Others maintain that the group is a native Californian institution, founded by one Joel Henry Zumwalt in Mokelumne Hill. The three founded a new chapter, Yerba Buena Number 1, or the "Capitulus Redivivus." Life was good as prominent business owners in a small town. Everyone pitched in from the bands that played, to the kitchen help, and many donated cash to cover the costs of food or just kick in towards the cause. appreciate a bit of Western lore. Ticket sales at the Marysville Theater were also weak, leaving manager Douglas short of funds and the Company's future in doubt. John OBrien shared many stories about Johnnys being the hub for business owners, farmers, city politicians, and more in the old days. I am a future puke as we speak. Calling itself a historical drinking society (or a drinking historical society), it maintains a lively presence in the old mining country of northern California as of this writing. Of course, it may have been a combination of both. By tradition, a man can only become a Clamper by invitation. The men of E Clampus Vitus a.k.a. The Squibob Chapter of E Clampus Vitus pulls into SAM'S DIEGO SHOW to shed some light on what they truly are all about. Afterwards, the initiate had to buy the other members a round of drinks. E Clampus Vitus originally began as a parody of mystical lodges, such as the Masons, Elks, and the Odd Fellows, which Clampers thought to be much too serious with their arcane rituals and fancy dress. Samuel G. George 1855~ at the best online prices at eBay! Want to leave a review about Clampers to be featured on our site? Indeed, his adventure would inspire another expedition many years later, this one more purposeful and also less successful. ECV claims many men of note to have been members, whether they were members or not: Philip D. Armour, the meat packer; John Mohler Studebaker, the automobile manufacturer; Gene Autry "The Singing Cowboy" who owned the California Angels baseball team; and John Hume, a California state assemblyman. E Clampus Vitus and ECV are By tradition, a person could join E Clampus Vitus by invitation only and then was expected to endure an elaborate, humorous and sometimes grueling initiation ceremony. Meetings of E Clampus Vitus chapters which could be held at any time before or after a full moon were held in saloons, and announced by the braying of the Hewgag, a makeshift trumpet. Happy I did. E Clampus Vitus ECV 1004 Sam Brannan Fraternity Club Enamel Member Lapel Pin. The organization today claims 45 chapters in eight Western states and thousands of members. I hope he can help. Sunday Brunch 9 am A move to greater seriousness was shown during the Civil War, when the Order changed its parade day from the first Sunday after the snows to the Fourth of July.[3]. Shaw came across a Chinese manuscript that, astoundingly, indicates a Chinese navigator by the name of Hee Li discovered America, and more specifically California, as early as 435 CE, making the Chinese claim of discovery even earlier than the claims of Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact by Vikings. CEO of ECV Chapter .75 and founder of the Elephant Temperance Society exhibits a prime example of ECV regalia. [6] The company's performances of "Confusion" (an 1883 "Splendid Comedy in Three Full Acts of Fun" by Joseph Derrick) began at Santa Rosa Athenaeum Christmas week, but performances had some very slim attendances; so the troupe were [financially] up against it when they came to Marysville. However, rather than finding themselves hailed and well met, they instead found themselves under attack by the Clampas. Site created and designed by Steve "Iggy" Myers. All members are officers and all officers, the organization professes, are of equal indignity. Out of the hundred or so attendees at the event, about half dressed in period clothing, and our lively group from Hollister stood out in the crowd. Not Hollywood, not L.A., not the country, At 19, he won a local school board seat. It was revitalized in 1931 by Wheat and his friends G. Ezra Dane and Leon O. Whitsell. What Say The Brethren? Yes ..we survived. In Marysville, the renowned Lord Sholto Douglas opened a theatrical . ECV titles reflected the tongue-in-cheek nature of the organization. Travelling salesmen entering the mining camps could find no patrons, and entertainment troupes could not fill their audiences, until they agreed to join the ranks of the society, to be taken in, as it were, which meant the miners would be able to drink on their dime for the night. Party girl that I was, I saw it as a great opportunity for us Widders, as we were referred to, to get together for a grand fiesta ourselves. Never mind. Likes: 0. . Clampers raised money to help widows and orphans, and were quick to respond when fire or flood destroyed towns and left people homeless. In Truckee, the group paid homage to the Tin Can bar from the early 1900s and Dots Place, a brothel. Thereafter free to pursue his dream life as a sailor, Lo-Hung-Whang always kept that massive toilet with him to remember his deliverance. The same holds true today, which brings me to why I wrote this blog. ECV flourished, in part, as the result of the miners' reaction to the "established" organizations such as the Masons and Odd Fellows. Here are 22 essential L.A. spots for every tourist, Column: We cant afford another writers strike. may I always appreciate a little bit of the "ridiculous"; may I always be a two-fisted Clamper when the bottle pass's my way, In addition to his crew, he brought three hundred fertile slave girls, with the intention of peopling Gumshaniana with their descendants. 