

                      WHY I BECAME A MASON 

                     Jesse C. Canale, 33, 
               San Diego, California, S.R. Bodies 
                    

   In 1945, I was stationed on Okinawa with the 1st Marine 
Division. I noticed a fellow soldier, Sergeant Gray, reading a 
small pamphlet every chance he got. One day I asked him what 
was so interesting. He went into his seabag and pulled out 
another small book, saying, "Read it, Canale, it might do you 
some good." I read the Masonic manual as much as I could in 
Okinawa and later in China. Even on my way home in 1946, I 
still had the book with me. 

      After the war, I returned to being an officer in the San 
Diego Police Department. My new partner was a Mason. He and I 
talked about Masonry a great deal. One day I asked him, "How do 
you become a Mason?" He gave me an application. I signed up on 
the spot, joining Blackmer Lodge No. 442. 

      A police officer's life is less than routine, and it was 
difficult for me to attend Lodge on a regular basis, but I did 
participate every chance I got and made hundreds of new 
friends. In 1960 I was transferred to a new position that 
allowed me to become more active in the Lodge. I attended most 
of the meetings and worked as a coach with candidates on 
Saturdays. 

      The friendship and fellowship I gained through my years 
in Masonry have changed my life. I have become a much better 
person since my eyes were opened to Freemasonry, and I owe it 
all to Sergeant Gray and his manual! 

