A week and a half ago, Brother John Reitzer-Smith was presiding over a lodge meeting as Noble Grand when the question arose if there were any Ukrainian Odd Fellows in need.  Within the span of a few days, Brother John had made contact with a lodge in Poland that, before the war in Ukraine, had been initiating Ukrainians with the intent to form lodges in that country.  Now those new Ukrainian Odd Fellows find themselves in severe distress as their wives and children flee their homes near Lviv for the relative safety of Wrocław, Poland.  The lodge in Wrocław is doing all they can to help care for the families of their refugee brothers who have stayed behind in Ukraine to defend their homeland.  Brother John's GoFundMe gives American Odd Fellows the opportunity to make small donations to support the relief effort of our Polish brothers as they care for the immediate needs of our Ukrainian refugee brothers and their families.

For this very special episode we visit with Meredith Moore, Past Grand of Fort Worth Lodge #251 in Texas.  Sister Meredith has become an active, indispensable, and inspirational Odd Fellow with her years of service in various lodges in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  She talks about her journey from being invited to a lodge function at Dallas #44 to being one of the most active Odd Fellows in North Texas.  She also shares insights about what has led to such great cooperation between lodges and how that has helped to build and strengthen Odd Fellowship in the Lone Star State.  The Shoutout this time goes to Brady Lodge #116 of Muncy, Pennsylvania for having elected the first female Noble Grand in their century-plus history.  In the Odd Podge, Meredith talks about the brilliance of Winslow-Hammonton #40's plan to recreate the original lodge meeting in the Seven Stars Tavern on April 30th, Toby shares the Grand Encampment of Washington's net positive member gain, and Ainslie gives props to the latest post on The Heart In Hand Blog which was derived from the most recent episode of Modern Goat Rider.

For this episode we had put out an invitation to members of the Rose Float Committee to join us and talk about how they put the float together and what it does to raise awareness of Odd Fellowship.  Despite some encouraging communication initially, no one from the committee joined us for this episode.  Ever the resourceful members, Scott, Toby, and Ainslie launched into an impromptu discussion of the importance of ritual and regalia to lodge life.  The consensus amongst the three of them is that both ritual and regalia are very important and should be brought back as an essential part of the Odd Fellows experience.  Being the free-thinking sorts that they are, if you have a contrasting opinion, they would love to hear it.  Send them an email at [email protected] and share your opinion about ritual and regalia.  This episode's Shoutout goes to Portneuf Lodge #20 of Pocatello, Idaho for their spectacular growth, which was all prompted originally by renovating their beautiful neon lodge sign.  In the Odd Podge, Toby shares the website he built for his associate lodge (http://www.buckley75ioof.com), Ainslie talks about singing the Odes along with the new recordings available for download (https://odd-fellows.org/member-resources/lodge-odes-and-music/), and Scott shares a random encounter that may lead to some new Odd Fellows in Arkansas.

In 2009, a hall at the Stroud School of Arts in Dungog, Australia revealed an engaging secret: a hand-painted silk banner from the 19th Century.  Two years later the banner wound up in the collection of the Newcastle Museum where David Hampton would eventually find it and begin unravelling it's fascinating history.  Made in London by Tutill and Company, it was the pride and joy of Williams River Lodge of the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows.  The banner would have been carried by multiple members in parades and served as a strong reminder to the community that Odd Fellowship was a reliable bulwark against the vagaries of life.

The banner was used by the lodge at least up until the late 1940s, when membership was still nearly 650 members.  Eventually the lodge folded and the hall became part of the local school, at which time the banner was moved and stored under the floorboards in a hall at the Stroud School of Arts.  Mostly forgotten at that point, it came into the collection of the museum in Newcastle who raised money and sent it on to Sydney where some restoration work was done to preserve it for future generations.  The banner is remarkable both in the condition it survived in, and for the incredible craftsmanship and artistry with which it was made.

David Hampton, curator of the Newcastle Museum, joins us to tell the remarkable story of the banner and how it reflects nearly a century of changes in the social and fraternal life of Australia.  Along the way we hear about what life was like for the emigrants to Australia in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries and how groups like the Odd Fellows provided essential assistance and also they paralleled labor union and other trade organizations of the time.

There is no lodge Shoutout in this episode (please feel free to contribute nominations) but in the Odd Podge Ainslie shares about his new eBay score, a clay Odd Fellows' pipe, and Toby asks David about the Somerton Man (Tamam Shud) case to see if he has any background on it.

A popular novel inspired a curiosity about fraternalism back in 2016 for Gary Harper which led him to start researching various fraternal orders.  After some study, he settled on joining the Odd Fellows.  There was just one problem, however: he had no way of finding a lodge to join.  Various emails to addresses he had found online went unanswered for years until finally, in 2019, he visited the IOOF Subreddit and made contact with an Odd Fellow in a neighboring state who was able to help him make contact with his local lodge.  Despite all the challenges in making contact with the lodge, he was able to join in October of that year.  Since that time he's become an ardent Odd Fellow with a zeal for promoting the Order.  Instead of being bitter about his struggles to join Odd Fellowship, he is willing to share his story in hopes of making lodges more visible to their communities so that others may have an easier path to joining.  He gives us a glimpse into the growth of his lodge, Kanawha #25 in West Virginia, as well as his Encampment and Canton.  No lodge was nominated for a Shoutout this episode so all of you listeners are encouraged to send in your nominations.  In the Odd Podge, Scott tells about his search for former Odd Fellows Halls in Arkansas' capital; Ainsle shares the news about the Goat Riders, a booster club for the DeMoulin Museum in Greenville, IL; Gary shares his efforts to charter a new lodge in West Virginia; and Toby tells about the Past Grand Master who was remembered in history as "Washington's One-Day Governor."

