Page 10 - Sojourner Newsletter-Summer 2023 Final

10 THE SOJOURNER

HISTORIAN’S CORNER (NSI)

National Sojourners Chapter Gains, Losses, and Locations
Edward W. Nolte, National Historian

Ever wonder about National Sojourners Chapters not listed in the Staff Directory, where they were located,
and how many there were? This National Historian’s article addresses the names and numbers of Chapters,
both in the U.S. and overseas.

How Many: National Presidents (NP) have chartered a total of 570 Chapters over the last 106 years. These
Chapters include Chicago Chapter and National Headquarters Chapter (both unnumbered), 565 sequentially
numbered Chapters (Detroit #1 to Treasure Coast #568, minus Emory Upton #552, South Utah #559, and
Plant City #565 Clubs, which were inappropriately numbered and never chartered), and 3 non-sequentially
numbered, 900-series Chapters (Minuteman #995, Grand Masters #996, and Past Masters #997). Here are
some records:

• Most Chapters Ever Chartered by an NP: 97 or slightly more than 8 per year by MG Amos A. Fries,
33°, during his 8-year term as NP from 1922 to 1930.
• Highest Average Number of Chapters Chartered by a Multi-Year NP: 84 Chapters or 21 per year by
CAPT Willis W. Bradley, Jr., during his 4-year term from 1943 to 1947.
• Most Chapters Chartered in a Year: 39 by CAPT Willis W. Bradley, Jr., in 1943-44.
• Chapters Chartered in the 1st and 2nd 53 Year Periods: 503 in the 1st and 67 in the 2nd.
• Most Chapters Chartered in a Year in 2nd 53-Year Period: 14 by Col Edward W. Nolte, 33°, in
2018-19.

Where Located in the U.S.: At one time, every State in the U.S. had at least one Chapter with each State
having this number of Chapters: AL (15), AK (3), AZ (4), AR (9), CA (40), CO (6), CT (4), DE (2), D.C.
(2), FL (25), GA (13), HI (5), IA (9), ID (2), IL (14), IN (16), KS (11), KY (5), LA (8), MA (8), MD (11),
ME (4), MI (9), MN (2), MO (6), MS (3), MT (3), NC (10), ND (4), NE (2), NV (2), NH (3), NJ (10), NM
(7), NY (27), OH (13), OK (9), OR (8), PA (16), RI (1), SC (7), SD (3), TN (10), TX (39), UT (6), VT (1),
VA (17), WA (9), WV (2), WI (5), WY (2).
• States with 100% Chapter Retention: MN (2), RI (1), and VT (1).
• Top Three States for Chapter Losses: TX (28), CA (25), and NY (25).
• States with 75%+ Chapter Losses: HI (5 to 1), IA (9 to 1), IN (16 to 4), KY (5 to 1), ME (4 to 1), ND
(4 to 1), NJ (10 to 2), and NY (27 to 2).
• States with No Active Chapters: DE, ID, MA, NV, and WV.

Where Located Overseas: Of the 570 Chapters chartered, 105 were and 1 still is located overseas (106
total). The Overseas Chapters were located in Austria (2), Canada (4), China (2), Cuba (2), England (7),
France (10), Germany (24), Greenland (1), Guam (1), Haiti (1), Iceland (2), India (1), Iran (2), Italy (4),
Japan (14), Korea (10), Libya (1), Mexico (1), Morocco (2), New Caledonia (1), New Guinea (1), Panama
(2), Peru (1), Philippines (3), Puerto Rico (4), and Vietnam (4). The only active, overseas Chapter is Peter
Rasmussen #510 in Germany.

In Memoriam (IM) Chapters: IM Chapters were approved in 1994 for Chapters with 18 or more MIP
members, a restriction later removed. A total of 50 Chapters have been on the IM list, and 47 Chapters
remain on the IM list today. Only Chicago Chapter in 2019, El Paso Chapter #74 in 2022, and Monterey
Bay Chapter #136 in 2019 have ever re-activated. The senior-tenured Chapters on the IM List are Panama
Canal #21, Jean Ribault #224, and Guam #287 in 1994; and West Point #344 and Oglethorpe #406 in 1995.
All five were reported at the 75th National Convention in 1995. The Chapters going IM in 2023 are Wichita
#24 and Santa Ana/El Toro #250.