All Around Growth
All Around Growth — reflections on faith, freedom, and finding purpose through Orthodox Christian living, formation, and the long work of becoming.
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Ep. 476 - Fraternal Organizations
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Ep. 477 - How to Get Paid to Walk in The Woods and Travel
Well, hi there and welcome back to another episode of the All Around Growth Podcast. My name is Rob Kaiser and I am your host. Today is Thursday, December 1st, and this is episode number 476 of a show where you join me with my family on our small farm in Homestead, where we talk about the five W's and how as we grow all around. Here on Homestead at York Meadow Farm. And today we are going to discuss fraternal organizations. Why, you might ask? Well, fraternal organizations can be a part of your social life. Your social life is part of a balanced life. And at least what I do and what I try to do is set goals in seven areas of life. Those are financial, physical, personal development, family, spiritual, social, and career. We work through them in that order, looking at it from a big picture view, three years out. Where do we want to be three years from now? What can we do over the next year to make that happen, and ultimately what we can do today? So, with that said, we are going to talk about fraternal organizations in general, you know, what they are, what their objective is, the different types of organizations and where they operate, why people join them in the first place, you know, like who joins fraternal organizations. And we're pretty much going to take a look at the five W's and you know how of fraternal organizations. Now, the easiest way to do that, like I do in many shows, is to simply search for fraternal organizations in your search engine of choice and go from there. Generally I use pre-search, and uh but today, due to compromised internet capabilities at the moment here in the office, and as of recently, over the past few days, I've simply pulled this up on phone number one while I record on phone number three, which the utilization of phones is something I've always done with the podcast, still do to this day, and that's a different story for a different day. But if you're interested in the way I used three different phones and uh their various applications, then let me know on social media, which you can find via the links in the show notes. And speaking of compromised internet capabilities and things like that, we're just going to gloss over show sponsors today, keep the show easy, streamlined, kind of OG style, like we did back in the day. So let's just dive into the topic of fraternal organizations, shall we? I will be referencing and reading from Wikipedia, perhaps not the optimal source, but for today's talking points in the show, this will be perfectly adequate. All right. So when one searches for fraternal organizations in our search engines, right, the Wikipedia page that comes up is titled List of General Fraternities. So I will go ahead and read the introductory paragraphs here since they are brief, and then we'll, you know, for lack of a better term, just dive into the guts of the Wikipedia page and see where that takes us, all right? Now, from the Wikipedia page. A fraternity or fraternal organization is an organized society of men associated together in an environment of companionship and brotherhood, dedicated to the intellectual, physical, and social development of its members. Service clubs, lineage societies, and secret societies are among the fraternal organizations listed here. College fraternities and sororities appear in the list of social fraternities and sororities. Okay, so from this initial or from these initial paragraphs, we know at this point that fraternal organizations are generally groups of organized groups of men associated together for various reasons, right? Um, the development of its members, whether in an intellectual capacity, a physical capacity, or a social capacity. And those take place through service clubs, uh, lineage societies, which I'm not really familiar with myself, and you know, the secret societies. So uh those three types of fraternal organizations are listed here, and um there's links in this Wikipedia article to social or college fraternities and sororities uh which are listed elsewhere, and then further down in the Wikipedia page, we've got uh fraternal organizations broken down internationally by Australia, Canada, Europe, South Africa, the United States, and then there's also references and external links. So, since the majority of the audience and listener base is located here in the United States, along with myself, let's go ahead and see what the United States lists. There are multiple bullet points outlining the different fraternal organizations in the United States. So I think what I'll do is I'll just go ahead and read through those alphabetically, and there are quite a number of fraternal organizations. This is interesting. Alright, here we go. In alphabetical order, we have the Afro-American Sons and Daughters, the Aid Association of Lutherans, the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association, the American Legion, the Ancient Order of Hibernarians, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, or the BPOE, the Danish Brotherhood in America, E. Clampus Vitus, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Fraternal Order of Moai, Fraternal Order of Owls, Fraternal Order of Orioles, Honorable Order of the Blue Goose, International, Improved Order of Heptosophs, Improved Order of Red Men, Independent Order of Oddfellows, or IOOF, AKA Oddfellows, Grand United Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society, International Order of Alhambra, International Organization of Good Templars, or IOGT, established 1776, Junior Order of United American Mechanics, United States Junior Chamber, JC's, Knights of Columbus, Knights of Peter Claver, Knights of Pythias, Knights of the Golden Eagle, Knights of the