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Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF)
Marin County has seen four Odd Fellows Lodges, which were located in San Rafael, Mill Valley, San Anselmo, Tomales, and Marshall. The oldest Odd Fellows Lodge, Marin Lodge No. 200, is in San Rafael. It is still active. Marin Lodge No. 200, IOOF, was instituted February 24, 1872 with six charter members; the same evening a class of eleven candidates were initiated: G.W. Bond, John Dixheimer, Julius Goedge, Thomas Hansen, Oliver Irwin, Oliver Muffit Irwin, William H. McGrew, Johannes Petersen, McAllister A. McLeod, John Regnalds and John Sims. The Lodge was instituted by Grand Master of Odd Fellows, William Henry Hill (Capital Lodge No. 87, Sacramento), with the assistance of James Davis (California Lodge No. 1), Henry Charles Squire (Yerba Buena Lodge No. 15), Henry J. Hyland and Lowell B. Spencer (both of Parker Lodge No. 124). Oliver Irwin was chosen as the first Noble Grand of the Lodge. The institution and its first installation were held at the Masonic Hall then situated on B Street in San Rafael. Marin Lodge No. 200 purchased the property for their first Lodge building in July 1882 for the sum of $8,500. The Lodge, built on the northeast corner of D and Fourth Streets, was at the time the largest structure west of the three-story San Rafael (later Commercial and Central) Hotel. At the installation of February 1910, the mortgage was burnt in celebration of the Lodge being free from debt. A few important members of Marin Lodge were Oliver Irwin, Thomas Hansen, Henry Jefsen, V.J.B. Cheda, Julius Goedje, Louis Peter, Henry Harrison, E.T. Schweisau, Walter Helwig, Harry B. Hawk, Robert Lee Duncan, Charles H. Dubois, W.F. Jones, Henry Jepson, Henry Knittel, C.F. Mockler, John Ault, Alexander Walker, Frank Reid, Louis J. Peters, Sr., and Louis J. Peters, Jr. Marin Lodge No. 200 has produced two Grand Masters: John N.E. Wilson was elected Grand Master of Odd Fellows in California in 1891, and Kenneth Proctor in 1988. The original IOOF hall stood until destroyed by fire in 1957, after which a new building was constructed at 1522 Fifth Avenue. On October 19, 1958, Grand Master of California Odd Fellows, Donald Richard Smith (member of Charity Lodge No. 6, Stockton) dedicated the new $250,000 Odd Fellows Temple; On March 23, 1959, the Grand Lodge Standing Committee authorized Marin Lodge No. 200 to sell the old "D" Street property for $99,500. Golden Star Rebekah Lodge No. 112 was organized in January 1887 in San Rafael with 26 charter members. Mount Horeb Encampment No. 106, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was instituted August 1906 also met in San Rafael. Canton No. 39 was instituted in San Rafael on June 2, 1923 with a charter membership of 20 odd fellows. Mill Valley was home to Mt. Tamalpais Lodge No. 399, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Mt. Tamalpais Lodge No. 399 was instituted on September 28, 1907, by Grand Master of Odd Fellows Frank B. Ogden (Enterprise Lodge No. 298, Oakland), with the assistance of Grand Secretary Henry D. Richardson. The organizational meeting was conducted at the Mill Valley Masonic Lodge as were the initial degrees: At one point during the all night organizational meeting, a recess was taken for dinner at the Aloha Hotel at about the present 59 Throckmorton, after which they returned to the Mill Valley Masonic Lodge completed their business and out of town participants departed on the 6:30 am train the next morning. The Charter Members of the Lodge were: John Edward Wooten (their first representative to Grand Lodge in 1908); Willis J. Faunt, P.G.; H.C. Henderson, P.G.; Jacob Gardner, P.G.; K.J. Skretting; Albino Leoni; Carl Larsen; Christopher Becker; Henry T. Hambly; Jesse W. Aron Halt; Arthur E. Anderson; Robert B. Williams; Casper J. Gardner; and Joseph Grant Jones. The Lodge later met at the Keystone building. Its initial class of 40 candidates were business men from Mill Valley and railroad employees from Mill Valley and Tiburon and included: Henry B. Westcott, Arthur J. Budar, Leslie J. Gardner, Frank F. Bostwick, C.L. Baker, S.M. Burt, W.L. Vallendroff, C. Swanfelt, H.F. Windrick, H.T. Ensor, W.O. Munfrey, Lionel Spring, F. A. Roemer, Thomas E. Shore, Bernard Grethel, C.G. Cavalli, George F. Payne, A.H. Hanna, Nicholas Tonner, A.F. Rasumssen, L.W. Gates, Otto A. Anderson, F. H. Leoni, Arthur Glinke, Juan V. Chavez, and C. Russell Simes. Mt. Tamalpais Lodge No. 399 apparently called several places home, including a new building they constructed in 1909 at