Early History of Grottos in Michigan

including the Rise and Fall of Shadukiam No. 49

By Donald Wilson donald@donaldwilson.info Ann Arbor-Fraternity Lodge no. 262 & Shadukiam Grotto, Detroit

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The Mystic Order of Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (M.O.V.P.E.R), of which the constituent bodies are called Grottos, was officially founded with the creation of the Supreme Council in Hamilton, New York, in 1890 by Leroy Fairchild and some fellow members of Hamilton Lodge No. 1201. The Order was formed to promote good fellowship and fun between Master Masons and interaction between Lodges.

The Enchanted Realm comes to Michigan

While the first Grotto outside New York formed in 1893 (Hiawatha Grotto, Anoka MN)2, there is no recorded work to form a Grotto in Michigan until 1908 when, at a Ceremonial put on by Lalla Rookh Grotto No. 3 of Rochester NY, Grand Monarch George McCann conferred the order At Sight upon Brother Frank S. Armstrong (Ashlar Lodge No. 91) and appointed him a Special Deputy tasked to help create a Grotto in Detroit. There is scant information on any actions Prophet Armstrong engaged in, but this first attempt at bringing Michigan into the Enchanted Realm was unsuccessful3. Similarly unfruitful were any attempts the following year, when Prophet Cyrus Weiss, of the newly constituted Chindara Grotto No. 28 (Wilkes-Barre, PA), was similarly vested4. On both these occasions, the Special Deputies were empowered to “communicate the order” to Brothers in Detroit, presumably resulting in some “prophets at large” who later joined the grottos that would rise.

On Sept 6th 1910, Grand Monarch George E.W. Stivers visited Ann Arbor, where Henry Nichols and Richard Pride (both of Golden Rule no. 159) were made Prophets at Sight, with Nichols then appointed a Special Deputy to create a Grotto. On Nov 15th the same year, Zal-Gaz was Instituted Under Dispensation, creating the first Grotto in Michigan5. By the following June, when the annual meeting of the Supreme Council took place and her Charter authorised, Zal-Gaz No. 34 had over 100 members, including Deputy Grand Master of Michigan James E. Dillon.

Zal-Gaz grew steadily, drawing membership from both Ann Arbor lodges (Golden Rule no. 159 and Fraternity no. 262), as well as Phoenix no. 13 in Ypsilanti, with a membership of about 150 by the time the next Grottos in Michigan were being formed. 1914 saw a wave of growth of Prophets and Grottos begin in Michigan, as was happening across the Enchanted Realm, with Shadukiam No. 49 (Detroit), Lalakoum No. 61 (Grand Rapids), and Merlin no. 63 (Saginaw) Grottos all being Instituted before the 1915 Supreme Council session. This began when Detroit saw her first Grotto, Shadukiam, Instituted under dispensation on August 14th, with Brother William D. Ellsworth (Friendship No. 417) named Monarch. As continues to be the case today, the early ceremonial sessions of a Grotto are often performed by a team of Prophets from a neighboring Grotto. The first of these for Shadukiam U.D. was on November 28th, with the drama performed by a team of over 400 Prophets who came via a chartered train from On-Ton-Ta-La Grotto in Toledo, Ohio. At this ceremonial session, 690 Master Masons were brought into the Enchanted Realm, bringing the membership of Shadukiam at only 3 months old to 7206.

In 1916, Kishma (Flint) and Tan-Sein (Jackson) joined the Enchanted realm, followed two years later by Shoppenagon (Bay City). Gnis-Nal (Lansing) came to life in 1919, with Nilica (Pontiac) and Noruh (Port Huron) in 1920 bringing the total number of Michigan Grottos to 10, the most there has ever been.

The Rise of Shadukiam No. 49.

Part of the drive to create a Grotto in Detroit was the plan for the 1916 Supreme Council Session to be held in that city, then the 4th largest in the country, and considered the Number One convention destination7. Shadukiam grew tremendously quickly between their Institution in August 1915, and the Supreme Council Session on June 20th and 21st, 1916, with an official membership of 26578. Monarch Ellsworth played host to the Supreme Council, and the Prophets of Shadukiam arranged a parade9, evening entertainments, luncheons and dinners, most of which were hosted in the Detroit Masonic Temple, then at First and Lafayette.

