In the late 1800s and early 1900s, fraternal organizations were often at the center of social life in Bradford, Vt.
Many of those organizations and their traditions have been lost to history, but a new exhibit at the Bradford Historical Society called “Meetings Cancelled, Permanently” examines the impact they had on the community.
The exhibit was curated by Larry Coffin, who took an interest in the now-defunct organizations.
The Knights of the Golden Eagle was one such group. A national secret fraternal organization, a Bradford chapter was founded in 1898 and existed for about a decade before going defunct. The historical society received a collection of items the organization used, including a sword and a mask resembling a sad jester.
“Somewhere along the way, we got a big box of their items, and we’ve never done anything with them until now,” Coffin said.
The organization was open to Christian males age 18 and older. Members also had to “be of good character” and know how to read and write.
“Men had to sign in with red ink so one can imagine signing in blood,” Coffin said.
Fraternal organizations were prominent from 1860-1920.
“Then along came the automobile and the radio,” Coffin said.
Another interesting artifact in the exhibit is a blackball ballot box, which coined the popular phrase “blackballing.”
The wooden box is divided into two parts. One side — open on top — contains a collection of black and white balls, with a hole leading to the other side, which has a lid. When voting on a candidate’s inclusion in the group, the box would be passed to each member. If they pushed a white ball through the hole, that meant they wanted the candidate in the organization. A black ball represented a denial. After the box was passed around, another member would lift the lid on the closed side.
“One black ball would mean you were blackballed and denied membership,” Coffin said.
There were also women’s auxiliaries attached to the men’s groups. The Ladies of the Golden Eagle were the counterpart to the Knights. The Rebeccas were paired with the men’s organization the Oddfellows.
“Almost all of them had some sort of mutual aid benefit,” Coffin said. This meant that if a member fell on hard times, others would contribute to help them out.
The Jaycees came to town in the 1960s and hosted “activities of all sorts,” Coffin recalled. However, the members aged out at 35. They then resurrected another community group to continue their work.
“Then after a while that petered out,” Coffin said. “They come and they go.”
There are many reasons why groups go defunct. Sometimes it’s because “very few people do a lot of the work,” Coffin said. Other times, members die or grow ill and “there are no new members” to replace them.
Coffin has a list of more than a dozen organizations he hopes to find out more about, including the Bradford Dramatic Club, which existed from 1872-1900, the Oriental Palm and Shell (1884), the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (1875) and its counterpart, the Sons of Temperance (1884).
“There was no competition,” Coffin said. “There was church and your fraternal organization.”
Those who were members tended to be quite devoted. In addition to providing socialization, the groups also served partly as networking organizations to help others in the community.
“There’s a certain draw of being part of a secret group with a secret handshake,” Coffin said.
Members often had to be asked to join by other members.
For “the stranger in town, that might be more difficult,” Coffin said.
Today, membership in fraternal organizations has dwindled, including a chapter of the Masons, of which Coffin is a member, that still operates in town and regularly hosts events.
People still are involved in their communities, just in a different way.
“He might be involved in a racing group or a snowmobile club,” Coffin said. “It’s not that they’re not interested; they’re interested in different things.”
Editor’s note: The Bradford Historical Society Museum is open every Friday from June 7 through Oct. 25, 10 a.m.-noon. and by appointment. It is located on the third floor of the Bradford Academy building, 172 N. Main St. For more information, call 802-222-4423 or 802-222-9621. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
