SAXTONS RIVER, Vt. – With costumes, banners, swords, a coffin, and other artifacts, the Saxtons River Historical Society (SRHS) has mounted a display that highlights the local Odd Fellows lodge from its beginnings in 1888.
The items are being seen for the first time, after having been stored for many years in a locked room at the Main Street Arts building, where the lodge met for about 100 years.
“We are grateful to Main Street Arts for allowing these historic treasures to be preserved, and for donating them to the historical society,” said SRHS President Louise Luring.
“We always had some idea who the Odd Fellows are, but, while preparing the display, we have learned so much more about the important mutual aid role they played in the welfare of the community,”
With the slogan “Faith, Love, Truth,” the command of the Odd Fellows has always been to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead, and educate the orphan.”
Saxtons River Lodge #33 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) was a spin off from the lodge in Bellows Falls, which had grown so large that the Saxtons River members decided to start their own.
The original group of 13 founders included George Riley Tower, a veteran of the Civil War who enlisted at 17 and spent four years in service to the Union Army, the last year as a captive in the notorious Andersonville prison. Tower and the others were carpenters, wagon makers, stonemasons, bricklayers and other so-called blue-collar workers. Tower took leadership as the lodge’s first Noble Grand.
A parallel female organization, the Daughters of Rebekah, was established in the 1850s, and organized in 1890 in Saxtons River as Crystal Rebekah Lodge #14.
The Saxtons River group was similar to the original Odd Fellows, who joined together in England in the 18th century for mutual assistance. One theory for their name is that it was considered odd for people to help each other in this way. Another is that they did odd jobs to make ends meet, just as many Vermonters do today.
The first lodge in America was formed in New York City in 1806 by three boat builders, a comedian, a vocalist, and the keeper of the tavern where they met. The War of 1812 put a dent in membership, and it was not until Baltimore resident Thomas Wildey, born an orphan in England, became involved in 1819 that the organization really took off. By 1896, it was the largest fraternal organization in the country, with lodges in every state.
Today there are 3,500 lodges in 26 countries, and one active lodge in Vermont, Queen City Lodge #01 in Burlington. All former restrictions on race and gender have been removed over time, and now membership is open to all.
The historical society exhibit features costumes used for reenacting Biblical stories such as David and Goliath and the Good Samaritan, complete with lances, truncheons, David’s harp, and the head of Goliath. There are also symbols of Odd Fellows virtues on banners that were used in the degree ceremonies, a skeleton in a coffin to remind members of their mortality and the need to act now, and costumes for every officeholder.
The historical society is open every Sunday, from 2 to 4 p.m. in the warmer months, and by request. It can be reached at saxrivhistoric@gmail.com.