Greetings my Brothers!

This is Eric Morabito, “The Walking Man,” checking back in on Fez Friday.

Aleppo Shrine

Aleppo was founded on June 23rd, 1882, and was the 13th Temple founded. The original headquarters were in Mechanics Hall and later in Copley Square until the purchase and renovation of the Wilmington auditorium in 1977 where an old furniture warehouse was converted into the current auditorium which is host to many local trade shows as well as events such as Aleppo’s annual circus.

In the late 1800s, Aleppo was the largest Temple and usually remained in the top 5 largest temples until about the 1980s.  Its first unit, the Arab Patrol was founded in 1885 and there are currently over 26 active units and 15 clubs including one in the Dominican Republic.  Aleppo is home to the only Minutemen unit in all of Shrinedom and an extensive archive of historical materials related to the Shrine which may be unmatched.  During the 1930s, Aleppo boasted the largest fraternal Band in the world with over 200 members.  During World War Two, Aleppo gave the largest War Bond contributions of any fraternal organization which totaled over $15 million dollars at the time.   Judge Robert G. Wilson Jr was the only Aleppo Noble to become Imperial Potentate (1951-1952) and he was directly responsible for the founding of the Boston Shrine Burns Hospital.  The Aleppo Shrine supports the Shriners hospitals in Boston and Springfield and its Nobles fundraising efforts contribute between $300,000 and $400,000 each year to patient transportation, often going to international medevac flights for burns patients.