October 20, 2025 • 33 mins
In this episode, we pick up the Working Tools for a deep dive into the foundational lessons of the Entered Apprentice degree. We are honored to welcome RWB Gary Salgado, Junior Grand Deacon (GLNY) to explore the bedrock principles upon which every Mason must build his symbolic temple. Bro. Gary shares his story beginning at an “irregular” Lodge to finding true Light in the Grand Lodge of New York.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Commons. Opinions and views shared during this program are
of those individual Freemasons and do not reflect the official
position of a Grand Launch, Concordant Body, Appendant Body, a
Masonic authority, or Craftsman Online dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome back to the Craftsman Online Podcast, the only Masonic
podcast endorsed by the Grand Lodge of New York. I'm
your host, right worshiper, brother Michael Arsa. We are pushing
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(00:54):
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Speaker 3 (01:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Help us get that word out to those seeking Freemasonry,
and we thank all of our supporters in advance. Also
some exciting news on the show as we look forward
to next month. The third annual Black Friday holiday shopping
episode is happening on Monday, November twenty fourth, sponsored by
Bricksmasons dot com. I say this with a smile on
my voice because I love this. For three years now,
(01:23):
brother Matthew Brockbank and I get together. It becomes a
holiday tradition of Matt finding the weirdest and just out
of the box gift ideas at Bricksmasons dot com, giving
his review and we share them with you for those
hard to find or hard to shop for Freemasons on
your holiday shopping list. Our third annual Black Friday holiday
(01:43):
shopping episode is back on Monday, November twenty fourth or
the seventeenth. If you're one of our Patreon subscribers, you've
joined us for a masterclass episode on the Entered Apprentice Journey.
And I am so honored to welcome and embrace this
brother on the Craftsman Online podcast. He's the junior Grand
Deacon for the Grand Lodge of New York. Right, Worshipful
(02:06):
Brother Gary Salgato, Gary, my brother, I see you got
a cigar in hand. What kind is that?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
The little one so they don't count?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Are those the backwards ones?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Oh? Yeah, because I'm Puerto Rican, I thunk backway.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Well, no, you're the second guest I've had on this
week that's smoked a cigar while I'm doing a podcast taping,
and I'm like, man, I wasn't going to smoke a
cigar tonight, but now I'm all of a sudden in
the moon.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Nice. Thank you so much. Thank you for inviting me in,
and I'm looking forward to this evening.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
He's joining us from his office with four wheels, top
open and cigar in hand.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Yes, the fruits of my label. I worked all day today,
took a shower, and now when I go back in
the house, I got to take another one.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Well, thank you for taking a shower before our podcast recording.
It's feels fresh in here already for me. And it's
beautiful because by the time this episode airs, brothers will
be like he's out in his car with the convertible
top open, smoking us. I'm like, yeah, we're recording this
in September, as our lodges here in New York State
are getting back to business, they're opening. You got the
(03:08):
worshipful masters up there knocking knees, sweaty heads for the
first time dropping that gavel. If you're lucky your lodge
had met an interested gentlemen, or maybe you had a
prospect from the end of last year, who's gone through
that balloting process. You're starting to do the rehearsals, You're
getting ready for the first degree. And that's the whole
point of this episode is it's our masterclass on the
entered apprentices journey. Brother Gary, what is your recollection like?
(03:32):
Where did it all begin for you? At that EA degree?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
So there's a little caveat to this because I was
actually initiated in a clandestine lodge. Wow, okay, before becoming
a regular Mason in the Gray Lodge in New York.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
So did you have two first degrees or did they
heal you and you could just keep that first one?
Speaker 4 (03:52):
No?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
No, I did everything the right way, Thank God for
my mother Lodge don already Lodge, who did an excellent job.
Was initiated. I had told probably my best friend in
the world, so some a little kid, he told me
about becoming a Mason, and I didn't you know at
that time, I really didn't know a lot about it.
I just knew I wanted to be a part of
(04:14):
something greater. I wanted to associate with different kind of men.
And I said, okay, he was my best friend. I
didn't even think twice to wonder his validity. And we had,
you know, been friends since the time we were eleven,
so it was like okay, and I went with him.
I said I wanted to be a Mason, and a
(04:35):
few days later I was initiated.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
And this was the Clandestine Lodge.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
The Clandestine Lodge just that fast, like, yeah, we're gonna
have a degree. You want to come, Okay, I showed up,
I bought a tuck h I put a uniform on.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
Uniform was the same.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Okay, I walked through the door and I got smacked
in the chest.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
With an open hand. Woo.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Okay, And I won't say what happens with us, but
I'll stayed there because it's not really what we don't
have anything close to that, right, So it was really
like and I just went through it. I had no idea.
I just fast forward it. I went through the first degree.
It was like I had no idea what I learned,
you know, almost like in Blue Lodge, you have no
(05:22):
idea what the hell you yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yeah, yeah, no, I totally totally hear you. It's funny
you had two first first degree experiences, so I'm gonna
guess you went through all three degrees in the clandestine Laundry.
Did you just do the one?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
So listen, listen what they did for me for the
second and third They gave me a two.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
For one, all in one night, all in one night. Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
And is the story anything close?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
It was a nightmare. What really did it for me
was they were going to have another initiation and I
didn't know a grip. I didn't know a word, I
didn't know anything. And I'm sitting there and they're reading
out of this book. I think it's Duncan's ritual if
I am erect right, Duncan's ritual. And the guy who
(06:09):
was reading the degree couldn't read.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
So not only did they did not know it from.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Memory, but he couldn't even read. And I was like, yeah,
something's wrong. So thank so thank God for a past
master from Prince Hall where I used to be in
the bowling league with my dad. And the short version
of this story is another brother who was actually like
(06:38):
a mentor to me growing up. I didn't know he
was a Mason, a real Mason, And he tells past
Master Pablo Rojas, who is a past Master of Voyolage
number one in the Prince Hall, Most Worship Prince Hall
of the Grand Lodge in New York. He says, oh,
he said that I was going to, you know, get
(06:59):
an issue and I was going to go for my
third degree, but I didn't know it was the second
and third. And he says, uh, he's gonna go for
that walk and he said what lodge, And believe it
or not, the name of the lodge was Saint John's Lodge,
but not the Yeah, he told me it was bogus.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Hmmm.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
And I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
I was so angry.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
I got some information afterwards. After that that initiation for
the new Brother, I went up to my best friend.
I said, something's wrong and you don't see it. And
he said, oh, don't listen to those Prince Hall guys.
