My Success in my Bicycle’s Role in Life

By Auston Eugene Smith

Okay, if you have read this far, hopefully I have your attention for the moment, but you have to read the entire article to find the answer to the question, “What does Smith’s bicycle have to do with the “Brotherhood” theme of this issue of Freemasonry Magazine. Well, it is my experience that “Brotherhood” is not achieved through osmosis, it is developed through social interaction between individuals. I also believe the “cement” that holds us together as Freemasons is Brotherhood. Show me a lodge that has active social/brotherhood programs and I’ll show you a thriving and growing lodge. Conversely, show me a lodge that is struggling for membership and on the verge of closing or merging and I’ll show you a lodge that does not have any social/brotherhood team-building programs! Here is where bike comes in.

Born in 1950, I was raised by my elderly grandparents, religious people who believed in the benefits of hard work and who had no time for “entertainment” such as television, movies and such. We were not in poverty but without money to waste on frills. My home was the first house built about 1868 in what would become Castleberry, Alabama. As a youngster, riding my bike about town, I noticed the only two story building in Castleberry was the Masonic Hall – Downing Lodge No. 580. By 1960, the town’s population was maybe 700 people if everyone was home when the count was taken. The bank was located on one side of my home and the bank president’s home was on the other side; it suffices to say I lived “downtown.” But my exposure to the wider world beyond Castleberry was limited.

First, you may ask why I think I am a “success in life” so here is my background. I retired from the U. S. Air Force on my 56th birthday in 2006. My “success” allowed me to pursue my interests and not have to worry about getting up early to go to work. Sure, I had to adjust my life style to fit my financial status, but I made that adjustment and began the retired life that I had dreamed of for so many years. However, after 5 years of playing golf and fishing, I realized there is something missing in my life, I had no goal to work towards – nothing to keep me “alive” and no sense of achievement. I needed to a new adventure!

While sitting on my deck late one spring afternoon in 2011, reflecting on my early life and past adventures, I remembered Downing Lodge No. 580 and those men who were always wearing black suits. When I asked my grandfather what these men did and why they always wore black suits, he said it was a “secret.” In my young imagination I remembered wanting to be become one of those secret guys one day, like my hero James Bond! Now, at age 61, it occurred to me that I have never achieved that goal of becoming a Mason. Becoming a Mason became my new goal in life so I could find out what those men in black suits actually did in Downing Lodge No. 580! Okay, but what about the bicycle you may be wondering! Stay with me, the bike was important.

My first seven years of life were spent outside, exploring the world of nature, wondering what other adventures lay just another mile down the road. My youngest uncle had left his 26-inch bicycle at home when he was drafted in the Army during the Korean War. Finally, by age 7, I had grown tall enough that my legs could reach the pedals on the bicycle and after many failed attempts, I learned to ride. My school was only one mile from my home and the school bus only picked up children who lived more than 1.5 miles from school so I rode my bike to school every day. And yes, the school was actually uphill from my house! Fortunately, the safety of living in a small rural town in the late 1960s meant I could ride the bike wherever I wanted during the summers, so long as I met my grandmother’s rule of being home by sunset.

Bicycling kept me off the couch, kept me active, benefited my health and got me started on my life-long quest to travel the world in search of adventure. However, within a couple of years I had explored the surrounding area of my hometown and by age 10 or so I was looking for more exciting adventures. Because I had no electronic distractions (television, cell phone, computer), I began to take mental expeditions by reading books from the school library. I rarely took school text books home but every day my bicycle basket was full of books from the library, allowing me to travel across the seas with Christopher Columbus, chase whales with Ishmael and Captain Ahab on the ship Pequod, even fight off bears, wild hogs and wolves with my side-kick Arliss Coates and his dog Old Yeller. Even after living and traveling around the world during 34 years in the Air Force, I still enjoy a good adventure, exploring what is over the next hill.

The ability to read, was instrumental in my future success in life. Reading enabled me to learn how to communicate, how to learn new skills, and eventually how to exercise the skill of “critical thinking.” Unfortunately, today many young children cannot read, students are even graduating from high school without the ability to read above a grammar school level. According to an online article by https://chicago.chalkbeat.org, “fewer than one in five Chicago thirdgraders met or exceeded state standards in reading and math on a standardized exam given in the spring (2020) — when a majority of students were doing most of their learning at home.” If a child can’t read, comprehend, and think critically, their future is very limited.

But what has bicycles got to do with reading skills you may still be asking! Here is my point in this article; if reading is a critical life-skill, and if a goal of Freemasonry is to contribute to the betterment of mankind, we need to consider how Masonry can enhance the reading skills of our youth, and I have an idea on how we can use bicycles to help do that while at the same time strengthening brotherhood in our lodges.

Local Masonic lodges can develop a relationship with local schools to reward grammar-school-age children who demonstrate measurable improvement in their reading skills. Under this “Bikes for Books” program, the local lodges can request funds from IMCAP to purchase bicycles to be presented to children who demonstrate measurable improvement in their reading comprehension. The local schools would be responsible for developing the rules, administering the program and selecting the winners. If a lodge is looking for a program to help build social interaction and brotherhood among its members, such a project would provide those opportunities, while at the same time greatly benefit local children and generate favorable publicity for the lodge in the local community, all for the minimal cost of a new bike.

There may be some situations where parents have reservations about their child having a bike; for example, the area where the child lives may not be safe for youngsters to ride bikes. In this case, perhaps the prize awarded could be a Kindle e-Reader which costs approximately the same as a bicycle.

My idea would be to place the bicycles (boys & girls) or Kindle e-Reader on display in the grammar school library at the beginning of the school year. As mentioned above, the program rules would be developed by each individual school, but as an example, students who read a book from the library and pass a comprehensive examination on that book would receive a “ticket” which is then placed in a jar or other container. At the end of the semester or school year, the winning ticket(s) would be drawn and the bicycle(s) awarded to the winning student(s). The local schools would determine the number of bikes to be awarded and other rules to govern the competition. All the local lodges have to do is sponsor the program, provide the bikes and generate positive publicity for the reading program and Freemasonry in Illinois. In case you are wondering if this would be considered a “raffle” I have been advised that the answer is “No.”

This type of program is used by the Idaho Freemason Foundation and several other State Masonic Outreach programs to support reading enhancement among preteens and the programs have been very successful. In fact, the Idaho Freemason Foundation has expanded their program to include a “Teacher of the Year” recognition award for the teacher whose students read the most books and pass the comprehension examinations.

I encourage any lodge that wants to increase their exposure in the local community while at the same time providing members with an opportunity for social “team building” to consider the Bikes for Books program. Help build a better future for the children while at the same time building stronger “Brotherhood” in you lodge. Contact IMCAP for additional details and information on funding.

DATE: July 18, 2022 • REGISTRATION: 8:00 a.m. • SHOTGUN START: 10:00 a.m.

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