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This circa-1923 photo was taken inside the Grand
Fraternal Order of Eagles Home in New Orleans.
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Courtesy of Sal Gambino
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Hey Blake,
Enclosed is a photo of my grandfather Salvatore Gambino taken at the Grand Fraternal
Order of Eagles Home at 606 Esplanade Ave. about 1923. I saved this photo as
a young man, but my grandfather died when I was 14 and I failed to inquire as
to its origin. What was the function of the organization?
Sal Gambino
Conroe, Texas
Dear Sal,
Thanks for sharing the great picture.
The Fraternal Order of Eagles was formed on
Feb. 6, 1898, by a group of theater owners in Seattle, Wash. The six men, competitors,
were discussing a musicians' strike when they decided to unite and form a mutual
interest group, which they named "The Order of Good Things."
Several weeks and kegs of beer later, they
selected the American Eagle as their symbol and changed their name, secured
a charter, elected a president, drew up a constitution and bylaws, and formed
a Grand Aerie. Since most of the members were associated with the theater, as
the companies toured the country the idea of Eagle fellowship and membership
spread quickly.
The Eagles are dedicated to helping others.
They work for better Social Security laws and raise millions of dollars annually
to combat heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes and cancer.
Seven American presidents were and are Eagles:
both Roosevelts, Harding, Truman, Kennedy, Carter and Reagan. And Bob Hope is
a current member.
There are Eagles in more than 1,700 cities
in the United States and Canada. On Aug. 6, 1900, Aerie No. 78 was organized
in New Orleans and, in 1933, reorganized as Aerie No. 2138. That aerie became
defunct in June 1942. The only one in Louisiana today is in Baton Rouge.
Hey Blake,
Is it possible to give some information on the New Orleans lightweight boxer
Andy Bowen?
David
Dear David,
Andy Bowen was one of the country's best lightweights.
As a young man he worked as a blacksmith, in the cotton yards, and handled bananas
on the levee. At only 5-feet-4-inches tall, he fought his way into the limelight
in the 1880s and became known as the Louisiana Tornado. By 1890, he was recognized
as the champion of the South.
There are some questions about Bowen's racial
background. He has been described as black, but Bowen always fought as a white
man. If Bowen was black, or a mulatto, he chose to pass as a white man so that
he would be able to fight in the exclusive athletic clubs. Folks, including
reporters, seemed to accept his claim of being white. The New Orleans press
said he was of "Irish-Spanish extraction."
However, when he died on Dec. 15, 1894, at
age 30, questions were again raised about his racial origins. "He was very swarthy,
and it was often said that he had Negro blood in his veins," observed the New
York Sun. "He always denied this, and was ready to fight whenever the subject
was brought to his notice."
In 1894, the Auditorium Athletic Club gave
fans an opportunity to watch three fights in one evening. That night contributed
to the downfall of prize fighting in New Orleans and brought about the death
of Andy Bowen. In the second scheduled fight of the evening, Bowen was slugging
it out with George "Kid" Lavigne when, in the 18th round, Lavigne knocked Bowen
unconscious. When he fell, his head hit the floor of the unpadded ring.
For fear of negative publicity for the sport,
Bowen was not sent to a hospital but to his home at 133 Thalia St., where his
wife Mathilde cared for him. The next morning he died of a brain concussion
without ever regaining consciousness. The Daily Picayune wrote "there
was no further need of time-keeping for poor Andy." The headline read, "Put
to sleep for all time. The fight was to the finish."
There was a huge outcry, and the Daily
Picayune declared, "The killing of Andrew Bowen in a prize fight in this
city Friday night should sound the death knell here of that bloody brutality
misnamed 'sport.' The fistic carnival is over. It ended in a murder.
