The Three Links Odd Cast

Toby and Christopher hit the road to attend the Rededication of the Idaho Odd Fellows Museum in Caldwell, ID.  While there, they conducted interviews with Grand Secretary and Museum Curator Jeff Mann, Past Assembly President, Past Grand Master and current Grand Patriarch Marge Harlan, current Grand Master Joe DeChristefero, and Past Grand Master David Livingston and his wife Crystal.  Much great i...

In April of this year the Half-Asked Podcast did an episode about the Odd Fellows.  (You can hear their episode here .)  Our colleague Billy Sanderson from Modern Goat Rider alerted us to the episode and we decided to reach out to the show so we could discuss Odd Fellowship.  As a result, Pete, Judy, and Britney joined us to share their process for how they came to discover Odd Fellowship.  Like s...

Ainslie, Toby, and Christopher are reunited with Sergio to celebrate the First Anniversary of the Three Links Odd Cast.  The four Odd Fellows discuss the first year of the podcast including what they expected when it started, how it has progressed, and what kind of impact they feel they've had on Odd Fellowship as a whole.  They share some excerpts from previous episodes as well as recorded m...

If you've ever wondered what former members think after they stop participating in a lodge, this episode is for you.  The Three Links Odd Casters are joined by Seattle musician, educator, and recording artist Scott Adams (no, not the Dilbert guy) to talk about his experiences in Odd Fellowship and why he left the Order.  Scott pulls no punches in his assessment of his time as a member and wha...

In 2020 almost all Odd Fellowship was put on hold, including most jurisdictional Grand Sessions.  For 2021, the jurisdiction of Oregon found some clever and elegant solutions to hold their Grand Lodge, Rebekah Assembly, and Grand Encampment sessions online.  Sister Pearlie Stewart, Grand Scribe of the Grand Encampment of Oregon, and Brother Brad Probst, technical coordinator for this year's S...

Prompted by a character in an old episode of Star Trek , Owen Snowdon wanted to grow up and wear a sash.  His grandfather, a member of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes, promised him that one day he would be able to do just that.  That dream came true for him at age eighteen.  Now, five years later at twenty-three, Owen is a member of several branches of seven different fraternal orders an...

George Sliney, a young immigrant from County Cork, Ireland, rode out along Owl Creek in Wyoming Territory in the latter half of the 19th Century and staked a claim that would become his cattle ranch.  Over time, he would become one of the most prominent citizens of Hot Springs County and the city of Thermopolis.  He was also a member of Thermopolis Lodge #26, IOOF.  That obscure footnote of histor...

It's another crossover episode with our brothers and friends at Modern Goat Rider!  Ours is the second half of the crossover so be sure to download and listen to Episode 29 of Modern Goat Rider to get all the context for this episode of the Three Links Odd Cast.  In the first half of the crossover we discuss how Odd Fellowship would have been different today if we had made changes in the past...

The Rebekahs are an important component of Odd Fellowship that frequently gets overlooked when talking about the Order.  Prompted by a request from a Rebekah in Texas, we decided to go straight to the top and do an episode with Sister Elizabeth Mowry-Harbstreit, President of the International Association of Rebekah Assemblies.  Sister Elizabeth is a passionate and knowledgeable Rebekah who gives u...

Odd Fellowship has a long heritage of music, much of which has been forgotten.  In this episode we explore the mysteries of the Ode Book and other forgotten pieces of Odd Fellows music.  PGP John H. Seiffert, a Lutheran church music director in his professional life, dedicated a large amount of time to compiling the IOOF Odes, published by Sovereign Grand Lodge first in 1877 and then subsequently...

Nick Curry was sitting in his hometown in Virginia looking for some kind of community organization to join.  He searched on the Internet and made a list of all the usual fraternal and community groups.  The more he researched them, the more one organization stood out: the Odd Fellows.  He set about the task of gathering people together that he knew and started down the path that would end up re-ch...

This week we're reaching deep into the heart of Texas to talk to Brother Ivan Kotcher, Noble Grand of Dallas Lodge #44.  When he first joined the lodge less than ten years ago, it was down to a small cadre of elderly members barely able to make quorum.  He shares the story of how a pair of well-known and charismatic artists in Dallas were able to draw large numbers of members to the lodge.  S...

