Alfred J. Katool, Sr.
Jackson
Alfred “Al” J. Katool, Sr. was born in Jackson, Mississippi, on November 22, 1929. My interview with Mr. Katool took place on October 13, 2017, in the Cedars of Lebanon clubhouse at 143 Cedars of Lebanon Rd. in Jackson. Katool is the treasurer of the club, and he and his family have been members since it began in the mid-1930s.
This photo was taken in the front yard of the Cedars of Lebanon clubhouse in Jackson. Katool said that a club member brought the cedar tree that stands behind him from Lebanon during the first years of the club’s existence.
Mr. Katool still lives in Jackson, Mississippi.
This interview took place at the Cedars of Lebanon clubhouse in Jackson, Mississippi, on October 13, 2017.
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Photos in this collection include (left to right): Alfred J Katool, Sr.’s paternal great-grandparents in Mount Lebanon, Syria, in 1898, with his father, Joseph Katool (top right), and others; the entryway to the Cedars of Lebanon clubhouse in Jackson; a photo, dated July 1925, of a gathering of the Jolly Club, a predecessor of the Cedars of Lebanon club; the foyer of the Cedars of Lebanon clubhouse in Jackson; and Al Katool.
The Jackson Cedars of Lebanon Club
by Alfred J. Katool, Sr.
In the year 1934 a small group of young Americans of Syrian and Lebanese decent and extraction attended the convention of the Southern Federation of Syrian Lebanese American Clubs, which was held in Houston, Texas on Labor Day weekend. They became so interested and so amazed by the activities of the Convention, mainly the social, civic and educational programs that they held a meeting and decided on having a social and civic club. It was named the Cedars of Lebanon of Jackson, Mississippi, and was to be affiliated with the Southern Federation. An application for membership in the Federation was submitted to the Convention. Membership was granted and the Jackson club became a member club of the Federation.
This courageous group from Jackson invited the Federation to hold its next convention in Jackson and that was granted by the Federation.
In the year 1935, on the 31st day of August and the 1st and 2nd day of September, the Southern Federation of Syrian Lebanese American Clubs held its annual Convention at the Robert E. Lee Hotel in downtown Jackson under the auspices of the Cedars of Lebanon Club. It was obvious that the results reached in harmony, pleasurable entertainment, happy festivities, the financial situation of the club was considerably bettered. The new organization’s prestige was augmented and its objective of building a clubhouse was greatly feathered. On December 23, 1935, the Cedars of Lebanon Club became incorporated under the laws of the State of Mississippi.
On January 8, 1936, twelve acres of land on the Jackson-Canton Highway was purchased. In order to gain access for construction of a clubhouse, a road off of Highway 51 was constructed and named The Cedars of Lebanon Road. The membership then increased tenfold. On the 24th day of July 1938, the new clubhouse, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) an organization, designed under Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1933, to provide employment for young men who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression, was completed and dedicated.
From a small beginning of a few members from Jackson and Canton, Mississippi, the Cedars of Lebanon Club has grown into an enduring organization. Its social affairs give pleasure and joy to hundreds of its friends from all walks of life. It has contributed generously to worthy charitable causes; city, state, national and worldwide. It has cemented the bond of friendship and fellowship of its members, thereby making them more useful law-abiding citizens.
The Jackson club has served the Federation well through many of its members. Three Presidents; three Executive Board Chairmen; a Federation Secretary; several Executive Board members and many Federation committee members and chairpersons. The Jackson Club was awarded Federation Club of the Year in 1976, 1990 and again in 1999. The Club has had three members awarded Woman of the Year, one member Man of the Year and one member Youth of the Year. Has contributed yearly to the Federation Charity Fund and since 1976 has presented the Cedars of Lebanon Club of Jackson Scholarship each year. In addition to the Summer Convention hosted by the club in 1935, the Jackson Club hosted the first official Mid-Winter Conference in 1946. The Club again hosted Mid-Winter conferences in 1949, 1976, 1979, 1990, 1999, 2006 and 2014. The 1979 Conference had an attendance of over 900, which still stands as the largest Mid-Winter in Federation history.
We present-day members of the Cedars of Lebanon Club are grateful to those who had the courage to immigrate to this wonderful land, America, the wisdom to establish our Club and the foresight to become affiliated with the Southern Federation of Syrian Lebanese American Clubs. We will be forever grateful to those who kept the tradition of family alive throughout these many years and kept us bonded to our heritage.
Text used with permission.