the corner of Millwood Street and East Blithedale (55 x 120 feet, two stories high, containing a 20 x 30 foot stage, several dressing rooms, with a lower floor lodge room, committee room, robing room and gallery), and the building on Throckmorton Avenue. Important members of the Lodge included Bernard Grethel, N.C. Ortman, Johanathan E. Perry, E.C. Lund, John Edward Wooten, W. A. Sutcliffe, H.C. Henderson, Jacob Gardner, K.J. Skretting, Albino Leoni, Carl Larsen, Christopher Becker, Henry T. Hambly, Jesse W. Aron Halt, Arthur E. Anderson, Robert B. Williams, Casper J. Gardner, Joseph Grant Jones, and Thomas Hansen. In 1950, the Mill Valley Record reported that Mt. Tamalpais Lodge No. 200 had purchased a lot on Miller Avenue where they expected to build an attractive Lodge building. However, in 1952 the Lodge purchased the old theatre building at 145 Throckmorton was remodeled, dedicated, and served as the Lodge's last meeting place from 1952 until 1978. Mt. Tamalpais Lodge No. 399 closed and was consolidated with Marin Lodge No. 200 in San Rafael on August 14, 1978. Blythedale Rebekah Lodge No. 305, met the second and fourth Thursdays at Keystone Hall, Mill Valley. Newspaper records indicate that in 1915, the Blythedale Rebekah's held their installation at the Mill Valley Masonic Hall. The most short-lived lodge, Nyodo Lodge No. 478, was located in San Anselmo and was there from its institution on December 14, 1926 until 1952. Nyodo was the Indian name for "looking forward." Organizers of Nyodo Lodge were P.C. McLaren, E.G. Lanouette, J. Graham, E.O. McNally, V.J.B. Cheda, C.H. Towle, and C.O. Hunter. Charter Members were: Alexander Walker, P.G. and the Lodge's first representative to Grand Lodge in 1927); Victor J.B. Cheda, P.G.; Charles H. Towle, P.G.; Walter A. Bush, P.G.; William Meager, P.G.; Omar E. McNally; Samuel C. Garrison; Clarence C. Cramer; Walter C. Cornwell; E.G. Lannouette; Ivar J. Dahlin; Chester O. Hunter; Louis E. Fleischman; John de Ridder; Joseph Mazzini; Sidney A. Garrison; John C. Graham; Maurice H. Picard; Christian Christensen; J.B. Johnson; Benjamin Murisich; Abel Costa; Louis J. Davidovich; Gus Mrsch; Louis Gledj; Peter McLaren; Robert I. Slyter; Marshall H. Keyes, Walter G. Googin; Earl R. MacDougall; E.B. Bianco; Andrew J. Glass; John Rossi; John S. Wilson; Richard Colombo; Francis C. Burns; Allen H. Clendenning; Clement C. Edwards; Emerson O. McNally; and Frank C. Castro. In 1931, Nyodo Hall Association acquired a large holding from the E.K. Wood estate on Ross Avenue, and under the supervision of architect N.W. Sexton began planning remodeling the building for a lodge and store purposes. Capt. Cheda reported to the newspaper that when completed Nyodo Lodge would have one of the best planned and equipped lodge buildings in the area: It was to consist of a large meeting hall connecting with a banquet room that could be opened to make one large room, club rooms for both ladies and men, and lower story stores. The Hall was dedicated on October 24, 1931 by Grand Master Charles Duck (Fortuna Lodge No. 221, Eureka) with the assistance of Grand Secretary Francis Hudson (Stockton Lodge No. 11), and Grand Marshal Henry H. Williams (San Pablo Lodge No. 43, Vallejo). Nyodo Lodge No. 478 consolidated with Marin Lodge No. 200 on May 28, 1951. A humorous incident recorded by Caroline O'Hara related to the testing of the dance floor of Nyodo Lodge is recorded in San Anselmo library's history file. Initially meeting in a ramshackle building (Pioneer Hall, built 1905) that was the only hall in town, an argument arose as to the safety of the dance floor. To settle the argument the dance committee placed a large pan of water on the floor. As the dancing grew more spirited, the water in the pan rose and fell in a violent waves and finally splashed over the sides, convincing the committee that the dance floor was unsafe. Nevertheless, the Lodge soon organized a home talent minstrel show that brought some 300 people into the hall, vestibule and stairs. The officers became so alarmed as the building rocked with applause that the audience was finally requested not to applaud or make any demonstration of lest the floor give way. They spent the rest of the night shaking in silent laughter. That early Lodge Hall was replaced as related above. San Anselmo was also the original home of San Rafael Canton No. 39, Patriarchs Militant and the Ladies Auxiliary to Canton No. 39. Nyodo Lodge No. 478 met at Odd Fellows Hall, San Anselmo on Tuesdays. San Rafael Canton No. 39, Patriarchs Militant, met first Fridays at the Odd Fellows Hall in San