Shadukiam for much of its life had a marching band, drill team, and drum and bugle corps who all practiced regularly in the old Detroit Masonic Temple. The grotto theatrical Ceremonial productions, with casts in the hundreds, were larger than the old Temple could service, so other Detroit stages were used, including the Lyceum Theatre10, and Orchestra Hall. The largest of these was on March 8th 1920, with over 2000 candidates being initiated into the Order11. Annual excursions to Cedar Point or Put-in-Bay on ferries to put on or attend ceremonials, and frequent mass attendance at the ceremonial events of other regional Grottos were common.

All these events were in addition to regular dances, smokers, and dinners they would plan throughout the year for their members. What Shadukiam truly came to be known for in the city of Detroit began with the election of Nathan C. Chapman (City of the Straits Lodge No. 452) as Secretary of the Grotto in 1917.

Film and Entertainment

Professionally, Prophet Chapman worked in the offices of places like Gas and Oil Stove Co. and Pere Marquette Railroad. In the Grotto, in addition to serving as the representative of Shadukiam on the New Detroit Masonic Temple Committee, he was the primary architect of the public entertainment schemes they would operate to raise funds for the new Temple construction, the Temple Library, and to fund their other events. These events started with dances in local ballrooms, boxing matches in places like Arena Gardens12, and continued with film and eventually large stage productions.

The film project was short-lived. Originally, the plan was a 6 month venture showing revivals of musicals, very much like a second run or art theatre would today. Secretary Chapman leaned on his Masonic connections, leased the Orpheum theatre and took a contract to present “Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood” beginning on November 5th, 192213. Brother Fairbanks (Beverly Hills Lodge no. 528) produced, directed, and starred in the film, which just a few weeks before had been the first film ever to premier in Hollywood. Before opening night, the interior of the Orpheum was renovated to resemble the Robin Hood sets, even so far as costuming the ushers to look like Pages from the film. They showed the film at least twice a day for 6 weeks and became the first Fraternal organisation to present a Hollywood film. A number of theater owners balked at the idea of fraternal groups profiting from theatre operation, and that Secretary Chapman had bypassed the film distribution companies (and their unionized Teamsters workers) by traveling to New York and picking up the ten reels of film himself. These theater owners staged a boycott of United Artist films14 that lasted months. When their 6 week run of Robin Hood finished, after a short run of musical films over the Christmas holiday, Secretary Chapman found others to take over the lease of the Orpheum, and set his sights on expanding the Awakening project he’d begun the summer before.

Prior to the summer of 1922, Shadukiam acquired a 40 acre parcel at Davison and Dexter, and built Grotto Stadium15, an outdoor amphitheatre with seating for 15,000-20,000 people16. This was the second largest outdoor entertainment space in Detroit, after Tiger Stadium (then known as Navin field). The building of this facility required extra loops and spurs be added to the light rail lines servicing the area. From 1922 to 1924, Shadukiam there produced “The Awakening”, an hours long, six stage circus, with vaudeville acts, clowns, animal trainers, wire walkers, acrobats, ballet, synchronized swimming in a glass sided tank, all surrounded by a race track for horses, cars, and a parade prior to the show. The second act each night was a combination circus and firework show from famed Coney Island pyrotechnics artist Harry Pain, followed with a third act finale of fireworks. The first run of The Awakening ran for 2 weeks beginning July 24th 1922, and was extended for another week due to selling out nearly every night. Of particular note was The Awakening of 1923, when Shadukiam Grotto had an altercation with the Grand Lodge of Michigan.

On March 20th 1923, as a result of the first production of The Awakening the prior summer, Grand Master of Michigan Clark McKenzie issued an order, subsequently approved by the Grand Lodge17, that barred “holding circuses, fairs and bazars, the raffling of automobiles […] under the auspices of constituent lodges”. That summer, Shadukiam Grotto produced their show again. Each admission ticket also served as ticket for a raffle held each evening in which 3 or more brand new Durant automobiles were given away to members of the audience. Upon seeing advertisements of the upcoming raffle in the Detroit Masonic News, newly installed Grand Master Charles Durand sent a letter18 to the Worshipful Masters of the Wayne county lodges, reiterating both the Masonic Law and that of the State of Michigan barring raffles of any kind. Despite these warnings, Shadukiam Grotto persisted in their plans, selling admission/raffle tickets, as well as packets of picture postcards of the show from the previous year, which included 5 raffle tickets for that night’s show. As scheduled, they both put on the show and raffled off at least 25 cars over the course of the run.

