The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a service-oriented fraternal organization. Started in England in the 1700s, it spread to the US in the early 1800s and to Minnesota in 1849. In Polk County, though Crookston Lodge No. 73 disbanded in the 1910s, members of Fisher Lodge No. 87 met regularly for over a hundred years.
Like other fraternal groups of its era, such as the Maccabees, Lady Maccabees, Workmen, Sons of Herman and Ladies Auxiliary, Eagles, Royal League, and Ancient Woodsmen, the IOOF focused on public service. Members of each IOOF lodge followed basic principles of good will toward others and gave charity to those in need, with no intention of being recognized. They also promised to care for their neighbors by visiting the sick, relieving the distressed, burying the dead, and educating orphans. The IOOF emblem consists of three interconnected links that symbolize friendship, love, and truth.
Although women could not join the IOOF, they participated in its sorority equivalent: the Daughters of Rebekah Lodge, created by the Grand Sovereign Lodge in 1851. Rebekah Lodge members followed rules and bylaws similar to those of the IOOF. Although many members came from Judeo-Christian backgrounds, both the IOOF and Rebekah lodges were open to people of all religions. They remained neutral in their religious practices and remained independent of any one political party.
Minnesota’s first IOOF lodge officially formed in Stillwater in 1849. Members of an early incarnation of IOOF Lodge No. 87 formed in the village of Fisher on March 2, 1882. By the 1890s, they convened in a lodge hall located at W 1/2 Lot 5, Block 3. The property was worth $1,250 and the lodge’s furniture and regalia were valued at $310 in 1893. The auxiliary lodge for Fisher’s IOOF women, known as the Pleiades Rebekah Lodge No. 103, was founded in 1894.
Lodge No. 87’s record book kept track of deceased members as well as those who had been denied membership or expelled from the lodge. When members did not pay their dues or attend meetings, they were suspended. For example, S. H. King was listed as an IOOF Lodge No. 87 member as of August 3, 1893 and had paid his dues of $1.50 per month. However, by June 30, 1894, the IOOF organization suspended King for nonpayment of dues. By May 25, 1895, it had expelled him.
Crookston IOOF Lodge No. 79 formed in 1880. Lodge officers purchased the old Polk County Courthouse in 1901, moved into the new location, and dedicated the space on December 19 of that year. The building was destroyed by fire on December 17, 1910; subsequent records do not mention any IOOF activity in Crookston.
According to Polk County newspaper articles from the late 1800s and early 1900s, Odd Fellows were some of the more active members of their communities. A notice in an 1897 issue of the Polk County Journal affectionately mentioned members by name, calling them "odd enough to be odd―and glad of it"; "odder than Dick's hat band"; and "just as odd as any odder fellow." Their lodges were expensively furnished and equipped. In May 1890, Crookston IOOF No. 79 hosted 300 dignitaries at a banquet held in their lodge.
Existing members and new initiates into IOOF lodges were documented in annual reports and when attendance was taken. Some members were admitted by answering questions on an application card; others transferred from different lodges.
During meetings, the lodge’s main halls displayed the colors of the order. Noble Grand and Vice Grand officers sat at elaborately decorated stations. Odd Fellows granted the title of “Grand Master” to their highest-ranking elected leader. Some Grand Masters expected members to wear expensive uniforms and jewelry during meetings. Other elected offices included Chief Patriarch, Senior Warden, High Priest, Scribe, Treasurer, Junior Warden, Captain of the Degree Team, Recording Secretary, Finance Secretary, Inside Guardian, Outside Guardian, and Chaplain.
The members of Fisher Lodge No. 79 continued to meet until the early 1970s, when it disbanded due to declining membership. The last documented meeting of the lodge took place on September 30, 1973. Fisher’s Rebekah Lodge disbanded at about the same time; their members’ last documented meeting was held on October 21, 1972.