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.

It’s Time To Bring Back the Axe -by Joseph Dowdy

In the 1800s, any man entering Odd Fellowship, or today, man or woman, should be aware that if we are to avoid disaster (as our order is very much in danger of collapse in the near future as we all know), we must recognize the part of our human nature which allows the “trees and herbage in the soil of our nature that brings not forth good fruit” and to labor to destroy it. In other words, we must not just recognize what there is to work on in ourselves, but also that we work on it vigorously.

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.

Our Past Will Save Our Future -by Joseph Dowdy

And, in 1860, if you were an Odd Fellow traveling and needed emergency healthcare or if you were in financial distress and a local lodge was contacted, then someone would telegraph your lodge and verify your standing and then provide the aid you need. In your lodge, you would do the same for a travelling Odd Fellow in need. This was a big deal and big attractor back then because if you traveled and fell ill or became incapacitated then you would likely be robbed and left for dead. Today as an Odd Fellow you may wonder what kind of aid would be afforded to you if you were traveling to a state where Odd Fellows is no longer quite as active.

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.