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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1900)
Birth and History of the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Pholooraphs Specially lor The Dec II y Louis II. Bostwfcfc. 4 A LTHol Gil it has recently patted it tiftli bin lula the illuiiiinatioii of streets during the festivities and it was de anniersary ami i hardly, therefore, entitled to tided to hae four parades during the last week in September. claim attention because of noelt. much less At the suggestion of Mr. I'tt a committee was appointed to do on the pretinse of antiquity, the order of the vie siicial attractions to be gi en in connection with the )arades. Knight? of Ak-SnrT.en has attained such The committee compiled Messrs. Clement C. Chase, .lolm 10. I'll, prominence in the social, commercial and civic Y. 1. Bennett and (). N. Davenport. The great annual AU-Sur affairs of Omaha that a brief sketch of its birth Ben ball was the conception of this committee. To Mr. and Mrs. and career is entitled to place in the archives of Chase and the committee beh ngs the creation of the pretty and Omaha. It was in the winter of ls-JM-Ci that imposing ceremonies of the crowning of the (pieen. the appoint this city through the efforts of the Omaha ment of the many ladies of the court and maids of hotioi and, in Fair and Speed association succeeded in wret- fact, all the courtly ceremonies attending the ball and coronation, ing the location of the state fair from the cap- At a meeting of the association April . an executive commit ital city and fixing it in the metropolis for the tee wn elected, comprising U. S. Wilcox, president; Dudley following lm years. Omaha's participation Smith, vice president : William Lisle Dickey, secretary; 1 1. . I. Pen in the contest was surrounded by condition fold, treasurer; C. C. Belden. Thomas A. Fry. Clement C. Chase, that awakened great local enthusiasm and the L. M. Bheom and K. F. Bryson The ollicial list, known then as people of the city were so elated that they set the executive committee, nine afterward to be known as the Hoard of Governors of Ak-SniBcn. and at some period (luring the year three additional names were added, increasing the num ber to twelve, as it has ever since remained. The added names were those of John F. I'tt. Walter Jardine and F. M. Hart let t. In fact, these names appear to have been chosen at the start, out to do eveixthing in their power to make the fair a 2 rent success if nossiblo. The grounds selected were located a considerable distance from the central sections of the city, but while it was at that time thought that this fact would be of reat disadvantage to the city, it was not suspected that it would prove so great a disad- but the records of the order do not show it, nor is there any note vantage to the fair as subsequent events proved it to be. of how or when these persons became a part of the executive tate fair in Omaha for five committee. f Hardly had the location of the years been announced when, carrying out a promise made to local business men to induce them to subscribe the funds needed to secure it. the Fair and Speed association ap pointed a committee, with John 12. Fit. .secretary of the Com mercial club, as its chairman, to devise a series of evening en tertainments in Omaha for the amusement of visitors attend ing the fair. It appears to have been Mr. I'tt who conceived the idea of giving a series of evening pa rades similar to those pret-ented in St. Louis and Memphis. He presented this idea at one of the preliminary meetings, and when Frank Colpetzer suggested that it might be possible to purchase the tloats and paraphernalia used at some carnival city for that purpose he at once in spired J. O. l'hillippi of the Missouri l'ncific railway to take the matter up with officials at New Orleans and ascertain whether or not this could be ef fected, and if so. upon what terms. The result of the nego tiations was that within a short time a proposition was received from 11. M. Isaacson of New Or leans for the sale of the floats used in that citv. A PROCLAMATION 1 1 Dale 0! Birth Uncertain. HV TIIF. KI.Nd! To our loyal suhj.-ct. of (Juivcr.i: tothc trail per- witniti our s.it.s-Grc.tm nii-l courteous nnJkinJ- ty. Itisourrov.il rle isur. follow-in" th nomilv nwt,..i. f our predecessors in kinaly ru'e, to mark the event of our Cor on.itionhy festi (tie, gorgeous and prolonged: And we by these presents do set apart the 24th until the 30th days inclusive of the th month, as the time for our dizzy Orental Carnival - the 26 h day thereof for our parade by daylight - the 27th day thereof, at 8 o'clock of the evening;, for our entry instate into our Citv of Omaha. wi h our Loyal Knights of Ak Sar-Ben and our entire court, at which tune we will receive the keys of the city, t at the hands of our trusted Mayor, in token of our undis- puted sway-and on the evening of the 28th day, we, and ojr royal consort, will