Every lodge wants to grow—but how many lodges are actually able to incorporate new members successfully in such a way that the new members feel valued?  Brother Matthew Thornton, NG of Houston Heights Lodge #225 in Texas, joins us to talk about how his lodge maintains a healthy lodge culture with a mix of everyone from oil workers to urban hippies.  Spoiler alert: their secret is holding a lot of events that give people an opportunity to do something.  Brother Matthew goes into more detail with us to talk about how that all comes together and how it turns out.  The Shoutout goes to yet another new lodge, Vandalia Rebekah Lodge #9 in West Virginia.  In their Odd Podge contributions, Toby gives an update on the wedding gifts he and his new bride received for the Vanderlinden-Sheppard Adult Visual Aid Fund, Ainslie shares an update on his hand tattoo, Mike announces the publication of his new book, and Matthew gives his thanks for a wonderful year and looks forward to the next one.

Based on the classic holiday film "It's A Wonderful Life," this year's Christmas episode is an Odd Fellows' retelling of the old favorite in which George Bailey is the harried Past Grand of Bedford Falls Lodge #310.  Straining under the weight of his lodge's expectations, he finally breaks and wishes he had never been an Odd Fellow.  The ghost of Thomas Wildey visits him to give him a glimpse into the world where he never joined the lodge.  This episode features an all-star cast including Gil T. Rodello, Kyle Fuller, Mason Wolf, Matthew Thornton, Fran Carris, Kaitlyn Osman, Ian Love-Jones, Steven Cross, Michael Greenzeiger, Joseph Benton, Elizabeth Keena, and Toby Hanson.

Eating together is an integral part of Odd Fellowship and has a long tradition of inclusion within our Order, from formal banquets at Grand and Sovereign Grand Lodge meetings to sandwich platters during a Degree Rally, to tried-and-true fraternal staples like spaghetti feeds, pancake breakfasts, and pie auctions.  Mike, Ainslie, and Toby discuss these various modes of eating and other ways that food helps bolster the fellowship of Odd Fellowship.  The Shoutout goes to another new lodge in Florida, this time the re-chartered Suncoast #69.  Word has it that another lodge institution will be taking place in Florida early next year.  In their Odd Podge, Toby shares the story of a wedding guest who asked for an application to the lodge, Mike previews the chartering of a Rebekah Lodge in Charleston, and Ainslie tells the somewhat winding tale of two tattoo artists from New Orleans who went to Winston-Salem and discovered Odd Fellowship in the process.

In high school, Dustin used to wander past the dusty old Odd Fellows Hall in Wenatchee, Washington.  Intrigued by the music blaring out on to the sidewalk one evening, he went in to find an all-ages punk rock concert.  Joel was the producer of those concerts and made sure the teens and young adults of Wenatchee had a safe, fun place on Friday nights.  Now, nearly thirty years later, they are both members of the lodge where those concerts were held and they are putting on the concerts themselves.  Prosperity Lodge #301 nearly died in 2018 and was saved, only to die again during Covid and get revived yet again.  Now thriving and growing, Prosperity Lodge has become a template for other lodges looking to grow by attracting newer members with activities.  The brothers talk about the punk shows, vinyl record expo, plant sales, parties, and other events which have built their lodge up in the past two years.  The Shoutout goes to another new lodge, Concordia #383 in Tazewell, Tennessee.  For the Odd Podge, Ainslie previews the tattoo portion of the Tuscola Odd Market, Toby reveals that another of his nephews is joining the lodge, Mike shares about meeting his riding goals for the season, Joel talks about a former member of the lodge, and Dustin is thankful for everyone who helped out.  Pictures of the Prosperity Lodge and its events can be found at https://photos.app.goo.gl/4i5oapveHq1rJkzL6

Our Sovereign Grand Master, the Honorable Gerald V. Workman of West Virginia, sat down with us for a wide-ranging discussion about his path in Odd Fellowship and how it led him to the top job in the Order.  He tells about his early days joining the Junior Lodge, his many years working in his local lodge, his eventual path through the chairs of the Grand Lodge of West Virginia, and his journey into the Sovereign Grand Lodge.  Along the way, he has been guided by his strong belief in the principles of Odd Fellowship and his religious faith, both of which work together to guide his world view.  He shares some amazing insights gathered during his time going through the chairs of the Sovereign Grand Lodge and has plenty of inspiration to share.  The Shoutout goes to Durant Lodge #57 of Oklahoma, which is now meeting.  We featured them on Episode Three of this season and it's great that they are getting the lodge functioning.  Toby gave an update on the Christmas Episode and asked listeners what Three Links Odd Cast merch they might like (hint: tote bags and luggage tage!) if we were to offer some.  In the Odd Podge, Toby gave a preview of his double-dip of Degrees hosted at his associate lodge, Ainslie gave an update on the Odd Market in Tuscola (complete with fezzes), Sovereign Grand Master Workman thanked us for inviting him on the podcast, and Mike showcased his new project, the Odd Times.