You know that blah blah blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
I'm like, bro, I love you, but it is not
for me. Hmm.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
That is a tough conversation to have.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Man, I'm talking about the best, my best friend in
the world, my best friend since I was eleven, actually
even dated sister. I mean it was like we couldn't
get any closer, and uh, he's talking to me. And
that went on a journey to try to find a
new home. And this is what I tell a lot
(08:07):
of people, and I think this is a part of
why I love masonry so much, is because I know
what it's not. See, some brothers are lucky enough to
get into a lodge and it's a beautiful studying, and
it's all the beauty that we try to give to
our newly initiated brothers. We try to transfer that into
(08:29):
this moment, right We try to create a space where
it's really like, Okay, we're going to do something special
at this moment. You know, they practiced the ritual, so
we there's a lot of work right into this moment.
And long story short, I was going to go to
(08:50):
a Prince Hall lodge and it was some kind of
like back and forth about a few things, and then
I kept knocking. There was a brother at my job
who was amazed, and I saw the square in compass
on his ring and I had to ask him three times,
and after the third time he was like, Okay, I
got a place for you, and he brought me to
(09:11):
Done with He lodge where I met a past master,
and you know, that was the beginning. I felt the
difference from the time I met the past.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Master versus the irregular Lodge.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah right, I mean just just in conversation. I met
up with the Worshipful Master, came to a home visit,
they met my wife, and they did what you know
brothers usually do. Hopefully everyone knows he should be interviewed
at your own if you're married or you have a
significant other, they should be speaking to you that person
and really letting them know what the expectation is. And
(09:47):
you know, I've been blessed with a beautiful wife who
approached me one thousand percent and she basically told them
he needs this.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Get him out of my house.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I think that's what I you know, I have to
be an amazing after so many years, she was like,
please get them.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Away from me, put him around other people like himself too,
the other crazy people.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
But then I was initiated probably the most beautiful thing
I've ever seen in my life. And it was the
work was incredible because and I want, and I want
anyone who's listening to this to keep in mind that
I know what Masony is not and for me to
hear the Master do all the work and pat the
(10:34):
same pass. Master came into the preparation room, right, and
it was four of us and I'll never forget, he said.
I just want you to keep in mind that everything,
everything that's done tonight is done by memory. And for me,
it must have it must have been like he was
wondering what I was thinking, you know what I mean,
It was like, oh, okay, like yeah, he needs to
(10:54):
hear this, and I just closed my eyes and you know,
and I walked through the door and I did and
gets to Nacked.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
It was like, oh, okay, this is different.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
I think it's cool that that past master did that.
And I don't want to interrupt it, but we're definitely
going to pick back up with this conversation. But I
think that's a really valid point and I want the
candidate to hear that. But I also want the brothers
that are performing a degree we usually call them a
degree team. But then the other brothers that are the
sideliners that are just going to show up to hear
(11:24):
this from you. Is that it's important to know that
these rituals are done by men who memorize the work.
These guys take time out of their lives away from
their families. This is what they obsess over for days, weeks,
sometimes months. Some of them do it like they have
a constant role every time their lodge is the first Degree.
(11:45):
They're the guy that does a historical lecture. This is
our middle chamber guy. This is the guy that plays
this part in the third degree. And I think it's
really important for brothers to know that if we don't
support these guys, that we don't have good ritual and
that experience that you're talking about isn't going to be there.
And then that feeling that you have right now as
a master Mason, it wouldn't be there because you just
(12:07):
didn't have that good foundation when you walk in and
you see guys that don't take the degree work seriously,
that are reading things out of a book. And nothing
against the people that do that, but there's a big
difference between those guys and the ones that we're product
to say, Wow, look at I go to the first
degree just to see this guy do this part. Because
it's so amazing.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Interesting that you say that, because it was a lot
of people there right now. I don't know why there's
so many people here. I was like, oh my god,
this is just incredible.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
When people talk about this being I always say It's
like one of the top five most memorable moments of
my life. Like I'm never going to forget where I
was the first and second day my first my oldest,
and my son were born. I'll never forget those days
when my kids are born, never forget where I was
when I finally graduated from college after all those years
and tries and crying. Never never going to forget that one.
(13:25):
Never for going to get the day that I get married.
But the other day I'll never forget is the day
I took my first degree and the day that I
got raised as a Master Mason, two of the biggest
days of my life. Those are top five days.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I agree with you one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
I think the night when I felt like after it happened,
after you know, we were initiated and we sat in
the northeast corner in a past match that told me
that it was my lide. I believe them. Well, I
could tell you I've been in Mason about twelve years now,
(13:57):
well over thirteen, and I might have missed two meetings
in all those years because I felt so. I mean, now,
if I missed, it is because I'm on grand line
and I was told that I no longer belong to
my Mother Lodge, the Grand Loge, or the Grand Master.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Hold on, I think you heard that, and he's calling
me right now. I love you, most worshipful. I hear
what you're saying, and I wanted to get your take
on that as well, because one of the things I
love about our Grand Line of the Grand Lodge in
New York, and I hope other New York Masons feel
this way like I do, is that this is the
most approachable brand line I have experienced in my time
(14:42):
as a Mason, which is ten years. And when I
hang out with you guys, I feel like you were
members of my lodge and I'm a member of your lodge.
Like there's no like quote unquote line that divides us.
Like it really is this special, very unique bond. You
can tell that you guys like each other, you like
spending time around each other, and you like being and
(15:04):
serving the craft. And that's what I love about our
Grand Line.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
From what I heard, I could only speak about my
time on Grand Line, but it's really one line. So
for the brothers who aren't on Grand Line, and our
jurisdiction is basically, you know, the Grand Master has a team,
and then a deputy grand Master has a team, but
we're all one grand line and we'll never wear together.
(15:33):
It feels like I feel like I'm with my friend.
I mean, I really feel like. I mean, you had
gone Gorham on the podcast already. He's a fantastic human being.
Addison Cruz. I think he's going to be King of
the philipp Beings one day.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Agreed. I mean, he's a fantastic human being.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Gustavo Peter Humfries. I mean, the brothers the grand Master
is incredible, you know, I know his hard is in
the right place. I know he's working really hard and
he has he has put out a lot for their
brothers to try to grasp. It's been an exciting time.
I'm I'm with the Deputy grad Master right worship for
(16:19):
Bob Holgan, who's an incredible human being. We have, you know,
Nikki Policelli, John Pascalalicio and Ael and Angel Luiz. I'm
surrounded by good guys all the time, and it's been
a wonderful experience. It's it's a lot because I'm still working,
so trying to balance everything is uh is a is
(16:42):
a job in itself, but I'm super proud to walk
around with that.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
With the brothers.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
You get the benefit of traveling to all of these
ladges around New York State. What are some of the
takeaways that you have now with with this passion that
burns inside of you, What is it that you go
up and impress upon that new entry apprentice, that new
brother who's been obligated that night, and you've got a
purple apron and he has no idea what that means.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Every time when I sweat to a candidate or a
newly raised brother, what I try to tell them is,
Masonyan is all about what you put into it.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
So I'll just go to the.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Meal sometimes and I'll tell them, hey, listen, when you
go to your mother's house, do you go up just
to eat or do you go to say hi to
see if she needs anything. So try to tell them,
like you know, if you get involved with the getting
the room together, it's really helpful. Every lodge is different.
