 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.
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The
founders of the Shrine
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Walter
Fleming
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William
Florence
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Florence,
recalling the conversations at the Knickerbocker Cottage,
realized that this might well be the vehicle for the new
fraternity. He made copious notes and drawings at that initial
viewing and on two other occasions when he attended the
ceremony, once in Algiers and again in Cairo. When he returned
to New York in 1870 and showed his material to Dr. Fleming,
Fleming agreed.
Dr.
Walter Millard Fleming was a prominent physician and surgeon.
Born in 1838, he obtained a degree in medicine in Albany, N.Y.,
in 1862. During the Civil War, he was a surgeon with the 13th
New York Infantry Brigade of the National Guard. He then
practiced medicine in Rochester, New York, until 1868, when he
moved to New York City and quickly became a leading
practitioner.
Fleming
was devoted to fraternalism. He became a Mason in Rochester and
took some of his Scottish Rite work there, then completed his
degrees in New York City. He was coroneted a 33° Scottish Rite
Mason on September 19, 1872.
Fleming
took the ideas 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
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
initiation rites, or ceremonials, were drafted by Fleming with
the help of three Brother Masons: Charles T. McClenachan, lawyer
and expert on Masonic Ritual; William Sleigh Paterson, printer,
linguist and ritualist; and Albert L. Rawson, prominent scholar
and Mason who provided much of the Arabic background.
The
Emblem
 The
Crescent was adopted as the Jewel of the Order. Though any
materials can be used in forming the Crescent, the most valuable
are the claws of a Royal Bengal Tiger, united at their base in a
gold setting. In the center is the head of a sphinx, and on the
back are a pyramid, an urn and a star. The Jewel bears the motto
"Robur et Furor," which means "Strength and
Fury." Today, the Shrine emblem includes a scimitar from
which the crescent hangs, and a five-pointed star beneath the
head of the sphinx.
The
Salutation
Dr.
Fleming and his coworkers also formulated a salutation used
today by Shriners — "Es Selamu Aleikum!" — which
means, "Peace be with you!" In returning the
salutation, the gracious wish is "Aleikum Es Selamu,"
which means "With you be peace."
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.D. 980, but the name
of the fez, or tarboosh, does not appear in Arabic literature
until around the 14th cen-tury. One of the earliest references
to the headgear is in "Arabian Nights."
The
First Meeting
On
September 26, 1872, in the New York City Masonic Hall, the first
Shrine Temple in the United States was organized. Brother
McClenachan and Dr. Fleming had completed the ritual and
proposed that the first Temple be named Mecca. The original 13
Masons of the Knickerbocker Cottage lunch group were named
Charter Members of Mecca Temple. Noble Florence read a letter
outlining the "history" of the Order and giving advice
on the conduct of meetings. The officers elected were Walter M.
Fleming, Potentate; Charles T. McClenachan, Chief Rabban; John
A. Moore, Assistant Rabban; Edward Eddy, High Priest and
Prophet; George W. Millar, Oriental Guide; James S. Chappel,
Treasurer; William S. Paterson, Recorder; and Oswald M.
d'Aubigne, Captain of the Guard.
But
the organization was not an instant success, even though a
second Temple was chartered in Rochester in 1875. Four years
after the Shrine's beginnings, there were only 43 Shriners, all
but six of whom were from New York.
The
Imperial Council
At
a meeting of Mecca Temple on June 6, 1876, in the New York
Masonic Temple, a new body was created to help spur the growth
of the young fraternity. This governing body was called
"The Imperial Grand Council of the Ancient Arabic Order of
the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for the United States of
America." Fleming became the first Imperial Grand
Potentate, and the new body established rules for membership and
the formation of new Temples. The initiation ritual was
embellished, as was the mythology about the fraternity. An
extensive publicity and recruiting campaign was initiated.
It
worked. Just two years later, in 1878, there were 425 Shriners
in 13 Temples. Five of these Temples were in New York, two were
in Ohio and the others were in Vermont, Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, Iowa, Michigan and Massachusetts.
The
Shrine continued to grow during the 1880s. By the time of the
1888 Annual Session (convention) in Toronto, there were 7,210
members in 48 Temples located throughout the United States and
one in Canada.
While
the organization was still primarily social, instances of
philanthropic work became more frequent. During an 1888 Yellow
Fever epidemic in Jacksonville, Fla., members of the new Morocco
Temple and Masonic Knights Templar worked long hours to relieve
the suffering populace. In 1889, Shriners came to the aid of the
Johnstown Flood victims. In 1898, there were 50,000 Shriners,
and 71 of the 79 Temples were engaged in some sort of
philanthropic work.
By
the turn of the century, the Shrine had come into its own. At
its 1900 Imperial Session, representatives from 82 Temples
marched in a Washington, D.C., parade reviewed by President
William McKinley. Shrine membership was well over 55,000.
Za-Ga-Zig
Shriners was founded in 1882. Original headquarters were in
Mechanics Hall and later in Copley Square, until the purchase
and renovation of the Wilmington auditorium in 1977. |