8 has made this their offishul waterin hole, it reads. The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) is a fraternal organization dedicated to the preservation of the heritage of the American West, especially the history of the Mother Lode and gold mining regions of the area. There are arguments that previous lodges had been founded in Hangtown, Downieville and Sierra City, but none of those became permanent. The group once paid tribute to the town of Prattville, whose original buildings are submerged beneath Lake Almanor. Enraged at the man responsible for leaving too large a chamberpot in her room, she had the foul toilet forced onto the mans head. The first time the men informed us that they would be out of town for the weekend, some of the women were bothered that their husbands wanted to leave them for two days. After many years of being dormant, it was revived in the early 1930's, and has chapters throughout the West. We would Love to have you folks in our parade ! forget the stout-hearted men who settled a great Western wilderness, and the heritage we have today; may I never fail to As I pass through this life, may I always be humble, may I never take myself serious-"a stuffed shirt", They honor widows and orphans. Allen instructing my grandson Joseph on where he could help out. In Truckee, the group paid homage to the . (It has been rumored that ECV brethren within the U.S. Army even attempted to bring the order as far south as Mexico City following the MexicanAmerican War, as a gesture of brotherhood and reconciliation, but all record has vanished of the well-intentioned Chapultepec chapter. XVIII: Henness Pass (ECV-711), An E Clampus Vitus Hoax Goes Awry: Sir Francis Drake's 1579 Plate of Brasse, David Holmes Chandler, Dr. Robert J. , James M. Spitze, Stephen Zovickian, What was your name in the States? Required fields are marked *, Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail. These Native Americans brandished their own staffs, but these would bring the friars no relief. Id like to share en except frommy book Miracles and Grace in an Unlikely Place Memoir of a Christian Biker Bar Owner with you that tells the story of Johnnys and our connection to the Clampers. After room hopping for about an hour, we finally called it a night. Due to a peculiarity of his anatomy, he was known among the women at court as Lo-Hung-Whang. Those groups had come to the mining country prior to ECV, and when ECV appeared, the older, more established groups looked down upon the more rowdy nature of E Clampsus Vitus. Members call themselves Clampers. The organizations name is inDog Latin, and has no known meaning; even the spelling is disputed, sometimes appearing as Clampus, Clampsus, or Clampsis. The motto of the Order,Credo Quia Absurdum, is generally interpreted as meaning I believe it because it is absurd; the proper Latin quotationCredo quia absurdum est, is from the Christian apologistTertullian(c.160 c.220 AD), who rejected rationalism and accepted a Gospel which addressed itself to the non-rational levels of perception.. 10, P.O. E Clampus Vitus - Initiation Initiation By tradition, a man can only become a Clamper by invitation. At the age of 60, Bee was a Captain of the Doddridge County Militia, which protected the area from roving Confederate forces, horse thieves and outlaws. In the spring of 1930, lawyer and historian Carl Wheat made a visit to some old mining camps in California for the purposes of researching life during the Gold Rush. Many of the surviving stories suggest that in the 19th century, E Clampus Vitus was just a way to put one over on outsiders. Members commonly dress in a red shirt, black hat and Levi's jeans. New chapters sprang up in Los Angeles (Platrix Chapter #2) and other major cities in California, and were numbered sequentially. Johnnys Bar & Grill The Unbelievable History of the Ancient and Honorable E Clampus Vitus. | E Clampus Vitus | A Paranormal Mystery S2 E2 | 4k Twin Paranormal 452K subscribers Subscribe 292K views 11 months ago #Possession We finally found the ghost. The Frollicking Friars did much to spread their order, for its said they expanded on the notion of widowhood, applying the Staff of Relief even to women who they said had been widowed by their husbands neglect, and therefore they frequently were obliged to flee from one place to the next. In determining when the society of E Clampus Vitus began and who started it, it is necessary to consider its name. The night of the ball was, of course, another all-day party. Designed by Stranger Danger of South Pass #1867, Al Packer #100 and Snake River #1811. The Clampers paid tribute to the areas skiing history and the Alturas Snowshoe Club that organized the tournament with a monument that read, Dope is King! a reference to the homemade wax that skiers applied to their 12-foot-long wooden skis. $19.99. associated with fun, frolic, libations and California history. 