It's been two years and we are ready to travel once again. The excitement level is high and the car is loaded. This year we are caravanning (sp? is it even a word?) all the way to Ohio. We have three in our car and are oh so ready to go. Mister sees us off and we are on the road, giggling before we can get out of the driveway.
First stop is in Mt. Vernon, Texas.
"January 21, 1892, in Gurdon, Arkansas, was much like any other Arkansas winter day - cool and
brisk. The citizens of Gurdon went about their daily activities. The merchants conducted
business, the children laughed and played in the streets, and the horses tied to the hitching posts
stepped lightly in a circle to keep warm. The whine of the nearby sawmills was overcome only
by the piercing scream of the train whistles and the shrill screech of the locomotives trying
desperately to gain momentum from a dead stop. Travelers awaiting a coming train gathered
around the potbellied stove in the depot and made small talk while frequently checking their
pocket watch for the correct time.
Other visitors in Gurdon on this day gathered in the lobby of the Hotel Hall just across Front
Street from the railroad track. Among the visitors of this particular day were five men who had
traveled to Gurdon to catch a train to their next destination. The group had attended a meeting of
the Arkansas Yellow Pine Manufacturer's Association in Camden some 50 miles south of
Gurdon, and, being business travelers of the well-seasoned sort, their itineraries required they
board a train in Gurdon bound for yet another convention in yet another city. The men had
boarded a "bus" in Camden at 9 o'clock on that day each bearing his luggage and a cup of black
coffee. Somewhere along the way the entourage encountered a spread rail or some other obstacle
which demanded the attention of someone experienced at remedying such road problems. While
the problem was being corrected the travelers enjoyed a breakfast of fried chicken and pones
cooked by an old lady near the site of their delay. Shortly, the bus again departed for Gurdon,
arriving at about 11 a.m.
Upon their arrival they discovered that the through train had been delayed and would not arrive
until about 6 p.m. So, with seven hours to kill, the men set about to make themselves
comfortable until their departure. Now these men were obviously the founders of our revered
Order, and we can only suggest that perhaps the delays came about at the hand of Divine
instigation. For if the train had not been delayed, then two of these men, namely Bolling Arthur
Johnson and George K. Smith, would not have sat upon a lumber pile and discussed the
hardships of travelling, nor perhaps might one man have shared his thoughts of a unified lumber
fraternity, called the Ancient Order of Camp Followers, whereby all lumbermen and trade
associations would join together and hold their various meetings and conventions in one place at
one given time in one great "carnival" of activity, rather than holding them at different times in
different cities. Now Johnson, age 30, was a journalist for the TIMBERMAN trade newspaper of
Chicago, and Smith, age 40, was the secretary of the Southern Lumber Manufacturers
Association of St. Louis, and together atop that lumber pile did they combine their intellect and
imagination in one impromptu brainstorming session in which the most basic foundation of a
new Order took shape. Johnson and Smith soon found the other three men, William E. Barns of the St. Louis
LUMBERMAN, George W. Schwartz of the Vandalia Railroad St. Louis, and William Starr
Mitchell, business manager of the ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT in Little Rock, and at 3:09 p.m.
3
embarked upon an extended discussion of the proposed order and whether it was feasible and
worthwhile. Ludolph O.E.A. Strauss of the Malvern Lumber Company in Gurdon later entered
the hotel and was invited to join the discussion. One of the men remarked that it seemed a pity
that the business interests of lumbermen were so diversified that no one organization could
obtain the various memberships of the popular organizations then in existence. It was agreed that
only one common interest existed within the complex web of industry concerns, that being
goodwill and fellowship upon which lumbermen could come together in single mindedness and
unity.
The group agreed that lumbermen meeting on the grounds of good fellowship could receive
intangible benefits that might eventually trickle down into all aspects of business and social
relationships and, in the ultimate, bear the fruit of service to the industry. Bearing this thought in
mind, the discussion led to what manner of organization might be developed to embrace this
simple doctrine of promoting goodwill among lumbermen, and knowing that it would be unique,
how it could be arranged so as to not resemble the other fraternities of the day.
Full of this idea, the group set about to mold the initial tenets of the new order; it was to be a war
on conventionality; there would be no lodge rooms with forced attendance; no marching in the
streets in protest; no "bothering" anybody; no uniforms or flashy regalia. There would be one
single aim: to foster the health, happiness, and long life of its members.
It was further proposed that this new order should devise a secret means of communication so
that any member could correspond with any other member on matters of interest to one another
without revealing their identity to those persons outside the fraternity. It was also determined that
only those individuals who by virtue of their avocations were naturally fraternal would be
recruited.
Once the basic nature of the new order and its eligibility requirements had been determined, the
men set about considering a name that would convey the proper "personality" for an organization
such as this. The name would have to be friendly to represent the fraternal nature of the order,
but also contain a certain degree of mystique to represent the exclusivity of its membership.
Recognizing that the name "Ancient Order of Camp Followers" did not accomplish either
objective, the group wasted no time agreeing with the suggestion by Johnson that "Concatenated
Order of Hoo-Hoo" was the perfect name.
