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| The Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge sits on the corner of Villa Street and Castro Street in downtown Mountain View. The lodge has been there for decades as part of the circa 1730 fraternity. Google Street View imagery, August 2016. |
Tacky activities seem to define the centuries-old organization today, but its original purpose was a lot more noble -- the circa 1730 organization officially aims to promote social and personal development in a humanitarian manner, with its motto as "Friendship, Love and Truth." Independent Order of Odd Fellows "lodges" are widespread in California, there's one in practically every city: Mountain View, Saratoga, Cupertino, Fremont, Hayward, Campbell, Half Moon Bay, two in San Jose, and more.
That an organization founded in 1730 in England and settled New York City in 1819 holds such widespread coverage today is remarkable, but the now-international fraternity has dwindled in size since its record 2,676,582 members during the 1920s. Today, the organization has less than 600,000 members worldwide -- the local Mountain View "lodge" has less than a dozen members.
Within lodges, the organization breaks down into political hierarchy. "Office" positions per lodge are like any other power hierarchy, except these are broken into names seemingly from a fantasy novel: Noble Grand, Vice Grand, Warden, Conductor, Chaplain, and more. These titles are conferred generally with elections, through which inductees with years of experience in the organization vie for power.
The second floor of the Mountain View IOOF is reserved for this hierarchy -- the floor is almost a scene out of King Arthur, with velvet-padded knightly chairs reserved for Noble and Vice Grands on either side of the room, with smaller chairs in between. And a plastic desk with a cash register sits at the very corner for the treasurer. There's an anachronistic and out-of-place feature to every aspect of the modern IOOF.
At Mountain View, the members who fill out these chairs come from polar age groups -- a few Google engineers, paired with people in their 60s -- but not such diverse groups otherwise -- all white, only a couple of women. This make up almost represents the IOOF's history, as ambiguously racist and historically sexist. Today not so much, but the demographics reflect that past.
Yes, this group actually exists. Knock on the Mountain View lodge door today and a cranky bald man will answer the door -- the group actively wishes away the foot traffic and nosy onlookers. Their organization name stems from a collection of trinket merchants in the 18th century, yet the modern "odd fellows" only seems apt in their literal definition. And the persistent existence of those fellows is remarkable. The tech bubble may crash, World War III may start, but the Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge will remain.
Intersting post! I can fact check all of this, having had a tour and considering joining this peculiar yet tight-knit fellowship myself! I think the especially important point is the ambiguity in the history of the organization, and its racist and sexist roots - not taking women into the organization until only a few years ago. These racist roots lead to the creation of other organizations like Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America. It's interesting how the fellowship's development is somewhat of a reflection of society's development, with a bit of slowness on the fellowship's part.
ReplyDeleteJavin, what do you think that the slowness of the fellowship's development in regards to that of society represents? While remaining an interesting group, it seems to me that the fellowship has lost its relevance, and, as Alex states, has simply become a group of "odd fellows". In this, do you think that this lack of relevance is temporary, or will the group continue to lag behind society and taper out of existence?
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