The Lark: Vol 5, Issue 8, November 2025

Shriners

by Bill Hudson

The Shriners is a social fraternity intended to provide men fellowship and a means to serve their communities. The Rhode Island Shrine, where LLC is now holding its classes, sits across the street from a Masonic Temple. This is no accident. The Shriner’s organization is an “appendant” body within Freemasonry which means that to be a Shriner a man must first be initiated as a Master Mason.

Two New York City Freemasons created what they would call the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (now known as Shriners International) in 1872 as a fraternity for those Masons interested in “fun and fellowship.” Having traveled in the Middle East, these two founders decided to distinguish their new fraternity with iconography that they thought characterized that region such as the distinctive red Fezzes that Shriners wear, a crescent and scimitar symbol, various other insignia featuring ancient Egyptian and Arabian symbols, and official titles like “Potentate.”  Shriner headquarters identified themselves as “Temples”. The founders believed, one can imagine, that this symbolism reflected the “fun” they anticipated for their fraternity and that it would attract members.

In that they succeeded, for quickly Shriner chapters sprung up across the country. By the end of the century, there were 82 Temples with about 55,000 members. Over its more than a century of existence, Shriners could count many celebrities and political figures among their ranks including Ernest Borgnine, Roy Rogers, John Wayne, Chief Justice Earl Warren and presidents Harry Truman and Gerald Ford.

Today there are 1.7 million Shriners in 200 chapters in nine countries, although most chapters are in North America. An official of Rhode Island’s Shrine has described the Shriners as the “public face of Freemasonry.” This public face is embodied in three of the organization’s key values: fun and fellowship, family, and philanthropy.

As with its original founders, today’s Shriners value the social comradery and fellowship its chapters offer to its members.  Social events and ceremonies bring the members together. Shriners also bring this value to others through participation in community events like parades and community festivals. The RI chapter maintains a clown unit, a motor corps, and a legion of honor made up of military veterans which participate in these events.

This spirit of fun also includes music. Many chapters have Shriner bands that march in parades and give community concerts. The RI chapter once had a band, pictures of which can be seen in the “Band Room” that LLC is using as our break room. The famous composer and bandmaster John Phillip Sousa was a Shriner and composed a march in honor of the Shriners: Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.

Shriner’s value family and include their families in many social events and activities. This embrace of family includes several affiliate organizations for family members. Women’s organizations such as Daughters of the Nile and the Shriners Guild are open to the spouses, daughters, and other relatives of Shriners. The Shriners and Masons sponsor DeMolay International for boys and two organizations for girls, International Order of the Rainbow and Jobs Daughters.

Shriners are best known for their philanthropy, particularly the network of Shriner’s Hospitals offering free pediatric care. Since the establishment of the first Shriner’s Hospital in 1922, the Shriner hospital network has expanded to twenty-two pediatric care facilities throughout North America.

Shriner hospitals and clinics are known for advanced care for burns, spinal injuries, and cleft lip and palate. Beyond their financial support, Shriners serve on hospital boards, provide transportation services to hospitals, and volunteer to assist in the care and the entertainment of patients.

Rhode Island’s Shriner chapter is one of the oldest in the nation, established in 1886. It today has 330 members drawn from the 24 masonic lodges in Rhode Island. In keeping with Shriner tradition of fun, RI Shriners participate in many social activities including an annual Comedy Show, the Penguin Plunge, and parades. Many of these activities raise funds for Shriner philanthropy, which is substantial.  Last year, the RI Shrine contributed two million dollars to four dozen non-profit organizations, including a substantial gift to the Boston Shriner’s Hospital. Funds for these charitable contributions come, not only from Shriner fundraising activities, but from the RI Shrine’s sizable endowment built up through bequests of Shriners over the past century.

For most of its existence, the RI chapter was known as the “Palestine Temple.” After the 9/11 terror attack, Shriners across the country were subjected to vandalism and harassment from people who thought, because of the Shriner Middle Eastern iconography, the Shriners were a Muslim organization. After threatening phone calls and an incident involving a van transporting children to the Boston Shriner’s Hospital, the RI Chapter opted to change its name to simply the RI Shrine. Despite this name change, the RI chapter, like other Shriner chapters, maintains much of the traditional Middle Eastern symbolism. The meeting room area where LLC holds its classes includes many of these symbols, such as a Palestine emblem by the elevator.

The chapter retains traditional titles for its members, who are called “nobles” and for its leader who is the “Potentate.” Perhaps this article has helped you to understand better what you see in the rooms where you take your LLC classes.

Alexis de Tocqueville thought Americans penchant for forming voluntary associations to address public needs, like the RI Shriners and the LLC, nurtured American democracy. They were the sinews of democracy, binding together equal citizens for the public good. At this time when many are concerned about the future of our democracy, that our two associations continue to serve important community needs should offer some optimism for American democracy’s future. Is it not grand that the RI Shrine provides a space for our two associations to come together?

(Sources for this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriners; https://www.rishriners.com/about; https://www.shrinersinternational.org/en; telephone interview with the Illustrious Nicholas Oliver, Potentate of the RI Shriners.)

All of the images can be found in the meeting room areas where LLC holds classes.