The word "Hoo-Hoo" had been coined by Johnson himself only one month earlier at Kansas City
in describing a most peculiar tuft of hair, greased and twisted to a point, atop the otherwise bald
head of Charles McCarer, of Northwestern “Lumberman”, Chicago. The name Hoo-Hoo became
a catch phrase among the lumbermen in various areas to describe anything unusual or out of the
ordinary. A good poker hand was a "Hoo-Hoo hand." A strange hat was a "Hoo-Hoo hat". The
breakfast which was prepared by the old lady mentioned above was a "Hoo-Hoo breakfast"
because the lady's fingerprints remained on both sides of the pones even after they were cooked.
Thus, Hoo-Hoo well described this new order, and since the word "concatenate" means "to
unite", it was decided the two words made a perfect marriage.
4
Being a war upon conventionality, Hoo-Hoo was to be non-superstitious from the beginning.
Therefore, when the discussion lent itself to adopting a mascot it seemed the black cat would be
the critter extraordinaire due to its general association with bad luck. Also, having no history of
its own, Hoo-Hoo would assume some other history, decidedly that of ancient Egyptians who
worshipped the black cat as a deity. (Other Egyptian religious symbols and lore found its way
into Hoo-Hoo in later years through the Osirian Cloister, an "upper chamber" of Hoo-Hoo
consisting of the order's most dedicated workers.) In honor of the legendary nine lives of the cat,
Johnson suggested that the number nine assume a high and lofty position within the makeup of
Hoo-Hoo. There would be nine men on the Board of Directors. The order would hold its annual
meeting on the ninth day of the ninth month beginning at nine minutes after nine. Annual dues
would be 99 cents, and the initiation fee would be $9.99. The membership would never consist
of more than 9,999 men.
W. E. Barns had just completed reading Lewis Carroll's "Hunting of the Snark" and suggested
that the directors be given names of an "eerie and peculiar" nature like those used in the book.
Hence, the names "snark", "bojum", "Sr. High Hoo-Hoo", "Jr. High Hoo-Hoo", and
"bandersnatch" were chosen, although "jabberwock" later replaced "bandersnatch". The other
names which are now affixed to officers (e.g. Scrivenoter, Arcanoper, Custocatian, and Gurdon)
were the products of Johnson's imagination some days or weeks later. Johnson commented in later years that on that day the group could not get away from words like
“'grand" and "sublime", and things that were "high". Therefore, the Grand Snark was born that
day, but he later assumed the "universe" as his kingdom. The bojum became the Holy Bojum to
serve in the capacity as chaplain. The name "scrivenoter" sounded like a "note scribe" and was
assigned the duties of secretary. Smith filled the scrivenoter's position until 1896 from the HooHoo office on the fourth floor of the Equitable Building in St. Louis. The "arcanoper" was to
stand within the garden and be the "opener" of the gates to those requesting admittance into the
realm of Hoo-Hoo. The name "Gurdon" had the faraway hint of "guard" to it and was therefore
assigned to the sergeant-at-arms, and was also an obvious compliment to the place of the order's
birth.
It was decided at Gurdon that the board of directors would consist of nine men to be called the
"Supreme Nine". It was also decided that the Snark would be one of these nine along with other
elected persons who would bear the titles mentioned above.
The first Grand Snark was an appointed position being awarded to Charles McCarer whose tuft
of hair inspired the name of Hoo-Hoo as mentioned above. McCarer was not present at that
meeting but was still honored with the title and given the number 1. Johnson became member
number 2. The remaining numbers were assigned as follows: W.E. Barns 3, George W. Schwartz
4, George K. Smith 5, James E. Defebaugh 6 of Chicago, Ludolph A.O.E. Strauss 7, Robert E.
Kelley 8 of the BEAUMONT JOURNAL (Texas), and Thomas K. Edwards 9, Lumber Agent
I.C.R.R., Chicago. No mention is made as to why William S. Mitchell was not given a number
that day. He was later given the number 56, but his concat is shown in the record book as having
occurred on that day in Gurdon.
5
We note with interest that, like McCarer, Defebaugh 6 was not present at the initial meeting, nor
was Kelley 8 or Edwards 9. We can only assume that the group chose to bestow honors on men
they knew to be worthy of membership in Hoo-Hoo. Defebaugh later became Snark in 1895.
After deciding that the official colors of Hoo-Hoo would be white, black and gold, the group
knew they had made great strides toward developing a concept that might actually be welcomed
within the lumber industry.
We can imagine that as they finished their discussion they heard in the distance the approach
whistle of their 6 o'clock train that would take them to their next destination.
Upon leaving Gurdon, Johnson travelled north to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the first HooHoo banquet was held with only two men in attendance, Willard G. Hollis, secretary of the
Northwestern Lumbermen's Association, and Johnson. Brimming with enthusiasm for the new
organization, Johnson shared the story with Hollis who immediately caught the spirit. Hollis
invited Johnson to lunch at the West Hotel where the two ordered a dinner "by nines" in honor of
the occasion.
The first public announcement of Hoo-Hoo came a few days later at a meeting of the
Northwestern Lumbermen's Association in Duluth, Minnesota. A banquet was held at the Hotel
Spalding in Duluth with about 400 visiting retail lumbermen in attendance.
