Greetings!
I am Jesse Maxwell and I have been a member of Ellensburg No. 39 for about four years.
After growing up and living in a few states, plus a four year period in Mexico, I eventually called Texas home. After college, I worked as a FC2(s/w) in the navy for five years, and wanted to career it, but there a different fate that saw me permanently medically retired and moving back to the state I was born, Washington. So when I joined the lodge, I was pretty “new” to the ‘Burg. I started in on the process of getting tattooed to remember some family members passed. One of which was my loved Grandfather, who was a mason, as well as my Great Grandfather. A square and compass were prominent on my arm to commemorate things he held very close. They were both lifelong members, including Demolay, quite well known in more than one Lodge. One night shooting some pool they were noticed by a man that is a Mason, which led to Lodge talk, and ultimately kick-started my own adventure with the masons.
Brotherhood is what I like most about the lodge. If I have an issue, help is only a call away. The hands and knowledge given by brothers is an amazing thing. I get to help when they have needs as well, wether it be to hold a position in lodge or maybe help in some physical labor thing, all of which I love doing. There are times when I hesitant because of lack of knowledge, but knowledge is something that can and will be learned through help of brothers. It’s great. A project I recently helped with, outside of setting up lodge and our monthly dinners, was some roof issues. It is not a simple, fast project especially on a building built in 1890, so it is a project still in motion. I like projects and working with my hands, I have built motorcycles, souped up four wheelers, sheds, worked on CWIS and other ship weapon systems… the list goes on. I hope I help the Lodge and brothers as much as they do me. In my mind, that’s where a few of the successes of a good lodge are at.