It begins in 1872 at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City led by dr. Walter Fleming an actor William J Florence 13 Master Masons form a social club for fun they create a mysterious Near Eastern theme it’s called the ancient Arabic order Nobles of the mystic shrine and
The popularity soars by 1880 there are 7,200 members and 48 temples by 1900 there are 55,000 members and 82 temples in 1922 they build the first hospital in Shreveport Louisiana and commit to the mission of helping children with polio soon there are 22 hospitals and the medical mission grows this is the story
Of this extraordinary Brotherhood and how it has changed the world Shriners a history of Brotherhood and compassion well as they say in the beginning in the beginning when the shrine was formed go back into the 1870s when New York was quite a popular place for just about
Everything going on in the world at that time the civil wars ended and in America’s biggest city New York City a group of Mason’s comes together who think that it’s great to be a Mason but that Lodge meetings are a little bit on the stuffy stale side they meet
Regularly for lunch at a place called the Knickerbocker in New York City Manhattan and decide that they need to form a club that will require you to be a Mason to be a member of it we had two very prominent people who were really the movers and shakers to start the
Organization Billie Florence who was a very famous and well-known actor at that time and dr. Fleming who was very prominent Walter Fleming who was a very prominent physician in New York City they were familiar with some of the customs and culture of the Middle East and they decided that they would wrap
This club that they were about to form around an Arabian Nights sort of pageantry kind of theme and so the ancient Arabic order Nobles of the mystic shrine is born as a social club for Freemasons in New York City it grows from there I would like to say thank you very much
For all you did for me and that I love each and every one of you and on behalf of all the children in the Shriners Hospital I know I speak for them when I say they thank you from the bottom of their heart you cannot even imagine what
You do for these children the Shriners didn’t give up on me and and because of that I was able to go on and to and do some amazing things and have a productive life and have a great family and and I love life it’s you know and I
And I owe it to the Shriners you
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