Founded in 1901, the Cheyenne Aerie is the oldest, longest-running Aerie in Wyoming. In fact, it is the 54th oldest worldwide still in operation! Legend has it that during his 1903 tour of the West, the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, became a member of the Cheyenne Aerie while staying in Cheyenne. Ever since, it has become known as the “Teddy Roosevelt Lodge.”
The Fraternal Order of Eagles is an international nonprofit organization uniting fraternally in the spirit of liberty, truth, justice, and equality to make human life more desirable by lessening its ills and promoting peace, prosperity, gladness, and hope. The FOE donates more than $10 million each year to local communities, fundraisers, charities, and other worthy causes. As part of its philosophy, the FOE gives back 100 percent of monies raised in the form of grants.
The FOE was founded in 1898 by six theater owners gathered in a Seattle shipyard to discuss a musicians’ strike. After addressing the matter, they agreed to “bury the hatchet” and form “The Order of Good Things.” As membership grew, members selected the bald eagle as the official emblem and changed the name to “The Fraternal Order of Eagles.” The Women’s Auxiliary traces its roots to 1927. Today, the Fraternal Order of Eagles includes nearly 800,000 members and more than 1,500 locations across the United States and Canada. Stop by one of our locations and see why we’re known as “People Helping People.”