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Welcome to the old-fashioned Masonic podcast where we talk all things Freemasons while drinking in old fashioned I’m Brian and I’m Russ Russ yet again we continue to lure in trap trick whatever we do and bring in past Grand Masters into the podcast they just appear don’t they you know it’s
Because of you not me I can assure you it’s almost like they’re just watching after us yeah you know what the waiting for us to make them you know what bird or brown are gonna do something we’re gonna grab so but we know better than that because so first of all introduce
Who do we have in front of us well today we have most worshipful Tracy Bloom welcome thank you Tracy thank you we know the answer because we can tell who’s been honored so you’ve seen a podcast at least see more than one more than one so you know
That we’re not going to trap you or do anything silly what’s the most controversial question that you’ve seen us ask of somebody on here we don’t do that too often I I don’t know I guess uh I don’t I don’t think there is one we agree good honestly it’s all pretty
Straightforward we don’t try to trap anybody if we do it’s usually each other so we want to warn you in advance you may get caught in our Crossfire this is what we do sometimes that’s all right sometimes so as with our entire podcast we like to
Know more about the man and not just the Masons so the opening question who’s Tracy Bloom the man oh wow okay so um born and raised in a small uh community in North Central Kansas Clay Center uh just a few miles from Manhattan and Abilene um went to high school there graduated
Didn’t go to college uh ended up working for a furniture store and then the gas company and then uh transferred to Salina um and that’s that’s that’s about it I then then got involved in maestry and and everything kind of plumed from there going forward so before masonry we’re
Saving you because this is what we do as good Masons you have children or love in your life love of your life that you want to throw this is the time you do that yes absolutely so so there’s a little bit varied story right so um so my wife Lena
Um her and I are married have been married for a total of seven years uh on two different occasions uh her and I have a daughter together uh she’s 40 this year which makes me feel pretty old wow um and then um during a period of time I was married to
Another gal in Salina and she had two boys so there were stepsons that I helped raise and uh Brandon and Kellen and they’re close to my heart to this day so nice are they Masons no they’re not they’re not they’re not I suspect someday they will okay so let’s back up
Let’s put some pieces to the puzzle you were married yep not married got married yep not married remarried number one yes okay just for those who are putting the pieces of the puzzle I knew this story and I think they’re going to be a whiteboard you know no I mean it should
Be like does it take it back the flowchart takes you back to here you know I was wondered about that because that’s not super abnormal I’ve heard it before but it’s always and I say this with all the respect in the world it’s the devil you
Know right like if if my wife if something were to happen would come back I’m the devil she knows right right so you must have been a good devil because this devil definitely agreed devil right right all right so let’s get down to it so tell us about your Masonic Journey from beginning
How how did it start and sort of just walk us through the abbreviated version of where you’re at today so as as most everything I think that’s quite an interesting story for me especially because I didn’t really know anything about masonry uh before I left Clay Center uh when I moved to Salina
Um one of the guys I worked with was was a Mason and invited me up to the temple to look around and and so that evening when uh when we were leaving the parking lot he says you got any other questions I said yeah what’s it take to join and
You know about two seconds later I had a petition in my hand and uh from there I joined the lodge and uh the really strange thing for me was um the night I was taking my third degree I went up to the lodge and my
Uncle was there I was so what are you doing here I said welcome to watch your get your degree I said you’re amazing he said oh yeah I’ve been Mason for many years so no clue that he was a Mason and uh after that I found out that not only uh
He was a Mason but several other my uncles were Masons and quite uh they were all officers of the Lodge at one point one of them was the secretary for many years I have no clue I had absolutely no clue crazy and um you know and I think back on my
Childhood and you know Junior High Senior or a high school and and moving forward after that probably wasn’t the great candidate to be a Mason and fair enough right um but but there was there was no talk of it whatsoever now these guys were all greatest Generation right tight-lipped bunch of guys
Um years later uh uh past Grand Master uh Rob Bob Tomlinson asked me to be one of his Grand Lodge officers and in that he asked me if I would present emblems at Clay Center for him on his behalf and so I did I went went to the lodge and uh