Popular culture has linked fraternal orders with the iconic headwear of the Middle East: the fez.  How did that piece of headwear sported by Morocco Mole become emblematic of American fraternalism?  What kinds of side orders are there for Odd Fellows?  How did they develop and what happened to all of them?  In this episode we get some answers from Brother Seth Anthony of Triune Lodge #307 in Middl...

Sister Stacy Thomason of Gold Hill Lodge #129 in Oregon joins us.  In less that two years of membership, Stacy has become an amazing dynamo of activity, breathing new life into her small-town lodge.  She has created a seed swap, a book exchange, a little free food pantry, and something she calls her "Odd Fellows Propaganda Machine."  She fills us in on all the details about her amazing p...

Brother Supreme Page joins us to continue the conversation begun in Episode 17.  In this episode he gives us a fascinating glimpse into African-American history and the pivotal role Odd Fellowship played in developing Black communities.  Specifically, we learn about various important figures in African-American history and their connections with Odd Fellowship.  Martin Luther King, Jr.'s gran...

Brother Supreme Page of Oglethorpe Lodge #1, IOOF and Wayman Lodge #1339, GUOOF joins us for the first half of this episode to talk about the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows and their unique history in African-American communities.  Unfortunately, due to a dropped phone call, Bro. Page was unable to finish the episode with us.  We are hoping to bring him back in the future to finish the conversa...

Brother Joe Motta from Reno Lodge #14 in Nevada joins us to talk about his experience in joining the lodge last October and share his thoughts about making Odd Fellowship more accessible to younger members.  He's in a perfect position to offer that insight since he's twenty-one years old and is working hard to bring new members into his lodge and revitalize Odd Fellowship in Nevada.  Joe...

In the Christmas Episode, Ainslie and Toby are joined by guest host Bro. Christopher McHale of Covenant Lodge #6 in Missoula, Montana.  They start off the show with a quick mention of Lake Stevens, Washington and an explanation of why.  They share updates from past guests of the show and talk about the impact they're seeing in Odd Fellowship, including the chartering of a new lodge in Virgini...

This jam-packed episode of the Three Links Odd Cast begins with a musical tribute to the Keystone State courtesy of Sovereign Grand Musician Toby Hanson.  Ainslie issues a correction regarding President Chester Alan Arthur's lapels and Toby explains why Harry Truman wasn't in the Presidential Odd Fellows episode (hint: he wasn't an Odd Fellow).  The episode gets rolling in earnest w...

The Crossover Craziness continues with the second half of the crossover episode recorded by the hosts of both Modern Goat Rider  and The Three Links Odd Cast.  When the first episode left off, we were discussing membership and some of the challenges of communication across jurisdictional lines.  This episode picks up where that one left off as Sergio was just about to answer a question...

Inspired by current events, Ainslie and Toby are joined by guest host Christopher McHale for a historical overview of Odd Fellows who have served as President, Vice President, or Canadian Prime Minister.  The brothers give some solid historical information on important parts of history like the highly-contested 1876 election and its lasting effects on US politics.  They also throw in some irrevere...

In this very spooky episode, Sergio and Toby are joined by three members of Crescent City Lodge #73 in New Orleans, Louisiana: Eddie LeBoeuf III, Michael Duplantier, and Emily Ford.  All three share a passion for preserving history.  Emily is a professional cemetery restorationist, Michael has over thirty years' experience with caring for cemeteries in New Orleans, and Eddie is a dedicated Od...

We've been promising an episode about Odd Fellows cemeteries for what seems like forever (but is really only a couple months).  That episode is coming very soon!  In the meantime, enjoy this narration of an account of the first Odd Fellows funeral in North America, as taken from a post on the Heart In Hand Blog from 2017.  If you'd like to check out more posts from the Heart In Hand, you...

Brother Christopher McHale from Covenant Lodge #6 of Missoula, Montana joins Toby and Sergio as Ainslie is still away on assignment.  He brings his own unique humor and outlook on Odd Fellowship to the podcast as the hosts discuss various listener interactions they've had so far.  The hosts have fielded questions from listeners ranging from how to find lodges to the role of religion in Odd Fe...

Ainslie, Sergio, and Toby discuss the various effects that the global Covid-19 pandemic is having on Odd Fellowship.  They solicited input from various members around the country including Harrison Moore IV from Texas and Grand Master Mike Zurell from New York.  They discuss the way the pandemic is impacting meetings, finances, and membership with examples from lodges around the country.  As usual...