Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1921 Thomas G. Moses traveled from Chicago to San Francisco for a large Shrine project. He wrote, “September 13th had a very good trip and started work immediately at Flagg’s studio. After four hard weeks of hustling, we got the big show ready… the big Shrine show opened October 17th and it was certainly a big hit. Thousands could not get near the building.” Moses was referring to the San Francisco Shrine Circus that opened on October 17. Of the event the “San Francisco Examiner” announced, “Height of Funmaking Glimpsed at Arabian Ball. Throng Fills Auditorium on First Night of Shrine Circus” (Oct. 18, 1921, page 3).
Moses’ project falls within a period of dramatic growth for the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. The organization is known to many as “the Shrine.” In 1921, there were three steps to becoming a “Shriner”:
Step 1: Complete the first three degrees Freemasonry in a Blue Lodge, becoming a Master Mason.
Step 2: Continue with your Masonic studies in the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite or York Rite. Both Rites had the option to use theatrical presentations as an educational tool, like morality plays. When a stage was not available, there were still portions of the degree work that was dramatized.
Step 3: Relax after your hard word and join the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. This was intended as primarily a social group; an opportunity to play after all of the hard work was completed.
This was a pretty simple process, like having to complete one grade in school before progressing to another. Ideally, social promotion does not kick in and members are not rushed thought the steps. The point is to learn something at each stage and allow members time to process the information. For those who simply wanted to join a social group right away, there was always the Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, otherwise known as the poor man’s Shrine. Keep in mind that each step cost a member money, as well as annual dues. This was like any fraternal organization at the time; they all depended on money collected from incoming and existing members.
Over time, the process became streamlined and the stipulated delays between degrees were shortened; this allowed even more members to join and increased overall funding. There was a lot of justification to adopt abbreviated timelines. Then, as today, there were abundant explanations as to why quickly admitting members was a good idea.
Eventually, the Shrine allowed Master Masons to skip all of the “hard work” and just join. For obvious reasons, this did not sit well with either the Scottish Rite or York Rite. This change also interrupted anticipated waves of membership for both the Scottish Rite and York Rite; previously membership ebbed and flowed together within the Fraternity.
For example, if a big group of men became Master Masons, part of this large group joined the Shrine and York Rite as they continued onto the Shrine. You could track the large number progressing their way through the Blue Lodge, Scottish/York Rites, and Shrine. Similarly, if there was a decline in membership of Master Masons, a decline would later follow in all groups. Again, this all cost money, so economic downturns were also a factor. Membership levels also affected the planning and construction of Masonic edifices, as well as the eventual selling. As more and more people joined the Scottish Rite in the early twentieth century, there was enough funding to construct massive Scottish Rite theatres. This wave continued onto the Shrine by the 1920s.The wave of men that joined the Scottish Rite in large numbers from 1895 to 1915, contributed the later construction of Shrine buildings in post-WWI years.
Moses’ 1921 Shrine project was part of this surge. The Shrine not only constructed buildings and banquet halls, but also staged elaborate productions. Many Shrines at this time also began establishing a circus.
The Sosman & Landis Studio depended on Masonic projects for years. New Shrine buildings and circus events promised a significant amount of specialty work and substantial income. They desperately needed to reestablish a link with the Fraternity. Before Joseph Sosman’s passing in 1915, he maintained the Masonic connections, just as Perry Landis maintained Elk connections. Moses was neither a Mason nor an Elk, and the studio’s workload reflected this by 1920.
Unfortunately, it was not until the 1920s that Moses began to realize that in order to land the big Masonic projects, he really had to become a Mason. He eventually would join the Fraternity, but far too late. Moses would not begin the process until 1923. That year he wrote, “March 1st, I took my first degree in Masonry. I don’t know when I shall get around to the others; rather interesting and I would like to go through the Shrine.” It would take two more years for Moses to a Master Mason. In 1925, Moses was sixty-nine years old; too old to be a mover and shaker in the organization.
To be continued…