A Few Weeks Later…*
…..February 18, 1892, in the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, the first regular
initiation was held.
During the next twenty-eight years, there were no local clubs, only a national organization which
met “in one grand carnival” once a year. But in that year, 1920, Atlanta, Georgia, became the
first Hoo-Hoo Club. A year later, 1921, Hoo-Hoo adopted a Code of Ethics written by C.D.
LeMaster, our 30th Snark and who later held the position of Seer of the House of Ancients for
many years. That code, not surprisingly, consists of nine sentences. The first man from outside
the United States became a member in 1903, but Hoo-Hoo didn’t become truly international until
1924 when his club, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, became the 24th club and, incidentally, concat
#883 was conducted at that occasion.
Hoo-Hoo prospered during the twenties, but with the Great Depression, Hoo-Hoo fell upon hard
times. Unable to meet the financial obligations of its insurance program, its membership
dropping and burdened with apparent embezzlement, the International Concatenated Order of
Hoo-Hoo almost slipped into obscurity as only one club, Spokane, continued to meet on a
regular basis during the time.
During the “Dark Ages” of the thirties, one man, Ben Springer, assumed the dubious honor of
being the custodian of our archives and concomitantly the steward of our affairs. Finally, in
1938, he pursued six other men to enter the life of Hoo-Hoo. They were: Ormie C. Lance
6
36511, Harry T. Kendall 12284, Sam L. Boyd 12042, T. T. Jones L-31233, T. M. Partridge 250,
and W. M. Wattson 32720. During the next year or so, they reorganized Hoo-Hoo, incorporating
it under the state laws of Minnesota, paid off the debts and returned it as a viable organization to
a grateful membership which bestowed upon these six men the title of “Hoo-Hoo Immortals”.
The membership grew to a peak of over 13,000 during the fifties. The promotion of wood
became one of the objectives of Hoo-Hoo. The next decade saw expansion into Australia and
later into other areas of South Pacific.
Today….
More than 100,000 individuals have availed themselves of membership in our great order.
Dedicated primarily to the principles of true fraternalism and fellowship, the International Order
of Hoo-Hoo continues to make many serious, effective contributions to the industry and to the
communities from which its members come.
The Hoo-Hoo International office and Hoo-Hoo Museum share a log cabin which was built by
the WPA in the early 1930’s. The building is located on Main Street in Gurdon, Arkansas, one
block from the site where Hoo-Hoo was founded in 1892.
The Hoo-Hoo Museum which was formally dedicated on April 11, 1981, is a tax exempt
organization and all contributions to the Museum are tax deductible. The Hoo-Hoo Museum
was the brainchild of Jimmy Jones L-72703 who has been the main fund raiser, project
coordinator, public relations director and overseer of operations of the Museum since its
inception, but Jimmy was assisted by many others who were dedicated to seeing the project
through to completion and continue to do so to this day."
To top things off, there is a monument near the tracks. We are stopped by a train and I hop out to take some pictures. It's too bad no one could see me because I toppled over a fence, almost hit the track, had the train crazy close, and had to outrun the end of it to get back to the car, which my mates had locked. Without pictures, it just didn't happen.
At this point, we are behind now and Sherri can "smell" Sam ahead of us. We still haven't seen her or Terry, but Sherri is on the hunt.
Dinner is at a restaurant across the parking lot and the crazy odd thing is we stopped here two years ago and had no idea we were this close to a quilt shop. How sad is that?
If this is any indication - it's good we stayed in.
Day 2 - Good Morning! Everyone is up and on the road with breakfast at a Cracker Barrel just outside of Memphis.
Most of us order coffee or water, but Sherri asks for a Dr. Pepper and from that point forward, the waitress calls her Dr. Pepper. Love it when the waitress messes with us - basically because we can be a handful.
Again, yum. The apples were sooooo good.
We left a little later than I had wanted AND spent longer at the restaurant than planned. That means it's a PUSH to get to Mammoth Cave as we have timed entry tickets. They were crystal clear about being late when I purchased them and they just won't wait for us. Go, go quilters. Hello Kentucky. Funny story real quick - I gave Sherri the camera to get the Kentucky picture and both she and Stephannie missed it so we sent a message to the cars behind us. Terry got one, but it was blurred. Sam also managed to snag one that was perfect and she was driving. Hmmmmm.
From here --- just love the pics - not much commentary unless required.
Gwennie setting a good pace. ONE moist spot I found and the beginnings of a little stalactite. For the most part, this is a dry cave and I asked the guide about this. "It's odd," was his answer. (It's the little dark spot on the base of the wet ceiling.)
Crazy cool and I'm in awe of how huge this is.
Bat spotted - hanging from the ceiling. That little black dot in the picture.
We mention Dairy Queen - off Frieda's car goes. Sherri didn't hear the DQ part and pulls into a Mexican restaurant next door with Sam right behind. When we explain that DQ is where the others are, she leads Sam around and around the parking lot just for fun before landing next door. Such silly girls. Dinner is had and we are back on the road to Louisville.
No comments:
Post a Comment