Photos, videos and docs of Alan Mays, with the keywords: "fraternal"

Hearty Partiers (Cropped)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 04:58:02 +0000

The woman on the left is holding a ratchet noisemaker. A BPO[E] (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) flag is draped over the shoulder of the woman in the middle. The woman on the right is holding a mask.

Take a look at the full version of this real photo postcard to see the entire group of partygoers.

Hearty Partiers

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 04:58:04 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of the secret lives of grown-ups (adults letting loose and having fun or possibly behaving badly with other adults; all in good taste, of course).

Printed on the back of this real photo postcard: "Novelty Studio, 1118 First Ave., Seattle."

These three couples are ready for a party. The woman on the left, who's a little out of focus for some reason, is holding a ratchet noisemaker. The man in the back on the left is holding a BPO[E] (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) flag that's draped over the shoulder of the woman in the middle. The woman on the right is holding a mask (mouse over the image for a better look at the noisemaker, flag, and mask). The man on the right has some sort of flag tucked under his right arm, and all of them except that man are wearing party or regular hats.

Were they attending a New Year's party at an Elks Lodge?

Buzzer's Hot Air Club and Grand Order of Windjammers Membership Card

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 16:15:24 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

For a similar membership card parody published as a postcard, see Independent Order of Hot Air Dispensers Membership Card (below).

Buzzer's Hot Air Club and Grand Order of Windjammers

This is to certify that Mr. ________ has been elected member of Buzzer's Hot Air Club and is allowed to expound his hot air at any time with police protection.

A. Airmerchant. president.

Groundhog Lodge No. 9 Fersommling, Program Booklet Cover, 1965

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 02 Feb 2017 17:14:33 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Die elft yairlich Fersommling uns Fesht fon da Grundsow Lodsch Nummer Neina on Da Deef Runn. Mittwuch ovet der sivve un zwanzichscht Chanevari om halver siwwa owets im Nei Hilltown Schuulhause, Hilltown, Pa."

Rough translation: "The eleventh yearly gathering and feast of the Groundhog Lodge Number Nine on the Deep Run, Wednesday evening, January 27, at 6:30 in the evening in the New Hilltown Schoolhouse, Hilltown, Pa."

A groundhog adorns the cover of this 1965 booklet containing the program for a gathering of the all-male members of Grundsow Lodsch Nummer Neina (Groundhog Lodge Number Nine). The lodge is one of several groups that meet to promote the Pennsylvania Dutch language, and get-togethers often take place on or near Groundhog Day (February 2) each year.

For another Grundsow Lodsch item, see Groundhog Lodge No. 12, Gathering, Shartlesville, Pa., May 4, 1990 (below). For further information, track down a copy of William W. Donner's book, Serious Nonsense: Groundhog Lodges, Versammlinge, and Pennsylvania German Heritage (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2016).

By the way, the Pennsylvania German Groundhog Lodges and their gatherings, which began in the 1930s, are distinct from the celebrations featuring the nationally known Punxsutawney Phil, who's been prognosticating the weather for the Punxsutawney, Pa., Groundhog Club since 1886, and other local groundhog celebrities, including Octoraro Orphie, who's the weather forecaster for the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge of Quarryville, Pa. (see below), which has been in existence since 1908.

Groundhog Day Program, February 2, 1963 (Back)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 22:57:20 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

The Colerain Township, Pa. Web site describes the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge of Quarryville, Pennsylvania, as a club whose members "throw away worries, cares, and woes and have a good laugh at themselves." This is obvious when you take a look at the back the lodge's 1963 program (above), where comical job titles--like Director of Groundhog Dietetics and Impresario of Groundhog Music--are listed for each member. See below for the entire list of "Lodge Titles and Assignments."

For additional information about the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge, see an
enlargement of the groundhog illustration on the front cover of the 1963 program, the full front cover of the program, and the lodge's 1921 Groundhog Day menu.