You know my uncles were there um the mayor was there who I had a great deal of respect for my scout master was there school teachers were there wow I just you know that caught me from that that point forward that um I was around mainstreaming all my
Life growing up I just didn’t know it yeah we always say that there’s just a saying that Masons were everywhere yeah literally everywhere yeah literally so uh so then um were there were there signs that you just weren’t picking up or when you look back you’re like oh my
God does he always have Shrine Circus tickets did you always that was that was the only thing that was the only thing my one Uncle would always have circus tickets okay yeah and um and but but I never put two and two together you know
So uh yeah so then um you know uh you know became active in my own Lodge in Salina became Master Lodge a couple past Grant or put Grand Masters at the time asked me to be officers for them and then was asked to be on
Uh the line by Jimmy L Grassi okay so you were master in Celina in 2002 was that the one and only time in instruments lineup because that would have been the year I met you um powder Pike did a visitation John Garrison yes John Garrison and his dad
Yeah and his cousin Rob was was uh was the uh was my senior award yeah yeah so we um hey you know what cheers to John Garrison absolutely John Garrison was a great man um we just we just all came from an event and uh you know John Garrison was just
Uh he’s one of those Stellar guys so your master you’ve been asked to be on some Grand Lodge lines keep moving yeah so uh so then uh I accepted and then was Grand Master in 2011 which was a which is a great experience and uh then shortly actually prior to me becoming Grand
Master the grand secretary Bob Fitzy uh made his intentions known that he wanted to retire and so they were looking for somebody to take that position and uh uh I actually became the office manager um in late 2010 and then uh and then transitioned to be grand master and then
Later they asked me uh well they interviewed to be the grand secretary and and they picked me and and that’s where I am today nice so were you ever a secretary of your Lodge before Grand secretary I was not okay so I was not Russ and I have never been uh
Secretary of a lodge that that’s a lot of work so forget the lodge side because we kind of know a little about how that works I’m gonna speak for me and maybe Russ too we all I only know you as a grand I mean you’re a grand master when I was a Mason
But I really know used to Grand secretary and one of the things and this is a compliment we we gain nothing out of just you know blowing smoke that’s not our style but one thing for sure is the the few times that I’ve ever needed something one I feel like you’re always
Available even if it’s a pain in the butt you would never let someone know but you seem to always be available and you know what if you don’t have the answers like oh I’m not sure but I can get that to you give me
A day a week a month a year a decade whatever it may be and so I think you’re going to be a really tough act to follow and you know somebody probably said that about 52 right but I think that you’re exactly what Kansas masonry needs in the
Position that’s me wow I appreciate that yeah it’s I think you’ve always been readily available and even when Russ and I challenge each other I want to pre I want to thank you because you’ve made me money before by listening to the podcast so Russ is not nearly as happy so about
This so back up so you talked about having uncles and people in your life that that were Masons but you never knew so forget your version of it but did that in general hurt masonry because there were so many men that were Masons but they were so tight-lipped that maybe
That we lost some people because of that I I believe that’s a yes um because you’ll notice that the greatest generation was joiners in in a large part um the Next Generation which is the Vietnam Vets are that area they got left behind they got they got left behind and
Many many of them didn’t didn’t join um for I suppose a variety of reasons but um yeah those the the greatest Generation guys just didn’t talk about it they just didn’t talk about them or the old what I call silly so it’s not meaning disrespectfully the old silly
Thing well it didn’t ask me three times what in the world is that right yeah yeah and I don’t mean any disrespect any of them because uh because they they were certainly set on a path and it was drowned into them that you know that’s uh secret society right I mean in
Certain ways that you ask or you that you become a member and barring you doing that it’s not gonna happen right so you were um master in Salina and you were around Celina for quite a few years and so we sort of cross-pollinated a little bit
Because I grew up with a smaller not too far away I’m I’m remembering this and it just dawned on me I my uncle uh Paul Brown was potentate in 2002. I said did you not do his funeral in 2010 where you didn’t you do his funeral service by
Chance or did you um put me on the spot a little bit but I I I I may have I just don’t remember yeah and I hate I hate to say that because you know after you do a dozen two dozen yeah they Blended yeah I actually think that’s a good thing
