Many people believe that they are just a drinking club that requires members to take part in wild initiation ceremonies, which is entirely true; however they have played an important part in preserving our history. Pride in Californias history rescued E Clampus Vitus from oblivion, however. Gale OneFile: Business, https://link-gale-com.libdbmjc.yosemite.edu/apps/doc/A186882569/GPS?u=modestojc_main&sid=GPS&xid=9c61987e. My cousin was a clamper. The prime requisites to becoming a Clamper are a good sense of humor, an interest in Western history, an open mind, and a cast iron stomach. Grady said shed never heard of them until she started working with their archives. Only two others survived the journey, Stomachus, and Bellicosus, whereupon they gained an audience with Chinese emperor Hee Sing Li. Hi Clampers, Im a member of ECV #3, Sacramento California, want to touch bases with yall, AF VETERAN HONERABLE DISCHARGE, MISS THE COMRADES! E Clampus Vitus Initiatory Ritual Introduction Here followeth the true, authentic and clampotent Order and Ritual of Initiation, the sole and solitary Ceremonial and Liturgy of THE ANCIENT AND HONORABLE ORDER OF E CLAMPUS VITUS, carefully compiled, ostentatiously elaborated and prayerfully purged of both For a group of professional drinkers to call our bar home was a blessing in itself; the fun and camaraderie that came with it was an extra bonus. E Clampus Vitus ECV 1004 Sam Brannan Fraternity Club Enamel Member Lapel Pin. Id like to personally thank all of you who helped out. : the smooth sloping surface on the upper posterior part of the body of the sphenoid bone supporting the pons and the basilar artery. 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. WEBMASTER, VIGILANTE #183 . Wm Bull Meek - Wm Morris Stewart Chapter No. No matter what one makes of the meaning of the orders name, it cannot be denied that its central figure was Saint Vitus, after whom Sydenhams chorea, or St. Vituss Dance was named, that malady being one suspect for explaining the notorious Dancing Plague I have discussed in the past. The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) is a fraternal organization dedicated to the study and preservation of the heritage of the American West, especially the history of the Mother Lode and gold mining regions of the area. Clampers and Widders are encouraged to dress in period clothing for this extravaganza, and we turned finding our costumes into another party. Whether you choose to believe that is entirely up to you, but in their heyday they did a lot to help the widows and orphans of dead coal miners. In fact the seeds for the elaborate lore that would later spring up around the order were planted by Ephraim himself, for he said he had learned the secrets of the order from Caleb Cushing, a Massachusetts statesman who had visited China and brought back the mysteries of this Confucian brotherhood that was widespread in the East. Well guess know about as much about the Clampers as I ever did. In addition, nativism was rising in the United States, as evidenced by such political organizations as the Know-Nothing Party. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, E Clampus Vitus: Anthology Of New Dispensation Lore, A Nice Piece of Brass: E Clampus Vitus Plaques, 2013-2017, S.E.A.R.C.H. Stop in and see whats cookin today. I am sorry to say that none of this is real history! Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage ECV E CLAMPUS VITUS CANDLELIGHT April 13, 6007 BUTTON Pinback at the best online prices at eBay! Theres nothing quite like helping others to make a person feel good, and when you do it for family its even better. The nickname "Clampers" is still used, as is the motto "Credo . Sir Francis Drake's 1579 Plate of Brasse was left at Point Reyes, claiming California for England. I informed him weeks in advance that he was going to be the designated driver for all of the Widders. Saint Vitus, from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493, via Wikimedia Commons. Don ECV McCasland. After this historic Vituscan mission to China, it appears the traditions of E Clampus Vitus, as they called it, flourished for generations. 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. In addition to his crew, he brought three hundred fertile slave girls, with the intention of peopling Gumshaniana with their descendants. New specials all the time from mild to wild! One still stands in Murphys. Box 12842 Fresno, Ca. Mon to Sat 11 am 9 pm Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for California FRATERNAL 2 1/4" Button~"E. CLAMPUS VITUS"~Dr. A NON CLAMPER'S GUIDE TO CLAMPERDOM. They were a HOOT ! DISCLAIMERThis site is solely The last of the Dumbellican friars are said to have encountered a band of Native Americans calling themselves Clampas in Arizona. "Promoting Offbeat History Between the Drinks." Both legend and scholars agree that the group was founded in West Union, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1845.