Club History

Several Oasis Shriners organized the Red Fez Club in 1915 and incorporated it on the 14th day of April 1917. Noble John Dabbs, Past Potentate of the Oasis Temple, became its first President. When the Club was formed the United States was in the midst of World War 1 (1914-1918) and times were hard.

In those early years, the Club not only had to deal with the repercussions of the war, but it had to deal with the Federal Liquor and Beer Prohibition (1920-1933), the Stock Market crash of 1929, and the Great Depression that followed.

All Red Fez Club, Inc. members were Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, but were not affiliated with any particular Shrine Temple. The reason being that the members did not want to operate under the very strict current rules and regulations as set forth by the Imperial Council. In essence, the Red Fez Club was a club for Shriners, but not a Shrine Club. The object and purpose, for which the Club was founded, was to form a social club for Shriners and that, among other reasons, would “advance and promote the literary tastes, activities and opportunities of its members”.

In the fall of 1917, the Club moved to 122 South Tryon Street next to the Imperial Theatre. It occupied the second, third, and fourth floors over Conner Sherrill’s Bank, which later became the Bank of Charlotte. “The lobby, a reading room, a billiard and game room, and a barber shop were on the 3rd floor. From the balcony on that floor, many parades were viewed and cheered by members of the Club.” The third floor contained assembly and storage rooms for the Oasis Shrine Band and the Oasis Patrol. “It was used for band rehearsals, patrol meetings and for general utility such as meetings of ceremonial committees. The grand ball room was on the fourth floor and once each month a dance was given for the members and visiting Shriners.” The ballroom was also used each Friday night during the winter months for Patrol practice drills.

In those early years, the Red Fez Club was financially stable and, for all practical purposes, “the Club was the only semblance of a Shrine headquarters for Oasis Temple in its own home town. On days of ceremonials, Imperial visitations and on all occasions of Shrinerdom in Charlotte, the Red Fez Club was headquarters.”

In early 1929, the Oasis Mosque Association purchased a three-story house at 321 South Tryon Street with the intent of building a “Magnificent Mosque” on the site. Unfortunately, construction plans were curtailed because of the stock market crash. “Between the officers of the Temple and the officers of the Red Fez Club, it was mutually agreed that the Red Fez Club would occupy the property, keep it in good repair, attend to general maintenance, furnish heat, light, water, etc. Also to provide, the meeting places for the various units, housing of equipment, and to serve as headquarters on days of ceremonials, visitations of Shrine Dignitaries, football games and so on.” With the agreement in place, the Red Fez Club moved into the building in May of 1929.

In the spring of 1928, another group of Shriners calling themselves the Oasis Yacht Club was organized. Ernest J. Sifford was elected Commodore. Each member of the Yacht Club, in order to get started, purchased $100.00 worth of stock. There were approximately 120 members. It was noted that the rosters of both the Red Fez Club and the Yacht Club were almost identical.

Shortly after formation, the Yacht Club applied for a lease from the Wateree Power Company for a portion of land on the Catawba River originally owned by W.M. Boyd. A lease was granted for a tract of land consisting of 21.3 acres in October of 1928. On the 28th day of November of 1928, the group formed the Oasis Yacht Club, Inc. Their objective was to “establish and maintain a suitable clubhouse and grounds and maintain a suitable water front for outdoor and indoor sports of all kinds, including swimming, boating, fishing, golfing, and generally, for the promotion of social recreation and good fellowship among its members.” The Yacht Club called upon Architect and Past Potentate L.D. Sutherland to design a suitable clubhouse to be erected on the property.

“As the great depression wore on, both the Yacht Club and the Red Fez Club began to feel the strain and suffer along with the rest of the world. The crisis came in 1932 when both clubs were well nigh over the brink toward bankruptcy. The remaining faithful decided to have a joint membership meeting. The result of this joint meeting was the consolidation of the two clubs to be called the Red Fez Club, Inc.”

The merger was so successful that by the end of May in 1933, the Red Fez Club had purchased the 21.3 acres of land that the clubhouse sat upon and had paid off all of its debts. After the merger, the Red Fez Club referred to its new river property as the Red Fez Country Club and its uptown Charlotte property as the Red Fez City Club. One membership fee entitled a Shriner to the privileges of both the Red Fez City and Country Club.