1 talking about this. The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) is a fraternal organization dedicated to the study and preservation of the heritage of the American West, especially the history of the Mother Lode and gold mining regions of the area. Saint Vitus, from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493, via Wikimedia Commons. The NIGHT we will NEVER FORGET! The Militia also had a part in the Underground Railroad in Doddridge County, hiding escaping slaves in hidden cellars of homes and also in Jaco Cave. [3], As the mining industry faded towards the end of the 19th century, ECV started to fade as well. Chapter 54-40 was now the 42nd chapter of E Clampus Vitus -- a fitting number, since Washington was the 42nd state to join the United State . It aint easy, and if you drop out, your sponsor has to go through for you. Christmas Party and White Elephant Gift Exchange, Five Things You May Not Know About Clampers. At Clamper doins, as they are called, seasoned Clampers initiate new members and generally drink themselves into a stupor while playing crazy hazing games. The Proctors continue to meet annually with the Grand Council for the transaction of business and an . Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for California FRATERNAL 2 1/4" Button~"E. CLAMPUS VITUS"~Dr. Judge Frazier. We had so much fun picking out our outfits that we knew the ball was going to be a blast. Chairman Moe of the Salt of the Scum of the Earth models an upright yet casual ECV look of red and black. As the gold was mined out and the mining towns dwindled, however, E Clampus Vitus faded as well, and the Hewgag announced a meeting of the original order for the last time in Quincy, California in 1916. About a decade ago, they had put up more than a thousand historical markers, and by now that number is far higher. For two days we had more fun than the law should allow, and did everything from playing darts to holding a butt contest for the band members who played for us on Saturday night. Grady said shed never heard of them until she started working with their archives. If you arent from Hollister you can look up a local chapter online. The sergeant-at-arms is the Damfool Doorkeeper. Ron Oxley, a Clamper, has a drink next to the E Clampus Vitus Wall of Comparative Humbugery inside the Plumas Club in Quincy, Calif. (Hailey Branson-Potts / Los Angeles Times). Hee Li eventually managed to make a return journey from Gum Shan after having established Clamperism there, and his discovery of this far off land we today call California was well known among his countrymen. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. After this historic Vituscan mission to China, it appears the traditions of E Clampus Vitus, as they called it, flourished for generations. The initiations are secret and vary greatly in execution and severity. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. What Say the Brethren? There is one tale that tells of these two branches of Clamperism meeting. Certain circumstances support an ECV claim to having initiated Ulysses S. Grant into the Order. They were some crazy times and i wouldnt trade them for anything. 2, E Clampus Vitus Plaques A Compilation of Historical Plaques Dedicated by the Several Chapters of the Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus During the First Fifty Years of the Revived Organization 1930-1980, S.E.A.R.C.H. The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies : the ultimate a-z of ancient mysteries, lost civilizations and forgotten wisdom. A "second era" version of the organization was formed in 1930 by San Franciscan attorney and cartographic historian Carl Irving Wheat. Many community leaders and business owners found it to their advantage to join the Order and follow the bray of the hewgag, for Clampers were loyal and tended to vote for their . Accessed 19 Mar. I went through chapter 1827. The last of the Dumbellican friars are said to have encountered a band of Native Americans calling themselves Clampas in Arizona. And that is where the unbelievable history of E Clampus Vitus might end, if it were not for the fact that this episode releases just before April 1st and is an April Fools Day joke! We ran out of tomato juice for Bloody Marys, so I blended up Italian-style stewed tomatoes and tomato soup to make them. However, one can express his desire to join. Every traveling salesman was forced to join the Clampers before he could obtain an order. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage ECV E CLAMPUS VITUS CANDLELIGHT April 13, 6007 BUTTON Pinback at the best online prices at eBay! These antics coexisted with more serious activities. Steve "Iggy" Myers However, Clampers have been known to stretch a story. Its 1937 recovery became California's greatest historical hoax. The Freemasons and Odd Fellows, the largest American secret societies of the time, had established lodges in many of the larger mining towns, and this inspired a group of Mokelumne Hill miners to parody these relatively formal rites with an order better suited to the rough humor and lawlessness of the frontier. In return, since St. VItus refused to attribute the miracle to pagan gods, Diocletian tortured him to death. Mckinley, Jesse. The epigraph is from Alexander Stilles The Future of the Past: The past is only the memory or residue of things that now exist in the present moment, a mental construction thatcleaned up or embellishedoften serves the needs of the current moment instead of corresponding to any historic truth.. E Clampus Vitus is governed by a board of fifteen Proctors elected from the past Humbugs of the chapters, to guide and lead the organization. After establishing himself as a capable navigator and having made some explorations of his own, he set out to organize a colonial expedition to Gum Shan after hearing of Hee Lis discovery. C $26.72 + C $14.02 shipping. As a boy, he said, hed take a school bus from near a bar, and after school, thats where everyone seemed to be. While these plaques are good fun and demonstrate the societys preoccupation with history, none of these monuments record the secret mysteries behind the founding and evolution of the order. In the years that followed the revived E Clampus Vitus spread throughout northern California and into Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona. In a kind of running theme, the Clampers seem to celebrate a fair number of places overtaken, biblical-like, by water. The fraternity is not sure if it is a historical drinking society or a drinking historical society. There are chapters in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Outposts in other western states, including us in Wyoming. I have a question. John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, "Promoting Offbeat History Between the Drinks", "The Nevada journal. Everyone had forgotten about the Butt Lake Dinky by the time workers in 1996 dredged up the rusty H.K. Or you could call Terry at 831-206-1174. plural clivi -v. After the Civil War, it was discovered that Jaco Cave was a holding area for the runaway slaves. E Clampus Vitus. The so-called Drake's Plate of Brass was accepted as authentic for forty years, yet was in actuality a hoax initiated by Dane that got out of control. We dont put up with no hittin on women or beatin' on kids, Koen asserted. The group is not well-known outside California. The new order retained many of the customs and traditions of its forebear, though public drunkenness was (and is) frowned on, and interest in Gold Rush history is one of the requirements for initiation. This past Sunday a bunch of great Clampers (and Widders, the mighty force behind many a Clamper) got together to help out their brother David Warner. : the smooth sloping surface on the upper posterior part of the body of the sphenoid bone supporting the pons and the basilar artery. Please confirm you want to block this member. It was truly a family affair. Indeed, these natives appeared ready to use their formidable weapons against the Dumbellican Brothers. When a member became sick or injured the brotherhood collected food and money to assist them. Clampers wore red shirts symbolizing miners long-john underwear and cut pieces of tin cans to pin to their vests. Lo-Hung-Whang gave this poor soul sanctuary and helped him remove the pot, and in return, the man helped smuggle Lo-Hung-Whang out of the palace in another, even larger chamberpot. Allen was nineteen at the time and came to Hollister from San Jose, where he was living, for weekend visits. A plaque says the bar was built in 1914 and operated as a dairy store with slot machines during Prohibition. Bee claimed to have received his commission from Caleb Cushing, the American Commissioner to China. It is basically a lack of calcium which causes the body to shake or tremor. Id like to personally thank all of you who helped out. About 30 miles north, in the town of Quincy, is the Plumas Club, with a neon ECV sign in the window. E Clampus Vitus, or ECV as it is also known, succeeded and flourished where other orders failed for it was Bee's belief that any man of upstanding character who was of age could join, unencumbered by the restrictions of other fraternal organizations. 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