The true secret of giving advice is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, and never persist in trying to set people right.
Henry Ward Beecher

STORY OF THE SHRINE

STORY OF THE SHRINE

STORY OF THE SHRINE

Shriners belong to an extension of the Masonic Lodge. There are over 660,000 members in North America This group, founded in 1872, is best known for their colorful parades, distinctive red fez (hat), and, most importantly, their dedication and support of the 22 Childrens Hospitals in North America.

THE HISTORY

In 1870, several thousand of the 900,000 residents of Manhattan were Masons. Many of these Masons made it a point to lunch at the Knickerbocker Cottage, a restaurant at 426 Sixth Avenue. At a special table on the second floor, a particularly jovial group of men used to meet Regularly.

The Masons who gathered at this table were noted for their good humor and wit. They often discussed the idea of a new fraternity for Masons, in which fun and fellowship would be stressed more than ritual. Two of the table regulars, Walter M. Fleming, M.D., and William J. Florence, an actor, took the idea seriously enough to do something about it.

Billy Florence was a star. After becoming the toast of the New York stage, he toured London, Europe and Middle Eastern countries, always playing to capacity audiences. While on tour in Marseilles, France Florence was invited to a party given by an Arabian diplomat. The entertainment was something in the nature of an elaborately staged, musical comedy. At its conclusion, the guests became members of a secret society.

Florence made copious notes and drawings at the initial viewing and on two other occasions when he attended the ceremony – once in Algiers and again in Cairo. Florence, recalling the conversations at the Knickerbocker Cottage, realized that this might well be the vehicle for the new fraternity. When he showed his material to Dr. Fleming on his return to New York in 1870, Fleming agreed. Fleming took the idea supplied by Florence and converted them into what would become the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (A.A.O.N.M.S.). While there is some question about the origin of the Fraternity’s name, it is probably more than a coincidence that its initials, rearranged, spell out the words ” A Mason.”

With the help of other Knickerbocker Cottage regulars, Fleming drafted the ritual, designed the emblem and ritual costumes, formulated a salutation, and declared that members would wear a red fez.

THE FEZ

The red fez with a black tassel, the Shrine’s official headgear, has been handed down through the ages It derives its name from the place where it was first manufactured – the holy city of Fez, Morocco Some historians claim it dates back to about A.0. 980, but the name of the fez, or tarboosh, ‘does not appear in Arabic literature until around the 14th century. One of the earliest references to the headgear is in ”Arabian Nights.”

The Shrine was unstoppable in the early 1900s. Membership grew rapidly, and the geographical range of Temples widened. Between 1900 and 1918, eight new Temples were created in Canada and one each in Honolulu, Mexico City and the Republic of Panama. The organization became, in fact, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of North America. New flourishes were added to a growing tradition of colorful pageantry. More Shrine bands were formed. The first Shrine circus is said to have opened in 1906 in Detroit. During the same period, there was growing member support for establishing an official Shrine charity. Most temples has individual philanthropies, and sometimes the Shrine as an organization gave aid. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Shrine sent sent $25,000 to help the stricken city, and in 1915, the Shrine contributed $10,000 for the relief of European war victims. But neither the individual projects nor the special one-time contributions satisfied the membership.

In 1919, Freeland Kendrick (Lu Lu Temple, Philadelphia) was the Imperial Potentate-elect for the 363,744 Shriners. He had long been searching for a cause for the thriving group to support. In a visit to the Scottish Rite Hospital for Crippled Children in Atlanta, he became aware of the overwhelming needs of the crippled children in North America. At the June 1919 Imperial Season, Kendrick proposed establishing ”The Mystic Shriners Peace Memorial for Friendless, Orphaned and Crippled Children.” His resolution never came to a vote. As Imperial Potentate in 1919 and 1920, he traveled more than 150,000 miles, visiting a majority of the 146 Temples and campaigning for a Shrine philanthropy.

The climax came at the June 1920 Imperial Session in Portland, Oregon, Kendrick changed his resolution to one establishing the ”Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children,” to be supported by a $2 yearly assessment from each Shriner.

Conservative Shriners expressed doubts about the Shrine assuming this kind of responsibility. Prospects for approval were dimming when Noble Forrest Adair (Yaarab Temple, Atlanta) rose to speak; “I was lying in bed yesterday morning, about four o’clock… and some poor fellow who had strayed from the rest of the band… stood down there under the window for 25 minutes playing ”I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles.” He said that when he awoke later, ”l thought of the wandering minstrel, and l wondered if there were not a deep significance in the tune that he was playing for Shriners,” I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles.” He noted, ”While we have spent money for songs and spent money for bands, it’s time for the Shrine to spend money for humanity.

”l want to see this thing started. Let’s get rid of all the technical objections. And if there is a Shriner in North America,” he continued, ‘who objects to having paid the two dollars after he has seen the first crippled child helped, l will give him a check back for it myself.”

When he was through, Noble Adair sat down to thunderous applause. The whole tone of the session had changed. There were other speakers, but the decision had already been reached. The resolution was passed unanimously.

A committee was chosen to determine the site and personnel for the Shriners Hospital. After months of work research and debate, the committee concluded that there should be not just one hospital but a network of hos pitals throughout North America. It was an idea that appealed to Shriners, who like to do things in a big color ful way. When the committee brought the proposal to the 1921 Imperial Session in Des Moines, Iowa, it too was passed.

FIRST HOSPITAL

Before the June 1922 Session, the cornerstone was in place for the first Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children in Shreveport, La. The rules for this hospital, and all the other Shriners Hospitals which would follow were simple:To be admitted, a child must be from a family unable to pay for the orthopedic treatment he would receive, but under fourteen years of age (later increased to 18) and be, in the opinion of the chief of staff, some one whose condition could be helped.

The work of the great Shriners Hospital network is supervised by the members of the Board of Trustees, who are elected at the annual meeting of the hospital corporation. Each hospital operates under the supervision of a local Board of Governors, a chief of staff and an administrator. Members of the boards are Shriners, who serve without pay.

Shrine Temples are located throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Republic of Panama, with Shrine Clubs around the world. There is, therefore, a special Shrine Pledge of Allegiance; ”l pledge allegiance to my flag, and to the county for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Wherever Shriners gather, the national flags of the United State, Canada, Mexico are flown with the Shrine flag.

Today, there are approximately 660,000 Shriners who are members of 190 Shrine Temples, ranging from Al Aska Temple in Anchorage to Abou Saad Temple in Panama, and from Aloha Temple in Honolulu to Philae Temple in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Temple memberships range from approximately 20,000 (Murat Temple in Indianapolis) to about 500 (Anezeh Temple in Mexico City).

The Temples, their Units and affiliated Shrine clubs embody the true spirit of fraternalism, and wherever a Shriner goes, he can be certain there are Nobles who will extend their hand in greeting and call him ”brother.”

  • from the 2005 “84th Shrine Circus” booklet