In my lodge and my mother lodge, the senior deacon
(17:38):
is supposed to take care of the preparation of the room,
so it's his job to set it up. And you know,
if you come early enough, when the food comes, when
the brother brings the food and maybe you can help
them bring it down, you know, really try to get
them invested in. It's not magic that the room just
opens up and it looks this way.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I got to ask you this question, right, worshipful, So
your Mother Lodge, are you one of the fortunate Blue
lodges that every year you get to start the year
off with the candidate who's beginning their Masonic journey this year?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
We have people, but I believe we'd try to really
practice the north Star program. I mean, we just initiated
three guys at the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
That's kind of my point is that I feel that.
So it's funny. The way that the calendar year falls
in New York is very similar to the school calendar year.
So as the kids are getting ready to go back
to school and parents can't wait for that, you know,
Dad's getting ready to go back to lodge and mom
can't wait for that either. She gets the house to herself.
(18:37):
There's a certain excitement and energy I think that comes
with the lodge. Having been a member of a lodge
where we have a first degree that we're going to
do either in October or November. So there's the rehearsals,
there's the preparation, and is as tense and as stressful
as that moment can be, there's also that cool excitement
because we're like, man, we can't wait to put Johnny
through the best degree experience he's ever going to have,
(18:58):
because it's like, as you say, it's the brothers getting
around and making that meal for them, that nourishment so
that he's excited and he wants to come back and
can't wait to do the second degree that we want
to try to do for him. Where it's different where
if you have a lodge where we haven't really you know,
made a brother or even raised a brother, and like
three or four years, like things start to get a
(19:18):
little rusty. It's not that you're tired of seeing the
same guys all the time, but that energy is kind
of missing, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (19:24):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
And we've always at least initiated a brother every year
because I've been amazed. And I was initiated one week
and four more brothers were initiated the following week, so
I was able to see the degree right after I
went through it, which is also something I tell the
brothers who are newly initiated. Once they're initiated, I said,
(19:47):
the great part is going through it. It's even better
when you see someone else go through it.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
That's the thing that I find myself saying to the
newly obligated brothers, and for those that are like, what
are they talking about? The guys that take their first degree,
they've been newly obligated, their entered apprentices, that's the term.
But I always say to them like, hey, look when
it comes to coming to the meetings, as you say,
you get out of masonry what you put into it.
And they're like, well, I already paid my dues or
(20:12):
what are you talking about. I was like, no, no, no, no,
your time, man, your time. As badly as you wanted
this experience, we wanted to hang out with you. So
if you don't come to the launch, it's like you're
taking something away from us because we were looking forward
to having you as a part of our group.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I initiated one of my coworkers one time I brought
him in. He admitted, and that's another that's another conversation.
He demitted because of his religious beliefs, and that's been
We could have.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
A whole other podcast on that deal.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Uh, great guy, great brother. And after his initiation, after
after he was obligated and made it an into the apprentice,
he said, I want to be able to do that.
And let me tell you, Mike, my heart opened up
and I'm like, oh my god, he's going to be great.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Once you understand that.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
It's really not you about being in service because I'm
a grand line officer, but I'm serving to our grand jurisdiction.
That's my job. I'm an ambassador to the craft. That's
why when you.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
See me, I look happy because you are right.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Every time you see me, I'm laughing and getting yeah,
because I'm happy to be around my brothers. I really
love masonry. I really love the fact that we have
a lot of young brothers in our jurisdiction coming up
and really doing the work. And I'll give the Grand
ask a lot of credit for that. And that's really
(21:40):
what it's about. It's identifying leaders. So when I had
that brother tell me that he wanted to be able
to do that, I was like, well, listen, tomorrow, we
could stop. We could start on the process of.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
You doing that.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
I will admit when I first started masonry as an
obligated inter apprentice, my lodge mentor or success coach, I
think is what we call them now. But the brother
that kind of gets assigned to you by the lodging
partners up with you and helps you work on We
call it the catechism. It's the work you have to
do so that you can move to the next degree.
There's a lot of memorization that goes into it. If
(22:39):
you haven't had that conversation with your success coach yet,
ask him, wait, I heard on that podcast. They said
there's a lot of memorization, Like, what are they talking about?
It's key. It does trip some people up, but it
almost got me in the second degree. I remember telling him.
I'm like, look, I will learn what you want me
to learn, but I'm going to put this in a
temporary folder in my brain. And you told me that
(23:00):
I got to do three of these degrees. So as
soon as I'm done, I'm gonna forget all of this
stuff because I didn't really come for this. I came
for this other part of mason because you see, I
didn't understand that that's what masonry was all about. Is
that ritual that you learn is what stays with you.
When you get up at six in the morning to
go to work, when you're lying in bed and you
can't fall asleep at night, when you're interacting with other people,
(23:22):
whether it's a car ride by yourself or you're in
a crowded room, those words just kind of float around
in your own voice, in your own head man, and
they that is what makes you a Mason right there.
And I wanted to talk to that a little bit
because for those brothers that are getting into this and
they're maybe sharing the same feeling I had about ritual,
where they're like, ah, it's not really for me. Can
(23:44):
you speak to how rewarding it feels and probably still
feels when you get tapped or asked or volunteered to
take a part in doing a first degree for another brother.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
My favorite piece is the apron presentation. It was given
to me by a past mask. So the brother that
was there that I followed us and enter the prectice,
the master of my lives. His name is wors Esteban Rodriguez,
and I went everywhere he went and once out and
(24:16):
as soon as I was raised, I said what should
I learn? And he said, learn the Apron And I
want you to do it because I've been doing it
since I was initiated, and then I was trying to
give it somebody else.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
We had another brother that was supposed to be on
this podcast recording, but he wasn't able to make it tonight,
and you say his last name much better than I could,
so write worship for brother John Willio. He wasn't able
to make it tonight, and he had sent you know,
these prospective questions, and I got to tell you, Garry,
we literally didn't use any of them. But there was
one point that was a theme in his outline that
(24:50):
I did want to address because we talked about how
it started, and for you, I mean, I had no idea.
That is a very interesting start. Let's talk about where
the EA degree ends. At least in New York State
and most regular lodges, it ends by being placed in
the northeast corner of the lodge. And you're explaining what
the significance of that is at that time, What does
(25:13):
it mean for you without giving away any of our secrets,
when it comes to the northeast corner, when you think
of that as a building or a foundation, and as
a man, as a mason, what does the northeast corner
represent to you.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
Really for me, I mean it's changed now. It's hope.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
The northeast corner for me is hope. It's hope for
the brother.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
It's hope for the lodge. My wife would.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Often say to me, why do you get so excited
about the new guys, Like because you see, we'd be
disappointed with some of the outcomes of brothers that come out,
and like I'll come home and be like, oh man,
we got this guy, and you know, I'm super stacked
on him. And then you know, some brothers says aloud.
