Odd Fellows Became Old Fellows

LODGES – flourished in Frenchtown from the mid-1800s into the mid-1900s. Most, but not all, of them were for men. They mixed mystical elements in their ceremonies and had regalia and fancy titles for the officers, such as “grand exalted ruler” or “worshipful master.”

Besides fellowship and amusement, they also provided benefits to members such as group insurance or old-age homes and a chance to serve a larger cause. The Knights of Pythias believed in brotherhood and repairing North/South relations after the Civil War. The Patriotic Order Sons of America was formed to preserve the public schools, the Constitution and the American way of life.

But not everyone was OK with lodges. John Case (1817-1888) of Alexandria Township, a founder of the Frenchtown Presbyterian Church, wrote in the Independent in 1874, that the Bible says human society needs only three organizations – the family, the church and the state, and “there is no need for any other organization,” and a fourth organization would be subtracting from the three endorsed by scripture.

International Order of Odd Fellows – Probably the biggest of the Frenchtown “secret societies” was the Magnolia Lodge No. 57 of the IOOF, founded in 1847. In 1874 they moved their headquarters from 10 Bridge Street (Gem Building) to the top floor of Gabriel Slater's hardware store (now Hawk + Floret, Parotu Salon, Frenchtown Dog Wash). In 1881 the Odd Fellows rented the third floor of Lorenzo Kerr's new building at 39 Bridge Street (Modern Love) for its meetings.

Then the Odd Fellows built their own three-story brick building at 17-19 Bridge Street in 1897. Their meeting hall occupied the third floor. At 47 feet, it's still the tallest building in town, not counting spires.

The ground floor retail space is currently occupied by River Mills and Gemstone Gallery.

The IOOF slogan is “Friendship, Love, Truth,” and good deeds were their raison d'etre. Examples: They hosted Christmas parties for all the kids in town in the 1930s; they sponsored an essay contest for children on the bicentennial of George Washington's birth; and they served sandwiches to the army of firefighters battling the Eddy Hardware blaze in 1940. The lodge also donated $500 in 1949 toward the establishment of the Hunterdon Medical Center; and in the 1950s the Odd Fellows had an array of wheelchairs, hospital beds and other sick-room accoutrements they would lend free to anyone.

In 1950 they had 187 members, but the end was nearing. In 1969 they sold their building to Richard Van Duzer and Ted Garrison, owners of Valley Florist, which occupied the No. 17 storefront downstairs, but the lodge brothers continued to use the meeting room upstairs.

In 1977 enrollment had dwindled to 28 members, with only nine or 10 making the climb to the monthly meetings. At that time, former Noble Grand Jim Hummer explained, “We have no Rock and Roll, no barrooms and no floor show. Young folks nowadays need more activity. In the past, people were more serious, but now they would say, 'What am I joining for? What pleasure?'”

Odd Fellow Clayton Stains (1897-1986) told me the lodge had been hurt by “competition with automobiles, TV, radio.”

They auctioned off their furnishings, regalia and paraphernalia that year, downsizing to continue meeting as guests of the American Legion.

Stains was in his back yard burning what they couldn't sell, and he let me have a couple of initiation blindfolds, known as “hoodwinks.” They were made of black leather and lined with red velvet. The eye holes were covered with round metal lids that were held closed or help open by little springs. They were really well-made items, with the little round eye-lids cushioned with velvet to they wouldn't click when they snapped shut. When I conduct my walking tours of Frenchtown and we arrive at the Odd Fellows building, I model one of those hoodwinks, and my customers are delighted by the creepy effect when I open up the lids and peer at them.

Why are they called "Odd Fellows"? It's a very old order and even they aren't sure.

From "Rick's Frenchtown Encyclopedia"