The Country Club was described as “A complete recreational program for Nobles and their families”. The City Club was advertised as an “uptown home for the local member where he may relax and fraternize.” Also, a “Charlotte home for the out-of-town member where he may receive his calls, fill his appointments, park his car, meet his friends – in fact use it as headquarters when in Charlotte.”

For the next several years, both the City Club and the Country Club prospered. Except for special events where women were welcome, the City Club and the Country Club were vastly different. The City Club continued to be primarily a men’s club, where as, the Country Club was always open for family picnics and other activities. It even scheduled semi-formal dances almost every Saturday night and square dances every Wednesday night.

On January 2, 1941 the Recorder for the Oasis Temple moved from his ling time office in the Masonic Temple to an office in the Red Fez City Club. At that point, the Oasis Temple began using the same address as the Red Fez Club.

The Club seemed to be on the top of the world until that infamous Sunday morning – December 7, 1941. Within a couple of days, the United States was at war with both Japan (December 8) and Germany (December 11). For the next four years, the whole country suffered. Because of gas and certain food rationing, the Country Club virtually shut down except for a couple of specialty dances a year; however, the City Club remained in full operation.

After the War, things got back to normal at both the Country Club and the City Club. Over the next few years, more emphases was placed on improvements at the Country Club, including the major remodeling of the clubhouse and the boating facilities. At this time the Red Fez Club had well over a thousand members. Because of the membership demands, the City Club began to look for larger quarters. In December of 1949, after twenty years, the City Club moved from the Oasis Masque Building into their own facilities at 118-A East Third Street in uptown Charlotte.

During the fifties and early sixties, the Club continued to show record growth and talk turned to developing more of the Country Club property. The Country Club still owned all of the 21.3 acres of land that it had purchased, but it was only using four or five acres for the Clubhouse, road, parking lot, boat docks, picnic areas, and the beach patio. A board member urged “something be done about making our Country Club more attractive to our members”. As a result, a planning committee was formed. A contract to build an Olympic size swimming pool was awarded on September 25, 1961.

Unfortunately, the late sixties and early seventies were not very kind to the Red Fez Club. The City Club suffered the most. A downtown social club for Shriners was becoming impractical. On May 25, 1971, the Red Fez Club Board of Directors concluded “that participation in the City Club’s activities had dripped to an all time low, and there appears to be very few members interested in using the facility.” A motion was made to close the City Club. The motion was approved. With the closing of the City Club, the Country Club began to be referred to as the Red Fez Club.

For a variety of reasons, the Red Fez Club continued to struggle, but it had something that the old City Club didn’t have. It could rent the Club’s facilities for all kinds of functions such as weddings and company picnics. In a move to create more revenue, the Club began to utilize more of the Club’s property. The Club laid out a recreational vehicle campground for Club members. A set of rules was adopted and leasing terms were published in March of 1972.

For several years, many of the Red Fez Club members wanted to change the Club from a “Non-Affiliated Club for Shriners” to an “Oasis Shrine Club”. Finally, on the 31st day of August, 1976 the Club was chartered and duly recognized by the Oasis Temple as a “Shrine Club”. However, the Red Fez Club, Inc. didn’t go away. The Red Fez Shrine Club became a club within a club. The real estate and all the facilities remained under the umbrella of the Red Fez Club, Inc. and every year in October, the Red Fez Club leases the property to the Red Fez Shrine Club. The unwritten lease agreement was very much the same as parts of the agreement between the Oasis Mosque Association and the Red Fez Club in 1929.

The Red Fez Club, Inc. and the Red Fez Shrine Club were barely able to keep its head above water for the next eighteen years. Then, on October 12, 1994, the Red Fez Club, Inc. signed a contract with a mobile communication company to place a tower on the property. Sixteen months later, a different communication company signed a contract and installed another tower. With the two towers in place with long-term contracts, it appears that the Red Fez Club, Inc. and the Red Fez Shrine Club will be stable for many years to come.