Some you know, masonry is not for everyone. It's hope.
(26:00):
It's hoped that yeah, he can take you know, the
working tools of an end to the apprentice and really
inculcate them in his life and really and really transform
his life from an upright man to a mason. And
it all begins in the northeast corner. Nobody wants to
come to lodge and hear about what happened, you know,
(26:23):
seventy years ago when we had eight hundred people and
now we have, you know, eleven brothers in the room.
The new guys don't want to hear that. They don't
want to feel like they missed the boat. They want
to feel like they were are in the water. They
want to feel like they're a part of what's happening,
and they're going to make a difference. And that's what
I like to tell them. I had a brother of mine,
I'm just going to stay this real quick, who hated
(26:44):
to be in the northeast corner. He hated to wait outside.
He felt like, oh man, they you know, like they're
treating us like suckers. Why we got to wait outside?
And to me, it was one of it was that
for me, the best feeling was to wait for them
to drop the lodge in order for us to go in.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, we're wor old enough to remember when we were
EA's and fellow crafts, we couldn't sit in lodge because
it was only business can only be done on the
master mason level. And that's changed, thankfully, and we were
able to let guys share that experience to that point.
Speaker 4 (27:18):
Though.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
I have a follow up question on it. So you're
master of the lodge this year, right, not of your lodge,
I'm just saying hypothetically, or your master of the lodge.
You've got this new brother that's come in as an
entered apprentice. You want to get him engaged with the lodge,
but you know what's ahead of him with the Catechism,
getting ready for his next degree. You don't want to
overwhelm the guy. What do you do to keep this brother.
(27:39):
I don't want to say in line, because you can't
put him in the officer line, but what do you
do to keep him engaged? To keep him involved?
Speaker 3 (27:45):
That's actually probably one of the hardest things to do,
I find is because you don't want to overwhelm them
right in the beginning, with given or responsibility. He is
and that's ad apprentice. What I would try to do
is make sure that he never eats alone. Make sure
that we have his number. You want to make sure
(28:06):
you stay in contact. Invite him to an event, you know,
ask him what he's doing, maybe take him. Make sure
that the brothers go out with them, even if you
can't put them on a committee right away. Tell him, hey, listen,
this brother's doing this on this night. You want to
stop by, you know, try to break the ice with
the brothers. It's definitely one of those things. To the
(28:28):
fine line, it's really it's really tough to try to
figure out what to do with a brother when he
first comes in.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
It's interesting. We've traveled around New York State and outside
to other grand jurisdictions, and one of the launches that
I visited had a really cool tradition that I tried
to embrace when I was master my lodge here in
DC a couple of years back, which was as soon
as we raised the brother the next meeting he's an
entered apprentice, I would have him escorted, and if we
(28:54):
didn't have any dignitaries, I would have him sit next
to me in the east. And it was funny because
they don't know how special that is until they can't
sit in that chair again until they go through all
the other chairs, and then they go, Wow, this guy
tapped me to come sit next to him during the meetings,
and I have no idea what's even going on here?
Speaker 3 (29:14):
What I would do in my and my jurisdiction. When
I was Distrey deputy and I was brought in on
my night, I was taken that to the apprentice and
come into the room and tell him I don't want
to be escorted. And now I would basically escort him
into the lodge on a d D visit so he
can feel like, oh wow, I came in with the
(29:35):
d D kind of a thing, you know, and you know,
taking moments. I think when you're in a position of leadership,
reaching out is really important.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
You know.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
I'm half the time when I go out with the
Grand Line, I'm trying to if I can talk to
somebody who's new or even a candidate. I mean, I
love my brothers, but I much rather talk to some
of those brothers because you really have to be on
for them, you know, because something right Worshipful Peter Plean
told me. He said, someone may never remember your name,
(30:06):
but they remember how you treat it.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Though absolutely true, that's true in a lot of aspects
of life.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Yeah, right, and I carry that weight meeting he gave me.
He gave me that once I joined Grand Line.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
So right Worshipful, I feel like we could have this
conversation all night, because I know we almost have. I'm impressed.
I still think that's the original cigar that you lit
when we first started.
Speaker 4 (30:27):
Yes, and the morning halfway done. I'm impressed.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Although the sun that was behind you has set, and
I don't want you to wake up tomorrow and come
out to a dead battery, and then everybody in New
York isn't able to get to work because you're not
there to help. I'm getting around the city. So I'm
going to get you out of here on this question, right, worsful,
and I really sincerely appreciate your time. And I'm sure
you've gotten asked this question so many times. I'm in
my mind trying to figure out how to ask it
(30:52):
or propose it in a way that could be interesting
to our listener. But that would be your advice. You're
a leader of our brand lodge, you're in the line.
You've been doing this for a long time. You carry
that passion with you, and you exemplify it. You live
it every day. Anyone that meets you knows that you're
a Mason by the way that you act to others
and the way you conduct yourself. What advice would you
(31:15):
like to whisper into the ear of that interested gentleman,
that brother who's getting ready to take his first degree,
whether it's later this month or before the end of
the year in his lodge, so that he can be
prepared for this experience so he gets the most out
of it. What advice you want to give them?
Speaker 3 (31:31):
I look him in Ai and I tell him that
there's nothing that happens in masonry that you'd be ashamed
of everything that you're going to go through tonight. Brothers
from George Washington, Ben Franklin, honorable men to someone like me.
You know, hard working guy, you're you're almost great men.
(31:52):
Carry yourself in that way, in that light when you
talk about masonry. Keep it in high and be reverent
and the way you speak about masonry, because probably one
of the best decisions I ever made in my life.
It can change your life if you allow it to
just be open and know that you know this is
(32:13):
something that really could make an impact now on in
your life, but in the life of the people around you.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Thanks again to my guest this week, write Worshipful Gary Salgato,
Junior Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge of New York.
