An Odd Publication

[ecosophia]

The world is a very strange place and strange things happen in it. One that I didn't expect is that one of my very first publications, a pamphlet I self-published in the days when that meant staplebound photocopies, is back in print.

Between 1992 and 2004 I was deeply involved in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Once the largest fraternal order in North America, Odd Fellowship had dwindled to a tiny fraction of its former size by 1992, and mostly consisted of small groups of retirees meeting in vast brick halls meant for meetings ten and twenty times the size. I was one of a number of younger men who joined one of the Seattle lodges. One of the things that interested me was the symbolism of the Odd Fellow degrees of initiation, and for the benefit of fellow members, I put together a pamphlet called The Emblems of Odd Fellowship and sold it for a little over cost.

Then life happened; I left Seattle, moved to a part of the country where Odd Fellowship had gone extinct decades before, and I got a withdrawal card from my lodge -- that's what you do if you're an Odd Fellow and are traveling to a different state. It's still in my filing cabinet, along with a whole mess of other IOOF certificates -- I went through various offices, including a term as state head of one of the branches of the order. Meanwhile my pamphlet went quietly out of print.

Fast forward to last year. The movement of younger people into Odd Felowship -- it admits women as well as men these days -- has continued, and I was contacted by a brother Odd Fellow who's set up a small publishing house to produce books of interest to Odd Fellows. My pamphlet hadn't quite dropped completely out of memory, it turned out. and a second edition duly followed. If you're interested, copies can be had here; if you'd just like to know more about the Odd Fellows, the order's website is here.

Comments

[arth_cerdded]

JMG,

Thanks for posting this. I've been meaning to look into the Odd Fellows and this makes it very easy.

Is there anything you would change if you had an opportunity to revise this pamphlet, or did you get that opportunity before it was published?

Regards,
Bert

[ecosophia]

I reviewed it before publication but it needed no revisions; the material in it was all taken from 19th century Odd Fellow books and the meanings of the emblems haven't changed much. ;-)

[(Anonymous)]

Wild! my grandpa was sent to the oddfellows orphanage in goldsboro nc. My great grandpa was a member. I have heard nothing but good things about them! in fact they would have been my first choice for a fraternal order but alas...no lodge nearby so i joined the masons instead. I may check this out :)

[ecosophia]

It's a common story! My great-grandfather, an Odd Fellow and Aberdeen, WA police officer, was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1921. My grandfather and his twelve siblings didn't have to go to an orphanage since my great-grandmother was still very much alive, but she was taken care of by the Odd Fellows for the rest of her life, and the kids were taken care of until they turned 18 and could get jobs. The four traditional duties of an Odd Fellow are to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, and educate the orphan; in the order's heyday, when they had the resources to do that in a big way, they took those duties very seriously indeed.

Odd Fellows Monument

[(Anonymous)]

Sounds pretty cool in my book. The Odd Fellows Monument in Spring Grove Cemetery is one of the places I like to visit in that wondrous place.

There are some nice pictures of it here. I have always found it very impressive.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/the-o/50933436803/in/photostream/

Congrats on getting your pamphlet back into circulation, and glad to hear about the IOOF revival.

JPM

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, that's a very impressive testimony of seriously devoted service to the community.

Your discussions of these things are increasingly stirring an interest in me, to learn whether this kind of group might be very good for me to participate in, as part of my next chapter in this life.

Christopher from California

[milkyway1]

"Current Location: on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho"...

Uhm, have you been robbed and beaten? Or are you on the road to becoming a good Samaritan?

Milkyway (somewhat puzzled)

[ecosophia]

It's an Odd Fellows joke. For reasons I can't explain (because they have to do with one of the rituals), all Odd Fellows are on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Here's a symbolic print of the Odd Fellow degrees; note the title...

[deborah_bender]

I know a couple of Wiccan priests who joined an Odd Fellows lodge a few years ago. One of them mentioned that, after settling into the lodge, they applied their experience doing Wiccan group ritual to reinvigorating the performance of the lodge's rituals.(Presumably because they understood the point of the rigamarole and how it's supposed to feel--my inference.) The other lodge members appreciate this, or so I was told.

Classic Wicca borrowed some ritual elements from older fraternal organizations, so this is paying back a debt in a timely fashion.

[ecosophia]

I'm glad to hear this! Classic Wicca did indeed borrow quite a bit; the Rosicrucian organization that Dorothy Clutterbuck et al. belonged to was an offshoot of Masonry, which is why Wiccans and Masons both use the word "cowan" for outsiders.

I'd like to join the OddFellows myself...

[(Anonymous)]

I took a quick look at the WA state website but there weren't a lot of specifics (other than that you had to be sponsored by an existing member).

I'm a little occupied with a blizzard and bursting pipes and young kids to do deep research right now, and this seems like an iron-is-hot time - what would you suggest I do to become a member of the OddFellows lodge when I don't already have a personal connection>

Thank you as always for all the help you offer!

Re: I'd like to join the OddFellows myself...

[ecosophia]

All you have to do is contact the nearest lodge, tell them you've heard good things about he Odd Fellows, and are considering joining. Most lodges will respond enthusiastically to that -- it certainly worked for me!

The requirements are that you have to be an adult human being who believes in a Supreme Being and is loyal to your country. If you meet those, unless the lodge you contact is one of the few that has closed in on itself and is circling the drain, you're good. They'll want to meet you, and then have you fill out a membership application; it's voted on by the members, and if you pass -- and it's very, very rare for a potential member to be voted down -- it's a matter of scheduling your Initiatory Degree.

[betwixtworlds]

I used to walk by the Seattle Oddfellows building on Capitol Hill and would remark at how beautiful it was. I'm a little bummed that I missed a chance on joining. One evening there were several dozen well dressed people outside the building. I thought it must be a reception, but it turned out that the building hosted ballroom dancing once a week. It was very popular.

[ecosophia]

If you ever go to Ballard, Ballard Alki Lodge #170 is still very much a going concern; it's at 1706 NW Market St, and if you're still interested in joining, they'd love to hear from you. Their website -- now much better than the one I originally made for the lodge -- is at www.ballardoddfellows.org .

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks, JMG.