Because you’ve served the craft so much it’s like I probably but I just yeah fulfilled my obligation thousands of times Well I’m going to say that you did and yeah because at the end of the day when you have a loved one pass and a part of
Our fraternity is that that uh funeral um presentation and it meant a lot that there were Masons that I’d sort of knew from back home but I had been in Wichita for years and so it was just nice to see a group of Salina Masons out there
Thinking about that um when did he pass away uh 2010 yeah I wouldn’t have done it okay I wouldn’t have and and here’s why I know that uh the first Masonic Funeral I did was in 2016 and it was for my father okay all right wow so how hard was that was
That just did it or did it take your mind off what was going on because you were in the Masonic mode it did it did it gave me something to concentrate on to take my mind off of it yeah um but the day of the funeral it it
Certainly was tough oh I can’t imagine oh yeah you know uh I can’t imagine I can’t imagine I remember um Fred Smith doing the Old Red Fez as his dad’s funerals well and if we tell that story a lot yeah it’s three uh three grown men we were crying we had
The ladies consoling us because we’re like oh my gosh it’s Ross and then this is having to do this in front of everyone oh my shout out to Ross and Fred that was a great yeah great great so now I’m going to have to figure out who actually did this because
I don’t know why I think in my head too and maybe you were there you’re probably there I don’t know yeah it was it was probably Doug gomel Bassmaster from Salina it’s either Doug domel or uh Jim Wen we’re gonna get to the bottom
Of it and maybe if we get to the bottom of it it’ll be at the bottom of it so we’ll figure it out so as Grand Master there’s lots of things you should get accomplished and things you don’t get accomplished if you could only pick one
What’s the one thing that you wish that you wanted to get accomplished but you just it just didn’t work out like you had hoped in your big plan just one day that’s a that’s a great question um so me and my Infinite Wisdom thought coming into my ear being the office
Manager would give me a chance to plan for my Year’s Grand Master well um I don’t know if you’ve ever sat in a Grand Lodge office but Grand Lodge office is quite busy sometimes and I didn’t have that time to prepare like I wanted to uh but
Um I I guess to be honest with you my goal for the year was just not to mess something up okay did you feel like you accomplished that I I think I did okay I think I did uh I didn’t have any last grade Masters chime in yeah I didn’t have anybody
Coming down too hard on me but uh uh but it was it was a um it was a challenge doing both those jobs at the same time I would not recommend that for anybody else to do right yeah so I believe you mentioned this but
Let’s talk about it for a minute so who again tap to you for Grand senior Deacon that’s you on the line yeah and what was that relationship between the two of you and yeah Jim Jimmy grassy and um it was really it was kind of idea what is utter shocked when he asked
Me a matter of fact I had him repeat it and because I didn’t I thought I heard him wrong I thought he said senior Deacon and he did that’s what he said but um it uh Jimmy and I Jimmy and I had a relationship obviously from that point forward
Um he I don’t know why he picked me I guess I mean the only thing I can think of is that at the time Grant the Grand Lodge session was being held in Salina and um I was quite active with the lodge and helping prepare for the grand annual communication and you know
Grabbing chairs and pulling them off during installation and stuff like that and I think that’s probably why he tagged me because he pulled me aside and asked me about the annual communication and if I had this and this and this and this all taken care of which we we did
And um then he asked me you know where’d that come from you know right oh yeah so thought about for a couple days um called him back and said said I said we’d do it because I had to consult with my wife sure it is what we think I mean
It is a big commitment I mean not that they’re involved but it’s just like you know I yeah I might be out away from home 30 weekends a month 30 Saturdays a month dedicating a Cornerstone somewhere yeah yeah I will say uh you know there was a transition at that time too
Um Roy Sullivan was the Grand senior Warden no I’m sorry he was a deputy Grandmaster Kent was a senior award and I was Junior award and uh Roy pulled us together along with Don Newman who was a senior Deacon and he says listen we we’ve got to figure something out going
Forward because we all have jobs we all can’t be across the state and to work on Wednesday morning and so we started what’s called Council on planning now and uh um basically the decision was that the Grand Master didn’t have to travel it’d be nice if he could travel every place
And give pins but it just wasn’t practical it’s not practical I mean and so so we kind of started down that road um which which gave leave to being able to have you know like dedication ceremonies that were better or weekend ceremonies that were more well attended
