Our Catholic Heritage in Texas
had insurance features similar to other non-Catholic fraternal orders. Several of his listeners immediately came to the conclusion that the Catholic men of Texas needed just such an organization. Before the interested group in El Paso could take further steps in the matter to convert their strong desire into a reality, however, three Dallas- ites. who had also heard of the new organization, impatient of delay, went to Parsons, Kansas, and were initiated in that local council on April 20, 1901. They were Reverend James M. Hayes, rector of the Cathedral, Michael J. Coerver, and W. G. Crush. They have the honor of being the first Texans to seek and obtain membership in the Order, but in an out- of-state council. The El Paso group redoubled their efforts to establish the first council in Texas at the earliest possible moment. Led by E. V. Berrien and Father Francis Roy S.J., those interested soon secured forty candidates and obtained authorization to found a new council. The Territorial Deputy of the Knights of Columbus, John H. Reddin, of Denver, Colorado, having been empowered to carry out the installation, arrived in El Paso Saturday, April 12, 1902. Next day the new Council was instituted. Bishop Joseph Edward Dunne of Dallas, who was in the city on a con- firmation tour, attended the Solemn High Mass in the Immaculate Con- ception Church, lending the occasion diocesan approval. The first and second degrees were conferred under the supervision of the Grand Knight 0. N. Marron of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Council; the third degree was exemplified by Territorial Deputy John H. Reddin, assisted by Joseph Newman, both of Denver, Colorado. The ceremony took place in the Knights of Pythias Hall on El Paso Street, secured for this epochal occasion. The institution of the El Paso Council marked the formal beginning of the Order in the State, which today numbers over twenty thousand members in Texas alone. The Supreme Council recognized the leadership of E. V. Berrien and appointed him Territorial Deputy Supreme Knight of Texas. Fired with enthusiasm, he lost no time in completing preliminary arrangements for what was a most ambitious plan in those days, the establishment of Councils in Dallas, Fort Worth, Galveston, and San Antonio in one swing over the State from El Paso. The response from the Catholic men in these cities was prompt and spontaneous. Before long, all arrangements had been completed. Berrien and a group of friends set out on May 8, 1903, in a chartered Pullman car named Tiso-nia, on their over two thousand mile round trip to institute the new Councils. Twenty-four Knights set
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