You can get early access to next week's episode and
an ad free listening experience, plus check out all of
our subscriber extra episodes by becoming a Patreon subscriber of
The Craftsman Online podcast. Get your free seven day trial
(32:41):
to just test it out. In the notes for this episode,
I write, worshipful Brother Michael arsa until our time together
next week. Look peace at harmony prevail
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Da
The Commons. Opinions and views shared during this program are
of those individual Freemasons and do not reflect the official
position of a Grand Launch, Concordant Body, Appendant Body, a
Masonic authority, or Craftsman Online dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Welcome back to the Craftsman Online Podcast, the only Masonic
podcast endorsed by the Grand Lodge of New York. I'm
your host, right worshiper, brother Michael Arsa. We are pushing
for twenty subscribers on our Patreon feed this fall, and
you can totally help us out. You can get a
free seven day start see what it's all about with
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and access to our entire back catalog of the Craftsman
(00:54):
Online Podcast with some of our subscriber extra episodes all
in the notes for this episode, and you can join
us for five dollars a month.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
Help us get that word out to those seeking Freemasonry,
and we thank all of our supporters in advance. Also
some exciting news on the show as we look forward
to next month. The third annual Black Friday holiday shopping
episode is happening on Monday, November twenty fourth, sponsored by
Bricksmasons dot com. I say this with a smile on
my voice because I love this. For three years now,
(01:23):
brother Matthew Brockbank and I get together. It becomes a
holiday tradition of Matt finding the weirdest and just out
of the box gift ideas at Bricksmasons dot com, giving
his review and we share them with you for those
hard to find or hard to shop for Freemasons on
your holiday shopping list. Our third annual Black Friday holiday
(01:43):
shopping episode is back on Monday, November twenty fourth or
the seventeenth. If you're one of our Patreon subscribers, you've
joined us for a masterclass episode on the Entered Apprentice Journey.
And I am so honored to welcome and embrace this
brother on the Craftsman Online podcast. He's the junior Grand
Deacon for the Grand Lodge of New York. Right, Worshipful
(02:06):
Brother Gary Salgato, Gary, my brother, I see you got
a cigar in hand. What kind is that?
Speaker 3 (02:11):
The little one so they don't count?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
Are those the backwards ones?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Oh? Yeah, because I'm Puerto Rican, I thunk backway.
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Well, no, you're the second guest I've had on this
week that's smoked a cigar while I'm doing a podcast taping,
and I'm like, man, I wasn't going to smoke a
cigar tonight, but now I'm all of a sudden in
the moon.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Nice. Thank you so much. Thank you for inviting me in,
and I'm looking forward to this evening.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
He's joining us from his office with four wheels, top
open and cigar in hand.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
Yes, the fruits of my label. I worked all day today,
took a shower, and now when I go back in
the house, I got to take another one.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
Well, thank you for taking a shower before our podcast recording.
It's feels fresh in here already for me. And it's
beautiful because by the time this episode airs, brothers will
be like he's out in his car with the convertible
top open, smoking us. I'm like, yeah, we're recording this
in September, as our lodges here in New York State
are getting back to business, they're opening. You got the
(03:08):
worshipful masters up there knocking knees, sweaty heads for the
first time dropping that gavel. If you're lucky your lodge
had met an interested gentlemen, or maybe you had a
prospect from the end of last year, who's gone through
that balloting process. You're starting to do the rehearsals, You're
getting ready for the first degree. And that's the whole
point of this episode is it's our masterclass on the
entered apprentices journey. Brother Gary, what is your recollection like?
(03:32):
Where did it all begin for you? At that EA degree?
Speaker 3 (03:35):
So there's a little caveat to this because I was
actually initiated in a clandestine lodge. Wow, okay, before becoming
a regular Mason in the Gray Lodge in New York.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
So did you have two first degrees or did they
heal you and you could just keep that first one?
Speaker 4 (03:52):
No?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
No, I did everything the right way, Thank God for
my mother Lodge don already Lodge, who did an excellent job.
Was initiated. I had told probably my best friend in
the world, so some a little kid, he told me
about becoming a Mason, and I didn't you know at
that time, I really didn't know a lot about it.
I just knew I wanted to be a part of
(04:14):
something greater. I wanted to associate with different kind of men.
And I said, okay, he was my best friend. I
didn't even think twice to wonder his validity. And we had,
you know, been friends since the time we were eleven,
so it was like okay, and I went with him.
I said I wanted to be a Mason, and a
(04:35):
few days later I was initiated.
Speaker 2 (04:37):
And this was the Clandestine Lodge.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
The Clandestine Lodge just that fast, like, yeah, we're gonna
have a degree. You want to come, Okay, I showed up,
I bought a tuck h I put a uniform on.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
Uniform was the same.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
Okay, I walked through the door and I got smacked
in the chest.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
With an open hand. Woo.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Okay, And I won't say what happens with us, but
I'll stayed there because it's not really what we don't
have anything close to that, right, So it was really
like and I just went through it. I had no idea.
I just fast forward it. I went through the first degree.
It was like I had no idea what I learned,
you know, almost like in Blue Lodge, you have no
(05:22):
idea what the hell you yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
Yeah, yeah, no, I totally totally hear you. It's funny
you had two first first degree experiences, so I'm gonna
guess you went through all three degrees in the clandestine Laundry.
Did you just do the one?
Speaker 3 (05:36):
So listen, listen what they did for me for the
second and third They gave me a two.
Speaker 4 (05:39):
For one, all in one night, all in one night. Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
And is the story anything close?
Speaker 3 (05:48):
It was a nightmare. What really did it for me
was they were going to have another initiation and I
didn't know a grip. I didn't know a word, I
didn't know anything. And I'm sitting there and they're reading
out of this book. I think it's Duncan's ritual if
I am erect right, Duncan's ritual. And the guy who
(06:09):
was reading the degree couldn't read.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
So not only did they did not know it from.
Speaker 3 (06:15):
Memory, but he couldn't even read. And I was like, yeah,
something's wrong. So thank so thank God for a past
master from Prince Hall where I used to be in
the bowling league with my dad. And the short version
of this story is another brother who was actually like
(06:38):
a mentor to me growing up. I didn't know he
was a Mason, a real Mason, And he tells past
Master Pablo Rojas, who is a past Master of Voyolage
number one in the Prince Hall, Most Worship Prince Hall
of the Grand Lodge in New York. He says, oh,
he said that I was going to, you know, get
(06:59):
an issue and I was going to go for my
third degree, but I didn't know it was the second
and third. And he says, uh, he's gonna go for
that walk and he said what lodge, And believe it
or not, the name of the lodge was Saint John's Lodge,
but not the Yeah, he told me it was bogus.
Speaker 4 (07:19):
Hmmm.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
And I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him.
Speaker 4 (07:23):
I was so angry.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
I got some information afterwards. After that that initiation for
the new Brother, I went up to my best friend.
I said, something's wrong and you don't see it. And
he said, oh, don't listen to those Prince Hall guys.
You know that blah blah blah blah blah.
Speaker 4 (07:39):
I'm like, bro, I love you, but it is not
for me. Hmm.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
That is a tough conversation to have.
Speaker 3 (07:46):
Man, I'm talking about the best, my best friend in
the world, my best friend since I was eleven, actually
even dated sister. I mean it was like we couldn't
get any closer, and uh, he's talking to me. And
that went on a journey to try to find a
new home. And this is what I tell a lot
(08:07):
of people, and I think this is a part of
why I love masonry so much, is because I know
what it's not. See, some brothers are lucky enough to
get into a lodge and it's a beautiful studying, and
it's all the beauty that we try to give to
our newly initiated brothers. We try to transfer that into
(08:29):
this moment, right We try to create a space where
it's really like, Okay, we're going to do something special
at this moment. You know, they practiced the ritual, so
we there's a lot of work right into this moment.