Maccabees, Miana, or the Maeli Engineers Society, or the May Malayali, boy, that's a tough one to say, Malayaly Engineers Association in North America. Easy for me to say. Excuse me. And of those, there are only several that I'm actually aware of. And the ones that I'm aware of are the ones that I see around town and the ones that I have, you know, seen elsewhere around in travel and just life. And uh some organizations from or of friends, organizations that friends are associated with or affiliated with, okay. So of all of these, the ones that I'm most familiar with, again, scrolling through this list real quick, are the American Legion, the Fraternal Order of Eagles, um, or just the like the Eagles Club. Um the one the one in town has this weird name, like the Airy or something. Uh, but it's it's a it's a pretty big place, and I never knew what it was until I went to a uh Toastmasters meeting, uh a few of those several years back, just to see what that was about and try to learn some things about speaking and improve my my public speaking skills. So uh if if public speaking or or not even necessarily public speaking, but if you want to improve your speaking skills for whatever reason, uh I would consider checking out Toastmasters. And that that that that's interesting, but that's where I first got exposed to the Eagles. I just attended an event there. Um there I am also familiar with the Independent Order of Oddfellows, uh, otherwise known as the Oddfellows, of which I am a member. Um I am also familiar with let's see, the Knights of Columbus. I don't know if there is any Knights of Columbus locally around here. I I I I presume there are. Um you know, there's the Rotary Club, which I didn't see listed in here, but um I believe the Rotary, you know, let's take a look at the Knights of Columbus, okay? Um, and see what that's all about. The Knights of Columbus K of C is a global Catholic fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney on March 29th, 1882. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. Uh this apparently is not the Rotary Club. I uh so you know let's let's look at something though. Uh um I don't see that listed. So let's take a look. And uh just for my own uh curiosity, let's take a look at the Rotary Club and um see what that's all about. You know, Rotary International. Okay. Uh let's about Rotary. Let's let's take a look at that real quick. Who we are? Rotary is a global network of 1.4 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem solvers who see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves. I'm interested in why the Rotary Club was not listed in the list of general fraternities. That that's that's interesting to me. Uh but anyways, the Rotary Club is is another, as far as I, well, as far as I can tell, or what I thought was a fraternal, and maybe it's not listed in the fraternal organization because it's it's open to membership and both men and women, but you know, I I I believe that many of these fraternal organizations listed here are now also open to membership uh of women as well. So I I don't know, you know, I I don't know what's going on, but um anyways, the Rotary Club is another organization uh that I see around. Uh and and you know, it's no wonder, and you've probably seen them around too. It's and it's no wonder why we do with over a billion members worldwide. That's a that's a considerable uh membership. Um moving on down the list, we've got the United States Junior Chamber or the JCs, and I'm sure everybody knows someone out there who knows someone who's involved with the JC's. Um moving on down the list. There's again the the veterans of foreign wars, the VFW. We all have a local VFW or several around. There are two in Medina, one of which seems to be far more active than the other. Um, and the other one may actually be like an American Legion or something like that, but I'm I'm not really sure. But, anyways, um, you know, there's also the benevolent and protective order of elks, which is one that is not local, but I know some people who are members of the Elks, and you know, I'll go ahead and read the ones that I am familiar with. I'll go ahead and read the introductory paragraph just for reference, and um just so we can all learn a little bit more about the various organizations that I just mentioned that some of us may be more familiar with. And for those of you who are curious, then you can go check out the Wikipedia page on fraternal organizations or the list of general fraternities and read more about the ones that uh sounded curious to you. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, BPOE, often known as the Elks Lodge or simply the Elks, is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. The Elks began in 1868 as a social club for minstrel show performers called the Jolly Corks. It was established as a private club to elude New York City laws governing the opening hours of public taverns. The Elks borrowed rights and practices from Freemasonry. Okay, so oh there's the American Legion. Um in terms of the American Legion, the American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a nonprofit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas department, and these are in turn made up of local posts. The organization was formed on March 15, 1990, in Paris, France, by a thousand officers and men of the American Expeditionary Forces, or the AEF, and it was chartered on September 16, 1919, by the United States Congress. The Legion pla uh the the history effectively states the same thing. Um so that that's that's a that's what the American Legion is, that's what the uh Elks is. The Fraternal Order of Eagles, another local lodge of who I know members of not very well, don't know anything about the organization, much like the Elks. Um the Fraternal Organization of Eagles is a fraternal organization that was founded on February 6, 1898 in Seattle, Washington, by a group of six theater owners, including John Court, the first president, brothers John W. and Tim J. Considine, Harry