Coulterville, California is a relic of the Gold Rush; a small mountain community nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  There are 110 residents of the town, which is situated at the crossroads of two state highways that take tourists to and from mountain tourist attractions like Yosemite National Park.  Like so many other towns of the Old West, Coulterville has an Odd Fellows Lodge, but one that was on the verge of closing.  Just when it seemed like the lodge was about to join so many other Gold Rush-era lodges in the history books, along came Erica Wolfsen, a multi-generational resident of Coulterville, and Willow Polson, her friend and partner in reviving the lodge.  When they joined, rumors were swirling around the town that the lodge couldn't afford to stay open.  They both stepped up and found ways to make the lodge an essential part of the community again and membership has rebounded as a result.  They tell us the story of what they did and how they did it.  Spoiler alert: it involves getting active and holding events in the community.  The Shoutout goes to another re-chartered lodge, this time San Antonio No. 11 in Texas.  In the Odd Podge, Erica raves about the inspiring speech Grand Master of California Rita Cooper gave at her recent visitation, Willow shares her happiness with the recent membership gains, Toby talks about the new plan his associate lodge has adopted to bring members in more gradually, and Ainslie previews the sad but rewarding duty of tending to a member at the end of his life.

The annual Odd Market hosted by Tuscola Lodge #316 in Illinois has become a community mainstay.  It didn't start out that way, though.  The beginning had a lot more variety—and lizards.  Sister Rain Martin and Sister Renee Moore join us to talk about the current Odd Market, how it started, how it grew, and how other lodges can copy its success.  There were a lot of challenges along the way (some involving food trucks) and a lot of re-evaluation but it has grown into a major event in the area and is a main recruiting tool for Odd Fellowship.  The Shoutout goes to Oak Grove Lodge #115 of Missouri which has recently begun getting active again after a period of dormancy.  In the Odd Podge, Ainslie shares the story of his father doing degree work, Meredith talks about how female members have helped shape Odd Fellowship in Texas, Rain recounts her fundraising efforts for Kerrville after the floods, Renee offers to help any lodges needing assistance or guidance with doing events, and Toby recalls the recent Installation of Officers for Pilgrim Lodge #187 in Everett, Washington, the first formal Installation that lodge held for many years.

The new year finds us with a new co-host: Sister Meredith Moore of Dallas Lodge #44 in Texas.  Meredith brings a wonderful background in Odd Fellowship and in data collection and analysis to the show and we waste no time in putting her skills to work.  She developed and posted a survey on member burnout that got responses from 37 jurisdictions.  The results are, in most cases, not surprising.  Members like meaning, ritual, and regalia.  The real question is whether any action will be taken based on the data from the survey or if higher levels of leadership will just continue on as before.

There's no Shoutout on this episode.  We would love it if you would share great things your lodge is doing so we can tell the rest of Odd Fellowship about it.  Email us at [email protected] and give us the info about what you're doing.  In the Odd Podge, Ainslie shares the exciting news that his father joined the Odd Fellows, Toby talks about a visit from Michael and Ryan Crile of California (including a tour of the Washington Odd Fellows Museum), and Meredith previews the upcoming Encampment and Canton Degree Days at the end of January.

What exactly is a Grinch, anyway?  Is it a person?  A creature?  An outlook on life that sours every interaction?  The Three Links Odd Cast does another adaptation of a timeless holiday classic focused on Odd Fellowship as we present, "How The Grand Master Stole Christmas."  In our version we get to explore what happens when individual desire supersedes our duties as Odd Fellows and how we can get back in touch with those duties.  Our all-star cast returns for this episode, with Gil T. Rodelo, Ian Love-Jones, Matthew Thornton, Evan Ochs, Mason Wolf, Michael Greenzeiger, Steven Cross, Meredith Moore, Kyle Fuller, Kait Osman, and Elizabeth Keena.

Odd Fellowship isn't something that can be joined casually.  It requires a certain amount of effort to be expended on behalf of those joining the lodge to fill out an application, pay the application fee, and proceed through the interview and initiation.  For the applicant, this process should ensure that they get an opportunity to find out about the nature of the lodge to which they are applying.  For the lodge, this process should help them decide if this applicant should become a candidate for membership and, ultimately, a member.  For the process to work as intended, the Interviewing Committee must do a thorough job of investigating the applicant and find out if they will make a good member of the lodge.  Just like in many other areas of Odd Fellowship, however, that doesn't always happen as intended.  Too many lodges treat the Interview as a formality; a speed bump on the path to getting as many people in the lodge as possible as quickly as possible.  Ray Jackson, PGM of Illinois, joins us to talk about the application and interviewing process and how it is supposed to go when done properly, and some of the ramifications of it not going properly.  The Shoutout goes to another West Virginia Lodge, Harrisville #99.  In the Odd Podge, Toby previews his upcoming 50th Birthday Party (hint: it's also a fundraiser), Ray remembers a departed long-time member in Illinois, Ainslie shares the positive outcomes of holding an open meeting at his lodge, and Mike talks about visiting Ainslie's lodge for that open meeting—and then gives us all a shocking surprise!

