RESPONSIBILITY for this web site. Everyone had forgotten about the Butt Lake Dinky by the time workers in 1996 dredged up the rusty H.K. In fact, there is something of an origin story for E Clampus Vitus to which we might give more credence. So, their pre-1930s name was E Clampsus Vitus. 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. He (Sholto) agreed, and tonight the opera-house was packed."[8]. Samuel G. George 1855~ at the best online prices at eBay! by. When Tommy came home on Sunday morning he found me on the couch more hungover than he was, and our house was a disaster. Wheat was no stranger to fraternal societies himself, being a member of San Franciscos Bohemian Club, whose annual retreat for the rich and powerful at Bohemian Grove serves as popular fodder for many conspiracy theorists. This is the Facebook site for ECV Chapter No. In late December 1895-January of 1896, a British expatriate, Lord Sholto George Douglas (7 June 1872 - 6 April 1942), the fourth son of John Sholto Douglas, the 9th Marquess of Queensberry, John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, was managing a travelling troupe of actors on a tour of Northern California. Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved. In return, since St. VItus refused to attribute the miracle to pagan gods, Diocletian tortured him to death. Now she gets excited when she spots an ECV bumper sticker or plaque. Tommy was initiated into the ECV in 1985, and had neglected his lifelong membership for quite some time. ECV historical plaques are found on many buildings around California. However, Clampers have been known to stretch a story. What does E Clampus Vitus mean? E Clampus Vitus. While the math on the aforementioned membership does not quite seem to work, unless every chapter has initiated thousands of members, nevertheless the chief occupation of the Clampers, aside from merrymaking, does seem to indicate that they are widespread. However, rather than finding themselves hailed and well met, they instead found themselves under attack by the Clampas. Chapter events, Officers list, contacts and general information. Ephraim Bee, an early leader of the group, was styled Grand Gyascutis and later the Grand Lama. Chapter presidents hold the ceremonial title of Noble Grand Humbug. Box 405, Nevada City, CA 95959 - The Website is. Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. 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. It aint easy, and if you drop out, your sponsor has to go through for you. One enthusiast named Joseph Zumwalt, however, brought the order with him from Missouri to California during the Gold Rush or so they say. One among these women, Lo-Hung-Whangs own concubine, Hop Mee, proved to be stronger and more clever than the men anticipated, though. This voyage was undertaken by one of low birth, the son of a servant woman who cleaned the privy chambers of the Empress. God bless and keep you, Cat, One of our first Clamper gatherings at Johnnys. The new E Clampus Vitus order continues on to this day. The de la Guerra y Pacheco chapter, halfway between Lodge Number 1 in San Francisco and Lodge Number 2 in Los Angeles, is Lodge Number 1.5. Bee claimed to have received his commission from Caleb Cushing, the American Commissioner to China. Initiation rites are sometimes spur-of-the-moment, such as forcing a blindfolded candidate to be lifted into the air by a block and tackle. The first weekend is etched in my memory and will be forever. Uninitiated men desiring to join were called "Poor Blind Candidates." [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. To the Noble Grand Recorder, Officers and Greybeards of Jim Savage Chapter ECV 1852: I, _____, hereby petition humbly for membership into the most Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus. The branch of E Clampus Vitus descending from the Chinese chapter established by the Vituscan missionaries, however, has not the only claim to being the origin of Clampers in the New World. By tradition, a man can only become a Clamper by invitation. E Clampus Vitus was one of several brotherhoods that swept as many as 40 percent of American men into their fold during the "golden age of fraternalism" in the late nineteenth and early. The history of E Clampus Vitus is steeped in mythology. In La Porte, the Clampers often clean up, and put up a fence around, the pine cone-strewn cemetery, where wooden and marble headstones date to the 19th century and where Frank C. Reilly is buried. The first ECV chapter was established in America in 1845. E Clampus Vitus: Villa de Branciforte Founded 1797, The Third Pueblo in Alta California by anonymous Paperback Ages: 12 years and up Seeing The Elephant by Sidney Blumner 4.7 (24) Kindle $299$9.95 Available instantly Other format: Paperback Norton The Third (Emperor Norton Book 3) by Mark Bowles 4.1 (5) Kindle $299 Available instantly The robust humor of the Clampers helped bring a spirit of community to the Gold Rush country. Happy I did. 