This fez from Hennepin History Museum’s collection belonged to a member of the Zuhrah Shriners, a Twin Cities chapter of the Shriner International fraternity. The Minneapolis center was founded in 1923 and is the largest in the Midwest region, with over 2,000 members. It’s a fraternity based on fun activities and philanthropy and is known for its founding of the Shriners Children’s Hospital.
The Shriners began in 1870, when a group of masons discussed starting a fraternity that focused on fellowship more than ritual. Masons Walter M. Fleming, M.D. and William J. Florence latched onto the idea. The story goes that Florence attended a party given by an Arabian diplomat and suggested a near-Eastern theme for the new fraternity. Fleming built on this theme and created the Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine. This name was later shortened to “Shriners”.
Fleming then designed the emblem and adopted the fez as the Shriners’ official headgear in 1872. It is a symbol of the wearer’s membership and is worn at Shriners events, parades, and other such functions. Each is custom–made for the wearer, and a member may own more than one depending on his memberships.
The decorations and symbols on a fez can tell you a lot about its owner. Some fezzes will have additional decorations representing the role of the owner or their special rank. This fez has the Shriner emblem, which contains four symbols including the scimitar, the sphinx, the claws, and the star.
The scimitar symbolizes the backbone of the fraternity. The sphinx stands for the governing body of the Shriners. The claws on either side of the sphinx represent the Shriners’ fraternity and philanthropy. And the star represents the children helped by the fraternity through its founding of pediatric hospitals.
The embroidered gold “Zuhrah” above the emblem is Arabic for “flower” and indicates the owner of this fez was a member of the Zuhrah Shrine in the Twin Cities. Fezzes from other chapters of the Shriners would have their own chapter’s name, such as Zenobia, Egypt, or Yelduz. There are almost 200 Shriner temples around the world, with most being in the United States.
For more information on the Zuhrah Temple, see our previous blogpost on the topic.
Author Bio: Written by Summer Erickson, Collections Intern at Hennepin History Museum. Summer is working toward a BA in Art History at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Her focus is on Museum Rituals and Street Art.
Bibliography
“History of the Shriners.” Be A Shriner Now. Accessed October 11, 2019.
//www.beashrinernow.com/About/Shriners/History.
“Beginnings.” Shriners International. Accessed October 11, 2019.
//www.shrinersinternational.org/Shriners/History/Emblem
“The History of Zuhrah Shriners.” Zuhrah Shriners. Accessed October 11, 2019.
//zuhrahshrine.org/about/
The history of Shriners International is the story of individuals who came together in the spirit of fun and fellowship, who would lay the foundation for a worldwide fraternity and establish a globally recognized pediatric specialty health care system.
In 1870, a group of 13 Masons would regularly meet at the Knickerbocker Cottage in New York City. Often, discussion turned to forming a new fraternity for Masons, based on the tenets of Freemasonry but with the added elements of fun and fellowship.
Walter Fleming, M.D., and Billy Florence, an actor, were among the members of the group. Florence had been on tour in Europe and attended a party given by an Arabian diplomat. The exotic style, flavors and music of the Arabian-themed party led Florence to suggest this as the theme of the new fraternity, while Dr. Fleming and other members of the group then drafted the ritual, designed the emblem and costumes, formulated a salutation and declared that members would wear the red fez. The name of this new fraternity was the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.
While the fraternity’s first official meeting was in 1871 at the Knickerbocker Cottage, a meeting in 1872 established the first chapter, Mecca Shriners, on September 26. Today, there are more than 195 chapters in countries around the world.
Founded as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, the organization has grown and evolved over the decades. In the late 1900s to early 2000s, the fraternity was referred to as Shriners of North America, given that chapters were in the U.S. and Canada. In 2010, a resolution was passed to replace the name with Shriners International, reflecting the fraternity’s worldwide presence.
The red fez with the black tassel is one of the fraternity’s most distinctive symbols. Derived from the city of Fez, Morocco, the fez was chosen as the official headgear of the fraternity to complement the organization’s pomp and pageantry, theme, ceremonies and events.
Each fez is personalized for the wearer. Information on the fez includes the chapter he belongs to and any positions he holds, and memberships of clubs or units. It is worn at all official Shriners events.
The crescent and scimitar, the emblem on the front of the fez, is an important part of the fraternity’s theme and is representative of the characteristics embodied by the Shriners.
The scimitar stands for the backbone of the fraternity, its members.
- The two claws are for the Shriners fraternity and its philanthropy.
- The sphinx stands for the governing body of the Shriners.
- The five-pointed star represents the thousands of children helped by the philanthropy each year.
- Robur et Furor ("strength and fury" in Latin) is also adopted as a theme to accompany the emblem
From its earliest days the Shriners were known for their philanthropic efforts across the country.
During a yellow fever epidemic in Jacksonville, Florida, local Shriners and Masonic Knights Templar worked long hours to help the sick. In 1889 fraternity members came to the aid of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, flood victims. In fact, many of the chapters were involved in some sort of charitable efforts.
In 1919, the Imperial Potentate Freeland Kendrick proposed establishing a hospital to provide medical care at no cost for children with orthopedic conditions.
A committee explored the idea and concluded there should not be just one hospital, but instead, an entire healthcare system throughout North America that provides pediatric orthopedic medical care regardless of the families’ ability to pay. The first hospital opened in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1922.
Today, the healthcare system consists of hospitals, clinics, outpatient centers and telehealth sites. Shriners Children's specialties have expanded to burn care, spinal cord injury rehabilitation, cleft lip and palate, sports injury care and rehabilitation services.