Order of DeMolay

In 1919, the Order of DeMolay was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, by Frank S. Land and nine boys. It is named after Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar. During World War I, the Scottish Rite Building Committee in Kansas City granted access to use their building to the Masonic Relief Committee and what was originally the Scottish Rite Employment Bureau. Frank S. Land was selected as the full-time Executive Secretary to administer both programs.

January 1919, Frank Land received a call asking for help. A fellow Brother let him know that Elmer Lower had passed away leaving behind a widow and four children. Land was asked if he could help the oldest boy, Louis, find employment.

Louis Lower began working for Land. In February, Land asked Louis what he thought about creating a club to meet at the Scottish Rite Temple. On February 19, 1919, Lower and eight other boys went to the Scottish Rite Temple to meet Land to discuss the club. As they discussed various names for the club, Frank told them the story of Jacques de Molay. The story sparked their imaginations, and provided the inspiration for the name of their new club. In March 1919, the Order of DeMolay was created.

Land felt the Order of DeMolay could be more than a club. He approached Frank Marshall, a Brother who was a well-known drama and music critic for the Kansas City Journal, to ask for help to create a Ritual. The two Franks spent weeks working together on the ritual, and they worked with the boys to finalize it and rehearse it. On September 16, 1919, the Order of DeMolay had its first Installation of Officers.

On September 27, 1919, the first class of candidates were divided into groups to receive the degree and obligation.

On April 7, 1920, officers and advisors of Mother Chapter drove by car to Trenton, Missouri. Under the supervision of Ray V. Denslow a new Chapter was started. On May 8, 1920, a Chapter was started in Omaha, Nebraska, and it would continue to spread across the country. In February 1923, a new Chapter began in Winnipeg, Canada, taking DeMolay international.

The Order of DeMolay would continue to grow until the Great Depression. As with so many organizations, the financial hardships of the times caused numbers to decrease. However, this did not destroy them, and in the heart of the Great Depression they still asked if they could raise funds needed to pay for the bronze statue of George Washington to be placed in Memorial Hall at theGeorge Washington Masonic National Memorial.