Shriners drive in parade to raise money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children System

Published 9:00 am Sunday, July 6, 2014

By Jacob Tellers

Zooming around in eight little red cars, the Albert Lea Area Shrine Club provides entertainment for parade-goers as it raises money for the Shriners Hospitals for Children System.

“We drive cars so children can walk,” said Greg Morfitt, the secretary and treasurer of the Albert Lea Area Shrine Club.

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The men wearing their red fezzes emblazoned with their club name raise money through the fees they charge cities to have them take part in their parades and by getting business sponsors for each parade they enter.

“When you see our cars on the street, we are being paid to be there and that money is going toward the Shrine hospitals,” Ray Hange, a 49-year Shriner, said.

The drivers turn their journey through the parade route into a choreographed performance.

“We do 5 or 6 different routines,” Morfitt said.

The routines involve everything from figure eights to what Morfitt referred to as the salute.

“Drive it like you stole it” is the advice Morfitt gives to new drivers.

“We have a leader who is right up front. We have hand signals that he does so that we all know what we are going to do,” Morfitt said.

“I started out driving Model A’s back in the ’80s when I joined,” said Morfitt, who has been in the Shrine Club for 37 years.

After several years he stopped being active in the club, but has since become active again the last six years, becoming the club’s secretary and treasurer.

According to Morfitt, the club takes part in anywhere from 18 to 30 parades each year, mainly in the months of June and July. Drivers will meet a few hours before the parade starts to warm up and go over their routines again.

Besides Albert Lea’s Third of July Parade, they also took part in Northwood and Blooming Prairie’s Fourth of July parades.

Each Shrine Club has its own parade unit. Mankato has Model A cars. Austin has the Oriental Band. Rochester’s three clubs have the dragon patrol, the motorcycle group and the merry medics, a group of clowns.

Shrine International began in 1872 as an offshoot of Freemasonry and all its members must first belong to a Masonic Lodge. Its purpose was to provide members with a more relaxed, social environment while still providing them with a way to serve and interact with their community.

There are two Shrine Chapters in Minnesota: Osman in St. Paul and Zuhrah in Minneapolis. The Albert Lea Shrine Club is part of the Osman Chapter.

There are 22 Shriner Hospitals throughout the U.S. and Canada. The nearest one is in Minneapolis. The hospitals provide free care to children under the age of 18.