H. L. Leavitt, who later joined the Loyal Order of Moose, Moes Goldsmith and Arthur Williams, originally made up of those engaged in one way or another in the performing arts. The Eagles grew and claimed credit for establishing the Mother's Day holiday in the United States, as well as the impetus for social sh the impetus for social social security in the United States. Their lodges are known as Aries. Okay, right. So that's that's uh that's what I had previously mentioned. I I thought it was called the Airy, and indeed uh it looks like the lodges are known as as Aries. Uh what's interesting is that some of these some of these organizations, like the uh like the Elks, like the Eagles, were were seemingly founded by uh you know, some men involved in like the the the entertainment industry. You know, these guys were theater owners, um the uh the elks were um I you know uh also performers, if I if I remember correctly. I I I don't know. But what was interesting um with regard to the uh eagles is it mentioned the loyal order of moose, which again is another local thing that I've seen uh around, at least here in Medina. I believe I've seen them elsewhere, but I know of the moose because some of the members of the Oddfellows Lodge that I'm a member of are members of the Moose Lodge. And I I I don't really know anything about the moose, but and I didn't see that listed on the list of general fraternities either, perhaps due to the fact that it's not only or doesn't have a history of being limited to men. But since there's a link to that, let's go ahead and read about that a little bit. Now, the Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 and headquartered in Moose Heart, Illinois. Probably hence the name Moose. Um Moose International supports the operation of Moose Heart Child City and School, a 1,023-acre community for children and teens in need, located 40 miles west of Chicago and Moosehaven, a 63 acre retirement community for its members near Jacksonville, Florida. Additionally, the Moose organization conducts numerous sports and recreational programs in local lodge chapter facilities called either Moose Family Centers or Activity Centers. In the majority Of 44 state and provincial associations, and on a fraternity-wide basis, there is also a loyal order of Moose in Britain. These organizations together make up the Moose International. Interesting. Um based on the the few pictures of a couple different lodges in as I scroll just to read a little bit more about this, it it it in appearance, uh all I'm thinking of is that the lodges oftentimes look like the lodges of the Oddfellows, which I'll read about in just a moment. And I guess since that's next in the list, we'll go ahead and read about that now. The Independent Order of Oddfellows is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of oddfellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildley in Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States. Evolving from the Order of the Oddfellows founded in England during the 18th century, the IOOF was originally chartered by the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity in England, but has operated as an independent organization since 1842, although it maintains an interfraternal relationship with the English Order. The Order is also known as the Triple Link Fraternity, referring to the Order's Triple Links symbol, alluding to its motto, friendship, love, and truth. There's more information there, more history there. Um and you are welcome to read that more. But I've talked about the Oddfellows in the past, and I will refrain from doing that here and focus on some of the other fraternal organizations, like, for example, the JCs. And I believe I had family in the JC's or family in the Rotary Club. Perhaps my grandfather on my mother's side. I don't remember, that was a long time ago, and he passed when I was a child, or younger, a teenager rather. But let's talk about the JC's. The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International. Areas of emphasis are business development, management skills, individual training, community service, and international connections. The U.S. Junior Chamber is a not-for-profit corporation organization as described under Internal Revenue Code 501c4. So that's a little bit about the JCs. We've got the Knights of Columbus, which again is another one that I'm familiar with, and something that I touched on earlier. And moving on throughout the list, there's really no other groups other than the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the VFW that I am familiar with. So we'll conclude with reading about the Veterans of Foreign Wars, or the VFW, formerly the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, which is an organization of U.S. war veterans who, as military service members, fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or airspace. The organization was established twice separately, once by James C. Putnam on September 29, 1899, in Columbus, Ohio. The VFW is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. The organization was congressionally chartered in 1936 under the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Alright, so there you have it, guys. There's a little bit of information on fraternal organizations and you know what they are and what what their objective is. And you know, like I said, Wikipedia isn't the optimal source of information on these organizations, but there's a little bit of just a snippet of information about various groups that I'm I'm familiar with, I've heard of, I've seen around town, and chances are a snapshot of fraternal organizations that you're familiar with, you've seen around town, or perhaps know someone who actually participates in them. I think the reasons why people join them in the first place are quite clear after reading a little bit of just a brief paragraph from each one. Each group has its own specific purpose. And basically, we've got service clubs, you know, these these lineage societies, which are likely tied