ODD FELLOWS/REBEKAH LODGE

St. Louis Park Lodge # 202 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was chartered on July 18, 1892. The organization began in 17th Century England as a charitable organization that helped needy families, especially in providing burial expenses. The I.O.O.F. was established in the U.S. on April 26, 1819 in Baltimore. The "Four Great Commands" were to "Visit the Sick, Relieve the Distressed, Bury the Dead, and Educate the Orphan," according to a 1950 pamphlet.

The group first met on July 23, 1892 at Lincoln School. Charter members were E.A. Durkey, Grant Bacon, J.E. Stilles (first Noble Grand), Chesley Hamilton, Homer Jones, George E. Williams, George Little, George Edmisan, Hugh McDonald, George Torkelson, and Oscar Bakke. Joe Williams joined in 1892, and Doc Brown in 1902. From early on, the chapter met at the Hamilton Building.

A celebration for members with at least 25 years' membership was held in the 40's, and the long-time members included Charles Sewall, William Friegang, Joe Williams, Louis L. (Doc) Brown, and Jake Werner. The Lodge's main service activity in 1950 was providing CARE packages to Germany. The last mention of the Odd Fellows in the Park directories is in 1967, where No. 167 Golden Link Lodge is listed. This appears to be a consolidated Lodge that covered the entire metropolitan area, since officers were from Minneapolis, St. Paul, Mound, and Spring Lake Park. The headquarters of this group was at 4388 France Avenue in Edina.

One slightly odd thing the group did was to present a “jug of friendship” to a host lodge while visiting. A picture from May 1933 has our noble grand presenting said jug to the Hopkins noble grand.

In recent years, as Odd Fellows lodges have closed nationwide, workmen have been discovering wooden boxes containing skeletons hidden in closets, drawers, attics, and crawl spaces. It turns out that skeletons, symbols of mortality, were used in initiation rites. It seems likely that, if there was a local Mr. Bones, he probably perished when the Hamilton Building burned down in 1958, as did the original charter. The replacement charter is at the St. Louis Park Historical Society.

The women’s auxiliary of the Odd Fellows, Rebekah Lodge 110, was organized in1902. They also met in the Hamilton Building, subletting from the Odd Fellows for 50 cents a night. Charter members were Anna Keller Brown, Bessie Eilertson, Emma Depew, Ida Crisp, Mary Burt, Elizabeth Miller, Della (Hamilton) Miller, and Anna Gibson. A number of records of the Rebekahs are held by the St. Louis Park Historical Society.

The St. Louis Park Oddfellows Lodge merged with the Morningside Lodge and moved to 44th and France.

 

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.