The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1871-12-21

B. Sherman. f.ai
The dome and tholus Of tho Css;:ol
were illuminated last evening, and the
Assembly Chamber presented very gay
appearance. Odd Fellows dressed in
their richest regalia, occupied the body of
the hali,with goodly number of friends,
ladies' and gentleman and spectators .in
the gallery.
Past Grand Master, David FL. Wright,
called the assembly to order, and after a
few appropriate remarks, introduced His
Excellency, Governor Fairchild, who
said: :. =
Gardener Of the Grand Lodge ell o. o. F.
BRETHREN: In this day and genera
tion, every person of ordinary .intelli
gence knows-or ought to know-who
and what an Odd Fellow is. When sick
ness and distress fails upon brother; OF
the widow, or the orphan of brother
calls for aid, such people as care to learn
may find out a0hat an Odd Fellows is,
and know the secret of the strong ties
which bind the brethren of the order one
to another. Should. you desire to know
UAo is the Odd Fellow, watch the door
OF the house when perjury. want, or suf
ferlng have entered to af1lict brother,
his widow, or his orphan child; he whom
you see entering there, with relief for
physical suffering, and loving, kind,
brotherly word Of sympathy and encour-
agement, he is the true Odd Fellow.
Friendship. Love and Truth being your
watch words and the handspring Of your
behavior one toward one another Char
lty being the foundation stone of your
order, On which has been built all of
your great and noble actions, it is no won.
der that you have accomplished an
amount of good which cannot be estima-
ted. That the future of the order is to
be brilliant in usefulness, .there can be no
doubt. So long as the members heed
the eaching of the order, it will continue
to be, as it is now, one Of the best and
most benifcent-- organ izations in the
world.
But few days since, [ witnessed a
scene which happily illustrates the prac-
teal workings Of the order. I was at
Green Bay on the arrival of the gener-
Gus gifts from the Odd Fellows of Cincin-
natl to the' brethren who had been redu-
ced to penury by the terrible fires around
Peshtgo. With that thoughtfulness,
which can only come from loving hearts.
the members Of the order in Cincinnati
had shipped to Green Bay, so bedsteads,
50 mattresses, SO sets of tin ware, knives
and forks, spoons, pals, washboards,
clotbeslines, clothespins-in short so kits
OF the ordinary household furniture, were
there tor their distressed brethren. That
these gifts were welcome you know, that
the recipients of them nightly pray for
the blessings of God to follow such an Or
ganizatlon, we may be sure Nor have
these been the only remembrances from
their brethren; donations have come
from all parts of sthe country. But
this, is not the only order which has
shone brightly by deeds of charity, and
remembered the unfortunate. The Ma
sons have not been wanting in this re-
spect. They have also been true to their
obligatio Us to relieve distressed brother
wherever he may be found. lday. the
tlc:e never come, when this or any other
of the benevolent orders, prove false to
their vows $40 = !.
1t is true that the people everywhere
have exhibited generosity towards our
deeply distressed fellow citizens of the
burned districts, seldom witnessed in this
world, and have laid the people of this
State under obligations which we can
never expect to discharge but had no
one else in all the world opened their
hearts and purses to relieve the destitute,
the members of the various BENEVOLENT
societies would have been just as jealous
and liberal in their anxiety to keep their
VOWS and heed the call for aid from a
brother in affection. Though they had
been entirely alone in the good work, they
would not have been found reluctant OF
backward.
ljoined your order in the mountains
OF California many years ago, when il
was necessary for me to ride on horse
back thirty miles to attend the meeting
of the Lodge. I'll tell you and our
friends here, briefly, why 1 made appli-
cation to lodge for admission as mem
Der. l had, among my associates, two
young men, who gradually fell upon evil
ways. They were apparently in fair
way to go to destruction in this world,
and the worst of fates in the next. No
arguments of friends, or remonstrances or
entreaties, seemed to have any weight
with them. They continued to pursue the
evil path they had chosen.
For some months, l lost sight ofthem,
they being miners, rowing from one To-.
cality to another, as the hope of reward
for their tolls led them. When they re-
turned to the river digging, we noticed
that great change had come over them.
Where was formerly careless, rowdy
life, we found steady, gentlemanly be-
havior They were not frcquenters and
customers of the drinking saloons; they
were industrious; they were reasonably
careful of their money; they we're trying
earnestly to make their "p,le," aud re-
turn to their families in 'sthe States"
So decided was the change for the better,
that their friends greatly reioiced, and of