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. As a "historical society" as well as a mirth making club, ECV members have been placing historical plaques throughout the West for about 90 years. Some theologians trace the society back to Moses, who is claimed to be an early Noble Grand Humbug or Clampatriarch, for one of the hypothesized source documents of the Torah, called the Elohist, is more commonly referred to as E, corresponding to the beginning of the orders name. Oxley, a fellow member of the Las Plumas Del Oro Chapter, sat by the bars memorabilia-filled corkboard called the Wall of Comparative Humbugery. Theyre secretive about initiation rites. In 1931, a new chapter of E Clampus Vitus was founded in San Francisco with the help of Adam Lee Moore, one of the few surviving members of the original order. to the members of Estanislao Chapter #58 of the Ancient and Honorable Order A lot of people get confused and think were a bunch of drunkards, said the resident of Quincy, a small mining town. 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. E Clampus Vitus and ECV are She arranged for the eunuchs guarding the other girls to be drugged, and once free, the former slave women took control of the vessel, throwing any who resisted them to the sharks. We had so much fun picking out our outfits that we knew the ball was going to be a blast. The three founded a new chapter, Yerba Buena Number 1, or the "Capitulus Redivivus." Ephraim Bee II played his greatest joke on his local West Virginian neighbors. Indeed, there was another monastic order originating from the teachings of St. Vitus, this one established by his disciple Dumbellicus, himself also a martyr killed by Emperor Diocletian. At the close of the War with Mexico, Lt. William Tecumseh Sherman was Adjutant to Col. Richard Barnes Mason at the time of the gold discovery at Sutter's Mill. Sunday Brunch 9 am The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies : the ultimate a-z of ancient mysteries, lost civilizations and forgotten wisdom. When a member of his crew pointed out the sight of the rising sun to prove they were headed the wrong direction, Hee Li threw the mutineer overboard. the Clampers dont bother with those. LOL, I assume you meant join. Their form of the phrase was the Latin Ecce Lampas Vitae, meaning "Behold, the Light of Life," and how this phrase became corrupted is truly a remarkable tale.A 20th century discovery in the Vatican Library tells the tale in the form of a letter by one Heliodoricus, himself a Vituscan. All members are officers and all officers, the organization professes, are of equal indignity. HISTORY and Ritual of E CLAMPUS VITUS. Historian Lois Rather suggests that the order originally came from the Southern states before being carried to California during the Gold Rush. 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. Wm Bull Meek - Wm Morris Stewart Chapter No. The motto of the Order, Credo quia absurdum, generally interpreted as meaning "I believe it because it is absurd;"[1] is a Latin phrase popularly misattributed to Tertullian. [9] A 20th century chapter of the ECV was named for Lord Sholto Douglas in honor of this event. My son, Allen, who was brought in to the Clampers by his step daddy Tommy in 1999, put the gala event together. Chapters are permitted to modify their structure to meet the needs and desires of their membership. If a man has those qualities, and strikes up a friendship with a Clamper or two, he may find himself taken in to (and by) the Ancient and Honorable Order. Perhaps this was obvious from the ridiculous and frankly racist names of its central characters as well as its bawdy subject matter. We dont put up with no hittin on women or beatin' on kids, Koen asserted. Koen has been a Clamper for 17 years and has served as the Chapter 5978 Humbug. Indeed, these natives appeared ready to use their formidable weapons against the Dumbellican Brothers. The NIGHT we will NEVER FORGET! Theres also the Worlds Largest Butter Dish Collection, an assortment of ornate dishes with delicate painted flowers, glass cherries and fragile flourishes. Inside, the officers the Noble Grand Humbug, the Royal Gyascutis, the Clamps Petrix, the Clamps Matrix, the Grand Imperturbable Hangman, and many others (as all Clampers are, by definition, officers) presided over meetings well lubricated with beer and cheap whiskey. Per pg. Yes ..we survived. When he passed away in august 2013 unexpectedly the clamper helped his wife and kids. permission. Sir Francis Drake's 1579 Plate of Brasse was left at Point Reyes, claiming California for England. About a decade ago, they had put up more than a thousand historical markers, and by now that number is far higher. They commemorated the teeny train with a bronze plaque. Perhaps nowhere are the Clampers more revered than in the Sierra Nevada, where they flourished in the small towns and prospector camps during the Gold Rush. Michael was an instrumental and vital player during the startup phase and transitioned nicely into the corporate environment after the acquisition. It is now thought that the Fuller ceremony was part of an effort for the perpetrators to tip off the plate's finders as to its true origins. Asked how he got the name Chainsaw, he explained that a fellow Clamper years ago somehow got it in his head that Koen had cut off his own kneecap with a chainsaw. 