UPDATE: the correct audio file has been uploaded!  For those that downloaded the previous version, we hope you enjoyed a preview of "The Scandinavian Polka Party," hosted by Brother Toby on 247PolkaHeaven.com.

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This is the second half of The Important Crossover.  If you haven't heard Part 1, go check it out from our friends at Modern Goat Rider.

For the second half of The Important Crossover, Billy and Tara from Modern Goat Rider join Ainslie, Scott, and Toby to continue their discussion about whether Odd Fellowship is important.  (Spoiler alert: it is!)  The quintet of Poddies shares a variety of stories and opinions about why Odd Fellowship is important.  Some of the highlights include Tara's gratitude for having her supportive lodge family around her when she received some bad news; the story of Toby's Past Grand Master jewel; and the kindness shown Scott when he was struggling with getting started in Odd Fellowship. 

Brother Mike Duminiak of West Virginia joins us as we reconvene for the new year to tell the story of the Patriarchs Militant.  This oft-ignored branch of Odd Fellowship provides some surprising opportunities and does some very interesting work.  Brother Mike is a passionate and articulate supporter and gives us a comprehensive look at the history, origins, development, and current practices of the Patriarchs Militant, from the Canton level all the way up to the General Military Council.  Through his stories, we get to meet John Underwood, developer of the Patriarchs Militant Degree and first General Commanding of the branch.  We also get a look at how the uniforms have changed through the years, from 19th Century finery to more contemporary styles.  He gives us a glimpse of the drills, practices, and procedures that make Canton attendance engaging.  The Shoutout goes to Ellensburg Lodge #20 of Washington, for having just initiated twenty-one new members in December.  In the Odd Podge, Toby talks about his upcoming lecture to the California Membership Seminar, Ainslie shares his latest eBay score—a membership-retention handbook from Pennsylvania, most likely from the post-WWII era—and new co-host Scott Moye talks about his renewed Covid hermitage and the book he's reading.  Brother Mike also corrects the show's erroneous grasp of the geography of West Virginia.

Toby and Ainslie take a nostalgic look back at the past year in Odd Fellows podcasting and revisit some of the topics they covered.  Brother Nick Curry of Chester Lodge #281 in Virginia gives an update on the lodge's progress and how they're reforging bonds with the community that were lost when the lodge closed.  Ainslie and Toby also give a sneak peak at some of the coming year's topics and guests.

Medieval English Craft Guilds were the wellspring of modern fraternalism.  From those original attempts to protect trade secrets, educate artisans, and assist members and their families, an amazing variety of fraternal orders has developed.  Those fraternal groups would have remained solely in the land where they began had it not been for the subsequent spread of British influence and culture across the globe.  Fraternal researcher Owen Snowdon joins us again to tell stories of how the British Empire spread fraternalism around the globe.  Some of the highlights of the episode include an Orange Order lodge which was chartered in a cave during the Crimean War; another Orange Order lodge chartered by members of the Mohawk Nation in Ontario, Canada; an RAOB lodge chartered by British POWs in Imperial Japan during WWII; multiple RAOB lodges chartered by British servicemen in West Germany during the Cold War; and several lodges which were held on both military and civilian ships.  The Lodge Shoutout goes to Örebrohus Lodge #87 in Örebro, Sweden, which celebrated its centennial on December 10th.  For the Odd Podge, Toby talked about his associate lodge and their newfound interest in Degree Work, Ainslie promoted the new hardcover collector's edition of the "Odd Fellows Primer," and Christopher wished everyone a warm holiday greeting.

Those interested in more of Brother Owen Snowdon's fraternal research can find him on Facebook by searching "fraternal and Masonic history" or by visiting his website at http://fraternalandmasonichistory.weebly.com.

Amidst the fields of corn, soy, and wheat, there's something else growing in Northern Illinois: Odd Fellowship.  Brother Ray Jackson of Ottawa Lodge #41 shares his story of how the members of Century Lodge #492 in Carpentersville spread out across the northern part of Illinois reviving struggling lodges and renewing the spirit of Odd Fellowship.  SPOILER ALERT: there's no one, main secret to their success.  With each lodge being different, they members first had to dig into that community and find out what worked for the locals and then build on it.  Ray goes into great detail about how that worked and the kinds of successes they have had.  He also tells of the process of reviving his current home lodge, Ottawa #41, including climbing in through the window and the moldy hall.  The Shoutout goes to Themis Lodge #75 of Louisiana on the occasion of their first anniversary.  For the Odd Podge, Brother Ainslie talks about the Art Fellows at his lodge in Tuscola, IL who meet regularly to make art.  Brother Toby thanks his home lodge, Ballard-Alki #170 of Seattle, for the reception they gave in his honor after having served as Sovereign Grand Musician.