Anselmo as apparently did the Ladies Auxiliary to Canton N. 39. Nyodo Lodge had a sister unit in Tamal Rebekah Lodge No. 393, which continued after the demise of Nyodo Lodge, but which moved its meeting place to the hall of Marin Lodge No. 200 in San Rafael. Beginning in 1932, the Marin Lodge No. 200, Tamalpais Lodge No. 399, Nyodo Lodge No. 478, Golden Star Rebekah Lodge No. 112, Blythedale Rebekah Lodge No. 305, and Tamal Rebekah Lodge No. 393 began holding annual joint reunions to commemorate the founding of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. At the ninth such joint reunion in 1941, entertainment included piano solos by Florence Saunders of Mill Valley, vocal solos by Thelma Stuart of Mill Valley, Mill Valley's June Ezekiel and Thelma Stuart performed a tap dance, and Patricia Borgfelt of San Rafael performed a vocal solo. Two members of Nyodo Lodge performed a "witty back-fence skit 'Domesticated Papas'." The reunions also included dancing, cards, and refreshments. (Mill Valley Record, April 25, 1941.) Other IOOF lodges existed on the northern Marin (and South Western Sonoma) coast: Tomales No. 233, Tomales and a Lodge in Marshall. Independent Order of Odd Fellows - Background, History, Ritual and Emblems
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a secret fraternal, benefit society, founded in England sometime during the second quarter of the 18th century. A grand lodge of Odd Fellows for England was formed at London in 1803. In 1809 a subordinate lodge at Manchester successfully declared itself independent of the grand lodge, and, as the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Manchester Unity, constitutes today the largest English branch of the order. Thomas Wildey is considered to have been the founder of the society in America, although other lodges are known to have existed before Wildey came to the United States. In 1819, Wildey and other English associates (John Welch, John Duncan, John Cheatham, and Richard Rushworth) organized a lodge of Odd Fellows at Baltimore, which received a charter from the Manchester Unity. In 1843 the American order declared its independence of the older society after Manchester Unity recognized the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, which was founded in that year by Peter Ogden, an African American sailor.
Odd Fellowship was established in California in 1849 with the formation of San Francisco Lodge No. 1 in San Francisco. Odd Fellowship spread throughout the state, particularly to the gold rush towns such as Marysville, Rough and Ready, Grass Valley, Whiskey Flat, Hangtown (a.k.a. Placerville), Comptonville, San Juan, Downieville, etc. The Grand Lodge of California was established in 1853, making it the first Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows established on the Pacific. By 1856, the jurisdiction of California consisted of sixty lodges with a membership of more than two thousand four hundred. Early in the history of California, the two largest fraternal orders, the Odd Fellows and the Freemasons embarked on a unique cooperative project to benefit the State. The two fraternal orders created the first hospital in the new State of California in 1850 following the great flood of the winter of 1849-1850. It was called the Odd Fellows and Masons Hospital, and admitted and cared for any patient regardless of affiliation, making no distinction between members and non-members. All funds for operating the hospital were to be contributed only by the members of the two fraternal organizations. In 1869, California hosted the Supreme Lodge session in San Francisco (opening September 20, 1869), an event memorable for two reasons: the Supreme Lodge officers became the first organized body to cross the continent to the Pacific by the newly completed transcontinental Rail Road; and the financial panic known as "Black Friday" occurred during the sessions. Delegates traveled free, thanks to the generosity of Templar Lodge No. 17, San Francisco: A Templar Lodge member, William Chapman Ralston (president of the California Bank) underwrote the $10,000 pledged by Templar Lodge. Subsequent to the 1869 session, California was host to Supreme Lodge sessions in 1888, 1904, 1915, 1949, 1960 and 1994. In 1871, Past Grand Master of California Odd Fellows, John F. Morse succeeded in establishing the Order in Germany and Switzerland. For the pleasure of members and their families, the Odd Fellows maintained several outdoor resort areas in California, including the Odd Fellows Beach and Park on the Russian River near Healdsburg, CA. The principal