JAHAB SHRINE CLUB HISTORY

 

The first meeting of JAHAB Shrine Club was held at the residence of Newman Harter, President on March 5, 1959. 8 members were present. The members agreed upon the name “JAHAB” as an acronym for Jasper, Allendale, Hampton, and Beaufort counties for its membership boundaries. The first secretary was Noble C.T. Atwell. By-Laws were adopted, membership fees established and the next meeting date and location scheduled.

 

AT the March meeting held on March 27, 1959 at the Hampton Town House restaurant, the By-Laws were adopted and a charter was submitted to Omar Temple.  The charter was presented to the club at the meeting held on September 24, 1959 held at Fairdale Country Club by Illustrious Sir Otis Hill, Potentate of Omar Temple. Charter date was June 24, 1959.

 

CHARTER MEMBERS OF JAHAB SHRINE CLUB

 

Ray Amsler

C.T. Atwell

James Avant

W.H. Baltezegar

Harry Bloomquist

Robert L. Cope

George Ficken

Newman Harter

Dr. Newman W. Harter

J.L. Holland Jr

James H. Lane

Hugh T. Lightsey

O.P. Nix

Nick Hamilton

Don E. Thompson

Stan B. Thompson

Ralph H. Vaughan

Norman Weaver

George Warren Sr.

James Henry Wood

 

Subsequent meetings were held at various locations throughout ensuing years because no building existed solely for JAHAB Shrine Club.

 

The first ceremonial was held in Hampton on July 1, 1961.The first and second sections were held at the Brunson School Gym.

 

The club meetings were held at various locations until the Evergreen Masonic lodge was built in 1961. Then the club met there as well as various locations

 

Property was purchased for a new Shrine Club building to be built in 1978 at 208 Airport Rd in Varnville, SC.  Construction began and it was completed in 1978. Later a cooking/ storage annex was added on the south end of the building. Meetings continue to be held at that location presently.  In December 2012, the annex building burned and was a total loss. A new building has been constructed to replace the previous one. The nobility voted to use the new building for its regular meetings and as the business office.  JAHAB Shine Club continues to raise money for Omar Temple and the Greenville Children’s hospital via dances, fish frys, softball tournaments and various other activities. Over the years, there have been several units headquartered at JAHAB Shrine club. Among them were the mini patrol, and the  sprints . Both are now defunct. As of 2016, JAHAB has ___ members on the roll.