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. Copyright 2022 - South Pass Chapter #1867 All Rights Reserved |/\_/\| permission. Bee had political aspirations and fancied himself something of a folksy storyteller. ?, December 12, 1856, Image 2", "Daily Alta California 3 September 1852 California Digital Newspaper Collection", "Santa Cruz Sentinel 19 December 1895 California Digital Newspaper Collection", Last Days of the Late, Great State of California, "The Mysterious History of E Clampus Vitus", "An Explanation and History of E Clampus Vitus in Three Parts", "The Unbelievable History of the Ancient and Honorable E Clampus Vitus", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=E_Clampus_Vitus&oldid=1149934869, State based fraternal and lineage societies, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 15 April 2023, at 10:29. They were a HOOT ! Mon to Sat 11 am 9 pm Whether you bought a plate or served one, played the music, or danced to it, you were all a part of a really good thing. The brotherhood was formed by men who thought organizations like the Odd Fellows and Masons were way too stuffy, and the requirements to join too arduous. Free shipping. The group parodied the sashes and ceremonies of stuffier and wealthier social clubs, like the Odd Fellows and Freemasons. It was they who introduced the central Clamper symbol, the Staff of Relief, a decidedly phallic image. The timeline doesnt seem to jibe, though, for how could Zumwalt have brought E Clampus Vitus to California in 1849 and established the first chapter here in Calaveras County in 1851 if Ephraim Bee was only just forming the first chapter in West Virginia in 1853? A monument to Bee in West Union now stands on the site of the old "Beehive" Inn along the North Bend Rail-Trail; the original "Bee Hive" was destroyed in a flood in the late 1800s. However, sainthood was denied him, for it was suspected that he never actually bit his tongue off, and that perhaps he did not resist his altar-bound intercourse as much as his legend claims. The name E Clampus Vitus means absolutely nothing. ECV titles reflected the tongue-in-cheek nature of the organization. 1 talking about this. We would Love to have you folks in our parade ! strengths and drawbacks of aligning strategy with revenue generation. Allen was nineteen at the time and came to Hollister from San Jose, where he was living, for weekend visits. This has become the motto of this historical drinking society. Johnnys Bar & Grill Not long after forming their Chapter Redivivus, however, a mysterious stranger telephoned Wheat, claiming to have been, in his youth, the last Noble Grand Humbug of the last practicing lodge. Well guess know about as much about the Clampers as I ever did. Life was good as prominent business owners in a small town. Judge Frazier. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. WEBMASTER, VIGILANTE #183 . There were E Clampus Vitus chapters in Bedford, Pennsylvania; Metropolis, Illinois; Bowling Green, Missouri; and Dahlonega, Georgia. It is the only party that we ladies are invited to attend. I went through chapter 1827. C $13.35 + C $19.15 shipping. To illustrate better the playfulness of their plaques, consider the strange upside-down house built by silent film star Nellie Bly in the town of Lee Vining, which they commemorate with an upside-down plaque. Likes: 0. According to Clampers lore, their first California lodge was established in Mokelumne Hill in 1851. Due to a peculiarity of his anatomy, he was known among the women at court as Lo-Hung-Whang. Chairman Moe of the Salt of the Scum of the Earth models an upright yet casual ECV look of red and black. As E CLAMPUS VITUS mushroomed along with the rapid growth of the gold towns, it declined as rapidly as they did, and, therefore, lived only in the memory of a few ancient dwellers in the mountains . YB1 X NGH #62, DB #88 DISCLAIMERThis site is solely We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The ECV are still responsible for building the historic-site plaques you see all over the Western United States, and Im proud to say that one was erected on Johnnys patio to honor our own Wino Willie Folkner. 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. "We believe in the absurd," said Gene Koen, a Clamper from Oroville. Very in depth look at the group, how it was formed, and some of its history. The men of E Clampus Vitus a.k.a. A miner named Cornish Bob was victorious. 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). It was truly a family affair. Not just anybody can join E Clampus Vitus, you have to be invited to be a member. 8 has made this their offishul waterin hole, it reads. From his perch at the Plumas Club, a dive bar that serves as his chapters de facto headquarters, Ron Right-On Oxley swirled a vodka and cranberry juice and tried to sum up his often misunderstood group. plural clivi -v. I am a future puke as we speak. Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved. E Clampus Vitus - Initiation Initiation By tradition, a man can only become a Clamper by invitation. 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. 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