Ever see a sign for an Elks Club or Oddfellows Meeting Hall and wonder just what the heck these are? Well, I have. And the Wikipedia has a great page outlining the basic definitions of each club:
Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks
"The Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks had modest beginnings in 1868 as a drinking club (then called the "Jolly Corks") established as a private club to elude New York City laws governing the opening hours of public taverns. It has since evolved into a major American fraternal, charitable, and service club with over a million members throughout the nation.
An interesting physical artifact of the order is the number of communal cemetery plots once favored by the group. Often these are marked with impressive statuary."
Independent Order of Odd Fellows
"The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is an ancient fraternal organization thought to have been established in the mid-1700s.
Its lady's auxiliary is known as the Rebekah Degree. Its uniformed degree, the Patriarch's Militant are sometimes seen marching in parades in the United States."
Lion's Club International
Lions Clubs International is the world's largest service club organisation with 46,000 clubs and 1.4 million members in 193 countries around the world. The international headquarters is situated in Oak Brook, Illinois.
It was founded in the U.S.A. in 1917 by Melvin Jones and became truly International on March 12, 1920 when the first club was established in Canada. Membership is by invitation and attendance at meetings is expected on a monthly or fortnightly basis. Politics, religion or other contentious subjects are generally forbidden at club meetings. Lions are a truly community based organisation with a hierarchy that can take a member from a club to office at zone, district, national and international level. An interesting aspect of the operation of Lions Clubs is that all funds raised from the general public are used for charitable purposes with the administration costs of a Club kept strictly separate and paid for by its members.
Shriners
The Shriners, or Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, are an Order appendant to Freemasonry. Until 2000, one had to complete the Scottish Rite or York Rite degrees of Masonry to be eligible for Shrine membership, but now any Master Mason can join.
The Shrine was established in New York City in the 1920s as the fun part of the Masonic movement. The group adopted a theme of the Middle East and soon established "Temples" meeting in "Mosques" across the continent. An earlier Masonic group, the Mysterious Order of the Veiled Prophet of the Enchanted Realm (known colloquially as the "Grotto") had adopted a similar theme in 1890.
It must be emphasized that this decorative theme, now perceived as "politically incorrect", was adopted in an earlier time. The Shrine is not Islamic, nor is it in opposition to Islam.
The Shriners often participate in local parades riding comedy versions of cars and motorcycles. They are recognizable by their elaborate red fezzes.
