Odd Fellows: History of One of the Oldest & Largest Worldwide Fraternity

[TzeffNL]

The "all seeing eye" is also a symbol for these guys...!

[richcapo]

Greetings and peace from a Mason. You sound like a great group of individuals.

[IOOF1819]

@richcapo Greetings in Friendship, Love and Truth!

[IOOF1819]

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows are dedicated to improving and elevating the character of mankind by imparting the principles of friendship, love and truth and making the world a better place to live by aiding the community, the less fortunate, the youth, the elderly, the environment and the community at large in every way possible

[dave2806]

we have a drinking fountain in the middle of our public park which was put there by the odd fellows . it would appear that the lodge that was so huge in our town just disappeared over time . great shame .

[LouieBlakeSarmiento]

@dave2806 That's nice. I hope to see a photo of that. Where are you located? Just like several other fraternal organizations, there are places that forgot to preserve their glorious history. But there are also several places where Odd Fellows is still active and have a good number of members. In Europe, Sweden for example: membership in some lodges can reach a hundred having a total of 40,000 members in just Sweden alone. It really depends on the area now. In Friendship, Love and Truth!

[IOOF1819]

The Manchester Unity Oddfellows (in United Kingdom) state on their website that "Oddfellows can trace its roots back to the Trade Guilds of the 12th and 13th centuries. Some believe that there are records in Scotland which show that the Oddfellows in its original form may have arisen in the 1500s. Some historians claim that it existed before 1650. What is clear is that there were numerous Odd Fellow organizations in England in the 1700s. It was officially brought to America on April 26, 1819.

[IOOF1819]

Currently, Odd Fellows have over 12,000 lodges and some 600,000 members in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Puerto Rico, Philippines, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Other Odd Fellows group also exists in Scotland and in the Bahamas, etc.

[IOOF1819]

Odd Fellows aim to improve and elevate every person to a higher, nobler plane; to extend sympathy and aid to those in need, making their burdens lighter, relieving the darkness of despair; to war against vice in every form, and to be a great moral power and influence for the good of humanity.

[Oddfellowsphilippine]

Long live this humble and worldwide honorable fraternity of Odd Fellows! FLT

[Clarinetboy82]

This is great Louie! I've sent this and several of the other videos you've helped make to some friends of my to help explain what our order is about.

[inpectorbob]

HI LOUIE AS AN ODDFELLOW THANKS FOR THE VIDEO I MYSELF HAVE JUST ATTENDED OUR BICENTENARY CONFERENCE AND CELEBRATIONS IN MANCHESTER ENGLAND MAY WE PROSPER FOR ANOTHER 200 YRS IN FRIENDSHIP LOVE AND TRUTH BOB ZANKER

[LouieBlakeSarmiento]

@inpectorbob We hope that Oddfellowship will grow in membership and it activities. FLT