And long story short, I was going to go to
(08:50):
a Prince Hall lodge and it was some kind of
like back and forth about a few things, and then
I kept knocking. There was a brother at my job
who was amazed, and I saw the square in compass
on his ring and I had to ask him three times,
and after the third time he was like, Okay, I
got a place for you, and he brought me to
(09:11):
Done with He lodge where I met a past master,
and you know, that was the beginning. I felt the
difference from the time I met the past.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Master versus the irregular Lodge.
Speaker 3 (09:21):
Yeah right, I mean just just in conversation. I met
up with the Worshipful Master, came to a home visit,
they met my wife, and they did what you know
brothers usually do. Hopefully everyone knows he should be interviewed
at your own if you're married or you have a
significant other, they should be speaking to you that person
and really letting them know what the expectation is. And
(09:47):
you know, I've been blessed with a beautiful wife who
approached me one thousand percent and she basically told them
he needs this.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
Get him out of my house.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
I think that's what I you know, I have to
be an amazing after so many years, she was like,
please get them.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
Away from me, put him around other people like himself too,
the other crazy people.
Speaker 3 (10:11):
But then I was initiated probably the most beautiful thing
I've ever seen in my life. And it was the
work was incredible because and I want, and I want
anyone who's listening to this to keep in mind that
I know what Masony is not and for me to
hear the Master do all the work and pat the
(10:34):
same pass. Master came into the preparation room, right, and
it was four of us and I'll never forget, he said.
I just want you to keep in mind that everything,
everything that's done tonight is done by memory. And for me,
it must have it must have been like he was
wondering what I was thinking, you know what I mean,
It was like, oh, okay, like yeah, he needs to
(10:54):
hear this, and I just closed my eyes and you know,
and I walked through the door and I did and
gets to Nacked.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
It was like, oh, okay, this is different.
Speaker 2 (11:03):
I think it's cool that that past master did that.
And I don't want to interrupt it, but we're definitely
going to pick back up with this conversation. But I
think that's a really valid point and I want the
candidate to hear that. But I also want the brothers
that are performing a degree we usually call them a
degree team. But then the other brothers that are the
sideliners that are just going to show up to hear
(11:24):
this from you. Is that it's important to know that
these rituals are done by men who memorize the work.
These guys take time out of their lives away from
their families. This is what they obsess over for days, weeks,
sometimes months. Some of them do it like they have
a constant role every time their lodge is the first Degree.
(11:45):
They're the guy that does a historical lecture. This is
our middle chamber guy. This is the guy that plays
this part in the third degree. And I think it's
really important for brothers to know that if we don't
support these guys, that we don't have good ritual and
that experience that you're talking about isn't going to be there.
And then that feeling that you have right now as
a master Mason, it wouldn't be there because you just
(12:07):
didn't have that good foundation when you walk in and
you see guys that don't take the degree work seriously,
that are reading things out of a book. And nothing
against the people that do that, but there's a big
difference between those guys and the ones that we're product
to say, Wow, look at I go to the first
degree just to see this guy do this part. Because
it's so amazing.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
Interesting that you say that, because it was a lot
of people there right now. I don't know why there's
so many people here. I was like, oh my god,
this is just incredible.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
When people talk about this being I always say It's
like one of the top five most memorable moments of
my life. Like I'm never going to forget where I
was the first and second day my first my oldest,
and my son were born. I'll never forget those days
when my kids are born, never forget where I was
when I finally graduated from college after all those years
and tries and crying. Never never going to forget that one.
(13:25):
Never for going to get the day that I get married.
But the other day I'll never forget is the day
I took my first degree and the day that I
got raised as a Master Mason, two of the biggest
days of my life. Those are top five days.
Speaker 4 (13:35):
I agree with you one hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (13:37):
I think the night when I felt like after it happened,
after you know, we were initiated and we sat in
the northeast corner in a past match that told me
that it was my lide. I believe them. Well, I
could tell you I've been in Mason about twelve years now,
(13:57):
well over thirteen, and I might have missed two meetings
in all those years because I felt so. I mean, now,
if I missed, it is because I'm on grand line
and I was told that I no longer belong to
my Mother Lodge, the Grand Loge, or the Grand Master.
Speaker 2 (14:20):
Hold on, I think you heard that, and he's calling
me right now. I love you, most worshipful. I hear
what you're saying, and I wanted to get your take
on that as well, because one of the things I
love about our Grand Line of the Grand Lodge in
New York, and I hope other New York Masons feel
this way like I do, is that this is the
most approachable brand line I have experienced in my time
(14:42):
as a Mason, which is ten years. And when I
hang out with you guys, I feel like you were
members of my lodge and I'm a member of your lodge.
Like there's no like quote unquote line that divides us.
Like it really is this special, very unique bond. You
can tell that you guys like each other, you like
spending time around each other, and you like being and
(15:04):
serving the craft. And that's what I love about our
Grand Line.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
From what I heard, I could only speak about my
time on Grand Line, but it's really one line. So
for the brothers who aren't on Grand Line, and our
jurisdiction is basically, you know, the Grand Master has a team,
and then a deputy grand Master has a team, but
we're all one grand line and we'll never wear together.
(15:33):
It feels like I feel like I'm with my friend.
I mean, I really feel like. I mean, you had
gone Gorham on the podcast already. He's a fantastic human being.
Addison Cruz. I think he's going to be King of
the philipp Beings one day.
Speaker 4 (15:50):
Agreed. I mean, he's a fantastic human being.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Gustavo Peter Humfries. I mean, the brothers the grand Master
is incredible, you know, I know his hard is in
the right place. I know he's working really hard and
he has he has put out a lot for their
brothers to try to grasp. It's been an exciting time.
I'm I'm with the Deputy grad Master right worship for
(16:19):
Bob Holgan, who's an incredible human being. We have, you know,
Nikki Policelli, John Pascalalicio and Ael and Angel Luiz. I'm
surrounded by good guys all the time, and it's been
a wonderful experience. It's it's a lot because I'm still working,
so trying to balance everything is uh is a is
(16:42):
a job in itself, but I'm super proud to walk
around with that.
Speaker 4 (16:47):
With the brothers.
Speaker 2 (16:48):
You get the benefit of traveling to all of these
ladges around New York State. What are some of the
takeaways that you have now with with this passion that
burns inside of you, What is it that you go
up and impress upon that new entry apprentice, that new
brother who's been obligated that night, and you've got a
purple apron and he has no idea what that means.
Speaker 3 (17:08):
Every time when I sweat to a candidate or a
newly raised brother, what I try to tell them is,
Masonyan is all about what you put into it.
Speaker 4 (17:16):
So I'll just go to the.
