Tag Archives: Improved Order of Red Men

While visiting Dunstan Cemetery, cemetery historian Ron Romano noticed unusual initials—“IMP’D O.R.M.” and “T.O.T.E.”—on Millard Whitten’s grave. They revealed Whitten’s membership in the Improved Order of Red Men, a once-popular fraternal organization. Romano explores these symbols and others found on Maine gravestones, uncovering how fraternal orders once shaped community and remembrance. Continue reading →