By Grand Lodge officers so that helped yeah so the next question is um a fun question we ask a lot of people and and we get some amazing answers and it just sort of tells a little bit about the person so living or dead uh who would you like to have a meal
With that you have never had a meal with before wow living or dead that you’ve never had it with them before it’s a tough one it is a tough one I’m gonna uh I’m gonna have to say Albert Einstein okay okay fair why yeah
I I think the man was brilliant and uh I would love to ask him about some things right yeah yeah I think that’s a great one we’ve never heard that I think never am I in the room that I’m the smartest guy in the room so I’ve grown
Accustomed to that but with Albert Einstein I I would feel like I was structuring sentences the wrong way I it would be almost like you feel like you’re shrinking to insignificantly yes right right yes and I and I don’t want to hear him in the German accent telling
Me how dumb I am so um kind of in that same vein if you could have a superpower what would you want that superpower to be and why I don’t know I guess oh boy I don’t want to be able to read minds so I like that one that’s nice yeah no I
Don’t want to do that um levitation levitate like the fly maybe yeah give me the give me the remote have the remote come over yeah okay sure I don’t even remember what mine what would you want it to be now you can change I like that mind reading more for just
My wife sometimes I just need to what what are you thinking yeah I don’t even I don’t know change there’s no change in masonry yeah yeah all right right wow all right with that um you were present when your brother was raised Master Mason so uh talk to us
About that what did it mean to you your family how what was that like hmm so I’ve I’ve had a lot of masonic honors in in my career you know being um uh Master the lodge master of two lodges actually um Grand Master past Grand Master Grand
Secretary I can tell you without a doubt the the two most significant Masonic experiences that I’ve had is number one raising my father to be to Master Mason and raising my brother to be a masturbation along that that my cousin was also at one of those meetings
And I didn’t raise him but his father was there and raised him right so yeah yeah nice well so those who follow in previous episode um most worshipful Tracy’s brother Garth was on so go back because we have a little bit of fun with Garth uh Garth uh
Is the master of Albert Pike Lodge in 2023 and uh it’s uh he’s always very complimentary when he speaks of his big brother as well and and uh you know you’ve got to be involved in some stuff that he didn’t even expect you to be able to be involved in which is nice
A lot of little fun so proficiency big topic right around so we asked this this is kind of our new hot question okay you can’t have a hybrid version would you rather have at your Lodge a line full of a b Master unlimited card holders or a line full of inspirational leaders you
Can’t have a mixture of both inspirational leaders and why well and we’re not discounting proficiency right understanding proficiency because I think those uh inspirational leaders could also be semi uh proficient but I think you need the inspiration to um move forward and make things better for your Lodge and for yourself and for
Your family and for the community yeah we agree it’s we you know obviously the perfect answer is a hybrid of all right but yeah if you had to pick one because if you don’t have the inspirational leader how does that bring the people in one and inspired it yeah
So it’s a it’s an unfair it’s an unfair question you need a little bit of everything yeah and there’s so many uh Chris Collins what’s really interesting Chris Collins uh young master of Pike he has really challenged some of the old guys and and uh I hear Dave Hendricks
You know he’s a proficient machine but he now all of a sudden because Chris kind of called him out he’s working on his proficiency cards you know I know all the work but now I just got to prove it so Chris has kind of challenged me
He’s like well I mean you should be working your way up through all of these cars why you want to do it so he it’s really good because you know we put this pressure on the what we call the the kids the younger generation then they flip it the script right back honestly
All right big boy what can you do fair play but I love it I love it I think that’s uh it’s a great thing so earlier I didn’t hear this so I’ll just ask and have you ever been a district deputy okay I have never been a district Deputy but
I’ve been an area Deputy okay okay all right very good um how long and how long did you do that I think it was I think it was three years yeah I did I did but um that was back I was extremely busy um and that was a time when the area
Deputy just didn’t have a great deal of Duties to do um it’s that’s changed that’s come for Full Circle uh area deputies are instrumental in moving forward with our district deputies and and and interacting with the council Administration going forward so um do you like the current direction of
Aryan District deputies would you like to see something change in that controversial alert yep yep yep I do I do like it I do think that um the system that we have now with the district Deputy goes out and visits the lodge and fills out a report that he
