The International Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo, Incorporated is a fraternal and service organization whose members are involved in the forests products industry. Hoo-Hoo has members in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and South Africa.
The organization was founded on January 21, 1892 at Gurdon, Arkansas by six men: B. Arthur Johnson, editor of the Timberman of Chicago; William Eddy Barns, editor of the St. Louis Lumberman ; George Washington Schwartz of Vandalia Railroad, St. Louis; A. Strauss of Malvern Lumber Company, Malvern, Arkansas; George Kimball Smith of the Southern Lumber Manufacturers Association; and William Starr Mitchell, business manager of the Arkansas Democrat of Little Rock, Arkansas.
As most of these men were only connected to the lumber industry in a tangential way — company executives, newspapermen, railroad men, etc. — it was first suggested that the name of the new organization be "Independent Order of Camp Followers". However the group instead settled on the name Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo — the term hoo hoo having become synonymous with the term lumberman.[ citation needed ]
The first regular Concatenation was held at the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, on February 18, 1892, when 35 of the leading lumbermen of the country were initiated. [1] : 231
Membership was restricted to white males over 21 who were engaged in the lumber industry as lumbermen, newspapermen, railroad men and saw mill machinery men. A Mrs. M. A. Smith of Smithton, Arkansas was initiated before the gender requirement was passed, so she stayed on as the Order's only female member. The Order was limited to having a maximum of 9,000 members. In the late 1890s, it had upwards of 5,000 members. [1] : 232 By the early 1920s, this had grown to approximately 7,000. [2]
Membership is currently limited to people 18 and up who are of good moral character and are engaged in the forestry industry or "genuinely interested in supporting the purpose and aims of our order." [3]
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. 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. [1] : 232
In 1923, the Order's headquarters was at the Arcade Building in St. Louis. [2]
The Order did not have any sick, disability or death benefits, but it did quietly perform some charitable work among its members and assist them in finding employment. [1] : 231
The founders wanted the organization to be unconventional and unregimented. Its one aim would be "to foster the health, happiness, and long life of its members". [4] In a spirit of fun, names for some of the officers were inspired by Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark . The Hoo-Hoo emblem is a black cat with its tail curled into the shape of a figure nine. [5]
The Atlanta chapter of the Hoo Hoos worked and socialized with the Southern Forestry Congress. [6] [7] A monument commemorating the planting of trees by the Atlanta chapter of the Hoo Hoo Club in 1926 stands just inside the Park Avenue entrance to Piedmont Park. [8]
Gurdon is a city in Clark County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,212 at the 2010 census.
Malvern is a city in and the county seat of Hot Spring County, Arkansas, United States. Founded as a railroad stop at the eastern edge of the Ouachita Mountains, the community's history and economy have been tied to available agricultural and mineral resources. The production of bricks from locally available clay has earned the city the nickname, "The Brick Capital of the World". The city had a population of 10,318 at the time of the 2010 census, and in 2019 the estimated population was 10,931.
Dubach is a town in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 908 in 2020. Dubach is part of the Ruston micropolitan statistical area.
William Duncan Connor was a Canadian-born American politician and the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 1907–1909.
The Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen (Lllw), commonly known as the "Four L" (4L), was a company union found in the United States during World War I in 1917 by the War Department as a counter to the Industrial Workers of the World.
The Pennsylvania Lumber Museum is near Galeton, Potter County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It documents the history and technology of the lumber industry that was a vital part of the economic development and ecological destruction of Pennsylvania.
John Martin Thompson (1829–1907) was a lumberman, Native American tribal and civic leader, born in the old Cherokee Nation prior to removal in what is now Bartow County, Georgia, USA. He was the son of Benjamin Franklin Thompson, a South Carolinian of Scot-Irish descent, and Annie Martin, a mix blood Cherokee. She was the daughter of Judge John Martin, the first Chief Justice of the Cherokee Nation and Nellie McDaniel.
Edward H. Lingo, was a Texas lumberman. In later life he was described as "[T]he oldest and staunchest exponent of the industry in the state of Texas, and a man esteemed and admired by a nationwide following of friends"; an appreciation published in 1914 in the Gulf Coast Lumberman states that he was a "remarkable man from a variety of viewpoints…one of the original organizers of the Lumberman's Association of Texas, and one of the ex-presidents of the association...long a strong adherent and abettor of that organization and a power in its councils. He is one of the most progressive men in the industry...a favorite with both the young and the old—famous for the virile optimism that makes him a figure of natural prominence in any lumber gathering."
Henry Ernest Hardtner was a Louisiana businessman and conservationist regarded as "the father of forestry in the South." He founded and named the town of Urania in La Salle Parish and served single terms as a Democrat in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature. In 1900 he was the Republican candidate for Louisiana's 5th congressional district, losing to future U.S. Senator Joseph E. Ransdell of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish.
William H. Boner was a Washington State politician and lumber businessman. He served as a South Bend councilman for six years and was elected mayor several times.
John Lanzel Kaul (1866–1931) was an American businessman. He was involved in the timber industry and was a prominent figure in Birmingham, Alabama.
Arkana was a former town that crossed the state lines between Louisiana and Arkansas in the United States, although mostly lying in the latter state.
The Hoo Hoo Monument on First Street in Gurdon, Arkansas, is a commemoration of the creation of the International Concatenated Order of the Hoo Hoo, a fraternal society of lumbermen founded in Gurdon in 1892. The granite monument with bronze plaque is located near the site of the Hotel Hall where the Hoo Hoo organization was founded. The monument was designed in the Egyptian Revival style by George Zolnay and placed in 1909. The plaque was originally affixed to Hotel Hall, but was moved to the granite marker after the building was demolished in 1927. The monument is a rare Arkansas work by Zolnay.
Henry Hamilton Love was a lumberman, sportswriter and humorist who lived in Nashville, Tennessee. He was known as the "Daddy of the Nashville lumberman" and was the first president of the Nashville Lumberman's Club. Love wrote the Hardwood Code, a telegraphic code once used extensively in the lumber trade and that was urged by the Hardwood Manufacturer's Association of the United States.
William Russell Pickering (1849–1927), referred to as W. R. Pickering, was an American miner, lumber baron, developer, railroad owner and banker. From his first business adventure in mining lead, in Joplin, Missouri in 1872, and his partnership with Ellis Short in the merchandise business at Joplin, the empire grew across several states, including Missouri, Arkansas, Indian Territory, Louisiana, Texas, and California.
The New Zealand Timber Museum is located in Putaruru, New Zealand. Its main purpose is to celebrate and preserve the history of the timber industry in the South Waikato District with which it has had a connection dating back to the 1900s.
William McClellan Ritter was an American lumberman and businessman. He was the founder of W. M. Ritter Lumber Company. Ritter was a member of the War Industries Board during World War I.
The Alexandria Hoo Hoos were a minor league baseball team based Alexandria, Louisiana. In 1909, the Hoo Hoos played briefly as members of the Class D level Arkansas State League, before folding during the season. The Hoo Hoos were preceded by the 1908 Alexandria White Sox of the Gulf Coast League.
The Orange Hoo–Hoos were a minor league baseball team based in Orange, Texas. In 1907 and 1908, the Hoo–Hoos played as members of the Class D level Gulf Coast League, before the league folded during the 1908 season. Orange hosted minor league home games at Orange City Park.
