Editing Loyal Order of Moose (section)

== History ==
The Loyal Order of Moose was founded in [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], [[Kentucky]], in the spring of 1888 by Dr. [[John Henry Wilson (Kentucky politician)|John Henry Wilson]]. Originally intended purely as a men's social club, lodges were soon founded in [[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]]; [[St. Louis]], [[Missouri]]; and [[Crawfordsville, Indiana|Crawfordsville]] and [[Frankfort, Indiana]]. The early order was not prosperous. Dr. Wilson was dissatisfied and left the order of the Moose before the turn of the century.<ref name="Moose, History">{{Cite web|url=https://www.mooseintl.org/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130819165538/http://www.mooseintl.org/public/Area/History.asp|url-status=dead|title=Moose International|archivedate=August 19, 2013}}</ref>{{Third-party inline|date=November 2018}} When [[Albert C. Stevens]] was compiling his ''Cyclopedia of Fraternities'' in the late 1890s, he was unable to ascertain whether it was still in existence.<ref>Stevens, Albert Clark, 1854– ''The Cyclopædia of Fraternities: A Compilation of Existing Authentic Information and the Results of Original Investigation as to More than Six Hundred Secret Societies in the United States'' (New York: Hamilton Printing and Publishing Company), 1899, p.274</ref>

In the fall of 1906, the Order had only the two Indiana lodges remaining. On October 27 of that year [[James J. Davis]] became the 247th member of the Order.<ref name="Moose, History" />{{Third-party inline|date=November 2018}} Davis was a [[Welsh Americans|Welsh immigrant]] who had come to the United States as a youth and worked as an [[iron puddler]] in the steel mills of [[Pennsylvania]] and an active labor organizer (he later became [[United States Secretary of Labor]] in the [[Warren G. Harding|Harding administration]]).<ref>Schmidt, Alvin J. ''Fraternal Organizations'' Westport, Connecticut; Greenwood Press p.220</ref> He saw the Order as a way to provide a [[social safety net]] for a working class membership, using a low annual membership fee of $10–$15 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|10|1906|r=-1}}–${{Inflation|US|15|1906|r=-1}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}).<ref name="Moose, History" /> After giving a rousing address to the seven delegates of the 1906 Moose national convention, he was appointed "Supreme Organizer" of the Order.<ref>Whalen, William J. ''Secret Organizations'' Milwaukee; Bruce Publishing Co. 1966; Second printing 1967 p.105</ref> Davis and a group of organizers set out to recruit members and establish lodges throughout the US and Canada. He was quite successful, and the Order grew to nearly half a million members in 1,000 lodges by 1912.<ref name="Moose, History" />{{Third-party inline|date=November 2018}}

===Racial discrimination===
Old National Moose Lodge bylaws restricted membership in this men's club to white people.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Law: Other Decisions |url= http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906111,00.html |magazine=Time |date=26 June 1972}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Beeferman |first1=Larry W. |title=Images of the Citizen and the State: Resolving the Paradox of Public and Private Power in Constitutional Law |date=1996 |publisher=University Press of America |isbn=9780761802327 |pages=132 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1= Karpatkin |first1= Marvin |title=Support for the right to exclude |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1972/06/18/archives/support-for-the-right-to-exclude-clubs.html |work=The New York Times |date=June 18, 1972 |pages=6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date = January 2, 1969 | newspaper = The Pittsburgh press |first = Patrick | last= Boyle | title= Refused food at Moose, Irvis to fight race ban| page = 2 |url = https://www.newspapers.com/image/148025284/}}</ref> In 1972, [[K. Leroy Irvis]], an African-American member of the [[Pennsylvania House of Representatives]], was invited to visit a lodge in Harrisburg by a member as a guest. The lodge dining room refused to serve Irvis on account of his race. Irvis sued the [[Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board]] in federal court, arguing that the issuance of a liquor license to an organization with racially discriminatory policies constituted an illegal [[state action]].<ref name=ruling>"[https://www.newspapers.com/image/529405662/ Stays Liquor License Ruling]". ''The Tribune'' (Scranton, Pennsylvania). p. 10.</ref> A Pennsylvania court ruled in Irvis' favor.<ref name=ruling /> The case was ultimately appealed to the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], which ruled that Irvis lacked standing to sue based on membership and that state was not involved in the discriminatory guest practices to qualify as a state action prohibited by the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]].<ref>''Moose Lodge No. 107 v. Irvis'' [https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/407/163/ 407 U.S. 163] (1972)</ref><ref>{{cite journal| title=Going Public with Discriminating Private Clubs| journal = Fordham Urban Law Journal| volume =3 |number=2 |date = 1975 |pages= 289–309| first=Tina L.| last= Wellner| url =https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1458&context=ulj}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Basic Equal Protection Analysis |url=https://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1787&context=lawreview |first=Russell W. |last=Galloway Jr. |journal=Santa Clara Law Review |volume=29 |number=1 |year=1989 |access-date=February 8, 2021}}</ref>