tenants held dear by Odd Fellows are friendship, love, and truth (FLT). The principal Odd Fellows emblem is the three links, standing for the virtues of Friendship, Love, and Truth. The duties enjoined upon Odd Fellows are to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan. The Odd Fellows ritual has gone through three major revisions. When the society was first introduced into the United States, its ritual was a simple catechism - the society met in taverns and its membership was often criticized for drinking in excess. One author speculated that the simple "Making" ceremony first employed may have derived from the "Ancient Order of Bucks," an older English society. (Red Blood of Odd Fellowship, Curry, pp. 212-216.) Slightly more complex rituals were adopted during the 1820's, including an early version of the White Degree, the Blue Degree and the Scarlet Degree, to which the Covenant and Remembrance Degrees were added in 1826. One IOOF member, Augustus Mathiot, applied for membership in a Masonic Lodge and was denied membership there because he belonged to that "Bacchanalian Club of Odd Fellows." Mathiot thereafter successfully campaigned to have his brethren adopt middle class reforms, particularly temperance. (Saloon-keepers and Bartenders became ineligible for membership in the IOOF.) This shift led to a new emphasis on ritual and adoption of a new ritual in 1845. Two prominent members of the committee to rewrite the Odd Fellows ritual were Edwin Hubbell Chapin, Universalist Minister and John McCabe, who was ordained an Episcopalian Minister three years later. The ritual became a dramatic exploration of the ties between father and son in which the initiate dramatically gains the approval of the patriarchs and with it acquires manhood and acceptance into the masculine family of the Lodge. The expanded 1845 ritual consisted of six degrees in the subordinate lodge and three degrees in the Encampment. The subordinate lodge degrees were: Initiatory, First Degree or White or Degree of Friendship; Second Degree or Covenant Degree or Degree of Brotherly Love; Third Degree or Royal Blue or Degree of Truth; Fourth Degree or Degree of Remembrance; Fifth Degree or Scarlet Degree or Priestly Order. The emblems originally assigned the degrees were as follows: Initiatory Degree - All Seeing Eye, Heart and Hand, Coffin, Skull and Cross Bones, Bee Hive, The Links and Axe; First Degree - The Lamb, Bundle of Sticks; Second Degree - Quiver and Arrows; Third Degree - Moses' Rod, the Dove, The Brazen Serpent, the Ark of the Covenant; Fourth Degree - The Scales and Sword, the Horn of Plenty; Fifth Degree - The Bible, Sun Moon and Stars, Budding Rod. The Encampment Degrees consisted of the Patriarchal, Golden Rule, and Royal Purple and had been introduced respectively in 1825, 1821, and 1825. Initially these were conferred on Past Grands in the Subordinate Lodge, but by 1828 these degrees were organized into a branch designated an Encampment; the rituals were revised in 1835, 1845 and 1880. The Patriarchal introduced the emblems of the Alter of Incense, and the Patriarchs Tent; The Golden Rule, the Three Pillars and the Globe; the Royal Purple, the Hour Glass and Scythe. Under the 1845 ritual, members of the Initiatory Degree wore white aprons. Members of succeeding degrees wore collars and no aprons. Members of the Encampment wore black aprons and gauntlets. In 1879, the Supreme Grand Lodge opined that "a proper revision of the Written and Unwritten Work is made, it will act as an incentive to thousands to take all the Degrees, who heretofore have been disinclined to seek for advancement, and it will bring back into active fellowship, thousands who have drifted out of the Order." Thus the ritual was again revised in 1880 by contracting the six degrees into four. The Supreme Grand Lodge resolved following the revision: "That all the members of the Order who have heretofore received the First and Second Degrees under the old work, shall be entitled to rank as members of the First Degree of the revised work. All members who have received the Third and Fourth degrees of the old work, shall be entitled to rank as members of the Second Degree of the revised work, and all members who have received the Fifth Degree of the old work, shall be entitled to the rank as members of the Third Degree of the revised work without charge." Thus after 1880 there is the initiatory degree, in which the candidate reflects upon mortality. That degree is followed by the First Degree, also known as the Degree of Friendship or White Degree, a dramatization of the story of David