By John Leggett-The Courier-Herald

What do John Wayne, Walt Disney and Bill Clinton have in common? Each was a member of the Order of DeMolay before heading into the world to see what they could make of themselves.

Each of those three are now linked to a group of young men who meet twice a month in Black Diamond, sharing the ideals DeMolay has touted for nearly 90 years.

The Order of DeMolay was founded in 1919 in Kansas City, Mo., by Frank S. Land, who envisioned a club where life, leadership and social skills could be taught. In 1919, with World War I raging in Europe, many American boys had no father at home, so Land became a guide and father figure to them.

Since Land founded DeMolay, the basic precepts of the order have gone virtually unchanged.

Frank Rinehart, one of the trailblazers who established the Merle E. Luther Chapter of DeMolay in Black Diamond, explains that the goal of DeMolay is to prepare young men 13 to 21 for the sometimes-arduous odyssey that lies ahead. The organization is not affiliated with school districts or any one religious denomination, although any young man joining must believe in God.

“This organization does not look down its nose at anyone, we embrace just about any young man that has a desire to join this organization,” Rinehart said. “Many times kids that can't find any niche in school or at their church, thrive, flourish and fit in very well with our system.”

The seven pillars that support DeMolay's structure though are: Love for parents; reverence for sacred things; courtesy; comradeship; fidelity, or being true to one's word; cleanness of thought, word and deed; and patriotism.

“We never attempt to smother or stifle creativity,” Rinehart said, “but two of our most important rules are that we have a zero-tolerance drug policy and although we are a fraternity of sorts there is absolutely no demoralizing hazing going on here.”

Rinehart said his son, formerly in DeMolay and now in the Marines, described the organization as being “an island of goodness and tranquility.”

“Kids from all walks of life and from some pretty difficult family situations come to our Black Diamond chapter,” Rinehart said, noting that members hail from Enumclaw, Renton, Maple Valley, Kent and beyond. They are taught skills like speaking in front of groups, organizing fundraisers and performing community services.

“One of the things we do here is take kids, where the boy is living with a single parent mom and there is no dad in the picture, and we are like that boy's second or extended family,” Rinehart said.

“We furnish these kids with the implements to complete the exercises or tasks geared towards learning life lessons and making them better people,” Rinehart said. Kids often mess up, but that's OK, he said, because there's a lesson to be learned.

“We review with them where they might have strayed from completing a process accurately and they practice it and then do it again,” Rinehart said. “We set our standards pretty high because teens in particular want to be a success. When you set the bar high and they clear that hurdle, there is a such a sense of accomplishment.

“It gives them a springboard or stepping stone to take that skill from one level to the next.”

Assisting young men on a personal level is someone in the DeMolay echelons called a Dad Adviser. Currently holding that post in Black Diamond is Joe Johnson. His responsibilities start with being a liaison between the DeMolay kids and their parents, as far as working things out within the organization.

The Dad Adviser is a teacher and confidante to the young men in any DeMolay chapter.

Johnson has been helping his DeMolay charges with putting on a teen dance planned for Feb. 29 at the Black Diamond Masonic Lodge, called the Hearts and Clovers Dance. All area teens are invited to the event, which will have a $5 admission charge.

The Master Councilor of the local chapter, the one who runs the twice-a-month meetings, is Davis Smith, a junior at Enumclaw High School. One of Smith's right hand-men is Steven Johnstone, a 17-year-old junior at Kentlake High.

Johnstone, who aspires to someday become a Mason, agrees with Davis on the premise that DeMolay provides a much-needed structure for teens who sometimes feel lost or out of place in today's complex and cliquish society.

“Belonging to DeMolay is a great chance to just hang out with dudes your own age, be yourself and privately discuss topics that all teens are familiar with,” Johnstone said. “We also engage in cool activities, like dances.

“One of the things we all feel strongly about, since one of the cornerstones of our order is to be good sons, is the prayer that we say for our parents to open and close each meeting.” exclaimed Johnstone.

For information about DeMolay or its extensions - the sorority group for teenage girls, the Rainbow Club, or the Squires program for 9- to 12-year-old future DeMolay boys, contact Rinehart at 360-886-1474.

John Leggett can be reached at jleggett@courierherald.com.