The International Order of the Rainbow
December 13, 2016
The Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library recently acquired some items related to the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, a group commonly known as the Rainbow Girls. The organization, founded in 1922 by Reverend W. Mark Sexson (1877-1953), was created for young women ages 11 to 20, whose fathers or family members were members of Masonic organizations. The group is now open to any girl interested in joining and offers a “Pledge” group for younger girls aged 8-10. The Rainbow Girls Headquarters have been located in McAlister, Oklahoma since 1951 and according to the Rainbow Girls organization, there are presently more than 850 assemblies that meet regularly around the world.
The Rainbow Girls organization was one of many Masonic-sponsored youth groups organized in the early 1920s to help teenage boys and girls develop “good citizenship and sound character.” Like Freemasons, the groups incorporated elements of ritual into their meetings and ceremonies. In 1922, Sexson, a 33°Mason, developed the Rainbow Girls ritual which focused on a series of seven lessons and “stations” representing the seven colors of the rainbow.
The most common symbols associated with the Rainbow Girls are a pot of gold, a rainbow, and and two hands clasped together with the initials “BFCL” (for bible, flag, constitution, and lambskin). Lambskin is a reference to the lambskin aprons worn by Freemasons.
These attendance and officer pins are two examples of the paraphernalia in Rainbow Girl ceremony, meetings, and ritual. The 1950 photograph above shows a group of officers from Lexington Assembly #37 at Simon W. Robinson Masonic Lodge in Lexington, Massachusetts.
We are actively collecting Rainbow Girls items. Do you or any family members have Rainbow Girls items, photographs, or ephemera? We would love to hear from you! Please contact Ymelda Rivera Laxton, Assistant Curator at ylaxton[@]srmml.org.
Captions:
Rainbow Girls attendance pin, 1980-1985, unidentified maker, United States, Gift of Beth McSweeney, 2016.040.11.
Rainbow Girls Worthy Advisor pin, 1983, unidentified maker, United States, Gift of Beth McSweeney, 2016.040.9
Reference:
Margaret Kendrick, Our place in time: 75 years of history: International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, McAlester, Oklahoma: International Order of the Rainbow for Girls, 1998.
Sav
Hi Beth, thanks for reading the blog and sharing your Rainbow story with us!
Posted by: Stacey Fraser | August 28, 2023 at 05:55 PM
So I was part of a rainbow girl's group and honestly I cannot lie, it resonated with me. The only reason I got in was due to family connections. Because for my area they were old family money etc, but I truly loved the teaching, and pomp and ceremony. I was truly upset and sad that our local chapter folded before my girls could join. They would have learned so much. To learn to give of oneself for the betterment of community has been lost. The concept of "how can I help"? Without any sense of personal gain is a foreign concept now-a-days
Posted by: Beth A Miller/Canterbury/King | August 21, 2023 at 07:52 PM
Dear Aria,
Thank you for reading the blog. The photograph was taken in 1950 in Lexington, Massachusetts. If you have any more questions please send us a note. Thank you. Ymelda Rivera Laxton, Assistant Curator.
Posted by: Ymelda Laxton | January 30, 2020 at 10:21 AM
This is super cool stuff! I am a Rainbow Girl right now, and I'd love to know when was this photo was taken?
Posted by: Aria Freiwaldt | December 08, 2019 at 11:20 PM