you.
I think that there's somethingvery special about the fact that
all Masons have the opportunityto, to come here and serve out
their senior years andsurrounded by other Masons,
which I think is phenomenal.
It's, and that's my commercialfor the Masonic home.
It's 11, five Oh one Masonichome drive, Bloomington,

(21:41):
Minnesota.
55437 Send your checks And I Ithink that's kind of a
underlying tone for masonry as awhole Yep of not necessarily at
the home, but just taking careof brothers in general and it's
one of our founding Principlesis to take care of a brother.
Yep, and uh, I think if weforget to do that, that's one of

(22:03):
our key Knowing that we helpeach other And watch over each
other.
We watch over our widows.
We watch over our brothers Andlots of groups aren't good at
doing that.
And I think masonry does abetter job than most.
Well, and it really is about, asyou've articulated, the
relationships.
The administrative side of ourorganization is, of course, very

(22:24):
important.
But, pre masonry, I get askedthis a lot in my role of, guys
may be interested in learningmore about it.
Well, what's it all about?
Well, as we've illustrated heretoday, it's about relationships.
It's about the, the Mentoringthat occurs like you'd mentioned
with Roger Taylor that that inmany so many other examples But

(22:44):
the the mentoring that sometimesis unintentional Now we may know
of a younger brother andresonate with him and feel okay.
Well, hey, I'm gonna be yourmentor but there are I've have
had some very closerelationships with Masons who
have now passed that when I wasin my 30s and venting to them

(23:06):
about or 40s or whatever aboutlife and work and just the
rigors of what's going on.
I had no idea the seeds of therelationship that were planted
at that time.
And that was that unintentionalfriendship and mentor mentee
relationship that, that surfacedin that.

(23:26):
And to fast forward 20 years andto hold that brother's hand as
he's losing his battle withlife.
And then to find out.
Oh, it's in his will that hepicked you, pick me to preside
over his service.
I mean, that, those, that'swhere I stop and take a look

(23:48):
that it's such a cliche that ofcourse, time is fleeting and you
get old so fast and then it'strue though.
And the, it's so vital that weslow down and build those and
hone those relationships amongstone another with that,
Friendship factor, knowingwhat's going on in each other's
lives and being there for oneanother as friends and brothers.

(24:11):
Well, I think, I think of theword wisdom comes to mind with
ritual.
Wisdom comes with age, and Ithink we learn so much from our
older brothers.
Too, from a knowledgestandpoint, but from a viewpoint
of they've been around the blockmore than once and in current

(24:32):
times when life is so hectic.
Um, they can share a piece ofwisdom with us that we don't
know because we haven'texperienced it.
Um, there's a balancing act of,of what they can share that we
won't get.
Institutional knowledge.
And so I think it's reallyimportant when we see those

(24:52):
older brothers.
And, and mix with them.
Be curious with them, right?
Be curious with them.
Right.
Get to know them, ask them.
Um, that, that interchange ofold and young, of the new guys
coming in and the old guys, isvery magical.
And that's unique to thisorganization, I think.
Well, and if there are any youngpeople out there that are
seeking wisdom, if wisdom comeswith age, We got a lot of wisdom

(25:17):
in this, uh, in this fraternity.
That's for sure.
Let's talk about your year,your, the, the, the, the year
looking forward.
What are some of yourobjectives?
If you know what, what do youwant us to look back on the year
of foster and, uh, take awayfrom that year?
What kind of stamp would youlike to leave on the fraternity?
Oh, hopefully that we have a funyear together.

(25:39):
Um, I guess I would, I wouldlike to leave the lodges, um,
um, Which I always have, lovingthe ritual because I think it's
who we are.
And so when I travel and dostuff, I hope that I can inspire
people with the ritual to learnthe lessons and have a good time
doing it and build relationshipswhile they're masons.
Do you have a particular, uh,degree or a particular part of

(26:06):
the ritual that is especiallyimportant to you?
Oh, another tough question.
That's what we do.
There's so many Many great partsin the ritual.
Um, I think the interrogatoriesare really important.
Okay um all the way through allof the Degrees, there's so many

(26:28):
pointed parts That hit you asyou go through.
Yep Which is kind of how life isyou get hit with things all the
way through and you have to knowwhat to do um I love the E.
A.
degree.
I love the fellow craft degree.
The middle chamber lecture is anamazing piece of work that
teaches a lot.
Um, the, the nine cardinalvirtues in, in the third degree,

(26:50):
I think we did last night.
And it just, every time I hearthem, it brings back those
things that we should be doing.
They're all, the working toolsof all three degrees are all
magical.
There's The ritual is justloaded with good stuff.
Um, you mentioned that you comefrom a really strong line, and
you have appointed Kenny Frieseto the line, and Kenny is from

(27:14):
northwest Minnesota, which isoften overlooked.
Can you tell us what, uh, whatwas it about Kenny that made you
decide to appoint him?
Help us get to know Kenny alittle better.
Kenny is probably one of thehardest working guys that I
know, that I do.
I don't know well.
Kenny and I are You admire thework ethic.

