A Fraternal History of Marin County California - BPOE - LOOM

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE)

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks

There are two Marin County Elks Clubs. One is located in San Rafael (San Rafael Lodge No. 1108) and the other in Novato (Novato No. 2655).

San Rafael Lodge No. 1108 was established in approximately 1916. For the first forty-seven years of its existence its lodge was located at Fifth and B Streets in San Rafael. In 1963, the San Rafael Elks purchased Maple Lawn an estate on Mission Avenue in San Rafael. Maple Lawn had belonged to famed sportswoman and explorer Louise M. Boyd, whose family acquired much of their wealth from mining and finance. One relic of the old Elks building which was removed prior to its demolition was a beautiful stain glass window depicting the emblems associated with the Elks: The window was stored beneath Maple Lawn for some twenty-six years before being rediscovered in 1989. During its history, San Rafael Lodge No. 1108 has been a significant contributor to local and state charities. During its history, San Rafael Lodge No. 1108 has also sponsored a lodge of the junior order for boys known as the Marin County Order of Antlers No. 10 (the 1927 officers of the Antlers No. 10 were, M. Lewis, President; J. Ferrario, Vice President; B. McGinnis, Second Vice President; E. Ostagge, Third Vice President; William Fehy, Financial Secretary; and E. Peterson, Recording Secretary. See, Mill Valley Record, February 5, 1927.)

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks - Background, History, Ritual and Emblems

Elks: The oldest and largest of the "Big Three" orders that name themselves after assorted wildlife (The other two being the Loyal Order of Moose and the Fraternal Order of Eagles). The B.P.O.E. was founded in 1868 in New York as a drinking club by a group of actors in an informal drinking society called the Jolly Corks formed in 1866 to circumvent New York law that closed saloons on Sundays. Many informal organizations such as the Jolly Corks sprang up from time to time, then and later. Most lasted only a short time, then were heard from no more. Charles Vivian, noted for his wit and personality, was the moving force in the Jolly Corks inception. When the Corks' membership exploded, new, more serious minded members (such as George McDonald) joined who felt there was both a need for and a chance to form a benevolent society for the theatrical world, broadening the nucleus of the Jolly Corks into a fraternal, charitable, and service organization. Such men gave the larger club its real organization and serious purpose, preventing it from fragmenting or going out of business. The name of the organization was selected because the elk has a number of attributes that were deemed typical of those to be cultivated by members of the fraternity. The Elk is distinctively an American animal. It habitually lives in herds. The largest of our native quadrupeds, it is yet fleet of foot and graceful in movement. It is quick and keen of perception; and while it is usually gentle and even timorous, it is strong and valiant in defense of its own.

When the organization changed from the Jolly Corks to the B.P.O.E., it borrowed a certain amount from the Masons, including aprons and such terms as "Tiler" for the guardian of a lodge, and "Lodge of Sorrow" (a funeral service for a dead Elk).

The officers of the Elks Lodge are: Exalted Ruler; Esteemed Leading Knight; Esteemed Loyal Knight; Esteemed Lecturing Knight, Secretary; Treasurer; Chaplain; Esquire; Inner Guard; and Tiler. The lessons of Elkdom are communicated by short lectures. Central to Elk Lodge ceremonies are the Bible and American Flag. Emblems associated with the Elks are: Forget-me-not; antlers of protection; star of fidelity. The cardinal principals of the Elks are: Brotherly Love, Justice, Charity, and Fidelity. The Elks take deserved pride in their patriotic and charitable endeavors.

Was your California town a part of Elkdom? See, Appendix.

Loyal Order of Moose (LOOM)

There is or was a Moose Lodge in Novato, CA.

Loyal Order of Moose - Background, History, Ritual and Emblems

The Moose was founded by Dr. John Henry Wilson and a group of his friends in 1888 in Louisville, Kentucky, as a social and drinking club to rival the Elks. While it remains essentially an American club, it changed its name to International Moose in 1991. The basic unit is the Lodge, which follows the pattern established by Masons: the Moose have club room or rooms, plus a Lodge room with an altar. The Moose confer an initiatory degree, and after six months membership, the member becomes eligible for the second degree, Legion of the Moose. A third degree or Fellowship Degree is awarded for service to the fraternity. The forth and highest degree, that of Pilgrim, is honorific and is awarded to few Moose. The Moose make community service a strong component of their activities.

Under the 1908 ritual, the officers of the Moose Lodge are: Governor, Past Governor, Junior Governor, Prelate, Secretary, Treasurer, Sergeant-at-Arms, Orator, Bugler, Inner Guard, Outer Guard. Central to the ceremonies of the Moose are the American Flag, the defending circle, the legend of the "Locked Horns," Nine O'Clock Ceremony in memory of the children at Mooseheart, and the bells. Somewhat like the Elk, the lessons of the Moose were (in the 1908 ritual) communicated by lectures given by the Governor, Prelate, and Past Governor. The motto of the Moose is, "One for All and All for One." The principles most dear to Moose are Purity, Aid and Progress. The Moose take deserved pride in their successful mutual benefit program which includes the Mooseheart home for children of Moose and Mooseheaven home for elderly Moose.

Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE)

Marin County, California has been the home to possibly four or five Fraternal Order of Eagles Lodges: Mill Valley Aerie, No. 2372 (Aerie No. 2372 might have been predated by a Mill Valley Aerie No. 1327: A piece of stationary bearing that name and number in the Mill Valley Historical Society archives is dated January 24, 1919, signed by the Aerie's secretary, C.J. Pierard, discusses a resolution passed at the Aerie's regular meeting to express appreciation to Mrs. Thomas Bagshaw for preparing the Aerie's Installation Banquet.), Fraternal Order of Eagles; San Rafael Aerie, No. 256, Fraternal Order of Eagles; San Anselmo Aerie, No. ?, Fraternal Order of Eagles; and Sausalito Aerie, No. ?, Fraternal Order of Eagles.

The Eagles Hall in Sausalito was the site of the towns Grand Ball in connection with the September 9, 1890 Sausalito Municipal Water Supply and Admission Day Celebration (accord with the 1898 founding date of the FOE; possibly a local group called the Eagles preexisted the FOE in the City of Sausalito?). No other information about this Aerie is currently available.

San Rafael Aerie No. 256 was for many years the only Aerie in Marin County. According to accounts in the Mill Valley Record, April 18, 1941, "Some of the San Rafael Aerie members opposed institution of Mill Valley Aerie 2372, recently organized with a membership of 115," but the assistant state deputy and organizer, Paul B. Wreath, stated, "I predict San Rafael will soon overcome a tendency to monopolize the county and will join with Mill Valley and San Anselmo in a true fraternal spirit of cooperation." In the 1939-1940 Marin Directory, its address was the Portuguese American Hall, San Rafael; the1952-1953 Marin Directory, its address was listed as 633 Mission Street, San Rafael; the 1954-55 Marin Directory lists its address as 909 B Street, San Rafael.

Plans to organize (or was it to reorganize?) Mill Valley Aerie were announced February 7, 1941. According to published reports some fifty members of the FOE were at the time living in Mill Valley and requested that their own Lodge be organized. To this end, the state organization sent assistant state deputy and organizer Paul B. Wreath who stayed with James J. Jackson during the organization period. The institution was scheduled for March 10, 1941 at the Outdoor Art Club, to be prceded by a street parade on opening night made up of participants from aeries throughout the state: More than 100 Eagles from San Rafael, Napa, Santa Rosa, Truckee, Petaluma, Oakland, East Oakland, San Francisco, and Honolulu Aeries participated. Presiding was D.D. Heagerty, state deputy and grand aerie trustee; the degree team and drill were according to some accounts provided by Golden Gate Aerie No. 61 of San Francisco and according to other accounts by East Oakland Aerie 1375. Pending arrangements for a permanent clubroom, the Mill Valley Aerie planed to meet every Friday night beginning March 14, 1941 at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Temple in the Keystone Building. The Petaluma Aerie degree team was in charge of the second charter class on March 14th which was also the new Lodge's first election of officers. The imperial degree of honor of the "mother aerie" was also conferred. On March 28, 1941, the San Rafael Aerie degree team initiated the final class of charter candidates at the IOOF Hall. One of the first activities of the new Lodge was to charter a bus to take the new members to visit Petaluma Aerie on the occasion of its 38th anniversary on March 24, 1941. Soon thereafter, on April 23, 1941, it was announced that the Mill Valley Aerie would open its own clubroom at 15 and 17 Madrona Avenue, the former home of the Mill Valley Record.

