The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1906-06-07
THE ODD FELLOWS OF SOUTHWEST.
Their Order Growing Rapidly 10 Rich
Tier of Counties in That Section.

70 the force that eleNates hu-
manitv. So, as long as It has {
this tendency. all who have the G
of their fellows at 7
heart will rejoice 70 see the G
order on its upward march. But
i'm this brief article the writer J
wishes to address himself more :
particularly 20 the stamina of
/ the order in Southwest Nir-
ginia.
Southwest Virginia. proper,
includes fourteen coun tie 5,
namely; Bland Buchanan, Dick /
enson. Giles. GraysOn. Lee, Pu-
llaski. Scott, Smyth, Washing I
| ton. Russell, Tazeweh. Wise /
and Wythe. all OF which lie
west of New River. The total |
membership of the order in this
section In 1895 was only OBS.
with fifteen lodges, while the
membership IN 1908 had IN
creased TO 5.2O9. representing
ninetv-sevenl lodges. The South
west had had only one grand
master. James III. Barnett. of
Abingdon. in 1901, till Roland
r. Chase. of Dickinson county,
assumed the responsibility Of
this official title at the present
meeting of the order IN Rich
mond
.e Among the more prominent
members of the OF q e r IN the
Southwest may be briefly men
toned the following:
r Roland r. Chase. of Clint
= wood. who has belonged 90 the
= order nearly ten years. was M
=. itiated I'm the Norton Lodge n
i. 1896. since which time he ha
- been prominent iu the working
De of the order. Mr.. Chase wa
~ born Oh Holly Creek now th
20 the siteof Clintwoodl Dicker
- son county. August 3. 1867. IL
al attended the public school d
- lClintwood and Gladville Co
lepe. after which he took lo'
course at the National Norma
University at Lebanon, o..
lSS7-S. He was licensed 90 pra
tice law i'm his native county q
or the next day after attaining b
ay majority. He has been the mo
.es- inc spirit of most of the ents
mt. prises that have been set
{ i'm foot 10 Dickinson county.
the j. j. Scherer. of Marion, pre-
Al lident OF Marion College rs %
ex- among the oldest members
east the order. having passed
und / seventy sixth milestone ON
. all road of life. February z, la
e atl He attended Virginia Co.
ica- giate Institute, near Mido
here brook. after which he taul
several terms i'm the comm
schools. He graduated at fe
svlvania College in 1892, ln
Tr n fan of which year he wen
Texas. There he e IN n
q, in about twenty years. most
sentl which time ne was preslden
n 10 Colorado College. In 1871
CON returned 10 Virginia, Local
and at Marion. and was largely
docs strumental IN establishing
the rion Female College. Tins
y GO lege was chartered b. the
I viii islature in S7f, and Mr.. Sch
Who has since that time beer
wise president. He was initiate
D;ck- the Order of Odd Fellow
September, 1861, IN Colur
Lodge. No. 81, of Texas.
has been an active member
has filled some important
tiOns in the order.
ooaru Robert a. Anderson, or
B., win rion. has been a member ol
stone order for twelve years. H'
II sue born in Smythe county, ,
other ary "a, 1854, and was or'
up on a farm. He had
culties to overcome IN az
rs ing an education, but att'
the public schools, after
u;o.,,, he graduated at Emory
sa1 .lsI1 Henry He then taught
= ~ o. ", wears in the public sc
"S > O0 when he took law cou
Richmond College. He
located at Marion, wh'
engaged in the practice o
He married Miss Cora +.
on may on Christmas, 1899. In
on pro- was appointed postmas
Marion bv President Roc