b; present at the Ak-Sar-Ben f D;n when will be held the solemn ceremonies of Corona- tion and Mystic Revelries: Now, therefore. We. Ak Sar Ben VI, King of Qui vera, Duke of the Seven Cities of Cibola. Grand Master of the Corn Belt, and in the coarse language of the unre generate "The K hole Push," do command and enjoin all peoples to attend with joy unlimited and ecstacy without bounds. Let everywhere the erstwhile staid and busy citizen caper wildly on one leg and carol forth the glad- t some yip and ht the atmosphere b: rent into thousands f of splinters. For behold, it is timely! Ses on every side the plethoric inner pail; the great multitude of unpunched t meal tickets, and the vast harves'ed crops which can only f t be expressed in bushels, with a massive figure followed by ciphers to the end of the chapter !!!!!! Done at our castle of Tinnivelly Panipat in the year MDCCCC of Quivera VL AK-SAR-BEN VI. i Attest, SAMSON "Curfew shall NOT ring tonight." At the same meeting it was decided to adopt as a name for the fall festivities "The Feast of Mondamin." surest od hy the Indian legends assigning to the god of that name control of the corn or the harvest. This name was proposed hy Miss Mellon oti-rh of Omaha, who won the prize o lie red by the association for the surliest ion of t lit hap piest theme for the feast and re ceived the reward of $10 there for. Given a Mystic Name. 3 vv On what date the order of Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben as Mich was born appear to be not a mat- liefore the plan for the ter of authentic history, for it did not acquire the name for some practiced had borne fruit time after its organization. hs records, however, extend back appointed a committee to to March L, isir, on which date a meeting of retailers uf the leans and emrmimo i,rt - - - --... 1 111 At this meeting also the as sociation was given a name. It had been called the lietailers' committee and lietailers' asso ciation, but on motion of Mr. Tenfold it was decided to call it thereafter the Omaha Business Men's association. It was shortly after this- that Dudley Smith proposed as a name for a secret organization for the en actment of a mystic ritual, which, it was urged, would in tensify interest in the project and the annual festivities of' 1 he association, the Knights of Ak Sar-Men, and such were the mystic and mythical rites and ceremonies woven around the organization that it was long before the general public grasped the fact that ihe name proposed was but the name of the state spelled backward, mysticisms to be the organization go to New Or- nnniili.i..., . . c jMii v hum U! I ....- u.- ... ... v- vvmuimiai ciuu ruvwa anu ine necessity aunts needed in the Mondamin lnride 'Phis of providing evening entertainments to hold the crowds in Omaha committee, which comprised F M ' H irtlei t as discussed and the mystic carnival was suggested as the most Dudlev .Smith. W. J Bennett -ind r . ,U,ra:,livf Pln?. , h'enze.'left Omaha .Sundav evenin- ' ril ''N At the original meeting, the records .show, discussion of the These gentlemen stonoed iY k,,JK plan was panicipated in by J E. Utt, II. . Wilcox. AV. II. Ben- City and St. Louis on their wiv .ou.l ' t If V ll; "; !Jrd'V' E- E" "VyiU Frank WiluX' Walter Jnrdine, learn what they could concerni,,.. , h . s, 1 J. Tenfold, Clement Chase. A. Dos.e. William Lisle Dickey, organizations and ceremonies n , , 1.1 St. (.gallala K. ,euze and Matt Dauirhertv. the latter of At Ucox was tJiairmau and Mr. DickeY wrmvv XI. ...... 1 I 1 " Vi V JMIOM II lie (loll which weiv beinr j.Miict.n,n.wi .1. . . mi uiv-i-nijj;. iiiiii in min ii nf ut'CJUeu lO Oliei IJIlZeS l HO 1 hw 'rnnlinn " v ivi .-i i n i mm iiikit t of fnr (,m,i.ti.ir, v,.i,.i t.. i i. . " . r. . . . v i- m.ioe nie , .-V....V... ...wv.j; --.-u1..tv.i numi-u uu n Muinujt- uaiuv ior rectjnems 01 mauv distin-uisheil ..nn.i , : the fall festivities, and a committee, with 11. J. Tenfold as its during their short tav cuui i,,.. . , I chairman, was appointed to solicit the assistance of business men same time much useful infor !,.!?, . ' - "r- r. v.r.. w..u v.4 .m. inni,uii Clinracier ineV lllOSt Soni I'lum read contemplating the sale of the New Orleuns floats to Omaha. in New Orleans ilu.v ,,' v J ,;,",m' lu.ve av jaier. uy wnicn ume courtesy by the people of tint citv givai lmereM naci teen aroused and the attendance was larjie. to them the det.nils ,.f ii... , : .'. It was reported by Dudley Smith that the railwavs had atrreed ities of that citv It u,o,.-l i t 1,1 f'Nli to give ?2.o00 to the project, and that the banks had expressed ducted bv a sei.aran. Jin u, !!! n ' W,'IV lbn 0U'U nM1 a readiness to assist. At this men in stejis were instituted to LVx. ihe'connis and ihSvv , NV'',V Kl,un" i,s ,1" secure concessions from the gar and elettrir li-Lt companies for e'-Minced then, tint ti... .iU1" 'iM"''ion reach e er 'i)ptaiu Isaacson explained v i iiiii.mi' uiivc f i.i purade was the only mailabl ' one