When The fraternal organization was founded in 1892, it was a racist, sexist club for men associated in some way with the lumber industry. Today, Hoo Hoo International accepts members of all genders and backgrounds, and does good works related to tree planting, as well as generally promoting responsible forestry, which is quite an improvement.
Many of the Hoo-Hoos' best traditions are intact, including appointing the executive committee (The Supreme Nine) to positions whose names come from Lewis Carroll's work: Snark, the Senior Hoo-Hoo, Junior Hoo-Hoo, Scrivenoter, Bojum, Jabberwock, Custocatian, Arcanoper and Gurdon.
But while the photos from their meetings make them out to be a fun and friendly org, they also reveal a disturbing lack of outlandish black club robes for their members. It's possible that this tradition has been kept up over the years, but is not disclosed to uninitiated gentiles like me, but seriously, Hoo-Hoos, if you want to beef up the membership rolls, you should really make this part of the tradition front-and-center.
The order was more informal than other secret societies of its day. It did not have lodge rooms, enforced attendance at meetings or anything else that other orders had that could be avoided. The executive committee of the Order was known as the Supreme Nine and consisted of the Snark, the Senior Hoo-Hoo, Junior Hoo-Hoo, Scrivenoter, Bojum, Jabberwock, Custocatian, Arcanoper and Gurdon. Judicial affairs and care of the emblem were delegated to a House of the Ancients which consisted of the past executives of the Order and whose members served for life. A each Hoo Hoo annual the order would perform an embalming of the Snark, passing him into the House. By the late 1890s the House included B. Arthur Johnson, William Eddy Barns and James E. Defebaugh. Each state or foreign country was ruled by a Viceregent Snark. Local groups were called Concatenations.[5]
The International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo
1905 [Back-Then]
Hoo-Hoo International [hoo-hoo.org]
Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo [Wikipedia]