In 1994, a Moose Lodge in [[Hagerstown, Maryland]], denied membership based on race. Officials at Moose International took action and revoked the charter of the Moose Lodge.<ref name= montgomery>{{Cite news |last=Montgomery |first=David |date=February 25, 1994 |title= Moose Lodge That Rejected Black Applicant Loses Charter |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/02/25/moose-lodge-that-rejected-black-applicant-loses-charter/2c05d318-c2b8-4be6-89ae-003b9b712fb6/ |access-date= April 11, 2022 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

=== Mooseheart and Moosehaven ===
At the 1911 convention in [[Detroit]], Davis, the "Director General" of the Order, recommended that the LOOM (Loyal Order Of Moose) acquire property for an "Institute", "School" or "College" that would be a home, schooling, and vocational training for the orphans of LOOM members.<ref name="Moose, History" />{{Third-party inline|date=November 2018}} For months offers came in and a number of meetings were held regarding the project. It was eventually agreed that the center should be located somewhere near the [[center of population]], adjacent to both rail and river transportation and within a day's travel to a major city. On December 14, 1912, the leaders of the organization decided to purchase the 750-acre Brookline Farm.  Brookline was a dairy farm near [[Batavia, Illinois]]. It was close to the [[Fox River (Illinois River tributary)|Fox River]], two railway lines and the (then [[Dirt road|dirt]]) [[Lincoln Highway]]. The leadership also wished to buy additional real estate to the west and north owned by two other families, for a total of 1,023 acres. Negotiations for the purchases were held in January and February 1913, and legal possession of the property was taken on March 1. The name "Mooseheart" had been adopted for the school at the suggestion of Ohio Congressman and Supreme Council member [[John J. Lentz]] by a unanimous joint meeting of the Supreme Council and Institute Trustees on February 1. Mooseheart was dedicated on July 27, 1913. [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Thomas R. Marshall]] gave a speech for the occasion.<ref name="Moose, History" /><ref>[http://www.mooseheart.org/MHHistory.asp History of Mooseheart] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908061310/http://www.mooseheart.org/MHHistory.asp |date=2015-09-08 }}  Mooseheart web site Retrieved 12/27/13</ref>

While Mooseheart began as a school, it soon grew to become a small [[Municipal corporation|incorporated]] village and hub of the organization, housing the headquarters of the LOOM as well as the [[Women of the Moose]]. The population of Mooseheart would grow to 1,000 by 1920, reach a peak of 1,300 during the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], and decline to approximately 500, the campus' current maximum capacity, in 1979.<ref name="Moose, History" /><ref name="Schmidt pp.220, 222">Schmidt pp.220, 222</ref>

In addition to Mooseheart, the LOOM also runs a retirement center, Moosehaven, located in [[Orange_Park,_Florida|Orange Park]], [[Florida]]. This project was inaugurated in the autumn of 1922 with 26 acres of property and 22 retired Moose residents. It has grown to a 63-acre community with over 400 residents.<ref name="Moose, History" />{{Third-party inline|date=November 2018}}