A Fez Of The Heart 18-Year-Old Injects A Bit Of Youth Into Shriners

Allen Faulkner, who celebrates his 19th birthday Thursday, could make the fez fashionable again.

With his dark hair in a side part and his prominent eyebrows, Faulkner’s a dead ringer for the Kennedy clan. However, he’s more at home with the Masonic lodge and the Shriner family.

On Saturday, Faulkner earned his red Shriner fez embroidered with a scimitar, a sphinx head and rhinestones spelling “El Katif.” A jewel from his grandfather’s fez is clipped onto the fez’s black tassel.

Faulkner is one of the youngest Shriners in America and possibly the youngest, according to the Shrine’s national headquarters in Tampa, Fla.

“He comes very close,” said James McAllister, potentate of the Shrine’s El Katif Temple in Spokane. “He’s certainly the youngest in the area, on the West Coast.”

To be a Shriner, one first must become a Mason, then earn the Scottish or York rite.

Faulkner grew up wanting to be a Mason. His dad was one; his uncles were Masons. He’s been around them his entire life. They worked to better themselves and help people, Faulkner said.

Besides joining family, he had another reason for being a Shriner.

“If not enough young people join, and it’s just a bunch of old people, they’re going to end up dying,” Faulkner said. “Then who’s going to help the kids?”

He had planned to join the Masons and Shriners at age 21 - the earliest age that men could join the fraternal organization. Then, a year ago, Washington Masons voted to drop the age to 18. Several other states are dropping the age minimum as well.

Faulkner applied in September. He studied world history and Masonic history, and he worked on morals and self-improvement.

In March, Faulkner became one of the 10 youngest Masons in Washington and possibly the youngest, according to state headquarters. He learned the handshake. He earned a white leather apron, representing purity.

“I’ll be buried with that,” Faulkner said. “It has my name on it. It’s a close part of my life. It’s comforting knowing that something that close to you will always be with you.”

Like most fraternal service organizations, Masons have dropped in numbers since the 1950s. Between 1955 and 1958, about 68,000 men belonged to Masonic lodges in Washington. Membership in the past few years has dropped to an all-time low of 29,000, said John Keliher, grand secretary of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Washington. He thinks numbers are rising.

So does Harold Tucker, a member of a Spokane lodge since 1956 and a Shriner since 1977. He said young people like Faulkner will lead the way.

“They’ve got to have something solid to hang on to,” said Tucker, 69. “Things have been kind of helter-skelter for years. These young people need a foundation to build something on. Masonry is that foundation.”

Calling Faulkner an overachiever is an understatement. His suit fits. He’s articulate. Last Wednesday, Faulkner graduated from Mead High School. He’ll graduate Friday from Spokane Falls Community College as part of the Running Start program.

“He works, he helps me, he’s the perfect son,” Bob Faulkner said. “Everyone knows it.”

Faulkner earned his black belt in Tae Kwon Do karate. In high school track, he finished seventh in the Greater Spokane League in the 300-meter hurdles.

Faulkner hopes to be a doctor. For four of the past six summers, he’s volunteered at Sacred Heart Medical Center. In the fall, Faulkner plans to enter the University of Washington.

As a Shriner, Faulkner hasn’t yet driven the traditional small cars. Maybe someday, he’ll ride shotgun on the giant organ that pipes music through parades in the area. He said he’ll definitely sponsor crippled and burned children at Shriners hospitals.

“I’d love to get involved and be a surgeon for the Shriners,” Faulkner said.

He thinks more young people should get involved in fraternal organizations such as the Masons and Shriners, although some friends wondered why he spent hours studying about the groups.

Some didn’t know who the Shriners were. Then they remembered the Shriners hospitals for children, the circus and the ushers for Ice Capades.

“They go, ‘Oh, OK, the guys with the red hats,”’ Faulkner said. “They think it’s really neat. But they said, ‘Why do you want to get involved with a bunch of old men?”’

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo