If
you've spent much time wandering cemeteries, you’ve come across those
realistic, but sometimes ornate, tree stone grave markers. While
intriguing, there are always questions concerning them: How did they
come about? What do they represent? And is there a difference between
the organizations MWA and WOW? Read on…….
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| Joseph Cullen Root |
Joseph Cullen Root founded Modern Woodmen of America http://www.modern-woodmen.org/ in
Lyons, Iowa in 1883. Root was a member of several fraternal
organizations and wanted to create one that would provide insurance
benefits to a family when the husband/father died. Most fraternal
organizations at the time were tied to religious orders. But Root
imagined one without religious ties, a society that would “bind in one association, the Jew and the Gentile, the Catholic and the Protestant, the Agnostic and the Atheist.”
Root
decided on the woodmen name after hearing a minister describe his
congregation as ‘trees in God’s forest.” When first founded, modern
woodmen were white men between the ages of 18 and 45, from rural
Midwestern states. The home office of MWA began in Fulton, Illinois in
1884 and moved to Rock Island, Illinois in 1897, where it remains today.
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| Royal Neighbors of America |
In
1888, the ladies auxiliary of the MWA, the Royal Neighbors of America
(RNA), was started. Their symbol was a five-petal flower.
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| Woodmen of the World Logo |
In
1890, after a heated dispute, Root left the Modern Woodmen of America
to found another fraternal insurance benefit society, Woodmen of the
World (WOW or WOTW) in Omaha, Nebraska.
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| Foresters Drill Teams |
The
Modern Woodmen of America (MWA) became well known for their drill
teams. Known as the Foresters, over 10,000 units, made up of over
160,000 men performed nationally from 1893 through the late 1930’s.
The Foresters Drill Teams performed at parades and festivals across the
country, and even entertained at the White House for President Hoover.
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| MWA TB Sanatorium |
MWA
members were also known for their community assistance. The
organization built a 1,000-acre, $1.5 million dollar tuberculosis
sanatorium in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1909, one of the largest in
the country. It was named as one of the most outstanding TB
institutions by the American College of Surgeons. Over 12, 000 MWA
members were treated there for free. The recovery rate at the
institute was an amazing 70%. The facility closed in 1947 when drug
treatments for tuberculosis showed promise and deaths began to decline.
In 1910 MWA membership hit the one million mark. By 1929 women and children were also being insured by the group.
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| MWA Marker |
Founder
Joseph Root wrote a funeral ceremony that was to be performed when a
member died. These ceremonies were held during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, memorial services are held during the month of June at each chapter to remember their deceased members.
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| MWA Marker |
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| Ornate and interwoven MWA |
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| Prices for MWA Logo |
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| Montgomery Wards Tree Stone Marker |
Tree
stone markers were also available for purchase from the Sears and
Roebuck catalogue and the Montgomery Ward catalogue during the early
twentieth century. A tree stone marker does not necessarily mean that
person was a member of MWA or WOW. Only if the organizations' initials
or symbols are located on the stone does it indicate that the deceased
was a member of one of these organizations.
The MWA doctrine includes striving for family financial security, positive family life and service to the community.
MWA symbols include the axe to represent industry, the wedge to signify
power and the beetle to illustrate progress. The logo is made up of
the capital letters M W A. Their motto remains “Pour Autre Vie.” – ‘For the life of another.’
Today,
the Modern Woodmen of American is the nation’s third largest fraternal
benefit society, with close to 750-million members. The group has
assets of over $9 billion. Close to 2,200 chapters or ‘camps’, exist in
the U.S., mainly in the Midwest and the South. MWA meetings are held
throughout the year, along with parades, and community events. The MWA
also supports youth activities and organizations throughout the country.
In 2008, Modern Woodmen of America celebrated their 125th Anniversary.
Friday, we’ll explore Father’s Day in the cemetery.
Next Tuesday we’ll take a look at the second
fraternal benefit society that Joseph Root founded, Woodmen of the
World. This is the organization known for the tree stone grave markers.
