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F.O.E. (arched white enamel above the picture of an eagle in gold)

         ID#: KWS044

Glass Category:Liquor advertising
Glass Type:Thin-walled shot
Label Type:Hand-applied white enamel
Dimensions:2-5/16" x 2" x 1-1/2"
Edmonson:OASG, p. 76, entry #6
Notes:
This is a glass from the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

According to the official FOE website, the Fraternal Order of Eagles was founded on February 6th, 1898 by six theater owners sitting on a pile of lumber in Moran's shipyard in Seattle Washington. Competitors in the theater industry, they met to discuss a musicians strike. After deciding what to do on that issue, they decided to bury the hatchet and form an organization dubbed "The Order of Good Things".

The first meetings were held on the stages of various local theaters and after the business was settled a keg of beer was rolled out and all enjoyed a few hours of social activities. A few weeks later as their numbers grew they chose the Bald Eagle as their official emblem and changed the name to "The Fraternal Order of Eagles." The membership formed a Grand Aerie in April 1898, secured a charter, drew up a constitution and by-laws and elected its first president, John Cort.

Most of the first Eagle members were connected with the theatre, actors, stagehands, playwrights, etc., and as they went on tour they carried the story of the new order with them across the United States and Canada. This is the reason the Eagles grew so quickly and all the way across the country. Many cities in the east have low aerie numbers such as New York #40, Philadelphia #42 and Buffalo #46.

The idea spread like wildfire. The order was unique in its concept of brotherhood and its early success has been attributed to its establishment of a sick and funeral benefit (no Eagle was ever buried in a "Potter's Field"), along with provisions for an Aerie physician and other "fringe benefits", unknown in other fraternal organizations up to that time.

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