The Hoo-Hoos of Riverside, San Bernardino, Redlands and Hemet would be having a golf tournament and “concatination,” the June 12 edition of the Riverside Daily Press mentioned.

Having never heard of the Hoo-Hoos and their concatinations, I had to find out more.

It turns out the Hoo-Hoos are a fraternal organization founded in 1892 in Arkansas. Its official name to this day is “The Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo.” It was open to men involved in the lumber industry.

According to the history of the Hoo-Hoos on hoohoo.org, a black cat was chosen as their mascot and, due to the legendary nine lives of the cat, the number nine obtained an important position within the organization. This included nine men on the board of directors, having the annual meeting on the ninth day of the ninth month, annual dues of 99 cents, etc. A concatination is what they call their new member initiation.

Originally, the Hoo-Hoos were a national organization only, and their first local chapter wasn’t formed until 1920. The first mention of a local chapter of this group in a Riverside newspaper was on June 10, 1925. The Riverside Daily Press reported that “men connected to the lumber industry in Riverside, San Bernardino and Redlands as well as smaller communities in the district will meet … to further their organization of the Orange Belt Hoo Hoo Club.” The organization of the local club corresponded with significant expansion in the number of local chapters of the Hoo-Hoos in the 1920s.

In March 1927, the local Hoo-Hoos hosted Arthur A. Hood, head of the national organization. This included a lunch at the Glenwood Mission Inn in Riverside and a banquet at the California Hotel in San Bernardino. Over 50 men attended the events, and included members from Riverside, San Bernardino, Corona, Ontario, Fontana, Hemet and Colton.

The last mention in Riverside newspapers of the local Hoo-Hoo chapter was on Sept. 22, 1929.

It was reported that 41 Hoo-Hoos and their guests gathered at the Victoria Club for their annual gathering. This included an afternoon of golf and bridge, dinner at 7:30 and dancing afterward to a live band. The affair was in honor of Edward Tennant, who was instrumental in organizing the Orange Belt chapter of the Hoo-Hoos.The following month, the stock market crash occurred, which began the Great Depression. This impacted the Hoo-Hoo organization greatly and in the 1930s it dwindled to just one chapter, in Spokane, Washington.

However, things began looking up in the late 1930s for the Hoo-Hoos. According to their official history, by the 1950s they reached a peak of over 13,000 members. Today, Hoo-Hoo membership has broadened to include people engaged in the forestry industry or who are interested in supporting the objectives of the organization. It still has chapters all over the world, including one called the Riverside Chapter, which covers most of Southern California (hoo-hoo117.org).

If you have an idea for a future Back in the Day column about a local historic person, place or event, contact Steve Lech and Kim Jarrell Johnson at backinthedaype@gmail.com.