[3]. Tommy and I were over the moon that the citys elite wanted to hang out at our bar and grill. 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. The question then becomes whether it was the particular Chinese brand of E Clampus Vitus passed down through the native progeny of Hop Mee, Empress of Gumshaniana, that was practiced by the miners of Gold Rush California, or whether it was the form spread by the Frollicking Friars during their rapacious journeys through the New World. Designed by Stranger Danger of South Pass #1867, Al Packer #100 and Snake River #1811. 10. 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. 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. At that time most of northern California was full of little mining towns and camps whose populations shifted constantly. By tradition, a person could join E Clampus Vitus by invitation only and then was expected to endure an elaborate, humorous and sometimes grueling initiation ceremony. Posts: 24,418. Considering Benicia's position as the major inland Army post and transport hub to the valley, both Grant's and the Brotherhood's affinity for strong drink and the early spread of the Brotherhood through Northern California, it is entirely possible that Grant was inducted into the Organization. 1934 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. When he passed away in august 2013 unexpectedly the clamper helped his wife and kids. In the spring of 1930, lawyer and historian Carl Wheat made a visit to some old mining camps in California for the purposes of researching life during the Gold Rush. In Truckee, the group paid homage to the Tin Can bar from the early 1900s and Dots Place, a brothel. On serpentine Main Street, with mining equipment from 1911 sitting out front, sits the Frank C. Reilly Museum, a two-story Clampers repository named after a local saloon owner who was Chapter 5978s first Humbug. E Clampus Vitus is governed by a board of fifteen Proctors elected from the past Humbugs of the chapters, to guide and lead the organization. At the ECV's peak, around 1870, so many miners were members that mining camps might shut down during ECV celebrations (some mining towns had two chapters). This was the beginning and the foundation of the modern day Clampers, although today, as I understand it, it is more of a plain old drinking society that enjoys to play pranks. Indeed, his adventure would inspire another expedition many years later, this one more purposeful and also less successful. Clampers have since marked the site of their massacre with a plaque that reads: Here fell the last of the Frollicking Friars. As a boy, he said, hed take a school bus from near a bar, and after school, thats where everyone seemed to be. In Truckee, the group paid homage to the . We had so much fun picking out our outfits that we knew the ball was going to be a blast. If one finds it hard to credit such ancient origins of the order, alternative etymology suggests E Clampus Vitus to be a Latinate phrase, with E meaning out of, Clampus being a combination of clam, or ignorance or darkness, and pos, meaning after. Finally, Vitus would be vita, or life, making the entire translation out of darkness, after life, as in seeking after life. When a stranger came to town, Clampers would inform him that to do business in the town it was essential to join the local secret society. The fraternity is not sure if it is a historical drinking society or a drinking historical society. There are chapters in California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Outposts in other western states, including us in Wyoming. Other times, the blindfolded initiate is seated upon a wet sponge in a wheelbarrow, and taken upon the "Rocky Road to Dublin" (a ladder lying on the ground). vus kl-vs. So, they both describe uncontrolled shaking, as in the DTs, as in the morning after tying one on with cheap booze. Satisfactory! E Clampus Vitus Jim Savage Chapter #1852 . It turns. Among the most colorful of nineteenth-century American secret societies, E Clampus Vitus was founded by goldminers in the frontier town of Mokelumne Hill, California in 1851, in the midst of the Gold Rush. 