Order of Owls
One
of the smaller orders, now nearly extinct.
The larger piece is 10K gold and both are new old stock.
All Owl pieces are fairly rare.
The below descriptions are taken from The
Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Institutions "Fraternal Organizations"
by Alvin J. Schmidt - Greenwood Press, Westport, Connecticut - London,
England.
Owls, Independent International Order of. -
This was a Masonically related group that organized itself in 1890 in St.
Louis, Missouri. Its objectives were to promote recreation and
sociability among the members. Only Master Masons were eligible to join.
Its local units were called "Nests." The head officer of each nest was
known as "Sapient Screecher." The national body was called "Supreme Nest
of the World."
Owls, Order of (OOO). - South Bend, Indiana, was
the city where this "animal" Lodge was born. John W. Talbot and a small
group of his associates in November of 1904 formed this fraternal group.
When it was founded, the order sought to assist its members in business and in
employment, provide help to the widows and orphans of the deceased members,
and to enjoy mutual fellowship with one another. This order has no
relationship with the onetime Masonically related group, the Independent Order
of Owls, that was organized in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1890.
The
OOO has four degrees, plus the presence of a ritual, passwords, and fraternal
grips. The ritual, as in most fraternal orders, is intended to be
secret. The OOO publications (e.g., brochures) contend that its ritual
has no religious elements. An older edition of the ritual states:
"We advocate no creed. We know there are so many gods, so many creeds,
so many paths that wind and wind. We believe that the art of being kind
is all this world needs."
Membership has been open only to white males. During the early 1920s the
OOO had over 600,000 members in 2,148 local Lodges, called "Nests."
Since the 1920s, the order has been losing members rather significantly.
Its 1979 membership roster has about 40,000 members.
Local
units, as noted, are called "Nests." The national governing body is
known as the "Supreme Nest." Its main officer is named "Supreme
President."
Additional information may be gained by consulting William Whalen, Handbook
of Secret Organizations, 1966; Arthur Preuss, A Dictionary of Secret
and Other Societies, 1924. Back issues of the society's periodical,
The Owl, are also helpful.
Below
is an early photograph of a Nest of Owls
Owls
Degree Team, Nest 1362, Emaus, Pa.
There
is a fellow dressed in the back row as an Owl. There is also pictured a
new baby owl and the skull of an Owl that has gone before.
The
broken column on the right is also an emblem in Freemasonry which represents
the fall of one of the chief supporters of the Craft. The use of the
column or pillar as a monument erected over a tomb was a very ancient custom,
and was a very significant symbol of the character and spirit of the person
interred. I'm sure the Order of Owls gave it the same respect and
reverence.
Pictured Below is an early I.I.O.O.
Petition
