When most people hear the name Bob Evans, they usually think about a familiar restaurant. However, the real Bob Evans has set aside his sausage business and the company that bears his name. Instead, he is currently working on easing the load of cattle farmers all across the nation with innovative farming techniques.

Not only is Bob Evans a household name, he is also very proud to be a Master Mason. Brother Bob was raised in 1940 in Morning Dawn No. 7 in Gallipolis, Ohio. He received his 33rd Degree in 1997 and is a member of the Valley of Cincinnati.

The values and lessons learned in Lodge have had a huge influence on his dealings in business. "I highly recommend a young person become a Mason," he said. "You will never find a Mason you can't trust."

At age 84, Bob Evans is still very healthy and active. His face lights up as he talks to customers and staff at the original Bob Evans Restaurant in Rio Grande, Ohio. He gets a twinkle in his eye when he talks about his son, Bobby, the youngest of six children. "He just joined a Masonic Lodge in Bozeman, Montana. I just visited him, and I gave him my Masonic ring. He's very proud to be a Mason, and I'm proud of him."

In 1948, Bob Evans started making sausage in his small restaurant in Gallipolis. In 1953, along with a few friends, he started the company that is now Bob Evans Farms. The company has grown from a "down on the farm" restaurant in southeast Ohio to a chain of 480 restaurants across 22 states. This year, the company's sales will top the $1 billion mark.

Bob Evans retired from Bob Evans Farms in 1986. Since then, he has been working with 4-H as the only lifetime member in Ohio, and he is developing and promoting new ways to run a livestock business. He believes that profits will come from spending less, rather than producing more.

One way to do this, he says, is to grow heartier grasses. In so doing, cattle can graze all year long. Traditionally, farms would put cattle in the pasture in the warm months and feed them corn, soybeans, and hay in the winter. Yearlong grazing would eliminate the need to plant corn and soybeans, as well as harvesting and storing the crop. It would also reduce the need for expensive farm equipment, he believes. These savings would translate into higher profits for the cattle farms.

The man behind these innovations, Brother Robert Evans, had humble beginnings. He was born in 1918 and has lived his whole life around Gallipolis. His father, Stanley, was one of nine children of a coal miner. Stanley attended four years of school his entire life and was self-educated. At 16, he passed the teacher's exam, and he was teaching at age 17. Stanley joined Wood County Lodge No. 112 in Bowling Green, and he was certain to instill the values of Masonry into his son Bob at a young age.

Stanley also taught his son the importance of a good work ethic. This is very evident in his ability to turn a 12-seat restaurant into a billion-dollar corporation. Stanley also stressed the importance of helping others without expectation of anything in return. Bob Evans has selflessly dedicated all of his time and abilities to teach often-struggling farmers how to increase profits without increasing costs.

In his desire to help those around him, and with living according to his ethics and integrity, Brother Bob Evans is truly following the Masonic tenets of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.

The above article is reprinted with permission from Beacon, Vol. 10, Issue 1 (Winter 2003), a joint publication of the Grand Lodge of Ohio and the Ohio Masonic Home.