The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 18, 1904, Page 5

THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL. — or signs and upon the s who Mississippi e—were chosen so well did that at the i Lodge held in the September, 1851, mplete ritual for the omptly called h. This report, by dopted by the Grand session September 20, L was h rstand anything of easily comprehend ty of the task of these three 1 Colfax’s co-work- they could to as- g this work, they th the language and the of the ritual belong to usively, and long since the edmitted that he certainly had a very full recognition of woman's this line of work, for 1 they have been regarded as ent that has achieved great declere that b construct Ar_d let me tell you that Mr. Colfax did pot have a path strewn with roses, nor did he meet with assistance on all sides. Instead, he fought every inch of ground as a rule, do not care ally for changes or innovations, they pa rly fancy sharing t secrets with woman, so the es that confronted Rebekahism r a time, almost insurmount- where there is a will there y, and so it chanced that the degree of Odd Fellowship was the 20th day of Septem- 4 t e this degree was merely a complimentary one and an extremely doubtful experiment at that, but to- it stands as an absolute certainty d a great success. Yet to reach this plane has taken years of patient labor and of thoughtful sympathy, but it was all well w the while, for there is scarcely 2 arter of the globe that has not felt the chgrity and kindness DAL ODD FELCOWSIIP this bar f men, whose aim in ials and lessen the relief of their s will see that they In fact, so faith- h 3 the Rebekahs carried out all to their hands anted higher until their me from the Odd Fel- es when they admitted sekahs are a necessity odge on this coast was e 39, 1870, and was called kah Lodge No. 1. While st of difficulties and they . sorts and conditions of d ntages I do not think they enuous a time as did the Odd Fellows. I want you to thoroughly un- st nd appreciate the spirit of m and grit that permeates the fellowship, and so I am going to deviate a little and give you some lit- 4 the early Odd Fellows determi had to contend with. According to on C. Close, one of the early broth- in California, the first lodgeroom situated over a saloon that was frequented by the cowboys when they were in town. “One of our enterpris- ing brothers painted on the gable end of the hall, fronting on the main street, I. O. O. F. Hall, and underneath the three lin but our artist brother soon foumd out that he had made a blunder, for ere many weeks the gable end look- €d like a perforated chair bottom. About this time we came to the con. clusion if we wanted much of an at- tendance lodge night we must encase the upper story in boller iron or vacate, for one thickness of cottonwood boards betwen us and those frolicsome cowboys was insufficient. On the opposite side of the river was a roomy dugout that had been used the season before as a dance hall, and after some little dis- cussion we secured that and congrat- ulated ourselves in not being obliged to dodge stray bullets any more. “This dugout, by the way, was made in an old river bottom, for above the first bottom was a second one some fifteen feet higher on the level with the prairie beyond. Into this bank an excavation had been made twenty feet wide and forty deep, leaving three sides soil and an opening in front which was boarded up with odds and ends of lum- ber, stray boxes and an endboard of an old Government wagon. An opening of three feet square covered with thin muslin varnished formed a window, and as a support for the ridge poles three cottonwood posts were set in the ground at each end and center, then cotton- wood poles laid closely together, and over this the earth. with the prairie grass growing wildly, so that coming off the prairie one would never know that there was an abode there. “So much for a description of a dugout and the Odd Fellows’ Hall combined. Our second meting was an initiation and our conductor had just said “e- hold,” when a scene not generally used was presented to every brother's view —a falling of dirt from overhead, a cracking of poles, a roar and a bellow in one, and a huge buffalo landed on his head where both the candidate and the conductor had been standing the minute before. It was a good thing that the front portion was flimsy, for every one forgot all about the door in the grand rush to get outside, for the bull, on recovering his feet, gave one snort and started for the outside, and whether he was blinded by dirt or merely wanted revenge we didn’t know, but at any rate as he came out he <ked down the ridge pole support nd the whole roof of our lodge room caved in.” This story, which is perhaps familiar to all 0dd Fellows, serves to show how interested members have always been in fhe order and what hardships