back to um, you know, just just just just roots, history, tradition, secret societies, um, social groups, just different different types of organizations based on whatever your interest is. So I I I I I oh I think, you know, why people join them in the first place, that's a that's a personal question. You know, I I I can only speak for myself in terms of why I joined a fraternal organization. And when I did so three years ago, I I'm no stranger to volunteer work. I've I've done volunteer work in the past with big brothers and big sisters, um the United Way, uh just community events that would be going on. I I I I I think it's good to try and uh give back. And uh but out the you know the odd fellows, um some education committees and things like that with with local colleges and uh big brothers and big sisters were were really the the three primary types of of volunteer work that I did. And um that's my why. I I think it's important to give back to the community, to be a part of the community, to be a part of something bigger than yourself. And as I got into my early 40s, the desire to engage in my community grew more, and I wanted to commit to something bigger. I wanted to be involved, you know, with something more meaningful. So I so I searched around locally and did some research on all of these various organizations and who they were and as much history as I could find, and then visited a few of them to see who you know who's actually involved in these things and and and how they respond to people that are interested. And uh so that's how I ended up settling into involvement with the Oddfellows, which is one of these fraternal organizations listed here. That is also how I ended up getting involved in the church that I attend. But, you know, perhaps we can talk about that in another episode down the road when we talk about uh spiritual again, but today is not that day. As far as what we're gonna talk about down the road, we are scheduled to do a live stream tomorrow. And we're gonna talk about career, and specifically, we're going to talk about a different approach to making money, an approach that involves walking in the woods and traveling and getting paid to do that. Now, the only caveat to tomorrow, uh tomorrow's episode is it's going to be a little different on account of the internet, the compromised internet service here in the office. So I will likely head over to the cabin and uh and we'll just go ahead and make the best of the situation that we have. I I believe there's still functioning internet over there, so there's something with regard to the connectivity and the line that is has been run from the cabin to uh here to the cab uh to the barn and subsequently the office. So this may be the time where our uh temporary solution for internet here has finally run its course, and quite frankly, the temporary solution has lasted um almost five years. So I can't say that I'm overly upset with it, but it is a minor uh hindrance, and I'm also it's also something that I'm not going out of my way to fix quickly. I'm there's a lot of work that I can do on a computer that does not require internet connectivity, and I'm trying to do some of that, and moreover, in addition to just you know doing computer work or not doing it, it's it's it's it's giving me an opportunity to focus on other things that need to get done, and giving me some space and time to get away from a screen and focus on and think about myself, which as we've talked about in the telegram group, t.me slash all around growth, it's something that I'm embracing, but at the same time, it's also something that is challenging because it's encouraging me to take a look at some some some some things I'm doing some things I'm not doing and really just taking a comprehensive look and analysis at life while I approach my day-to-day in a mildly different manner, and what's surprising is that this significant change in mindset has occurred from a lack of connectivity, or at least consistent connectivity, because I'm still getting these episodes uploaded. I'm doing a lot of this from my phone, but that that that that's difficult in the barn because it's quite frankly, it's like a Faraday cage in here. Signal is limited, and you know, even when I can receive signal, it things are slow, but I can get the show out there, I can do this, and if need be, I can really go do things, work. If there's orders to be fulfilled, things like that, I can take my laptop over to the cabin, and that's what we're gonna do for tomorrow's live stream. But, you know, in the interim, it I've realized just how much time I spend online, it's far more than I used to, and getting offline for a little bit and going inside is something that I personally have not been doing as much of lately, and it's not until I was effectively forced to do so recently on account of these uh the the the compromised internet situation here. So that's that's an interesting observation, and just something I wanted to share with you. So we'll see, we'll see how uh how how this uh this has been going on since Tuesday afternoon, evening, and we'll see how this plays out over time and if this is going to be a catalyst to the new internet setup that we have uh discussed in the past, my brother and I. So we'll see how it plays out. I'm sure you'll hear more about that in the future, but as far as today's concerned, that's all we've got. Guys, I appreciate you tuning in today, and I very much look forward to tomorrow's live stream in whatever way, shape, or form it takes place. It is not going to go the way that I was originally anticipating, but sometimes that's how life works, and that's called life on life's terms, and what we do and how we define ourselves is how we deal with and respond to life on life's terms. Because, quite frankly, guys, we've all got baggage, but what defines us is how we carry it. Right? So see you tomorrow, 9 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. This is Rob Kaiser, and thank you.
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