Speaker 3 (17:18):
Meal sometimes and I'll tell them, hey, listen, when you
go to your mother's house, do you go up just
to eat or do you go to say hi to
see if she needs anything. So try to tell them,
like you know, if you get involved with the getting
the room together, it's really helpful. Every lodge is different.
In my lodge and my mother lodge, the senior deacon
(17:38):
is supposed to take care of the preparation of the room,
so it's his job to set it up. And you know,
if you come early enough, when the food comes, when
the brother brings the food and maybe you can help
them bring it down, you know, really try to get
them invested in. It's not magic that the room just
opens up and it looks this way.
Speaker 2 (17:55):
I got to ask you this question, right, worshipful, So
your Mother Lodge, are you one of the fortunate Blue
lodges that every year you get to start the year
off with the candidate who's beginning their Masonic journey this year?
Speaker 3 (18:08):
We have people, but I believe we'd try to really
practice the north Star program. I mean, we just initiated
three guys at the end of the year.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
That's kind of my point is that I feel that.
So it's funny. The way that the calendar year falls
in New York is very similar to the school calendar year.
So as the kids are getting ready to go back
to school and parents can't wait for that, you know,
Dad's getting ready to go back to lodge and mom
can't wait for that either. She gets the house to herself.
(18:37):
There's a certain excitement and energy I think that comes
with the lodge. Having been a member of a lodge
where we have a first degree that we're going to
do either in October or November. So there's the rehearsals,
there's the preparation, and is as tense and as stressful
as that moment can be, there's also that cool excitement
because we're like, man, we can't wait to put Johnny
through the best degree experience he's ever going to have,
(18:58):
because it's like, as you say, it's the brothers getting
around and making that meal for them, that nourishment so
that he's excited and he wants to come back and
can't wait to do the second degree that we want
to try to do for him. Where it's different where
if you have a lodge where we haven't really you know,
made a brother or even raised a brother, and like
three or four years, like things start to get a
(19:18):
little rusty. It's not that you're tired of seeing the
same guys all the time, but that energy is kind
of missing, you know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (19:24):
One hundred percent.
Speaker 3 (19:25):
And we've always at least initiated a brother every year
because I've been amazed. And I was initiated one week
and four more brothers were initiated the following week, so
I was able to see the degree right after I
went through it, which is also something I tell the
brothers who are newly initiated. Once they're initiated, I said,
(19:47):
the great part is going through it. It's even better
when you see someone else go through it.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
That's the thing that I find myself saying to the
newly obligated brothers, and for those that are like, what
are they talking about? The guys that take their first degree,
they've been newly obligated, their entered apprentices, that's the term.
But I always say to them like, hey, look when
it comes to coming to the meetings, as you say,
you get out of masonry what you put into it.
And they're like, well, I already paid my dues or
(20:12):
what are you talking about. I was like, no, no, no, no,
your time, man, your time. As badly as you wanted
this experience, we wanted to hang out with you. So
if you don't come to the launch, it's like you're
taking something away from us because we were looking forward
to having you as a part of our group.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I initiated one of my coworkers one time I brought
him in. He admitted, and that's another that's another conversation.
He demitted because of his religious beliefs, and that's been
We could have.
Speaker 4 (20:41):
A whole other podcast on that deal.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Uh, great guy, great brother. And after his initiation, after
after he was obligated and made it an into the apprentice,
he said, I want to be able to do that.
And let me tell you, Mike, my heart opened up
and I'm like, oh my god, he's going to be great.
Speaker 4 (21:04):
Once you understand that.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
It's really not you about being in service because I'm
a grand line officer, but I'm serving to our grand jurisdiction.
That's my job. I'm an ambassador to the craft. That's
why when you.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
See me, I look happy because you are right.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
Every time you see me, I'm laughing and getting yeah,
because I'm happy to be around my brothers. I really
love masonry. I really love the fact that we have
a lot of young brothers in our jurisdiction coming up
and really doing the work. And I'll give the Grand
ask a lot of credit for that. And that's really
(21:40):
what it's about. It's identifying leaders. So when I had
that brother tell me that he wanted to be able
to do that, I was like, well, listen, tomorrow, we
could stop. We could start on the process of.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
You doing that.
Speaker 2 (22:19):
I will admit when I first started masonry as an
obligated inter apprentice, my lodge mentor or success coach, I
think is what we call them now. But the brother
that kind of gets assigned to you by the lodging
partners up with you and helps you work on We
call it the catechism. It's the work you have to
do so that you can move to the next degree.
There's a lot of memorization that goes into it. If
(22:39):
you haven't had that conversation with your success coach yet,
ask him, wait, I heard on that podcast. They said
there's a lot of memorization, Like, what are they talking about?
It's key. It does trip some people up, but it
almost got me in the second degree. I remember telling him.
I'm like, look, I will learn what you want me
to learn, but I'm going to put this in a
temporary folder in my brain. And you told me that
(23:00):
I got to do three of these degrees. So as
soon as I'm done, I'm gonna forget all of this
stuff because I didn't really come for this. I came
for this other part of mason because you see, I
didn't understand that that's what masonry was all about. Is
that ritual that you learn is what stays with you.
When you get up at six in the morning to
go to work, when you're lying in bed and you
can't fall asleep at night, when you're interacting with other people,
(23:22):
whether it's a car ride by yourself or you're in
a crowded room, those words just kind of float around
in your own voice, in your own head man, and
they that is what makes you a Mason right there.
And I wanted to talk to that a little bit
because for those brothers that are getting into this and
they're maybe sharing the same feeling I had about ritual,
where they're like, ah, it's not really for me. Can
(23:44):
you speak to how rewarding it feels and probably still
feels when you get tapped or asked or volunteered to
take a part in doing a first degree for another brother.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
My favorite piece is the apron presentation. It was given
to me by a past mask. So the brother that
was there that I followed us and enter the prectice,
the master of my lives. His name is wors Esteban Rodriguez,
and I went everywhere he went and once out and
(24:16):
as soon as I was raised, I said what should
I learn? And he said, learn the Apron And I
want you to do it because I've been doing it
since I was initiated, and then I was trying to
give it somebody else.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
We had another brother that was supposed to be on
this podcast recording, but he wasn't able to make it tonight,
and you say his last name much better than I could,
so write worship for brother John Willio. He wasn't able
to make it tonight, and he had sent you know,
these prospective questions, and I got to tell you, Garry,
we literally didn't use any of them. But there was
one point that was a theme in his outline that
(24:50):
I did want to address because we talked about how
it started, and for you, I mean, I had no idea.
That is a very interesting start. Let's talk about where
the EA degree ends. At least in New York State
and most regular lodges, it ends by being placed in
the northeast corner of the lodge. And you're explaining what
the significance of that is at that time, What does
(25:13):
it mean for you without giving away any of our secrets,
when it comes to the northeast corner, when you think
of that as a building or a foundation, and as
a man, as a mason, what does the northeast corner
represent to you.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
Really for me, I mean it's changed now. It's hope.