Answers yes no yes no yes no yes no yes no it gives a calculation at the end is is okay but I think what can be improved is that the district Deputy at some point in his visit whether that’s spring or fall just goes to the lodge and says
I’m here what can I do to help you the true liaison yeah right yeah because right now they’re being perceived as a judge and execution they are and I I understand that’s a tough job for them to do sometimes and it’s not popular especially inside of your own area where
You’re at sometimes your own Lodge right when we’re trying to curb that too is to you know not send a district Deputy to his own Lodge you know we’ll have a district try to have a district Deputy from another District come in and visit that lot so so he doesn’t have to judge
His own logs yeah District Deputy hands down is my favorite Grand Lodge position um I just thought you really got to interact and and the scorecard was a little different when we did that and but we walked after hey let’s watch let me show you what I see yeah and so that
Way that what they weren’t blindsided it’s no different dealing with employees like hey this is what I’m saying it’s on oh okay I didn’t really notice that so they don’t think that you’re just oh yeah hey hey great great and then you get my crappy report right so uh
Okay so Bob Talbot you know most Wishful Bob tablet I do and we know them while we run it so he forces us he forces you you know how how he is so he forces us to call out him revert him as the best looking living past Grand Master in
Kansas okay so let’s assume he’s wrong let’s assume he’s wrong so if he’s wrong who’s the best living past Grand Master in Kansas right who takes the spot who takes top it out best looking best looking not best best looking aesthetically pleasing who’s the eye candy all right solder sowder oh
No stinking away Sauder you’re you are who would you have said I’m not getting into this get in it it’s easy hey it’s uh it’s man crush Monday it’s Mike Johnson Mike Johnson I’ve crushed out on you before you’re a good looking dude I’ve said it before get the
Old heart going yeah yeah yeah that’s that’s a little much and you know there’s some other bay to rust and I have so it’s about to flip on me so all right so we’ve talked about superpowers we’ve talked about a lot of silly things but
Truly if you had a magic wand that you could improve masonry today sort of what area would that be what what would you do if you could just go fix this problem boom well you know look from my perspective membership’s always a problem um do I think you can just wave a wand
And fix that I wish I I wish we could uh but I wish it would be for the right people to come into the lodge quality not quantity quality not quantity always absolutely absolutely how do we put the dovetail off of that yeah how do we attract quality
And let me let me let me corner you I’m gonna corner you a little bit more let me package this a different way okay I feel like when I ask somebody what’s our brand people say oh it’s a square Encompass no I believe our brand is the Mason okay so
I’m now I’m gonna really corner you if our brand was a little more polished would we attract a different type of member yes I am not going to take you anymore so I’ll say it guys sometimes we are our worst enemy in masonry I did a Grand Lodge presentation at Leadership Academy
There’s fellas out there that you’ll Rock The Fez with the middle finger up or you’ll you’ll do an Instagram post and your your you’re wearing a squaring compass in some place so we wouldn’t want the square Encompass at I just think we as Masons sometimes you know even including ourselves
Whether you’re rocking the scoring Compass or not most people in our lives know we’re Masons so when we’re in public we need to represent that brand as if we are wearing the big Square Compass says look at me join now unfair yeah and and fair weather uh uh fair warning Brothers
Um if the grumpy old Grand secretary sees posts like that um I usually email it pick up the phone and call somebody yeah fix it because we don’t need that perception out there we’re speaking the same language yep so the most important question of the podcast always always dancing girl
Dancing girl all right one has to go forever okay okay has there ever been the dancing girl across always every time so up on the screen you have four things one has to go forever beer any kind of beer dark light heavy whatever wine red or white a good old scotch
Or vodka one has to go forever it was never invented what would what would it be and why vodka it just is the thing that’s different there that doesn’t fit in okay vodka vodka’d have to go not vodka guy nope vodka’s got to go simple that’s Russ’s favorite that’s too
Bad yeah yeah Russ’s beer my I think although that’s probably why not I’m not a wine guy so but yeah we like a good one yeah yeah so brothers that’s all we have Tracy thank you for joining the old-fashioned Masonic podcast cheers just think of this episode to continue to promote Freemasonry hit
That like button now don’t forget to smash that subscribe button and give us a comment the old-fashioned the Sonic podcast where real Masons talk Freemasonry Don’t forget to like subscribe and give us a comment
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