Lodge Titles and Assignments

Prefect of Progeny
Surgeon-General and Secretary of Internal Affairs
Ear and Radar Technician
Potentate Exalted
Consultant for Whistle Pigs and Whistle Stops
Sunsighter
Lecturing Patriarch
Defender of the Right of Eminent Domain
Prefect of Slumber
Watchman by Night
Able Sleuth and Locator of Holes
Pedagogical Prophet
Director of Groundhog Diatetics
Assistant Eye Rubber
Senior Official Greeter
Duke of the Ducats
Chief of Secret Service
Ambassador Plenipotentiary
Director-General of Communications
Topographical Engineer
Patriarch of Enlightenment
Impresario of Groundhog Music
Agricultural Representative with Rank of Prophet
Clipper de Pate-De Luxe
Chief Oiler and Lubricator
Specialist in Chronometer Synchronization
Doctor of Pow But Not Wow
Enlightener DeLuxe
Peer of Penumbra
Nabob of the Basket
Thrice Venerable Patriarch
Coordinator of Shadows
Maestro of Melodious Music
Inspector of Incisors and Bicuspids
Director of Groundhog Migration
Reguis Professor of Arctomancy
Grand Inquisitor
Director of Gastronomic and Nutritional Research
Patriarch of Degrees
Operator Operandi
Watchman by Day
Junior Official Greeter
Inspirational Patriarch
Patriarch DeLuxe
Ambassador without Stipulated Designation
Consultant for Hole Improvements
Chief Eye Rubber
Councilor for Insurance and Assurance
Bailiff of the Bailiwick
Lord Chief Justice of Groundhog Jurisdiction
Venerable Patriarch
Greeter of Distinguished and Extinguished Guests
Maestro Strummer of Strings
Guardian of the Clover
Ambassadorial Patriarch
Junior Patriarch
Welder of Fraternalism
Grand Shillalah and Shamrock
Commodore of Seafarers and Safaris
Grand Actuary of Action and Reaction
Chief Surveyor of Holes
Grand Scribe of Scribble and Script
Lord High Executioner

Groundhog Day Program, February 2, 1963 (Front)

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 22:57:22 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

The top section of the front cover of this Groundhog Day program from 1963 grandly announces, "The Fifty-Fifth Annual Observance of Groundhog Day, Saturday, February 2, 1963, in the 187th year of the Independence of the United States of America, by the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge of Quarryville in Lancaster County, the Garden Spot of America, likewise in the State of Pennsylvania and the United States of America."

The middle section of the cover contains a list of past members of the lodge, while the bottom part advises current members to await the pronouncement of Octoraro Orphie, their Weather Prophet: "Let us sit by the side of the Groundhog hole and wait for the Prophet who knows, who can tell when the winter is over and gone and done with its ice and its snows. Why should we hark to the siren call of those of a spurious clan! Let us sit by the side of a Groundhog hole and wait for the Prophet who can."

For additional information about the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge, see an
enlargement of the groundhog illustration on the front cover of this 1963 program, the back cover of the program, and the lodge's 1921 Groundhog Day menu.

Groundhog Day, February 2, 1963

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 22:57:24 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"The Fifty-Fifth Annual Observance of Groundhog Day, Saturday, February 2, 1963, in the 187th year of the Independence of the United States of America, by the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge of Quarryville in Lancaster County, the Garden Spot of America, likewise in the State of Pennsylvania and the United States of America."

This is an enlargement of the groundhog illustration on the front cover of the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge's program for its 1963 celebration. The lodge members call upon their own groundhog, Octoraro Orphie, to forecast the weather in Quarryille, Pennsylvania, each year on Groundhog Day, which occurs on February 2. (Farther west in Pennsylvania, another group, the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, relies upon a different groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, to predict the weather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.)

The Colerain Township, Pa. Web site (viewed in 2015 but no longer available in 2017) describes the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge this way: "The Slumbering Groundhog Lodge of Quarryville, Pennsylvania was founded on Groundhog Day, February 2, 1908, by George W. Hensel, Jr. The big boss is a fuzzy buck-toothed creature named 'Orphie' and he has the unique ability to forecast an early or late spring with the help of his shadow. Honorary members of the lodge include Sir Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and J. Edgar Hoover. The purpose of the club is for members to throw away worries, cares, and woes and have a good laugh at themselves."

For more information, see the full front cover of this 1963 program, the back cover, and the lodge's 1921 Groundhog Day menu.

Independent Order of Hot Air Dispensers Membership Card

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Thu, 16 Oct 2014 21:26:21 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Independent Order of Hot Air Dispensers Membership Card. Local No. 463 - Card No. This certifies that [H. H. Melhorn?], Glen Rock, Pa., is a member in good standing of the Hot Air Dispensers, and is fully qualified to supply hot air on any and all occasions. James Gasbag, president. Wm. Buttonholer, sec'y."

Ancient, Honorable, Transcendental, and Effervescent Order of Yellow Dogs, 1924

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 22:23:17 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A 1924 membership card for the Curwensville, Pa., Kennel (chapter) of the Ancient, Honorable, Transcendental, and Effervescent Order of Yellow Dogs.