As has become tradition at the Three Links Odd Cast, we like to take a turn to the spooky for Halloween and talk cemeteries.  We're joined by Brother Michael Duplantier to discuss the progress on restoring New Orleans' famous Odd Fellows' Rest Cemetery.  Brother Duplantier does a wonderful job of giving us the history and background on the cemetery and how it fell into disrepair along with the recent efforts to restore it and make it an attractive place to honor our deceased brothers and sisters.  The interview covers a surprising amount of history and culture of New Orleans and the travails of restoring a cemetery that's nearly two centuries old.  The Shoutout goes to Manuel Bosakewich Lodge #70 in Florida, a new Spanish-speaking lodge in the Miami area.  In the Odd Podge, Mike shares the Odd Fellows' connection to West Virginia's Flatwoods Monster, Ainslie previews the tattoo fundraiser at the upcoming Tuscola Odd Market, Michael marvels at how the antiquity of Odd Fellowship is one of its best aspects, and Toby shares a story of his associate lodge helping a brother in need.

Usually, by the time we at the Three Links Odd Cast hear about a new lodge being chartered, it's already meeting regularly.  However, in this instance, we got to talk to Brother Garrett Hite of Oklahoma as he's in the process of re-chartering Durant Lodge #57.  Brother Garrett shares his story of how he first came to join the Odd Fellows, his time away from his home lodge, and the eventual need to form a new lodge in his new home town in Oklahoma.  He gives a great amount of insight into the process of chartering a lodge, from finding a meeting space to rounding up new members.  The Shoutout goes to a new lodge in Arkansas, Heber Springs #17, which was recently re-chartered.  In the Odd Podge, Ainslie talks about his lodge's visit to the drive-in movie theater, Garrett promotes the upcoming car show his home lodge in Texas is working on, and Toby reveals a major life change in the works.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Auditions are now open for the Christmas Episode of the Three Links Odd Cast, entitled "It's A Wonderful Lodge."  Anyone interested in auditioning can request a script excerpt and record an audition.  Excerpts can be requested at our email address, [email protected].  All auditions are due by October 28th so be sure to get the script and record your audition!

Mike, Toby, and Ainslie are all safely home from their trip to Pittsburgh and back to their usual lodge activities.  The brothers got together to discuss their experiences at Sovereign Grand Lodge and how they felt the Order was progressing as a result.  They all had wonderful experiences at the event and enjoyed the fellowship and are energized with all kinds of great ideas for the future.  They discuss all those ideas in this episode and give some thoughts about how they may be implemented as soon as next year's session.  The Shoutout goes to another new lodge, this time Sioux Falls #56 in South Dakota.  It's the second lodge in that city, having formed in response to those who wanted to attend lodge earlier in the evening right after work.  In the Odd Podge, Toby talks about attending the Oregon Encampment Weekend, Ainslie previews his Odd Fellows Tattoo Summit in November, and Mike gives some insight into his writings as the new Sovereign Grand Chaplain, including a recurring submission to the IOOF News and work on a new Chaplain's Manual.

The 2024 Annual Communication of the Sovereign Grand Lodge was noteworthy for many reasons, not least of which was our live recording of the first episode of Season Five of the Three Links Odd Cast.  We had a packed meeting room full of members from jurisdictions all across the US and Canada on hand for this lively discussion of the state of Odd Fellowship today.  Mike, Ainslie, and Toby had a great time directing the discussion and responding to the audience members' questions and comments.  We heard about new lodges in Nova Scotia and South Dakota, the hot air balloon in New Mexico, learned to pronounce "Skookumchuck," and generally had a great time.  The Shoutout for this episode goes to the newly rechartered Lone Star Encampment #1 of the Jurisdiction of Texas.