(27:35):
Really, yes.
Kenny lives so far away that weare not close friends that way.
But what, Kenny inspired me inwatching how he works and
operates.
And shortly after I joinedMasonry and became a custodian
of the work, and Um, we did a,uh, one day up in the northern

(27:56):
part of the state and Kenny wasin charge of that.
And he got every single lodge upthere involved.
It was, wonderful, almost as bigas a statewide event, really,
and, uh, was very successful.
He took on every aspect ofchanging the room and making it
what it needed to be.
Um, he got all the lodgesinvolved.

(28:18):
It made money, you know, tosupport what it took to put it
on.
You give Kenny a project andhe'll take it to the nth degree.
That's great.
And, and so, Kenny was aninspiration to me from a long
time ago.
You give him a task and he'llmake it happen.
And I just thought, withNorthern Minnesota and where
we're going, I thought, there'sa guy out there who knows a

(28:40):
chunk of the state that we need.
Absolutely.
And I wanted his input.
Um, with the corporate board.
Yeah.
Um, I thought he's got valuedinsights on one big chunk of the
state, and so I wanted him herefor a hard worker, a different
type of opinion, and And one ofthe things that I really
appreciate it is, sometimes webecome a little too metro

(29:03):
centric.
And you're a Minnehaha Lodge guywho grew up in South
Minneapolis, but you recognizethe need to have that rural, out
state representation.
And I think it's alwaysimportant to, to break that line
every once in a while andintroduce somebody That is
geographically a little distantfrom us that a lot of the guys

(29:25):
might not necessarily know, butit gives an opportunity for them
to recognize that there istalent, there is hard work that
exists well beyond the bordersof the seven county metro area.
Oh my, yes.
Right?
Yeah.
There's talent throughout thisstate.
Yeah, one of the things thatwe're going to be having our
strategic planning session forMinnesota Masonic Charities, and

(29:48):
we're doing these breakoutsessions, and one of the things
that I've done is I've puttogether little groups of
individuals that will go tothese four different areas of
concern that we as charitieshas.
Um, And we're going to havesome, the guys from the Grand
Lodge be in one group and bringthe Grand Lodge perspective to
it.
We've got the Eastern Starpeople, the Eastern Star

(30:10):
perspective.
We have the Metro, uh, pastGrand Masters that are part of
the Metro.
But then we've got the Outstategroup.
And I want to make sure thatwe're paying attention, that
everything that we do has an eyeon, uh, the rural areas.
Um, Steve Johnson, for example,uh, has, uh, suggested that we
get to know the future farmersof America.

(30:32):
Yes.
Because FFA apparently wasstarted once upon a time by
Masons.
That I didn't know.
I, he sent me an article.
It's very interesting, so.
I'm going out to an event thatthey're having at the end of the
end of July just to kind of geta feel for What the organization
is all about and when we look atour mission grants I think FFA
is a perfect example of anorganization that it would make

(30:53):
sense for us to have a closerconnection to Although I'm
surprised at all of theleadership of the FFA Like the
youth leadership, all girls.
I think there's one boy, lots ofgirls.
But you know, we have a Easternstar organization that could use
some, some youth.
Have you noticed that?

(31:15):
So when you think about the, theworld we live in now, we've
talked about this in the carover coffee or, or just in, in
general, that Sometimes I willhave conversations with someone
interested in learning moreabout Freemasonry.
And initially it's well, isthis, are these value teachings

(31:37):
old?
Are they out of date?
And I would like to think thatthey're timeless.
And in a world we live in nowthat is celebrating divisiveness
and it's all about fanning theflames.
It's not about meeting in themiddle and agreeing to disagree.
It's Shouting louder and justground and pound until you win.

(32:00):
And in a world that is fracturedright now that is seeking what
we stand for tolerance or nonsectarian.
It's it's about leaving thestate of the world in a better
place than you found it.
What are your thoughts on that?
Where do you, especially in yourposition now as Grand Master?

