Alan Mays' photos with the keyword: fraternal groups

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.

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?

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.

"Worst clam bake I ever went to. Tables set in open field. Broiling hot sun. Clams half done. One waiter to our table. Everything in the bake was smoky. Everybody disgusted. C. L. Deane." Complaints about the food and service at a clambake that was held over 125 years ago. For more information, see the front of this ticket :

"Bristol County Association. G.A.R. Clambake. Riverview Park, Labor Day. Seat No. 332." Handwritten additions to the front of this ticket: "C. L. Deane & J.D.H. Jr. Sep. 6/88. (over.)" Handwritten note on the back (see below): "Worst clam bake I ever went to. Tables set in open field. Broiling hot sun. Clams half done. One waiter to our table. Everything in the bake was smoky. Everybody disgusted. C. L. Deane." "C. L. Deane" was clearly displeased with the food and service at the clambake that he and "J.D.H. Jr." attended as part of an early observance of Labor Day in 1888. The Bristol County Association, based in Bristol County, Massachusetts, was a local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.), an American Civil War veterans' organization. C. L. Deane may have been Charles Learned Deane (1871-1955). If so, he would have been only 17 years old when he registered his complaints about the clambake on his ticket for seat no. 332.

"Pennsylvania Railroad. Centennial Excursion. Under the auspices of Putnam Circle, No. 113, B.U. (H.F.) of Pa. Columbia to Philadelphia and return. On Saturday, October 14, 1876 . Tickets, $2.00. 1." As Wikipedia explains, the Centennial Exposition "was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia." It was "the first official World's Fair in the United States." The organization sponsoring the rail excursion--"Putnam Circle, No. 113, B.U. (H.F.) of Pa."--was a local chapter of the Brotherhood of the Union (Holy Flame) of the Continent of America . Founded in 1850 by author and labor organizer George Lippard , the Brotherhood was "a secret benevolent society aiming to eliminate poverty and crime by removing the social ills causing them." Putnam Circle, No. 113, was organized in Columbia on February 10, 1875, and had sixty members by 1883, according to the History of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania , by Franklin Ellis and Samuel Evans (Philadelphia: Everts and Peck, 1883), p. 581. Columbia is located in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, about ninety miles west of Philadelphia.

"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."

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).