Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-05-01
EXCELLENTPROGRAM- --LARGECROWD
First Order I'm America Instituted in
Baltimore, Md, April 20, 1919, by
Grand Master and Grandstre
Thomas Wilder.
[Fronl Fridays Daily.]


anniversary of the institution of the
order in America A program pleasing
iy interspersed with addresses, read
ings and music was given, and the
large number of persons present votea
it an epoch in the history of the order,
long to be, remembered. Addresses
were made by Past Master C. C. Ayres|
and District Deputy j. A. Ballard.
The readings were much more than
ordinary, each number eliciting pro-
longed encores, which compelled re-
sponses.
Opening address-Past Master C. c..
Ayres.
Solo-Judson Treneman.
Reading-Leo Lutz.
instrumental music-Misses Legene
and Laura Murray, Poe Murray and
Mrs. H. NJ. Sheppard.
Reading-Ethel Tierney.
Piano solo with bones accompani-
ment-Messrs. John Coffman, DR..
freeman Tullis and David Ninemier.
Keading-Mrs. Louise Adler.
Address,. A. Ballard.
Drill by degree staff.
Past Master C. G. Ayres.
Hon. M. A. Roberts was on the pro-
gram for the opening address, but was
unable to be present. Past Master C.
Y. Ayres very acceptably filled his
place and delivered pleasing and in
structive talk on the founder of the
order in America. He also told of the
principals of Odd Fellowship and its
meaning, saying, in part, as follows:
This is the e;ghty-first anniver-
sary OF the institution of the order in
America, and we meet in kind of love
feast to tell the principles of the order
and OF the good work done.
AS George Washington is said to be
the Father of His Country so is
Grand Master and Grandsire Thomas
| Wilder the father of Odd Fellowship
| in America. June 10, 1892, he Joined
the Odd Fellows in London, England.
In 1907 he came to America and in
| 1917 set to work in Baltimore, Nd,
to gather together enough members
to institute a lodge. As all members
know there must be five before lodge
can be formed. At that time Odd Eel
lows were few in number and Thomas
Wilder had a hard time in finding the
requisite number. Finally his efforts
were crowned with success and on
April 26, 1919, five of them, including
our past master and grandsire, met in
the second story of the Seven Stars
a place at that time called grocery
store, but which in these modern DAYS
would be called saloon. In the dim
Hight of candles, with boxes for chairs
and the other appointments of the
room as rude and primitive, Washing
ton lodge, No. 1. was instituted. From
this beginning the most wonderful re-
suits have beensattained. In a popula-
ton of over 70,000,0oO in the United
States there are now 100000 Odd Eel
lows and Rebekas, or over one member
of the order for every seventy inhabi-
Itants. 1t seems to me that if Thomas
Wilder were here tonight, he would
Ished tears of Joy to learn that from
an humble beginning the order had
grown to such gigantic proportions,
and all done in eighty-one years.
sour order is founded upon three
grand principles; the grandest perhaps
is friendship, the others being love
and truth. Regarding the first prin-
lciple: We have friendship for all man
kind. A member who looks on the
distress of a brother only is not good
Odd Fellow. The same thing obtains
in the Daughters of Rebekah. No sis
ter can look only on the distress of a
sister in the order, but she must al
leviate the distress OF. all woman
kind.
"The most beautiful picture of
friendship is, perhaps, found in the
Bible where the friendship of iona
than and David is depicted. King Saul
was jealous of David and determined
to kill him. BY strategy Jonathan
saved his friend from the ire of the
king at the risk of his own life, and
4 it is such lessons as this that are
taught and inculcated by the principles
of Odd Fellowship"
The speaker told of the principles
of truth and love, the other two car
dinal precepts of the order, and Illus
| trated the same by the lessons taught
in the Bible, taking the example of
Moses to illustrate that of truth, and
that of the Good Samaritan for that
of love.
"You cannot look upon any one
man," said the speaker, land see in
him all that Odd Fellowship means,
but you can learn of the principles OF
the order and say that if followed it
inculcates that which leads to better
men and better citizenship.
Society Deputy }. A. ballard.
Mr.. Ballard said that while he had
not expected to be called upon, yet he
felt like the Methodist minister that
used to hold meetings at his fathers
house. The divine believed that when
a person was called upon to say some
thing for his religion, and held back,
that he was not a good Christian. So
it was with an Odd Fellow, yet he felt
something like the boy in reading
just given:
''The boy stood on, the railway track,
The train was coming fast;
The boy got off the railway track
i To let the train go past
i After this apt illustration of the
|speaker's feeling upon the subject, he
told of the good features of Odd Eel.
lowship and closed by reciting a poem
the sentiment of which fully iliustrat,
led the helpfulness of the order.
4 1t is only occasionally that members