Timeline

Lillian Huff serves as Supreme Oracle from 1888-1892, during which time she writes the first ritual.

The first local camp is established, and all the existing members join Camp 1.

The Royal Neighbors create their constitution and bylaws, and elect their first group of officers.

Eliza D. Watt serves as Supreme Manager from 1893-1894.

Ira L. Maxson serves as first editor of The Royal Neighbor.

Eliza D. Watt serves as Supreme Oracle from 1894-1908.

The Royal Neighbors of America is chartered as a fraternal benefit society in Illinois.

Eva Child serves as Supreme Marshal from 1901-1903.

Myra B. Enright serves as Supreme Receiver from 1901-1903.

Elnora G. Whitmore serves as one of the Supreme Physicians from 1901-1921.

Myra B. Enright serves as Supreme Manager from 1903-1911.

Jessie L. Mitchell serves as Supreme Auditor from 1903-1908.

The age of flight is born as the Wright brothers stage the first successful flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Jessie L. Mitchell serves as Supreme Receiver from 1908-1911.

The headquarters of the Royal Neighbors moves from Peoria, Illinois, to Rock Island, Illinois.

Hada M. Carlson serves as editor of The Royal Neighbor from 1908-1911.

Myrtle E. Dade serves as the Supreme Recorder from 1908-1911. She had served as a Beneficiary Recorder from 1895-1908 until the office of Supreme Recorder was created at the 1908 Supreme Camp.

Myra B. Enright serves as Supreme Oracle from 1911-1917.

Nellie E. Preble serves as editor of The Royal Neighbor from 1911-1922.

Jessie L. Mitchell serves as Supreme Receiver from 1914-1917.

After decades of speeches, rallies, parades, and women demanding the right to vote at the federal level, the U.S. Secretary of State certifies the ratification of the 19th Amendment, stating that no citizen could be denied the right to vote on the basis of sex. Twenty-six million women become voters.

Alice Gilliland serves as the Supreme Recorder from 1921-1925.

The Fraternal Fund is created to provide direct aid to members in distress.

Frances L. Torkelson serves as Supreme Receiver from 1922-1925.

Alice Gilliland serves as Supreme Oracle from 1925-1926.

Jessie L. Mitchell serves as editor of The Royal Neighbor from 1926-1928.

Grace W. McCurdy serves as Supreme Manager from 1928-1938.

The new Supreme Office, now known as the Home Office, is dedicated and opened for use.

The Great Depression, the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasts from 1929-1939. At the beginning of the depression, 25 percent of the workforce is unemployed, and hourly wages drop 60 percent.

The 21st Amendment passes, repealing the 18th Amendment and making alcohol legal once again.

The Japanese Navy attacks Pearl Harbor and other U.S. possessions in the Pacific, prompting the United States to enter World War II.

The undeclared war in Vietnam begins in 1955, lasting for 19 years.

Sputnik, a Soviet satellite, is launched, beginning the Space Age.

U.S. involvement in Vietnam escalates in 1960, with troop levels gradually surging from just under 1,000 in 1959 to more than 16,000 in 1963.

A U.S. destroyer allegedly clashes with a North Vietnamese fast-attack craft. In response, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution gives President Lyndon B. Johnson broad authorization to increase U.S. military presence in Vietnam, deploying ground combat units for the first time and increasing troop levels from about 23,000 to 184,000.

Civil Rights Movement leader Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

The National Guard fires on students protesting the expansion of the Vietnam War at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four and wounding nine others.

The U.S. Congress passes the Equal Rights Amendment, stating that, "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the U.S. or any state on account of sex." In order to become law, it must be ratified by 38 states within 10 years.

MTV launches, featuring popular music videos.

The U.S. leads coalition forces in war against Iraq.

The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is bombed by a domestic terrorist. At least 168 people are killed, and more than 680 are injured. It is the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history up to this point.

The U.S.-led war in Afghanistan begins as an effort to remove the Taliban from power. While this goal is completed by the end of the year, U.S. and allied troops continue to fight Taliban insurgents for more than 18 years, and the war continues to this day.

Ms. Tidwell led the organization through a critical period of turnaround, revitalization, and growth.

Through our signature women’s empowerment program, Nation of Neighbors℠, we empower women by recognizing and supporting their work to empower women and girls through a nonprofit, business, or program. Award recipients receive funding for their work. 

The outbreak of COVID-19 results in millions of cases and deaths around the world and causes social and economic disruptions on a global scale.

Royal Neighbors employees celebrated the milestone of achieving 250,000 members nationwide during an employee event called “All Society Days” on September 21 and September 22. All Society Days are a part of Royal Neighbors’ new Flexible Work Model which allows many employees to choose to work from home and come together on a quarterly basis for in-person team building and connection.