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From "This Is The
Grotto"
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NAME |
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Webster's
Encyclopedic Dictionary gives the definition of Grotto as follows:
"A cave, a vault, natural recess or a cavity in the earth;
an artificially constructed cavern." This is exactly what
the Grotto is not...
So don't allow the name to mislead you - for, after all,what's
in a name? Certainly the definition Webster gives does not apply
in this case to this great Order.
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| THE
FOUNDER |
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LeRoy Fairchild, Founder
Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets
of the Enchanted Realm
We know
why, how and where the GROTTO - MYSTIC ORDER OF VEILED PROPHETS
OF THE ENCHANTED REALM OF NORTH AMERICA-was actually founded.
The chief moving spirit in the founding of this organization
was LeRoy Fairchild. In the summer of 1889 a group of Master
Masons, members of Hamilton Lodge #120 at Hamilton, New York,
met to organize and hold informal meetings. What this group
was seeking was fun and good fellowship. At their meeting on
September 10, 1889, they decided to honor the founder by calling
it "Fairchild Deviltry Committee." It was decided
that this organization be confined to Master Masons in good
standing. The idea of the Order proved to be attractive and
many distinguished Masons joined. The Order could no longer
be confined to any one locality and in response to imperative
requests other groups were formed. On June 13, 1890 the Fairchild
Deviltry Committee duly established and formed the Supreme Council,
Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm.
Its purpose mainly was to add in greater measure to the Masonic
fraternal spirit the charm of radiant cheerfulness and to maintain
within the fraternity an impetus of royal good fellowship, wherein
joyous companionship and helpful sympathy shall mingle graciously
and become the distinguishing characteristics of the Order.
The late LeRoy Fairchild, who is revered by all Prophets of
the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm as
the founder of the Order, was an earnest, devoted Mason and
an enthusiastic believer in the helpful influence of mirth.
He loved his Brethren with an ardor of a true Mason and man
and always sought to bring joy to their hearts by the cultivation
of sunny cheerfulness and indulgence in healthy merriment and
joyful laughter. He believed with all his heart that the beneficial
influence of Masonry would be far greater if, along with the
inculcation of sublime moral lessons, opportunities were afforded
for the cultivation of a greater spirit of cheerfulness and
goodfellowship amongst the members than was possible in the
Blue Lodge.
A little fun now and then is the best tonic and the man who
occasionally unbends is the man who lasts and gets the most
out of life, The Enchanted Realm holds an inexhaustible store
of the sunshine which warms with the glow of generous sympathy,
dispels the gloom of fret and worry and gives a brighter outlook
and kindlier feeling, while it strengthens the fiber for real
serious work and so brings true blessings and beautifies the
fellowship of the Prophets.
The founding and growth of the Order of Veiled Prophets of the
Enchanted Realm is phenomenal in the history of fraternal organizations,
and proves that a really good thing will grow on its merits,
even if it has no powerful combination in back of it to press
it to the front.
The Grotto is the playhouse of the craft - the place where world-worn
men can get together, forget their cares, and be, as it were,
boys again. For within the portals of the Grotto, the stiffness
and formality which keeps men apart melts away and they come
into closer and truer relationship because of the breaking down
of these barriers. In this way the Order is doing a noble job
and is a powerful help in the cause of fraternity, for it supplements
the work of the regular Masonic bodies with a spirit of cheer
which lends a charm and grace to the severity of the more serious
work.
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| THE
RITUAL OF THE GROTTO |
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The ritual
is absolutely original so far as its use in the work of fraternal
organization is concerned. It is founded on a very ancient Persian
manuscript, discovered in a secret vault in one of the sacred
temples of Teheran - the City of Mystery - and the action involves
many of the most famous characters of ancient mythology.
Few organizations have been received with the enthusiasm that
has been kindled in the breasts of those who have entered the
Enchanted Realm of Veiled Prophets, and few have been launched
upon a sea of popular scrutiny with a more distinguished personnel,
or with surer indications of widespread success.