Speaker 3 (25:29):
The northeast corner for me is hope. It's hope for
the brother.
Speaker 4 (25:34):
It's hope for the lodge. My wife would.
Speaker 3 (25:38):
Often say to me, why do you get so excited
about the new guys, Like because you see, we'd be
disappointed with some of the outcomes of brothers that come out,
and like I'll come home and be like, oh man,
we got this guy, and you know, I'm super stacked
on him. And then you know, some brothers says aloud.
Some you know, masonry is not for everyone. It's hope.
(26:00):
It's hoped that yeah, he can take you know, the
working tools of an end to the apprentice and really
inculcate them in his life and really and really transform
his life from an upright man to a mason. And
it all begins in the northeast corner. Nobody wants to
come to lodge and hear about what happened, you know,
(26:23):
seventy years ago when we had eight hundred people and
now we have, you know, eleven brothers in the room.
The new guys don't want to hear that. They don't
want to feel like they missed the boat. They want
to feel like they were are in the water. They
want to feel like they're a part of what's happening,
and they're going to make a difference. And that's what
I like to tell them. I had a brother of mine,
I'm just going to stay this real quick, who hated
(26:44):
to be in the northeast corner. He hated to wait outside.
He felt like, oh man, they you know, like they're
treating us like suckers. Why we got to wait outside?
And to me, it was one of it was that
for me, the best feeling was to wait for them
to drop the lodge in order for us to go in.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Yeah, we're wor old enough to remember when we were
EA's and fellow crafts, we couldn't sit in lodge because
it was only business can only be done on the
master mason level. And that's changed, thankfully, and we were
able to let guys share that experience to that point.
Speaker 4 (27:18):
Though.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
I have a follow up question on it. So you're
master of the lodge this year, right, not of your lodge,
I'm just saying hypothetically, or your master of the lodge.
You've got this new brother that's come in as an
entered apprentice. You want to get him engaged with the lodge,
but you know what's ahead of him with the Catechism,
getting ready for his next degree. You don't want to
overwhelm the guy. What do you do to keep this brother.
(27:39):
I don't want to say in line, because you can't
put him in the officer line, but what do you
do to keep him engaged? To keep him involved?
Speaker 3 (27:45):
That's actually probably one of the hardest things to do,
I find is because you don't want to overwhelm them
right in the beginning, with given or responsibility. He is
and that's ad apprentice. What I would try to do
is make sure that he never eats alone. Make sure
that we have his number. You want to make sure
(28:06):
you stay in contact. Invite him to an event, you know,
ask him what he's doing, maybe take him. Make sure
that the brothers go out with them, even if you
can't put them on a committee right away. Tell him, hey, listen,
this brother's doing this on this night. You want to
stop by, you know, try to break the ice with
the brothers. It's definitely one of those things. To the
(28:28):
fine line, it's really it's really tough to try to
figure out what to do with a brother when he
first comes in.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
It's interesting. We've traveled around New York State and outside
to other grand jurisdictions, and one of the launches that
I visited had a really cool tradition that I tried
to embrace when I was master my lodge here in
DC a couple of years back, which was as soon
as we raised the brother the next meeting he's an
entered apprentice, I would have him escorted, and if we
(28:54):
didn't have any dignitaries, I would have him sit next
to me in the east. And it was funny because
they don't know how special that is until they can't
sit in that chair again until they go through all
the other chairs, and then they go, Wow, this guy
tapped me to come sit next to him during the meetings,
and I have no idea what's even going on here?
Speaker 3 (29:14):
What I would do in my and my jurisdiction. When
I was Distrey deputy and I was brought in on
my night, I was taken that to the apprentice and
come into the room and tell him I don't want
to be escorted. And now I would basically escort him
into the lodge on a d D visit so he
can feel like, oh wow, I came in with the
(29:35):
d D kind of a thing, you know, and you know,
taking moments. I think when you're in a position of leadership,
reaching out is really important.
Speaker 4 (29:43):
You know.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
I'm half the time when I go out with the
Grand Line, I'm trying to if I can talk to
somebody who's new or even a candidate. I mean, I
love my brothers, but I much rather talk to some
of those brothers because you really have to be on
for them, you know, because something right Worshipful Peter Plean
told me. He said, someone may never remember your name,
(30:06):
but they remember how you treat it.
Speaker 2 (30:07):
Though absolutely true, that's true in a lot of aspects
of life.
Speaker 3 (30:10):
Yeah, right, and I carry that weight meeting he gave me.
He gave me that once I joined Grand Line.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
So right Worshipful, I feel like we could have this
conversation all night, because I know we almost have. I'm impressed.
I still think that's the original cigar that you lit
when we first started.
Speaker 4 (30:27):
Yes, and the morning halfway done. I'm impressed.
Speaker 2 (30:31):
Although the sun that was behind you has set, and
I don't want you to wake up tomorrow and come
out to a dead battery, and then everybody in New
York isn't able to get to work because you're not
there to help. I'm getting around the city. So I'm
going to get you out of here on this question, right, worsful,
and I really sincerely appreciate your time. And I'm sure
you've gotten asked this question so many times. I'm in
my mind trying to figure out how to ask it
(30:52):
or propose it in a way that could be interesting
to our listener. But that would be your advice. You're
a leader of our brand lodge, you're in the line.
You've been doing this for a long time. You carry
that passion with you, and you exemplify it. You live
it every day. Anyone that meets you knows that you're
a Mason by the way that you act to others
and the way you conduct yourself. What advice would you
(31:15):
like to whisper into the ear of that interested gentleman,
that brother who's getting ready to take his first degree,
whether it's later this month or before the end of
the year in his lodge, so that he can be
prepared for this experience so he gets the most out
of it. What advice you want to give them?
Speaker 3 (31:31):
I look him in Ai and I tell him that
there's nothing that happens in masonry that you'd be ashamed
of everything that you're going to go through tonight. Brothers
from George Washington, Ben Franklin, honorable men to someone like me.
You know, hard working guy, you're you're almost great men.
(31:52):
Carry yourself in that way, in that light when you
talk about masonry. Keep it in high and be reverent
and the way you speak about masonry, because probably one
of the best decisions I ever made in my life.
It can change your life if you allow it to
just be open and know that you know this is
(32:13):
something that really could make an impact now on in
your life, but in the life of the people around you.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Thanks again to my guest this week, write Worshipful Gary Salgato,
Junior Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge of New York.
You can get early access to next week's episode and
an ad free listening experience, plus check out all of
our subscriber extra episodes by becoming a Patreon subscriber of
The Craftsman Online podcast. Get your free seven day trial
(32:41):
to just test it out. In the notes for this episode,
I write, worshipful Brother Michael arsa until our time together
next week. Look peace at harmony prevail
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Da
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