The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1912-06-20
LOSERS ARE WINNERS
K. of p. Vanquished Members Prove
That They Can Come Back.

Y
Paradoxial as it may seem the los
ers in the X. of p. contest that was
pulled off last winter were the real
winners. That is to say, the feast
which they prepared and served to
the winners and6dh$B psmbers of
the lodge at the new X. of p. home
Friday evening won for them a place
In the good graces of all present that
will last long after the members will,
have forgotten whether they belong.
ed to the victors or the vanquished.
. Three hundred men, the greatest
number ever seated at banquet ia
BILE in Oskaloosa, enjoyed the spread
and the flow of wit and oratory that
followed. 1t was a great occasion,
and a fitting dedication of the new
home which is the pride of all con-
cerned. 1t will also be recalled that
the contest last winter resulted in
the addition of 1915 members to Os-
kaloosa Lodge No. So, feat which
was never before equalled in the his.
tory of Pythianism, and a feat which
third largest lodge in the Iowa do
main.
Chef PoindeXter of the lodge rooms
peeled the potatoes, picked the chick
ed and did few other little things
like that, but the real artistic work
was done by valiant knights them
selves, who blushed and sweat, but
got there just the same. LII. Spur
gin was the captain of the losing
forces, and he and his surviving lieu
tenants of the battle, George c. True,
Tom Shockley and Chas. E. Brooke.
acted as field marshals. Rallying
around their standard in white suits
and regulation walters caps were the
flower and pick of the army, and if
Delmonico were not dead he would
bunch of walters whose initials spell
the following names:
Homer Phelps, DR.. J. I. Tony, Chas.
Penland, Ben Marshall Ross Malcolm.
Geo. Lewis, Allen Jones, Dave Ecken-
BON, VIM. Gibson, Frank Hiatt. Bob
Walton, Homer Tovrea, VIM. Terry
Verne Silverthorn, viii Stanton, Lee
Baldauf, Wilbur Bass, Holt Beans,
Miller Beard, Geo. Boatsma, Harry
Carbon, Gene Cheesman, H. l.. Coke,
A. A. Dawley, Harry Douglas, Frank
Ewing.
After the inner man had been sat
sfied, all looked pleasant while Fair
took o shot at them and then came
the post prandial part of the pro
gram, which was as much Of treat
George True, Chancellor Commander
of the local lodge, acted as toastmas
ter, and brought on the exhibits" ir
a humorous and original way. that
made every bite taste like more"
Hon. B. /. Salinger, of Des Moines,
was the first speaker, and after heart
lily cOmplimenting the local lodge for
it's fine showing he paid a beautiful
tribute to the order, and spoke in
feeling terms of the benefit and en-
joyment he had received during the
twenty-five years that he had been
knight.
G. w. Shockley, as captain of the
winning side, told how it felt to put
his feet under the mahogany and en-
joy the fruits of his labors. He ad-
mitted, however, that he had lot of
good helpers. and that the opposition
was no mean force, as it kept him in
the sweat bath for several weeks.
Mr.. Spurgin in return told of the joyt
of the vanquished, and declared that
the enjoyment he had had out of the
contest and the consequent spread
compensated him and his fellows for
double the work they had done.
Grand Chancellor Louis A. Wiweke
brought the assembled knights a mes
sage that was full of interest and sat.
isfaction to all. He told of the great
work being done by the order through
out the state, and made the positive
statement that the Oskaloosa lodge
was by far the largest in the Iowa
domain in proportion to the popula-
ton of the city, and that it possess
ed, without reserve, the finest lodge
quarters in Iowa. The work being
done by the local lodge was also the
source of most complimentary re,
marks, and the presence of the high
est officer in the state was an inspir.
alton to all.
Other excellent talks were made by
John II. Merkins, of Fairfield, Grand
Keeper of Records and Seals; and by
Past Grand Chancellors w. s. Billy
of Knoxville, and DR.. J. F. Cole of
Oelwein.
Music for the occasion was furnish
ed by the Beckmn Orchestra, and by
the X. of p. Glee Club. The Glee
Club is composed of twenty male
voices under the leadership of Claire
Gordon, and is surely fine musical
organization. The club was down on
the program for two selections, but
in responding to the insistent encores
they gave five or six selections and
the crowd wanted more. Mrs. b. r.
Marshall is the accompanist for the
club.
The banquet surely marks an event
in Pythianism in oskal6osa and will
long be treasured in the minds of
all who had a part in il as one OF the