"Ride Si Sapis Sine Cura Esto Perpetuum Hic Et Ubique" (Google translates this from the Latin as: "The ride here forever and everywhere, if you are wise, be wholly free from care.")

See also Angelica Paez's Order of Yellow Dogs membership card and my own The Yellow Dogs Will Gnaw at the Ancient Relic, 1923 ticket.

Groundhog Lodge No. 12, Gathering, Shartlesville, Pa., May 4, 1990

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 21:53:42 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A ticket for the Pennsilfaanisch Deitsch Fersommling (Pennsylvania Dutch gathering) held at Haag's Hotel in Shartlesville, Berks County, Pa., on May 4, 1990, by the Grundsow Lodsch Nummer 12 on da Dulpehocka Pawd (Groundhog Lodge No. 12 on the Tulpehocken Path).

As Wikipedia indicates, "A Fersommling (plural, Fersommlinge) (also spelled Versammling or Fersammling) is a Pennsylvania Dutch social event in which food is served, speeches are made, and one or more g'spiel (plays or skits) are performed for entertainment." Check out the wonderfully amusing photo of King Groundhog arriving at the Fersommling held on February 2, 1968, by Grundsow Lodge Nummer Ains on da Lechaw (Groundhog Lodge Number One on the Lehigh).

Folklorist Don Yoder points out in his book Groundhog Day (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2003), p. xii, that the groundhog is "a vital if tongue-in-cheek symbol of the Pennsylvania Dutch. This identity is celebrated in the all-dialect Grundsow Lodges (Groundhog Lodges) of Southeastern Pennsylvania, where every February hundreds of Dutchmen meet to spend the evening feasting and frolicking, with pledges of allegiance, the sacred Groundhog Oath, and lots of harmless revelry--all in Pennsylvania Dutch."

Although some Groundhog Lodges do hold Fersommlinge on Groundhog Day or later in February, other gatherings--like this one on May 4, 1990--are scheduled at different times.

--------

(Not yet translated from the Pennsylvania Dutch.)

Grundsow Lodge No. 12 on da Dulpehocka Pawd

Des baweiss'd das da ________ fon ________ 'n fol shtandich lead iss fon da Grundsow Lodsch No. 12 on da Dulpehockae Pawd, und fershprocha hut die yarlich 1990 Fersommling ei tzunemma om 7:13 ovets, da 4't Moi onn, Haaga Watshaus, Shartlesville, Pa.

Harvey A. Hill, Jr., Hauptmann
William H. Keener, Shreiver

Sei so gute und halt ken sitzplatz zurick. Please do not reserve any seats. Seating is available as members arrive.

No. 0255

--------

Dierra Tzettle

Des beweiss'd das da ________ fon ________.

Mir Zwelf Daller Batzawled hut fer ein Glead tzu,
werra
bleiva
fon da Grundsow Lodsch No. 12 on da Dulpehocka Pawd.

Fohr g'shloga fom
Glead Tox $12.00 RAWD

No. 0255

Groundhog Day Menu, Hotel Weber, Lancaster, Pa., Feb. 2, 1921

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 21:43:40 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Menu from page 3 of the program for the "Fourteenth Annual Watch and Wait of the Slumbering Ground Hog Lodge of Quarryville, in Pennsylvania," February 2, 1921 (see below for a transcription of the text).

For additional information about the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge, see an
enlargement of the groundhog illustration on the front cover of the program for the lodge's 1963 celebration, the full front cover of the program, and the back cover of the program.

Ground Hog Day, Nineteen Twenty-One

Ground Hog Feast
Hotel Weber, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the Garden Spot of America.

To sleep or not to sleep? That is the question.
Whether 'tis weather-wise thus to suffer
The stings and arrows of a Borean Winter,
Or, by retreating to a cozy corner, burrow, and end them,
To sleep, to hibernate and by a six-week nap
To say we end the backache and the rheumatism
And the hundred ills woodchucks are heir to,
To hibernate! To sleep! Perchance to dream--
Aye, there's the rub! For in that death-like sleep
What dreams may come, eke make me suck my paws,
For who would prophesy and shake and shiver
In an advancing cold wave and storm
When he at once might rest and comfort take
By getting in out of the wet.

