Shriners

I have been to so many parades in my life time and have watched the Shriners in their fez hats riding around in those funky little cars, but I never thought about who or why they are. I looked them up on Wikipedia, and this is what I found:

"In 1870, there were several thousand Masons in Manhattan. Many of these Masons made it a point to lunch at the Knickerbocker Cottage, and at a special table on the second floor, a particularly jovial group of Masons used to meet regularly, and often discussed the idea of a new fraternity for Masons, in which fun and fellowship would be stressed more than ritual. Two of the table regulars, Walter M. Fleming and William J. Conlin, an actor with the stage name William J. Florence took the idea seriously enough to act upon it.

Florence, a world-renowned actor, while on tour in Marseilles, was invited to a party given by an Arabian diplomat. The entertainment was something in the nature of an elaborately staged musical comedy. At its conclusion, the guests became members of a secret society. Florence took copious notes and drawings at his initial viewing and on two other occasions, once in Algiers and once in Cairo. When he returned to New York in 1870, he showed his material to Fleming.

Fleming took the ideas supplied by Florence and converted them into what would become the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (A.A.O.N.M.S.). While there is some question about the origin of the Fraternity's name, it may not be a coincidence that its initials, rearranged, spell out the words "A MASON."

The group adopted a Middle Eastern theme and soon established Temples meeting in Mosques across the continent."

So, now I know why these guys are more than just funky men driving silly cars in parades and why they wear hats that don't seem to belong in a little town in the middle of Ohio.