To All My Friends!

From Dave "Members Only" Brigham:

Located in Keene, NH, this abandoned Fraternal Order of Eagles social club is a touchstone for me. While attending Keene State College in the mid-'80s, I went on a "back lot" tour with two friends. Kristen sang, Peter played guitar and I tapped on a set of bongos as we strolled off Main Street. We dubbed ourselves the Spittin' Nightstalkers, and entertained (perhaps) random people along our route. When I spied the FOE building, all lit up, people milling about outside smoking, music and loud conversations spilling through the open door, something pulsed through me. "What IS this place?" I asked.

I grew up in Simsbury, Conn., a rural town with a Masonic Lodge, a grange hall and probably some other social clubs. My parents weren't members of any of these clubs, and I never gave them any thought. So when in my early 20s I stumbled across a lively hangout among the old mill buildings of Keene, I was intrigued. While I've never joined such a club, I've been intrigued by what goes on inside them ever since (see August 31, 2012, "I Wanna Walk" and March 14, 2017, "Working Our Way Around Winthrop," and scroll through each of them).

Part of my fascination stems from that age-old desire many of us have to find a place "where everybody knows your name." The thing is, I don't drink much and am not great at socializing with friends, never mind strangers. Still, I love the idea of places where people gather to drink, talk politics, watch soccer/football/hockey/baseball/jai-alai, crack dirty jokes and, oh yeah, once in a while raise money for some charitable organization.

Hibernian Hall in Watertown, Mass., looks great, doesn't it? Sometimes these social clubs look a bit down at the heels, but this one is bright and shiny and flying some great flags. Established in 1894, The AOH Tomas Cardinal O’Fiaich Division 14 fundraises for charities and holds events such as St. Patricks' Day dinners and music performances. "We are an Irish Catholic organization established to preserve our Irish heritage and perpetuate our Roman Catholic faith," per the web site.

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is "America’s oldest Irish Catholic Fraternal Organization," per the national organization's web site, "founded concurrently in the coal-mining region of Pennsylvania and New York City in May, 1836. The Order can trace its roots back to a series of similar societies that existed in Ireland for more than 300 years. Today the AOH exists in America, Canada, Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland, however, while the organizations share a common thread, the American AOH is a separate and much larger organization."

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