What was formally organized in 1947, the Ancient Gastronomic Order of Rattling Reptiles held its annual meeting on July 27 and inducted four new members.
In the first set of minutes from 1947, 10 men joined together for a feast of rattlesnake and groundhog. By 1949, a live rattlesnake in a glass case became the traditional center piece of the festive table.
In early history, the order presented educational talks on the rattlesnake, groundhog or other wildlife-outdoor activities. Previous speakers have included Professor Herbert Beck of Franklin and Marshall College, Roger Latham, the former outdoor editor of the Pittsburgh Press, Dr. Maurice Goddard, the former Pennsylvania Secretary of the Department of Enviornmental Resources and George Harvey a fishing expert from Penn State.
The group has grown from six or seven at the first dinner in 1941 and has grown to a membership of 74 in 1973 and 85 presently. The membership has come from many different career choices. There have been businessmen, doctors, dentists, a psychiatrist, college presidents, judges, college professors, state officials, newspapermen, educators, agriculturists, wildlife leaders and others.
At the 2003 meeting, Grand Imperial Rattler R. Wayne Harpster welcomed four new members. William Ansley of Duncansville, Carl Crider Jr., of Tipton, Robert Good of Hershey and Gabriel Magee of DuBois were inducted as new members.
The iniation is eating a piece of rattlesnake and chasing it with a shot of rum.
The speaker for the function was Mark Madison, who is the historian for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Madison teaches enviornmental history and enviornmental sciences at the National Conservation Training Center at Shepherd College. He has previously taught at Harvard University.
The talk was about artifacts from the National Conservation Archives and dealt with endangered species.
Throughout the afternoon, the membership enjoyed a day of fly fishing and renewing old friendships and the festivities concluded with a pledge to the flag.
