The Odd Fellow & Rebekah Story

The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs is one of the oldest Fraternal Orders in the world. Although some books claim to trace Odd Fellowship back to Roman times when members of the Roman Legions in England were called “Fellow Citizens”, what is said to be the earliest printed record of an Odd Fellows Lodge appears in a reference to a lodge meeting at a Globe Tavern in England, in 1748. The Lodge was number nine, so apparently there were at least nine associated Odd Fellows lodges at that time.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows has been active in California since September 9, 1849, one year before statehood, with the establishment of California Lodge No.1 in San Francisco. The great seal of California was copied after the Odd Fellows, Grand Lodge Seal. There are over 400 active Lodges in the state today. They run four different care facilities in the state: the Children’s home in Gilroy, the IOOF Senior Housing Complex & IOOF Home located in Saratoga and “The Meadows” a gracious country retirement community and Skilled Nursing facility in Napa. They also support several charities: The Heart Fund, Visual Research, Arthritis, Scholarships, United Nations Educational Tour for youth, tree planting, and locally: Community Services, feeding the Homeless, Senior Centers and Youth Activities.

The Odd Fellows was the first organization that formed lodges for women. Schuyler Colfax, Vice President of the United States under President Ulysses E. Grant, was the force behind the movement. The Odd fellows were the first group to form Homes for their aged members; the first such home was in Pennsylvania. We also have lodges for young boys and girls, Junior Odd Fellows and Theta Rho. We have youth camps, the one in California being in Long Barn.

California Odd Fellowship has a proud and noble history. Many California “firsts” were accomplished by members of The Three Link Fraternity. Frequently the first substantial building in a community was the Odd Fellows Hall. In many instances these buildings, in addition to providing a home for the local lodge, also served as a focal point for most community social activities. The Odd Fellows Hall also served as the site for town meetings, municipal court proceedings and voting places. Most of the state’s early business and political leaders were members of the Order. Frequently the first law and order in gold rush mining camps and much of the medical care, especially in time of epidemics, was supplied by local Odd Fellows. As California changed from a mining economy to an agricultural economy, and later to an entertainment, commercial and high-tech economy, California Odd Fellowship also has been very prominent.

http://caioof.org/membership-handbook/