The ceremonies are entirely different from those of any fraternal
organizations. Our ritual has more possibilities in it than any
ever written or used by an organization.
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| WHAT
THE GROTTO TEACHES |
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Masonry
proper is all work...solemn, serious and sublime work...there
is not and never should be a line of the light and frivolous from
the first step as we enter the outer courts, to the last in the
Holy of Holies of its mystic temple. Truth, everlasting and unchanging,
is the foundation on which it is erected and on this basis it
unites its votaries by bonds of brotherhood which are mutually
helpful and beneficient.
While it is as Prophets we open the portals of the Enchanted Realm
to Master Masons, we are nonetheless loyal to Masonry. We carry
with us the solemn lessons we have learned within the Lodge and
we are guided by the precepts of Masonry while we revel in the
good cheer of the Prophets.
The Order of Veiled Prophets, while proclaiming the loyalty of
its members to Masonry, makes no pretense of being a Masonic Order,
nor does it claim to confer a Masonic degree. Its membership is
exclusively Masonic and its purpose is to supply the element of
play in such a way that work and play will be blended without
marring the solid beauty of Masonry. The Grotto is said to be
essentially Masonic in character.
The requirements for membership in the Order of Veiled Prophets
is that a man must first be a Master Mason in good standing, and
that he must continue to maintain his good standing in the Blue
Lodge in order to retain his standing in the Order. In no way
does the Grotto infringe upon the rights and ceremonies of Masonry
or of any other Order.
The Grotto leads its votaries through an Enchanted Realm where
the spirit of mirth touches the hearts and evolves cheerful companionship,
in the joy of which they are brought near together in helpful
sympathy, which is nonetheless true because the eye beams with
delight and laughter goes with a Prophet's greeting when hand
clasps hand in its mystic fellowship.
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| THE
FEZ |
|
 For
a few years the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted
Realm had no official emblem to wear. Word got around that the
Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets were permitted to wear an emblem
that set them apart from others and a black Fez head covering
was selected with a Mokanna Head in the center, giving the name
of the Grotto. Naturally, this attracted attention.
The minutes of a February 26, 1903 stated meeting of Azim Grotto,
Bronx, New York, states: "Prophet Charles E. Lansing, Past
Potent Monarch, after some preliminary remarks, descriptive thereto,
presented to those present, a drawing in color of a headgear appropriate
for the Order. The same was received with favor and by motion,
regularly made and seconded and carried, it was unanimously decided
to adopt and wear them on serious and other appropriate occasions."
In the minutes of October 29, 1903, it is recorded: "The
Potent Monarch reported that the Fez worn by our members was,
at the Annual Session of the Supreme Council held at Hamilton,
New York on October 20, adopted as the official headgear for all
Prophets of the Realm."
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| HEADS
OF GOVERNMENT |
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Warren
G. Harding
1929-1932
29th President
of the United States
former member of
Kallipolis Grotto
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Franklin
D. Roosevelt
1933-1944
32nd President
of the United States
former member of
Tri-Po-Bed Grotto
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Harry
S. Truman
1944-1949
33rd President
of the United States
former member of
Ankara Grotto
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Gerald
R. Ford
1973-1976
38th President
of the United States
former member of
Zal-Gaz Grotto
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Four Presidents of the United States have joined
the Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm ...The
Grotto. Pictured from left to right Presidents Warren G. Harding,
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Gerald R. Ford.
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| THE
VEILED PROPHET |
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 WHAT
IS IT? AND WHY CALLED VEILED? Because it has so many strange and
mystic rites. Never was there ever witnessed, even in the mystic
rite of the heathen religion of the dark ages, anything as wonderful
and weird as the ceremonies presented by the Mystic Order of Veiled
Prophets of the Enchanted Realm . . . The Grotto. Veiled to the
profane, but lifted often to give the inquisitive Neophyte a chance
to gaze upon the "Veiled Mokanna" - the wellknown ruler
of fiction whose presence in our midst seems to stimulate and
excite the magic brain of those enthusiastic Masons who, while
apparently dreaming, have been awakened by the lifting of the
veil and seeing the fabled visions as they tread the mystic way,
come to the front, eager to sound the glad tidings and make the
welkin ring like so many chattering imps as they turn another
page of life's weird mysteries.
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| GROTTO
ARCHIVES ROOM |
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George Washington Masonic National Memorial
Association
Alexandria, Virginia
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| WHAT
GROTTO MEMBERSHIP MEANS |
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The man
who comes to the Grotto had his Masonic origin in a Blue Lodge,
where he was taught to revere the name of GOD and pray for guidance.
He came on through the Degrees where his knowledge of the dignity
of Masonry was explained and the GROTTO was provided for him as
a place where he might join with his Brothers in letting human
instincts for fun, pleasure and amusement prevail.
The GROTTO was not and is not a place for Masons to exercise practices
that would not be tolerated in the Masonic Bodies, or which are
taboo among gentlemen. The GROTTO stands for all of Masonry and
wholesomeness in life. It stands for letting in the sunshine on
discouragement, grief and woe and it stands for substituting hope
for despair at all times.
Without the formalities that attend the Degrees in Masonry, it
brings members in close fraternal touch and it breeds confidence
among wearers of the FEZ. The GROTTO has always been made up of
men from all walks of life...men you are proud to know men who
travel by preference along the sunny side of the street and who
play a fair game all the time.
Membership in the GROTTO gives a man the right to wear its emblem
and to participate in its good work, as well as enjoy all its
pleasures.
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| THE
WORLD'S GREATEST PHILANTHROPY |
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The GROTTO
as a great fraternal Order, with an even greater charitable program
which has earned the cognomen of "The World's Greatest Philanthropy"
is certainly a GROTTO on the forward march. The organization which
started as a fun Order in 1892 and founded its humanitarian project
in June 1949, is now on its way to bigger and better things. The
GROTTO has proven that it has the power to survive and the spirit
to grow.
At its Supreme Council Annual Session in June 1949 held in Long
Beach, California, the Supreme Council adopted as its national
objective the cause of Cerebral Palsy and, as of this day, has
supported the research for this dread disease.
In adopting the Cerebral Palsy Program, the Supreme Council, Mystic
Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm, has taken its
place among organizations with worthwhile objectives, justifying
their existence.
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| A
GREAT CAUSE: DENTAL CARE FOR THE HANDICAPPED |
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Dental
care for the handicapped children is the answer to a long standing
medical need. By virtue of their handicaps many children cannot
receive traditional dental service because they are unable to
sit for long periods of time.
The new program by the Grottoes of The World to furnish direct
and immediate dental service to Cerebral Palsied and handicapped
children is recognized throughout the Realm as a much needed service
to humanity.
This Dentistry for the Handicapped Program was adopted in 1970
by the GROTTOES as its second humanitarian project. Helping the
physically handicapped children in need of dental care is a great
challenge the Grottoes of The World has accepted. Our membership
has diligently labored to provide the necessary funds toward improvement
in the oral health status of these special children. For reasons
beyond their control they are too often excluded from the mainstream
of dental care.
The Grottoes of The World offer this service to the handicapped...those
afflicted with Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and Mental Retardation.
This service is rendered free of charge to any child who is I8
years of age or under, regardless of race, color or creed. The
only prerequisite is that the child must be sponsored by a local
Grotto.
The Grottoes of The World can and do render this service in any
community where the dentist is capable of caring for the physically
handicapped patient.
When you join the GROTTO you become a member in "The Greatest
Fraternity that Friendship Built." You automatically become
a living part of a great fraternal philanthropy...putting smiles
on the faces of the physically handicapped. You can sponsor a
handicapped child for our dentistry program. |
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Join the
happy group of Prophets dedicated to the pleasure of helping those
less fortunate. We NEED you and WANT you to HELP us HELP others.
Why not walk through the Enchanted Realm today? You are most welcome
to join your many Masonic Brothers in good fellowship in the GROTTO.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Supreme Council Grottoes
of North America
http://www.scgrotto.com
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