Menu

Celery, Olives, Oysters on the Half Shelf, Vegetable Soup

Stuffed Turkey, grown in Colerain Township

Turkey Giblet Sauce

Mashed Potatoes, raised in East Drumore

Candied Sweet Potatoes, product of Beggar Row

Cranberry Sauce, as sassy as can be made

Quarryville Peas

Salads, a la Eden Township

Ice Cream, frozen in Lancaster

Cakes

Coffee, direct from Brazil, grown especially for ground hogs

Rajah Shriner at the Cawston Ostrich Farm, South Pasadena, Calif.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 16:57:34 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A souvenir photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

The souvenir photo category is a favorite of mine, and two of my previous theme park submissions happened to be souvenir photos (see Two Woman Posing for a Boardwalk Souvenir, Atlantic City, N.J. and High over Zurich, Sept. 22, 1910).

This souvenir real photo postcard shows a man wearing a fez and riding an ostrich at the Cawston Ostrich Farm in South Pasadena, California, sometime in the early part of the twentieth century.

The logo on the fez, consisting of a scimitar, crescent, and star, identifies the man as a member of the Shriners. The letters "RAJ" are barely visible above the logo and indicate that he belonged to the Rajah Temple, which was a local Shriners' chapter based in Reading, Pennsylvania, at the time this photo was taken.

For another example of a souvenir photo from the Cawston Ostrich Farm, see ricksoloway's f_cawstonostrichfarm photo on Flickr.

The Yellow Dogs Will Gnaw at the Ancient Relic, 1923

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 02 Dec 2013 22:23:15 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"50c Banquet 50c. The Yellow Dogs will gnaw at the ancient relic in peace and harmony at the Coleman House, Thursday, March 8th, 1923, after the regular meeting."

See also Angelica Paez's Order of Yellow Dogs membership card and my own Ancient, Honorable, Transcendental, and Effervescent Order of Yellow Dogs, 1924 membership card.

Alpha Kappa Delta Fraternity, Pennsylvania State College, 1910

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 01:55:53 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

A front porch photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park.

A group of 36 men and women assembled on and in front of the porch of a fraternity house. I found this photo at an antique mall in Pennsylvania, and judging by the "AKD" banner, the "State" pillow, and the "S[tate] 1910" pillow, this is probably the same men's social fraternity that William Raimond Baird described in Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 7th ed. (New York: College Fraternity Publishing, 1912), p. 572:

"Alpha Kappa Delta--Organized May 4, 1909, at Pennsylvania State College [now Pennsylvania State University]. The membership is about 50. The badge is an oblong shield displaying the letters forming the society's name in the center in vertical order. The colors are orange and blue. It rents a house."

Perhaps that's the house that the fraternity was renting. The AKD banner on the porch, interestingly enough, includes a skull and crossbones in its upper left-hand corner. And who are the young and middle-aged women in the photo? Girlfriends and chaperones? Students and profs?

Today, Alpha Kappa Delta is the name of a sociology honor society founded in 1920. It would be interesting to know, however, what happened to this fraternity in the decade after this photo was taken.

Katunka Tribe No. 453 Degree Team, York, Pa.

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Wed, 17 Jul 2013 21:11:00 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

Posted to the Vintage Photos Theme Park group as a "strange clothing" photo.

This real photo postcard shows a group of men who belonged to "Katunka Tribe No. 453," which was the York, Pa., chapter of the Improved Order of Red Men, or IORM for short. The York chapter no longer exists but the national group is still around (despite the fact that "Red Men" is now considered an offensive term for Native Americans) and calls itself "America's Oldest Fraternal Organization" on its Web site.

When you realize that none of the men in this photo were Native Americans, it seems awfully strange--at least from our modern perspective nearly a century later--that they dressed in Native American garb (however inauthentic their interpretation of the clothing may have been) for their group ceremonies and rituals.

In case you're interested in additional information, Blake Stough discussed the history and controversial aspects of the York IORM group in his article Politically Incorrect or Not--Still A Part of York County History on the Preserving York blog (the article included this photo with my permission).

Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:35:01 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance. We educate to love truth & temperance. This is to certify that ________ is a member in regular standing in ________ sect., no. ____, I.O. of C.T. ________ G. ________, 18____. Elliott, printer, cor. 4th & New, below Vine."

For a similar membership card, see Theodore K. Young, Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance, 1858.

Theodore K. Young, Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance, 1858

nobody@ipernity.com (Alan Mays) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 20:34:01 +0000

Alan Mays has posted:

"Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance. We educate to love truth & temperance. This is to certify that Theodore K. Young is a member in regular standing in Crystal Fount Sect. No. 15, I.O. of C.T. Geo. King, G. Sep. 15th 1858."

For a similar membership card, see Independent Order of Cadets of Temperance.