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 . I appreciated that so much. In 1936 a plaque appeared in Northern California purporting to have been made by Sir Francis Drake during his voyage of discovery in which it was stated that he had claimed all of California for England, and that he had the authority of the claim by having been ceded the land by the local Miwok Indians. The Clamper flag was sometimes a hoop skirt, with the words "This is the flag we fight under." Aint a bit of anthracite or bitumen up on The Comstock, but thousands of Clampers, widders, & no-accounts have passed through these environs This action will also remove this member from your connections and send a report to the site admin. The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Societies : the ultimate a-z of ancient mysteries, lost civilizations and forgotten wisdom written by John Michael Greer John Michael Greer 2006. He lifted the leg of his jean shorts and shrugged as he revealed the absence of any scar to support the story and Koens nickname. Like many others I thought the name had to stand for something but in researching the organization I found that its just a name its originator made up. Michael was an instrumental and vital player during the startup phase and transitioned nicely into the corporate environment after the acquisition. Mural depicting Califia, fictional Amazonian queen for whome California was named, via Wikimedia Commons. A bar owner named Ephriam Bee established the ECV in Lewisport, West Virginia, claiming to have received an ECV charter from the Emperor of China. The organization today claims 45 chapters in eight Western states and thousands of members. Chapter presidents hold the ceremonial title of Noble Grand Humbug. Thereafter free to pursue his dream life as a sailor, Lo-Hung-Whang always kept that massive toilet with him to remember his deliverance. Its 1937 recovery became California's greatest historical hoax. John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, "Promoting Offbeat History Between the Drinks", "The Nevada journal. 2020. By this reckoning, the word Clampus derives from the Greek kleptos, to steal, because after receiving the knowledge by eating of the tree in the Garden of Eden, Adam smuggled out the secrets of the order so that he could pass them down to all mankind. The museum boasts a treasure-trove of Clampers relics, Gold Rush artifacts and antiques from the areas once-large Chinese population. Or you could call Terry at 831-206-1174. [2] When the cave was full, Bee gave a party to keep all busy while that group of people was moved further north to the next stop. The same holds true today, which brings me to why I wrote this blog. In fact, as the legend goes, not much was known about their origins because they always got drunk at their meetings and the next day, nobody could remember exactly what transpired. [3], The drinking and revelry aspects were not entirely abandoned however, with one man accidentally shot dead during a drunken party in Columbia in 1967. It was revived in 1932 by professional and successful businessmen, prominent . After room hopping for about an hour, we finally called it a night. The next day we all went to brunch together, and any one of the attendees will surely tell you that it was one of the most fun weekends of his or her life. Steve "Iggy" Myers. Tommy was initiated into the ECV in 1985, and had neglected his lifelong membership for quite some time. 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. The name E Clampus Vitus means absolutely nothing. However, once Lodge 10 was established in 1936, members pointed out that it was illogical for such a rowdy organization to be so neat in its numbering scheme, and so some creativity was developed in the numbering. Id like to share en except frommy book Miracles and Grace in an Unlikely Place Memoir of a Christian Biker Bar Owner with you that tells the story of Johnnys and our connection to the Clampers. 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? People remember the Clampers Drill Team from years ago and wanted us to ask. In return, since St. VItus refused to attribute the miracle to pagan gods, Diocletian tortured him to death. 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. The robust humor of the Clampers helped bring a spirit of community to the Gold Rush country. A bunch of Clampers in 1973 got a boat and chucked a plaque into the water. When its quiet at the museum, he spends the afternoons reading up on local history. They were contacted by the surviving members of the original order, who passed on what could be remembered of the original rites and legends. Free shipping for many products! Others, however, trace the beginning of the order all the way back to the beginning of time and creation, naming Adam as the Clamprogrenitor, as it were. One among these women, Lo-Hung-Whangs own concubine, Hop Mee, proved to be stronger and more clever than the men anticipated, though. The unusual anatomy of these Clampas indicates that Lo-Hung-Whang survived Hop Mees mutiny and managed to father children, or perhaps was kept as a sex slave himself as he had previously kept Hop Mee, for the peculiar trait that gave him his crude