An Elite Alliance

Beneath towering California redwoods, more than 2,000 of the world's most elite men gather in July each summer. In a secluded male-only camp, former presidents, world-famous entertainers, artists, business moguls and Chancellor Sean O'Keefe fraternize beneath the shelter of the tall redwoods.

"Everyone's equal," O'Keefe said.

O'Keefe is a member of the historic San Francisco Bohemian Club. California newspaper reporters founded the club in 1872 as an intellectual and social outlet. The club has since evolved into a "who's who" of notable names.

Most, including O'Keefe, travel to San Francisco in July for the annual Bohemian Grove summer retreat. The 2,700-acre Bohemian Grove camp is located about 75 miles northwest of San Francisco.

According to O'Keefe's calendar, which The Daily Reveille obtained, he and Board of Supervisors member Stewart Slack flew from Baton Rouge to San Francisco on Thursday, July 14, 2005. Slack attended the event as O'Keefe's guest because he is not a club member, O'Keefe said.

"It's one of the most unbelievable things I've ever been to," Slack said about spending several days in the Grove. Slack said he knew O'Keefe was a club member because he saw it on his resume during the chancellor's hiring process.

The two left California on Monday, July 18, after spending several days in the Grove.

History, Symbols and Controversy

Peter Phillips, a Sonoma State University sociology professor, wrote his doctoral dissertation at the University of California, Davis, about the club. Phillips' dissertation, "A Relative Advantage: Sociology of the San Francisco Bohemian Club," outlines the club's history, tradition and controversy.

The club's motto, "Weaving spiders, come not here," was plucked from Act 2 of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Phillips writes that the motto illustrates "the inappropriateness of conducting or soliciting business at club functions."

O'Keefe said he has given various lunch talks to Grove members, including a talk about the Columbia space shuttle disaster in which the seven-member crew died. O'Keefe said many intellectual and political discussions occur each day at the annual retreats.

But Mary Moore, a founder of the Bohemian Grove Action Network, said the Grove does not abide by its motto of refraining from political or business talks. Moore has protested outside of the Grove since 1980.

Moore also cited the Grove's male-only policy as unfair to women.

"This is the ruling class bonding," Moore said. "It's the ultimate backroom on steroids."

Slack said he "hadn't really thought about" women having a disadvantage.

Moore specifically disagrees with the Grove's historic "Lakeside Chats," where notable political figures speak about world issues. Moore said her main issue is that transcripts of these speeches are not available for the public to read.

O'Keefe dismissed the club's reputation as a secret society, calling it instead a "male-only fraternity."

But O'Keefe confirmed the club does have historic traditions.

The club's owl symbol appears "on all Bohemian materials from matchbook covers and doormats to the most elaborate club publications," Phillips writes. According to Phillips' dissertation, the owl symbolizes wisdom and friendship. A 40-foot owl stands in front of the lake at the Grove and provides a "ceremonial site for traditional Bohemian rituals," Phillips writes.

The controversial and elaborate Cremation of Care ceremony's theme is the disposing of care in "a fiery death that symbolizes the initiation of Bohemian friendship," Phillips writes.

According to a 1989 Spy Magazine article by Philip Weiss, a reporter who infiltrated the Grove with the help of Moore, the ceremony includes Grove members carrying torches and wearing "hooded robes."

O'Keefe confirmed seeing a large "rock formation that has a resemblance to an owl" at the Grove but denied wearing a robe or seeing the traditional Cremation of Care ceremony.

O'Keefe said he does not understand the criticism and rumors about the Grove.

"They're incredibly overblown," he said.

Media access to the Grove continues to be limited. According to a San Francisco Chronicle article, "No Trespassing" and "Members and Guests Only" signs cover the grounds, and guards with binoculars and infrared sensors watch the paths.

"[The Grove] does not particularly desire a lot of publicity," O'Keefe said.

Phillips said the club used to be friendly to the press but changed its policies after the Great Depression. Phillips said this change likely occurred because obvious class differences created tension in the San Francisco area.

"It's considered not in good taste to talk to the media," Phillips said. Phillips said members may face consequences, such as expulsion from the club, for talking to the media.

O'Keefe's Beginnings

According to the 2004 San Francisco Chronicle article, "The Chosen Few," 125 separate camps are in the Grove - many with peculiar names such as Dog House, Sons of Toil or Toyland. Famous members include George H. W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Henry Kissinger, Donald Rumsfeld, Clint Eastwood and Colin Powell.

O'Keefe is a 10-year member of the Wayside Log camp. The Wayside Log's 2004 membership list, which was obtained from Moore, includes former director of both the FBI and CIA Williams Webster, singer Jimmy Buffet and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk.

O'Keefe first visited the Grove in 1993 as a guest of fellow Pennsylvania State University faculty member David Shirley. Shirley, who could not be reached for comment, is a nuclear physicist who studied under Nobel Prize-winning chemist Glenn Seaborg.