Waxahachie Lodge No. 80 is one of the largest and best-known lodges in North America.  Because of their excellent promotion on social media, they have become household names in the world of Odd Fellowship.  We talk with their Noble Grand, Alex Freeman, about his journey into Odd Fellowship, how it intersects with his professional life, (spoiler alert: he's a tattoo artist) and what it's like to be in charge of such a large, active, prominent lodge.  Brother Alex offers some fantastic advice and insight for others on the journey through Odd Fellowship.  The Shoutout is back for this episode and it goes to Iroquois Lodge #74 of Illinois for their revival from near-death.  In the Odd Podge, Ainslie reviews the Odd Market, Mike reveals his new jobs in West Virginia and at Sovereign Grand Lodge, Alex follows Ainslie's lead and shares his experiences with the Odd Fest in Waxahachie, and Toby revels in the fruits of his fame as appreciative fans bought him dinner (and dessert) at the NW IOOF Meeting.

We always like to do a cemetery episode during October in keeping with the "spooky" theme of the season.  This year, however, we're not playing up the spooky or macabre side of cemeteries.  Instead, we're looking at the compassionate, caring side of cemetery operations with Brother Jon Hart, manager of the IOOF Memory Gardens in Livermore, California.  Brother Hart had a meandering path to the job, starting with joining the Livermore Lodge and then jumping in to help save the cemetery when it looked like the lodge would need to sell it.  Since then he's been able to use his skills as an ordained minister and former systems programmer to make the cemetery experience a holistic and caring one.  There's no Shoutout in this episode (but you can contact us with info about other lodges doing great things for future Shoutouts) but there are some great items to share in the Odd Podge.  Toby went to the Idaho Grand Sessions in Pocatello and got to visit with old friend and fellow Washington PGM Kelly Hughes (now our Sovereign Grand Warden), Jon reflected on how the word "remember" means to bring people back together, and Ainslie shared his story of being elected Grand Warden of Illinois and then the triumphal success of his lodge's Odd Market.

Mike fills two roles on this episode: one as host, and one as guest while we discuss his newest book, "Oddtistic."  The book looks at how Odd Fellowship has become a refuge for those seeking acceptance in a world that is often dismissive and uninviting.  It also outlines how community heals isolation and structure provides an anchor, all giving those seeking community a place to go with real prospects for inclusion and belonging.  The Shoutout goes to yet another brand-new lodge, Stillson No. 77 in Vermont.  In this episode's Odd Podge, Toby shares his observations from Reddit, Ainslie talks about the preparations for the Odd Market his lodge hosts in Illinois, and Mike double-dips as both host and guest, recounting Ainslie's guest appearance on his other podcast, Odd Fellows Today, talking about art and Odd Fellowship, and giving us an example of interaction with the wider community from his fundraiser ride for Hubbard House.

Looking to get his life on a better track, Bro. Niles Schumm took his mother's suggestion and joined the Odd Fellows.  That led him to his local lodge where he started to get more and more involved in lodge activities.  After not too many more years, he started to get interested in serving at the Grand Lodge level and is currently the Grand Warden of Illinois.  Bro. Schumm recounts his journey into Odd Fellowship and talks about his philosophy of desiring to bring about cooperation among members in Illinois and neighboring jurisdictions.  He also shares some of the things that he's done working with the Grand Lodge to help strengthen lodges in need of assistance.  The Shoutout goes to Tonquish Lodge #32 in Michigan for their recent success in growing the lodge and reaching out to their community.  In the Odd Podge, Toby shares the joy of receiving his 25 year jewel at his home lodge in Seattle; Ainslie tells us about the Riverboat Cruise he attended that was organized by Gem City Lodge #357 in Illinois, Niles invites us all to his Friendsgiving celebration, and Mike expresses his joy and gratitude over the recent Sovereign Grand Lodge session in Charleston, WV.

When we last spoke about the Cave Degree, it's fate was left uncertain.  The deck in the cave was in disrepair and there was a fundraising effort underway to restore it to a functional condition.  Now, in its second year post-revival, the Cave Degree has evolved into a full-blown Cave Weekend, with a meeting of the Richard Brouse Degree Lodge No. 190 and an English Country Dance on Friday evening, the Initiatory and First Degrees Saturday morning, instructional session later in the afternoon, the Second Degree in the Cave by the light of the moon, the Third Degree and Rebekah Degree Sunday morning, and then the Patriarchal Degree back up in the Cave on Sunday afternoon.  All this makes for a busy but exciting and inspiring weekend.  On this episode, we talk to three of the many people who helped organize the renovation of the Cave and organize the weekend: Lizzie Martinez of Yreka Lodge No. 19, Stacy Thomason of Gold Hill No. 129 in Oregon, and Mason Wolf of True Fellowship No. 52 in San Jose.  Andrew Crockett and Debra LaVergne also drop in to share a little bit during the course of the episode.  The Shoutout goes to Water Valley Lodge No. 82 of Mississippi for their fine work recruiting younger members to keep the lodge going.