sobriquet was observed by the Frollicking Friars in the naked Clampas who charged at them. Hollister, CA 95023, Grill: appreciate a bit of Western lore. YB1 X NGH #62, DB #88. I have felt like a helping hand all my life. I thought the ride might kill me, and on the drive my son said, Mama, you girls told Allen things Allen didnt need to know. I forbade him to tell me what they were, and promised never to ask him to be designated driver for the Widders again. Not just anybody can join E Clampus Vitus, you have to be invited to be a member. Many community leaders and business owners found it to their advantage to join the Order and follow the bray of the hewgag, for Clampers were loyal and tended to vote for their . 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. plural clivi -v. Clampers signage is all over La Porte, the site of whats believed to be the Western Hemispheres first organized downhill snow skiing tournament in 1867. Taking place at Bolado Park, a great venue featuring Bike Camping, , Hollister is the Birthplace of the American Biker! Fill out the form below. The Clampers, according to the Frank C. Reilly Chapter of Northern California, have plaqued hundreds of places, from ghost towns to saloons, from bordellos to ranchos, from heroes to madmen.. God bless, Cat. Free delivery for many products! It hadnt been that way for years. Please note: Free shipping. 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. 8 has made this their offishul waterin hole, it reads. Chairman Moe of the Salt of the Scum of the Earth models an upright yet casual ECV look of red and black. Bee opened membership in ECV to any "upstanding" man who had come of age. We believe in the absurd, said Gene Koen, a Clamper from Oroville. Michael was always a team player, supportive . This voyage was undertaken by one of low birth, the son of a servant woman who cleaned the privy chambers of the Empress. to the members of Estanislao Chapter #58 of the Ancient and Honorable Order For two days we had more fun than the law should allow, and did everything from playing darts to holding a butt contest for the band members who played for us on Saturday night. The Sons of Malta, a fraternal society given to pranks and parody initiation rites, has been cited as an influence, even though the Sons of Malta do not seem to have existed until 1854 (though ECV may have inspired the Sons of Malta, as there were many disappointed by the California gold rush who returned East). Once enlightened,a brother is a brother for life. (It has been rumored that ECV brethren within the U.S. Army even attempted to bring the order as far south as Mexico City following the MexicanAmerican War, as a gesture of brotherhood and reconciliation, but all record has vanished of the well-intentioned Chapultepec chapter. A construction worker originally from Muskogee, Okla., Oxley said he didnt know anything about Gold Rush history until he joined the Clampers in 2010. Steve "Iggy" Myers Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Membership in E Clampus Vitus declined in the late 1800s, but experienced a revival in the 1930s and is still going strong today. owned and operated by Steve Myers and is an UNOFFICIAL web site, dedicated Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved. What was the last thing your held in She grew up in the small town of Perry, Okla., and graduated from the University of Oklahoma. Here are 22 essential L.A. spots for every tourist, Column: We cant afford another writers strike. While these plaques are good fun and demonstrate the societys preoccupation with history, none of these monuments record the secret mysteries behind the founding and evolution of the order. So, their pre-1930s name was E Clampsus Vitus. John OBrien shared many stories about Johnnys being the hub for business owners, farmers, city politicians, and more in the old days. P.O. Parade information is at aromasday.com There was red stuff all over the kitchen and even in the hot tub. They could pass it out, but they couldnt take it., Persecution by Emperor Diocletian, via WikiArt.org. This is suggested by the fact that the word Vitus is said by some to derive from the Greek phitos or begetter, referring to Adam as the father of humanity. Upon finally landing at Gum Shan, somewhere near modern day Mendocino, Hop Mee decided that she would be the empress of this new land, and it is said that she is the true Amazonian warrior woman whose legend inspired the fictional character Calafia, after whom California is named. This is the Facebook site for ECV Chapter No. There are chapters in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Washington, Idaho . 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. He (Sholto) agreed, and tonight the opera-house was packed."[8]. 