Odd Fellowship, Religion, and Compromise

The issue of religion in Odd Fellowship pops up often these days. And for those who aren’t Odd Fellows, nearly all members understand The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is NOT a church. In fact we have less religion in our Order than many other fraternal orders. It’s just that many U.S. Odd Fellows want […]

Updates from the GUOOF – by Bro. Supreme Page

We have been successful in establishing new Lodges in Syracuse, N.Y. as well as Atlanta, Georgia. Three by three with FLT to the newly formed Northern Star Lodge #715 as well as St. James Lodge #1455 . We even have prospects of opening Lodges in a couple other countries!

Thomas Wildey’s Life and Love of Odd Fellowship

True, he was known to many now living; but even they were not admitted to the knowledge of his private walks, or to witness those home scenes which more than any other indicate the man. He was at all times reticent, or entirely silent, about himself, and his solitary life gave no glimpse into the obscurity of his domestic secrets. He was manifestly of humble extraction, and might be ranked one remove above a common laborer.

YELLOW FEVER IN MEMPHIS, AND THE DEATHS OF 100 ODD FELLOWS IN 1878

“…we are in the midst of a fearful epidemic, the end which no one can foresee. More than one hundred of our brethren including their families, have sickened and died. We need your sympathy, and God alone knows how soon your aid.” –Special Relief Committee, IOOF, Memphis, Tennessee Between late July and October of 1878, […]

Reclaiming the Odes- COLUMBIA -by Todd Swanson

The goal of my personal project is to make the odes more accessible to the greater Odd Fellows community.

HOW WE “BURIED THE DEAD” IN 1880

Our fraternal order has traditionally buried the dead. Even though we don’t do this to the extent we used to, we still conduct funeral ceremonies for our recently departed. I’ve also heard of a lodge somewhere that used to supply pall bearers simply out of respect for a deceased person who may have died alone […]

TIPS ON CLEANING OLD CEMETERY HEADSTONES

I work at a museum and we frequently get calls about how to deal with working in old cemeteries and preserving and cleaning old headstones. And since our Order has cemeteries all over the country, an article about this topic may prove of interest. Before I go further, you should know I am not a […]

Take Our Odd Fellow’s Quiz!

No cheating. See how well you do! In what century is it commonly believed that Odd Fellowship was founded? A) 19th, B) 16th, C) 17th, D) 18th Who was the Odd Fellow that was president during the Reconstruction period in the United States? A) Augustus Garland, B) US Grant, C) Abraham Lincoln, D) Thomas Jefferson Which […]

James Montgomery, Author of Friendship, Love, and Truth.

James Montgomery may be a poet that influenced some of our ritual. He may have written some of it as well, but he is absolutely the author of the Odd Fellow’s song “Friendship, Love, and Truth.” James Montgomery’s parents were Moravian missionaries, and from County Antrim, in what is now Northern Ireland. After James was […]

Ainslie Heilich talks ODD on Local News

“We found all this great, old regalia that was hidden up in the crawlspace … Almost like National Treasure, it’s like you start down a path of little bread crumbs and it just kinda ropes you in further and further … and here we are,” says Heilich.

Reflections on Being an LGBT+ Odd Fellow.

I would like to think that part of my personal growth through that transition could be attributed to the philosophical lessons our Order teaches and how they can be used as a member of the LGBT+ community. At the end of this piece you will find my interpretation of the Degrees through the lens of the LGBT+ experience.

I.O.O.F. YOUTH: IS THERE HOPE FOR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF OUR YOUTH BRANCHES? By Louie Blake S. Sarmiento

Many of the dedicated leaders in the Odd Fellows and Rebekah Lodges today began as members of these youth branches. Regretfully, the youth groups under the I.O.O.F. failed to grow and develop into an international youth organization. There are many reasons. One is presumably because the I.O.O.F. in the continents of Europe, North America and Australia failed to coordinate with each other to form one cohesive international youth organization.