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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 Masons 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. Conlin, an actor
with the stage name William J. Florence, took the idea
seriously enough to do something about it.
Billy Florence, as known by his friends, was a star and world
renowned actor. 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, New York, in 1862. During the American 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."
The group adopted a Middle Eastern theme and soon established "Temples"
meeting in "Mosques" across the continent. Another Masonic
group, the Mysterious Order of the Veiled Prophet of the
Enchanted Realm (known colloquially as the "Grotto"),
adopted a similar theme in 1890. The Middle Eastern theme
was popular at the time and alluded to the mystery and
ceremony of the Arabian Nights, with its elaborate parties
and frolic.
Despite its Arabic theme, the Shrine is in no way connected to
Islam. It is a men's fraternity rather than a religion or
religious group. Its only religious requirement is
indirect: all Shriners must be Masons, and petitioners to
Freemasonry must profess a belief in a Supreme Being. In
order to further minimize any confusion with religion, the
use of the word "Temple"
to describe Shriners' buildings has now been replaced by
the phrase "Shrine Center."
Modern Shriners
The Shriners often participate in local parades, sometimes as
rather elaborate units: shrines may have one or more whole
units of miniature vehicles in themes (all sports cars;
all miniature 18-wheeler trucks; all fire engines for
instance) of a dozen or two dozen Shriners executing
elaborate drills in the mini-vehicles; an "oriental band"
dressed in cartoonish versions of Middle Eastern dress;
floats, including huge inflatable balloons of Shriners
wearing their fezzes -- some local mosques actually have
all of the above marching in the same parade.
The Shriners are committed to community service and have been
instrumental in countless public projects throughout their
domain. They also host the annual East-West Shrine Game
which is a college football all-star game. Once a year,
the fraternity meets for the Imperial Council Session in a
major North American city. It is not uncommon for these
conventions to have 20,000 participants or more, which
generates significant revenue for the local economy.
Charity
The Shrine's charitable arm is the Shriners Hospitals for Children,
a network of twenty-two hospitals in the
United States, Mexico and Canada. It was formed to treat
young victims of polio, but as that disease was
controlled, they broadened their scope. They now deal with
all pediatric cases, most especially with orthopedic
injuries and disease and burns. The Shrine has pioneered
new treatments for these conditions.
There is never any charge for treatment at a
Shriners Hospital. There is no requirement for religion,
race, or relationship to a Freemason. Patients must be
under the age of eighteen and treatable. Local Shrine
temples most often provide free transportation to the
nearest hospital. In 2002, a mascot named Fez Head Fred
debuted, primarily to visit their children's hospitals.
In 2005, Shriners Hospitals approved 37,755 new patient
applications, attended to the needs of 123,385 patients
and provided the following free of charge:
* 228,261 radiology procedures
* 305,455 outpatient, outreach and telemedicine visits
* 67,735 orthotic and prosthetic devices applied
* 24,627 surgical procedures
* 227,857 occupational therapy treatments
Shriners Hospitals' total budget for 2006 is $649 million, of which
$616 million is targeted for operating expenses (including
$33 million for research) and $33 million for buildings
and equipment expenditures. During the 84-year history of
the Shriners Hospitals, approximately $7.6 billion has
been spent to operate Shriners Hospitals, and over $1.73
billion has been spent on construction and renovation.
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