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. Supposed image of Ephraim Bee circulated on the Internet by Clampers who knows if its really him, Until next time, Ill leave you with a wonderful quotation shared by Thomas Duncan as an epigraph on his book E Clampus Vitus: Anthology of New Dispensation Lore, which ended up serving as my principal source on this episode mainly because all the other works on Clamper history seem to be held hostage in the Special Collections rooms of California libraries, and the few available at my local library, I discovered, have been stolen. This has become the motto of this historical drinking society. (Sure sounds like a Clamper to me). A miner named Cornish Bob was victorious. The Ancient and Honorable Order of E Clampus Vitus (ECV) is a fraternal organization dedicated to the study and preservation of Western Heritage, especially the history of the Mother Lode, gold. [3], As the mining industry faded towards the end of the 19th century, ECV started to fade as well. These fanciful claims show ECV's propensity for not taking much of anything particularly seriously, least of all itself. Some chapters built or rented their own Hall of Comparative Ovations. As I pass through this life, may I always be humble, may I never take myself serious-"a stuffed shirt", Graybeards and members of Estanislao Chapter 58, E Clampus Vitus or Grand of E Clampus Vitus. Do You think the Clampers #1846 Montery Viejo would want a spot in the Aromas Day parade ? It is the misfits, failures, fugitives, outcasts and their like who are among the first to grapple with the new.Eric Hoffer (19021983). See Freemasonry; Odd Fellowship. I did, however, make the chili Saturday night, and was glad to be able to help out. Please confirm you want to block this member. The initiation rite was a parody of Freemasonic, Oddfellow and other orders, and took many forms, including rowing the initiate down a slanted ladder in a wheelbarrow, hoisting him into the air and leaving him there, or dropping him into a vat of water. With the support of his new Brothers, the tour of the "Lord Sholto Douglas Company" resumed. The men of E Clampus Vitus a.k.a. Meetings of E Clampus Vitus chapters which could be held at any time before or after a full moon were held in saloons, and announced by the braying of the Hewgag, a makeshift trumpet. In Mono County, a Clampers plaque honors the Legend of June Lake Slot Machines: illegal machines said to have been tossed in the lake in the 1940s and sought by cold-water divers. [5] Others met monthly, "before or after the full moon" or irregularly - "on the first Saturday before the next rain". Mark Twain was a member, and it was while attending an ECV meeting that he heard the story which he wrote as The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. E CLAMPUS VITUS. Per pg. It appears to have begun in West Virginia, dreamed up by a blacksmith and tavern keeper named Ephraim Bee sometime during the early 1850s. On a recent Sunday, Gene Chainsaw Koen, an appliance repairman with a bushy white goatee, kept watch over the collections. Mckinley, Jesse. In his letter, Heliodoricus describes a long and arduous journey of four years that he took with nine fellow Vituscan missionaries all the way to the Far East. [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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, The actor, the hairstylist and the eye surgeon: Drugs and death in a Malibu beach house, Have guests in town? That lack of remembrance didnt sit right with the Order of E Clampus Vitus, a mens fraternal organization with chapters scattered around Gold Country. Ticket sales at the Marysville Theater were also weak, leaving manager Douglas short of funds and the Company's future in doubt. 3 of the San Francisco Call of January 23, 1896: "The lodge proposed that he stay over with his company until to-night (Weds. C $13.35 + C $19.15 shipping. Johnnys Bar & Grill We had buckets of fun too. If our mayor was a Clamper, it was Tommys duty to dust off the old red and black and honor the tradition. Site created and designed by On a recent afternoon, Garth Brooks Friends in Low Places played over the speakers, and a few Clampers sat around the well-worn wooden bar. Koen has been a Clamper for 17 years and has served as the Chapter 5978 Humbug. HISTORY and Ritual of E CLAMPUS VITUS. Some of our Presidents were rumored to be Clampers starting with George Washington. A 20th century discovery in the Vatican Library tells the tale in the form of a letter by one Heliodoricus, himself a Vituscan. Were a great brotherhood, and my widder, and I will be attending this years ballSATISFACTORY!!!
Karoshi Statistics 2020,
How Is The Title Of A Research Problem Formulated?,
Unstoppable Morgan Patreon,
Moen Aerator Kit,
Articles H