and Jonathon. Following the degree of Friendship, Odd Fellows receive the degree of Brotherly Love, Second Degree, or Covenant Degree, dramatizing the story of the Good Samaritan. The Third Degree is now the final degree in a subordinate lodge, also known as the Degree of Truth or Priestly Order. The symbolic color of the third degree is now Scarlet. It introduces five new symbols and explains those emblems previously introduced to the candidate. Those who have received the Third Degree are eligible for membership in an encampment, which still confers the Patriarchal Degree, the Golden-Rule Degree, and the Royal-Purple Degree. The Patriarchal Degree also was revised in the 1880's by adding identification of the novitiate Patriarch with Isaac. (Red Blood of Odd Fellowship, Curry) The semi-military, uniformed degree of the order is known as the Patriarchs Militant and is open only to those who have received the Royal Purple Degree of an Encampment. Agitation in Encampments for a uniform to be worn by Royal Purple members in street parades began in approximately 1867-1868, "but many conservative Odd Fellows warmly opposed the project, fearing that its adoption would appear as if we were simply aping other associations, the Knights Templar, for instance." (The History and Manual of Odd Fellowship, Theo. Ross, 1902) Agitation continued for adoption of a uniform and for a corresponding degree until both were finally adopted in 1882 and 1884, respectively. The Patriarchs Militant cantons ceremonies relate to the Patriarch Abram and his brother Lot. Members are designated "Chevaliers." The name "Patriarch Militant" is interpreted to mean "a peaceful ruler serving as a soldier," or a "just soldier." The motto of the just soldier is "Universal Justice" (justitia universalis), and his battle-cry, "peace or war" (pax aut bellum); peace if possible, war if necessary. The Odd Fellows also confer an honorary degree titled the Grand Decoration of Chivalry. Prior to the acceptance of the Patriarch's Militant, a group of Encampment members in Milwaukee, Wisconsin organized its own uniformed body which it designated the Patriarchal Circle. In 1881, the Grand Sire raised the Patriarchal Circle issue at the Supreme Grand Lodge Session. In 1882 it was referred to a special committee that found the organization was unlawful and membership in it was prohibited; this prohibition was renewed in 1883 and 1884. These prohibitions, together with the creation of the Patriarch's Militant, brought an end to the Patriarchal Circle. The Rebekah Degree for women members was established in 1851. The Rebekah Degree utilizes women from the Bible to illustrate particular virtues. Hence, Rebekah illustrates affection; Ester, Patriotism; Sarah, Faith; Deborah, Courage; Miriam, Zeal and Devotion; the Mother of Sampson and Hannah, Piety. It seems that Rebekah was singled out as the name of the degree because the degree's author, Schuyler Colfax, wished to symbolize unselfishness and Rebekah, more than others, displayed that trait in the scene at the well: There is a hint of self in all the others, Hannah, Deborah, Ruth, Sarah and Miriam were serving their own loved ones, but Rebekah is shown ministering to the poor unknown stranger. For that reason, the Daughters of Rebekah pledge themselves to follow her example. The California Odd Fellows hold an annual Cave Degree at the Pythian Cave near Yreka. In 1940, Yreka Lodge No. 19, I.O.O.F. first held the Odd Fellows Second Degree in Pythian Cave and annually thereafter with only two interruptions of three years each: from 1943 through 1945, because of World War II, and 1991 through 1993, because of needed improvements in access to the cave site and to the cave platform. The Cave Degree was resumed in July of 1994 after improvements were made to the access and platform inside. The Cave is also used by the Masonic Order for degrees every other year: The Masons contributed to the refurbishing of the cave by building a second set of bleachers in 1995. The Pythian Cave derived its name from being the first home of Yreka Lodge No. 168, K of P, which met or at least held certain ranks in the cave from c.1925 until c.1945 when a Castle Hall was built in the town of Yreka. The cave may have been used thereafter by the Pythians until the cave and its 40-acre surrounding area was passed to the Yreka Odd Fellows Lodge No. 19, IOOF in 1962 for $10.00 with the Pythians retaining a right to use the cave at least once a year. Was your California town home to an IOOF Lodge? Odd Fellows Appendix
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