Charter members of Mill Valley Aerie were drawn from the communities of Mill Valley, Sausalito, Belvedere, Tiburon, and Larkspur and included Dr. Andrew E. Thuesen, Fred W. Bagshaw, Jr., John J. Jackson, Edward G. Willis, David L. Arnst, Robert S. Young, Joseph A. Canct, Frank J. Filippi, Manuel D. Gomez, Fred L. Martin, Sheridan L. Stone, Fred Berick, Joseph M. Mendez, Bernie H. Welchon, Stuart Hilliard, Joseph E. Ritchie, Robert A. Manning, Alfred P. Gales, Charles L. Cole, Terry S. Moniz, Patsy Guagliano, Alexander P. Barden, Jr., Arthur W. Fontes, Charles W. Brown, Robert S. Hooper, Robert W. Whitehead, John W. Wisler, Ray Dippel, Richard H. Intemann, Lloyd J. Royer, Emil Plasberg, Antoni Arrigo, Lawrence P. Hendrix, Paul F. Otto, George C. Grosser, Joseph F. Bettencourt, William K. Beyries, Robert Beyries, Anthony L. Sapterio, Arthur W. Saunders, Rossworth C. Schiffing, Fred A. Schmidt, Homer E. Dolby, Antonio Bardea, Oacar W. Lauff, William E. Kennedy, Robert I. Gallagher, Wilber L. Greyerbiehl, Fred H. Kimrey; Russell G. Bond, Gus E. Freid, Lloyd E. Arrowsmith, Jr., Chester J. Haney, Donald E. Wentworth, Philip W. Smith, Lester H. Patterson, Granville L. Wyatt, Rolland J. Wyatt, Joseph G. Santos, Manuel G. Brazel, John G. Cooper, Sampsen W. Olsen, Brese E. Greyerbiehl, Charles D. McNeil, Lloyd F. Canham, William A. Canham, Jules W. Aubuchon, John J. O'Brien, Thomas R. Hobson, Jr., Fates D. Parteles, Paul C. Thorne, Arthur J. Russell, Frank R. Assin, Dr. Henry L. Lacoste, George D. Hoyle, James H. Haney, Robert B. Jackson, George L. Fallon, Romano Albertino, Ira C. Watts, Kenneth W. Edgar, Paul W.K. Crowley, Edgar Summers, Richard H. Finn, Samuel W. Jewell, Marvin S. Dahlquist, Frank B. DeRosa, Daniel T. Burns, George Teitjen, Albert D. Canet, Charles M. Parsons, John J. Santos, Jack E. Berg, Rowland B. Randolph, William R. Randolph, Edmund A. Owen, Edward J. Roll, Patrick E. Coleman, Frank L. Maguire, Robert M. Maguire, Frederick A. McDonald, William H. Fischer, Edwin Knell. Over 105 men joined the charter class of the new Mill Valley Aerie.

The March 18, 1941 Editorial in the Mill Valley Record stated: "A new organization was added last week to Mill Valley's progressive fraternal and civic groups, Mill Valley Aerie, Fraternal Order of Eagles. [¶]Eagles are noted for the fine work they have done throughout the years in securing pensions for the aged, and for other social reforms. And in hundreds of cities like Mill Valley they provide the center for recreational and charitable activities of many persons. [¶]Mill Valley welcomes this organization, congratulates its new members and officers, and invites it to take its share of the pleasures and responsibilities of a civic and fraternal organization in this growing community."

On April 18, 1941, it was announced in the Mill Valley Record that a new Aerie was planned to be instituted in San Anselmo on May 1, 1941. Although the Marin Directory for 1942-1943 lists both San Rafael Aerie No. 256, and Mill Valley Aerie No. 2372, it does not list an Aerie in San Anselmo. It is as yet undetermined whether the plan to institute an Aerie in San Anselmo ever hatched.

It is uncertain if the fledgling Aerie in Mill Valley survived a decade that drew many young men into military service. According to the recollection of longtime Mill Valley Postman Russ Smith, whose route included Madrona Avenue when he began in 1955, the Fraternal Order of Eagles no longer occupied what had been their clubroom at 15 and 17 Madrona Avenue. The 1942-1943 Marin Directory confirms that the Mill Valley Aerie had met at 17 Madrona Avenue in Mill Valley in the years prior to the outbreak of World War II.

Fraternal Order of Eagles - Background, History, Ritual and Emblems

The Eagles particular virtues are Liberty, Truth, Justice and Equality. The emblem of the Order is the Eagle, who holds in its beak the scales of justice, ever ready to defend equality. "As the proud Eagle spreads his wings, he soars high into the sky and with his ever watchful eye, he protects as he is protected, guards as he is guarded."

What became the "Fraternal Order of Eagles" was founded on February 6, 1898 by a group of theater managers who wanted an organization dedicated to the ideas of democracy and brotherhood. Originally called the "Seattle Order of Good Things," the constitution passed a month later renamed the group and asked its members to "make human life more desirable by lessening its ills and promoting peace, prosperity, gladness, and hope." Within ten years the Eagles had 1,800 lodges scattered throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, boasting a membership roll that exceeded 350,000. Members received free medical attention (as did the individual's family), weekly payments in case of sickness, and a funeral benefit--all valuable services before the widespread availability of medical, disability, and life insurance.

Fraternal Order of Eagles stated mission is to unite fraternally for mutual benefit, protection, improvement, social enjoyment and association, all persons of good moral character who believe in a Supreme Being to inculcate the principles of liberty, truth, justice and equality, to perpetuate itself as a fraternal organization and to provide for its government as it's Constitution, Laws, Rituals, by-laws or other rules and regulations may from time to time provide, and to promote the general welfare, the Fraternal Order of Eagles ordains this constitution. To promote and raise funds for duly authorized Fraternal Order of Eagles charities and contribute to worthwhile charitable causes.

The officers of a Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie are: Worthy President, Worthy Vice President, Junior Past Worthy President, Secretary, Treasurer, Worthy Chaplain, Worthy Conductor, Trustees, Inside Guard, and Outside Guard.

Was your California town the home of an Eagle Aerie? Fraternal Order of Eagles Appendix