The Evolution of the "World's Greatest Fraternity"

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. 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.

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 for 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 had individual philanthropies. and sometimes the Shrine as an organization gave aid. After the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. the Shrine 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. who wanted to do more.

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 crippled children in North America. At the June 1919 Imperial Session. 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 an official 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. "I thought of the wandering minstrel. and I 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. "I 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. I 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 hospitals throughout North America. It was an idea that appealed to Shriners. who liked to do things in a big and colorful way. When the committee brought the proposal to the 1921 Imperial Session in Des Moines. Iowa. it too was passed.

During the 1980s. Shriners Hospitals initiated a number of new programs in their efforts to continue providing high-quality pediatric orthopaedic and burn care. One of the most significant was the 1980 opening of the spinal cord injury rehabilitation unit at the Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia — the first spinal cord injury unit in the United States designed specifically for children and teenagers who suffer from these injuries.

By 1984. two additional spinal cord injury units were operating in the Shriners Hospitals in Chicago and San Francisco. In 1997. the San Francisco Hospital. including the SCI unit. was relocated to the newest Shriners Hospital in Sacramento. Calif. At the Shrine's SCI units. children receive long-term rehabilitative care and physical and occupational therapy to help them relearn the basic skills of everyday life. Counseling sessions help patients learn to cope with the emotional aspects of their injury and help them lead fulfilling lives by emphasizing the abilities they still have. Patients may enter an SCI unit apprehensive about the future. but after months of encouragement and support. they often leave with a sense of hope and optimism.

Another important undertaking that was begun during the 1980s was an aggressive rebuilding and renovation program. involving the construction of new facilities and extensive renovations throughout the Shriners Hospital system. In 1981. the Representatives at the 107th Imperial Council Session approved a major expansion and reconstruction program. which included the construction of a new orthopaedic hospital in Tampa. Fla. The opening of the Tampa Hospital in 1985 — the first new hospital added to the Shrine system since the 1960s — brought the Shriners Hospital system back to 22 hospitals. Since 1981. 21 Shriners Hospitals have either been rebuilt or totally renovated. with the burn hospital in Boston being completed in 1999. In 1998. the Joint Boards decided to build a new facility for the Mexico City Hospital. which had undergone extensive renovations in 1989.