The exclusive retreat of the Bohemian Club

For the last two weeks, some of America’s most powerful men have been camping out among the Redwood trees just north of San Francisco.

It’s the annual gathering of the Bohemian Club at Bohemian Grove in Monte Rio.

There, as they have done since 1893, the club’s members of artists, presidents, politicians, businessmen and academics meet to talk about life, business and world issues.

The Bohemian Club

The Bohemian Club is a private men’s club based in San Francisco that was created in 1872 by a group of local journalists, artists and musicians as a place to meet after work.

(The term ‘bohemian’ comes from 19th century Paris where impoverished musicians and artists began living in poorer areas alongside the Romani gypsies, who were labelled ‘bohemiens’ after coming to Western Europe via Bohemia in the Czech Republic.)

Slowly the club eased the membership rules and began inviting business leaders who had an interest in the arts, and more crucially money to pour in.

Soon the club was dominated by business leaders and politicians.

This quickly grew to an elite membership including every Republican president since 1923 and business heavyweights like the Rockefellers, the Morgans and the Duponts.

Similarly, today’s membership is made up of several Republican politicians (like Cheney and Bush) as well as prominent businessmen from banks (including the Federal Reserve) and companies in the defence, oil, energy, agricultural and media industries, just to name a few.

The club limits itself to about 2,700 men – a quarter of which must be musicians, actors or artists.

Regular members wait around 15 years before joining, pay annual membership fees of $25,000, and are predominantly Republican, white, wealthy and influential.

The club’s motto is “Weaving Spiders Come Not Here”, meaning members are not supposed to discuss business.

However, it is widely acknowledged that discussions about business are exactly what take place, particularly at the club’s exclusive annual retreat.

The Bohemian Grove

The main event for the club is their annual July encampment at ‘Bohemian Grove’.

The camp’s purpose is for members and guests to enjoy the arts, talk about current events, and develop friendships and business relationships (somewhat similar to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos).

The privately-owned camp is located in Monte Rio in Sonoma County, about two hours north of San Francisco on California’s Pacific coast.

The 2,700-acre site has accommodation for 2,000 people in over 120 industry-specific ‘camps’, each with names like Mandalay, Owls Nest and Isle of Aves.

Lying among 160 acres of Redwood trees, some over a thousand years old and standing 90 metres tall, these small camps are where the main business dealings are done and key relationships are formed.

Many of the camp’s activities are entertainment-based, including the Grove Play production which is written and performed by the members.

Additionally, a traditional ‘Cremation of Care’ ceremony occurs on the first night near the shore of the camp’s artificial lake in front of a huge 12-metre concrete Owl statue symbolising knowledge.

Men in robes accompanied with music and fireworks burn an effigy of ‘care’, representing the members’ wish to rid themselves of life’s worries for the following two weeks.

As well as the entertainment on stages scattered throughout the giant redwoods, other daily activities include talks, hikes, large banquets and heavy drinking.

This year’s keynote speakers included outgoing Californian Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Criticisms

The road leading into Bohemian Grove has been the scene of many protests in recent decades.

The main accusations suggest the club has a strong corporate influence over government, and that its elite membership secretly runs the world.

Indeed, it was at the camp in 1942 that the Manhattan Project was conceived – the code name for the US-led project to develop nuclear weapons during World War II.

It was also believed to be where Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon agreed in 1967 who would seek the presidency first.

Other accusations of dubious behaviour include illegal logging, prostitution and homosexuality (Richard Nixon, an honorary member, himself called it “the most faggy goddamned thing you could ever imagine”).

Journalists have infiltrated the gathering in the past. And while some have claimed occurrences like spooky rituals and people working towards a new world order, other descriptions were just of drunken, grey-haired men urinating against redwoods.

Former US President (and non-member) Bill Clinton once remarked about the Bohemian Club that “That’s where all those rich Republicans go and stand naked against redwood trees, right?”

It’s certainly an easy target for the critics: America’s rich and powerful gathering for a secret two-week chat and sing-along is not your average camp out.

So as the private jets leave Sonoma County airport for another year, one wonders what business deals, political plans, or powerful new relationships may have just been forged.

By The Casual Truth

Photo – Entrance to Bohemian Grove