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Show I A Short History of the Eagles By A. S. FOWLER I The Fraternal Order of Eagles, a social, fraternal and beneficiary ' institution, was organized in the city of Seattle, February 6, 1898. Salt Lake Aerie, No. 67, was instituted July 12, 1900, with a charter char-ter membership of fifty. It now has a membership of over 800 in good standing. This year the national annual convention will meet in the city of its birth, beginning August 11 and ending August 16, and will celebrate its tenth anniversary and be entertained by the members of Seattle Aerie, or the mother aerie, No. 1. The order has grown to be one of considerable import in this country, having a membership of nearly 500,000 in ten years of existence. exist-ence. I do not believe that any fraternal organization lias ever been known to go forward with such strides as can be shown by the records of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. Having attended two sessions of the grand aerie. T acquired some very useful experiences in fraternal work. The sessions of the grand aerie that I had the privilege of attending were held in the cities of San Francisco and Minneapolis. There arc no shortcomings at the meetings of the grand aerie of the F. O. E. The pleasures and entertainment provided for the visitors arc always unmeasured. The local nest always determines the quality of the entertainment, the quantity being unlimited. In every city honored by the meeting of the grand acric everything pos- 1 siblc is done to make the stay one long to be remembered, each local brother vicing with the other in doing his utmost to please the visitors. This is a characteristic of the membership of the Eagles. There is only one. thing that I recall that might add to the popularity popu-larity of the Eagles, and that is to hold its annual reunion in this great western intcrmountain city. Words fail me when I attempt to speak of the beauties of Utah, the land noted for its pleasant summers, mild winters, its mountains and its streams. On the south is to be found a tropical climate, and -r in the northern part can be found snow-clad peaks ; and yet with all of these conditions one of the most refreshing climates to be found anywhere. A special train filled with all classes of Eagles, even the bald-headed bald-headed Eagle, will be seen leaving here for the grand aerie. To those who .will have the privilege of attending the coming session of the grand aerie I will say that in the Utah bunch will be found some tropical trop-ical boys, and very few, if any, with the frozen characteristic; but in ' 1 the main a happy medium will be noted. |