The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1932-03-18
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON

BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON
!. :. |. !.
~ ONE one has made the wise-crack
81 j. that if two or more men meet any,
IN l where in the world and one of them
is an Englishman he will immedi-
ately get busy and organize club,
the insinuatiOn being, of course,
that the Englishman is by nature a
Joiner" Even if that were true,
the fact remains that he has little,
if anything, on his American cousin
in this respect. For reliable statis-
NS tics show that there are in the
~ United States more than $4,000
lodges or fraternaI organizations
which should presumably satisfy the longing Of
the majority of Americans for belonging But
that doesn't take into account the innumerable
clubs, societies, associations and other organiza-
tons and indeed is the American who
doesn't belong TO one or more of these.
All Of these of course, organized for a
'purpOse'-social, political, civic business scien-
tifc. professional, patriotic and honorary-and
those purposes are earnestly fostered by mil
lions of earnest Americans. And some of these
earnest Americans are so interested in fostering
those earnest purposes that they make earn
est effort TO see how many of them they can
join-and then base their claim to fame the
number of organizations TO which they belong.
But if some aforesaid earnest American be-
comes just a bit tired of his membership in
cluDS winch nave q purpose. ne SIlll mas an
outlet for his Joining" procivities in some organ
izations which are not so purposeful. These
the ones which have sometimes been designated
freak and fun clubs" and it is with this
type Of organization that this article deals So
if you Joiner and are looking for other
club worlds TO conquer, take look at the list at
the head of this article and decide which one you
would like TO join. OF course the qualifications
for some Of them may be bit difficult for you
hr,~ alfoi
may be for another
For instance, If you aren't a white person, six
feet and one inch tall more, you'd be almost
instantly blackballed If you applied for member
ship in the National Society of Long Fellows
the Six-Foot association The National Society
of Long Fellows was started several years ago
by Phil E Zimmerman of Topeka, Kan, when
he was hotel commissioner of the Sunf1ower
state. Since that time the club has grown so
rapidly that there several thousand
members throughout the United States.
Some of the detectives of the club are TO get
longer bath tubs shirts, sox and other clothing,
higher awnings signs and ceilings, bigger seats
in theaters and leg-room between the rows,
restaurant tables that do not require the Long
Fellow TO hold them up with his knees and pull
man berths in which they can sleep without
doubling up like jackknife.
Among members John Aasen of Los An
geles, Calf. who heads the list with height Of
eight feet, nine and one-quarter inches. Next
tallest is Cliff Thompson Of Wisconsin. who is
eight feet and six inches Three seven-footers
are o. R. Williams of Oklahoma and Ruth Dun
can and Forest Glenn of Illinois. Mr. Williams
is seven feet and five inches Miss Duncan is
seven feet and one inch TALL and Mr.. Glenn is
half inch taller than she. Ten-year-old Rob-
ert Wadlow Of Alton, H. is a member. Robert
Is six feet and eleven inches tall.
II your personal appearance doesn't qualify you
for that one perhaps absence of hair on your
head will make you a Knight Of the Cleaning
Skull in the Bald Head Club of America. That
club was started away back in 1900 when Paul
Meade, a lawyer of New York, took a photo
graph of six bald-headed men seated on the
steps Of John Belden's store in Falls Village,
Conn. BY chance copy of this photograph fell
into the hands Of John Rodemeyer, a Green
witch, Conn, newspaper man. And presto John
then and there formed club. Now 1t has more
than 1000 members and at every annual BAN
quet some member gives a stirring speech on
"Hair TONES Which Bald-Headed BARRIERS Sell to
Bald-Headed Boobs' or some such subject. Up.
S. II you're addicted to covering your badness
with outlandish headgear then there's place
for you in the Society of Men who Wear Funny
Hats).
Ever go 10 the circus? "Surel" you answer
"So every year-don't care much about il N.Y.
self, but have TO take the children" But just
because you're a regular attendant. Ii doesn't
mean that you're eligible for membership in the
Circus Fans OF America-not unless at some time
in your juvenile career you earned you way into
the show by carrying water for the elephant.
Karl Kae Knecht, an Indiana newspaper car
toonist who founded the C. F. A. some FIVE years
ago, is authority for the statement that many
successful men of today proud of the fact
that they once served the thirsty pachyderms
and they're enthusiastic members of this club.
In certain New York restaurant there's an
unusual booth for diners. Over the entrance OF
what appears TO be tent are the words side
Show" and adjoining the front two large
gaudy circus banners. One boldly announces
.Nono-the Wild Giri-She Speaks No Language
-Playmates are Deadly Serpents" Another
heraids La Belle Rosa-F1ower Of the Orient