Abba Shrine

Do you know the story behind the statue seen at Shriners Chidren's and Shriners International buildings?

The story goes back to a Hadi Shriners picnic 56 years ago in Evansville, Indiana, where a Shriner named Al Hortman picked up little Bobbi Jo Wright, a patient at Shriners Children’s St. Louis, and helped carry her around for the day. Sunday Courier & Press Photographer Randy Dieter captured this act of kindness on one of the last images on his roll of film. This photo would later inspire the creation of the iconic statue.