As may be expected, and at the urging of the Grand Master, the Worshipful Master of City of the Straits Lodge No. 452 brought a charge of un-Masonic conduct against the architect of the production, Shadukiam Grotto Secretary N.C. Chapman, with the Junior Warden noting that by operating this circus and lottery, Chapman had brought “scandal and disgrace upon the honor and reputation of Masonry”. The lodge conducted their trial on October 26th, 1923, with Brother Chapman pleading “not guilty” on account of him being a Salaried Officer of the Grotto, and the Grotto not being a Lodge under authority of the Grand Master. On a vote of 63 to 8, City of the Straits acquitted Brother Chapman of any wrongdoing.

Grand Master Durand used his authority to appeal this ruling to the Grand Lodge Committee on Appeals, which recommended that the verdict be reversed but, due to the large number of other lodges that had been engaging in similar behaviour and who had refused to bring charges against their members, that the sentence for Brother Chapman be limited to reprimand19. This was adopted by the Grand Lodge in attendance, though what that reprimand consisted of has not been published. The Supreme Council of Grottos likewise made rules forbidding such gambling. At the end of 1924, Prophet Chapman left his position as Secretary of Shadukiam.

The Last Days of Pompeii… and Shadukiam Grotto

Shadukiam Grotto continued with their summer productions, even after the departure of Prophet Chapman. After their production in 1924, they sold Grotto Stadium, and began renting the State Fairgrounds for the weeks of their shows. They also created a body of Trustees to oversee the Grotto finances and assets.

While a member of the Detroit Masonic Temple Association at 1st and Lafayette, and a part of the parade and dedication of the new Temple in 1926, Shadukiam Grotto never moved into that new Temple. For a time, they remained at the Old temple, and in late 1926, they acquired a clubhouse for themselves at 65 High Street20, across from St. John Episcopal Church (now part of I-75).

Shadukiam opened their production “The Last Days of Pompeii” on July 3rd, 1927, to a crowd of 100,000 people. In the weeks leading up to the show, tickets had been distributed by Prophets, members of the Elks, Oddfellows, and Eastern Star, and through a chain of local gas stations. However, most of those tickets had merely been given away, not sold. When the Grotto tried to collect from their distribution partners, they found themselves far short of the funds needed to pay the cast of the show, who were contracted to be paid nightly. After the second night of the Grotto being unable to pay, the production company pulled out, and the rest of the run was scrapped. Shortly after, the production company as well as the dancers and other performers filed a lawsuit against Shadukiam Grotto and its Trustees to recoup their losses21.

This was the death knell for the Grotto. Their membership had already been plummeting, with a 1000 fewer Prophets than at their highpoint of membership. In 1926, mostly due to the shenanigans Shadukiam and other Michigan grottos, the Grand Lodge had limited membership in non-Masonic organisations that required Masonic membership22.

The Grand Monarch, George Jerome Brenner of Merlin Grotto in Saginaw, had been a frequent visitor to Shadukiam, attempting to assist them through their troubles. On December 13, 1927, he again attended one of their meetings. He described23 their condition as “chaotic”, and their financial condition as growing worse. They remained in debt to the Supreme Council, and he did not believe they had any hope to remain functional or solvent, and took up their charter. On June 5th, 1928, at the Supreme Council session, the charter of Shadukiam Grotto no. 49 was formally revoked.

Epilogue

William D. Ellsworth, First Monarch of Shadukiam and the leading force of its creation, also oversaw its demise, serving both as the Chair of the Grotto Trustees and their lawyer.

The collapse of Grottos was not limited to Detroit. Misbehaviour by Grottos and their Prophets, both within Masonic circles and in public, was a spreading problem as the 1920s went on. “Every year when the Grotto decides to have its annual get-to-gether the Masonic world views the meeting with fear and trembling” wrote the American Tyler-Keystone.24 All over, grottos were being banned by their grand lodges, as Colorado had done in 192325, and charters taken by the Supreme Council, as Abid Ahmar’s had been in Louisiana for doing the same type of raffle Shadukiam had done: automobiles at a circus.

It would be a decade before the Supreme Council would allow another Grotto in Detroit, with Aries instituted in 1938. As the Diamond Turrets of Shadukiam came tumbling down, Prophets in Windsor formed their own Grotto, Othmar, in the spring of 1927 which would live until the early 1970s. Of the pre-Depression grottos in Michigan only Zal Gaz, Kishma, and Noruh survive, but there is hope for the Enchanted Realm.

In 2022, Brothers and Prophets formed a new Grotto in Detroit named after the original, with Shadukiam constituted on October 30th. Since then we’ve seen the creation of the Michigan Grotto Association in 2023, Ol-El-Ra Grotto in Lansing on September 7th, 2024, and are anticipating the constitution of ZooBa Grotto in Kalamazoo/Battle Creek in July, 2025.

Footnotes