(32:23):
How can we further that missionthat the grand aim we have in
view is Freemasons?
Well, I, it, it always goes backto the basic teachings.
And I think you nailed it.
They are timeless.
How we, how we get people in thecurrent world to embrace them is

(32:46):
the challenge.
Um, the lessons themselves aretimeless.
Uh, being good doesn't change.
Being kind, doing the rightthing, right versus wrong,
doesn't change.
But the world we live in and howyou apply some of the lessons to
your life and how we, um, usethem, we, we might have to

(33:09):
approach them differently.
But I think that's the problemis if you try and change
masonry, you'll lose what it'sabout.
And, and, the world needsmasonry, that's a common cliche
saying too, but it needs it nowas much as it ever has.
Um, and it's needed it alwaysand it always will need it.
So if we can remember the basictenets of who we are and what

(33:31):
we're here to do, there'llalways be a need.
If you build it, they will come.
We just have to make sure peopleunderstand who we are and what
we're about.
And if you get that realmeaning, you'll It'll, it'll be
here.
And Reed, you know, one of theways that I think that applies
to the modern world, uh, is howwe present civility school.
You know, our goal in civilityschool is meeting young people

(33:55):
where they're at.
And where they're at isprimarily social media, uh, and
our objective is to, help themmanipulate their algorithms to
become Masonic algorithms.
You know, the things that areimportant to Masonry, the things
that make Masonry what it is, ifthose are the things that they
are being fed to them throughthe algorithms that they, uh,

(34:19):
that they, I just think thatthat's the, to me, that's the
answer to that question.
And see in the algorithm beingTimeless core values of being a
person of integrity, dignity,kindness and respect.
And one thing that's beentransformative when we have done
the civility schoolpresentations are seeing young

(34:42):
people when it clicks with themthat.
It's more than just beingagainst all the wrong things.
It's more than just a feeling.
It's what are you doing?
What are you doing to be thechange in your corner of the
world?
What are you, if there's a causethat you're passionate about
that's going to provide somesort of relief out in the world,

(35:03):
we are what we do, not what wesay that we'll do.
And when the young people makethat connection, it's been
fabulous.
And I think it's also It's, it'sabout what's right with people
as opposed to what's wrong withpeople.
And I would love to see a, uh,you know, we've got a
presidential election coming up.

(35:25):
And for once, I would love tosee a candidate that doesn't
focus on the shortcomings of thepeople that they're, Uh, running
against, but focus on the, thepositive things that they as an
individual bring to the mix.
It's like flipping the script.
You know, to me that would be a,a very Masonic way to, uh, to

(35:45):
operate a campaign, is to focuson the good things that I can
do, not the bad things thatyou're gonna do.
Right.
Right.
So.
Well said.
It's really good.
I never thought of it in thatperspective before, too.
That would be refreshing.
I got a good night's sleep lastnight.
Feeling really good aboutthings.
That's great.
We're joined today by FosterSolon, who's the Grand Master of

(36:05):
Masons in Minnesota, and also agood friend, great friend.
And this has been a really funopportunity to get to know about
you a little bit more and thingsthat maybe listeners Haven't
known about you and where yougrew up and what other what
other hobbies do you have?
What do you do for fun?
You have a very busy schedulewith Masonic activities, but

(36:29):
tell us more about you.
Oh Masonry is a big chunk of mylife.
It's a lot of what I do.
I help some elderly people.
I watch over my mom So that thatin itself is enough to keep me
going fortunate that I've takenthe year off from work, which is
Almost necessary to accomplishanything for my master.

(36:53):
Um, but other than that, masonryhas become a major focus in my
life.
Um, and the elderly people thatI've helped over the years, I've
lost a lot of people that I'vewatched over and take new ones
on, so that's part of my passionis helping, um, others that need
it, um, that don't have family.

(37:13):
Um, But beside that masonry,that's pretty much my big chunk.
I love gardening.
My grandpa was a prize dahliagrower.
And so when I get a chance todig in the dirt, I like doing
that.
Um, I sing.
So a big chunk of my life was inchoirs and singing and doing
that.
I don't do as much of that nowas I used to, but when I can I
do.

(37:34):
So.
The care that you give when yousay that you're, you're helping
people.
You are driving me.
Thousands of miles a year.
Appointments.
Visits.
It's really the the giver'sheart that is truly inspiring

(37:55):
and speaking of making adifference in the lives of
others that said.
Yeah, one of the things that I'dlike to include, uh, from time
to time in our podcast is, um,remembering, uh, brothers and
sisters that have passed and werecently lost Jan Lingo.
Jan passed away Yeah, Jan passedaway a couple of days ago, and

(38:19):
for those of you that don't knowJan, Jan, a member of the
Eastern Star, and she, uh, wasalso a long time volunteer at
the Masonic Cancer Center, andJan and Art, uh, have been
strong advocates for the thingsthat we do, not just as Masons,
but at Masonic Charities.
So, just wanted to recognize,uh, Jan for all the great work

(38:41):
that she, uh, had done.
And, uh, have a little prayerfor art in your heart.
And, uh, yeah, she'll be missed.
I'm so sorry to hear that.
Wow.
Yep.
Anything else?
Any final words of wisdom, MostWorshipful?
Thank you for inviting me tocome and be with you today.

(39:03):
Wonderful.
Very much fun.
It's been our honor.
And, uh, we'll see you in yourmany travels in the months to
come.
Sounds good.
And off we go.
All right.