they were willing to undergo to keep it up, and no matter where you may go you will find the same indomitable spirit in both lodges, so it is no wonder that they have gained in strength and pow- er every day. Bare facts are not always interesting, but they are wondertully good when it comes to 'a mere matter of proof and when I tell you that twenty-one years after the first lodge was instituted there were 147 with a membership of 10,404, I think you will agree with me that the Rebekahs had pressed gallantly forward in the fra- ternal field and that the resuits wers most gratifying. Just about this time we began to feel that a State convention would ac- complish a great deal for us, for hy banding together we could formulate and carry out plans that we had been considering for some time, so accord- ingly in 1891 we held a convention in California that really marked a new era in Rebeckah 0dd Fellowship, It was not until the second session of the convention, a year later, that any movement was made toward ¢stablish- BY DOAAL GARDNEAY ’PREJ‘IDE Armarzse SF e EXECL T difficult @ VERY home in nature of an orphgn asylum is bound to be permeated with pathetic stories and sad lives and while the Re- bekah Home has had fts share of troubles and woes, it has likewise had its full share of blessings. The law of nature heals wounds quicker with chil- dren than it does with grown fo 80 there is scarcely ever a time when our little ones have other than a smil- ing face for long. In the beginning the home had a par- ticularly sad family that it opened wide its arms to receive and I am go- ing to tell you about it, as I think there are few, if any, protective homes that would shelter and care for a family of eight helpless little chiidren. Full five years ago there lived in Solano County a happy family whose time and life were spent out of doors, working and playing in an orchard and making of life one great joyous holi- day. Day after day passed and at the close of the evening, when the seven children were tucked safely away in their beds and had gone happily to dreamland, the father and mother used to sit down and count themselves among the blessed. But somehow or other such complete happiness seems to be of short dura- ticn, for there is seldom a case that is not marred or robbed of its price- less possession. One afternoon Mrs. Newport, for such was her name, heard a familiar step on the porch and went out to see the meaning of it, for there was a large shipment of dried fruits on hand and she knew that unless something had gone seriously wrong he would not be coming home in the middle of the day with such weary, dragging steps. That was the beginning of their troubles. Perhaps too much work, per- haps too much handling of fruit, or perhaps just a rundown condition; but whatever the cause, the fact re- mained just the same, that before night B. F. Newport was a seriously ill man, with symptoms that pointed strongly the typhoid way. Taking care of a sick man and see- ing that seven children, all under eleven years of age, were clothed and fed, and trying to attend to the or- chard, would have been a most diffi- cult task for any woman that possess- ed boundless strength and energy— which Mrs. Newport did not, so that when her Ilittle one came she had neither the physical endurance or vi- tality to rally. Slowly but surely she grew weaker and the thought that hep husband was lying seriousiy ill ans perhaps in a dying condition almost drove her frantic. What could her lit- tle ones do If they were left alone? Not one of them was old enough to realize the loss, let alone struggle with the stern proposition of winning %read and butter. Tortured and worried with anxiety, anable to leave her bed and go to the man who crled aloud for her to com. to him in his delirfum, and constantly begged by little voices and sulled by baby hands, is it any wonder that her strength failed her altogether, so tha* just three weeks after the arrival of the tiny stranger that she had looked forward to with so-much pleasure, she slipped out Into the unknown and found the peace and quiet that she had so longed for? Certainly this affliction should have been enough, for it would have been ough for a father to carg then It ng reso- mg our orphans’ home was in the form of lution: solved, That the convention 5f the Daugbters of Rebekah, I. O. O. F., of Ca rnia, start a fund that shall 3 known as the Odd Fellows’ Orphans’ Home Fund of California.” This occasioned the setting aside moneys at various times, both by loc and interested individuals, not until after 1895, whe: convs fon resolved itsel bekgh embly, that we really tioned for and received authori the center and m. The Odd Fel- for the poor pleasure to This home is rea the heart of Rebekahi lows and reed but care for the help those who should cla very man and w iny tots whq cannot care selves and whd, by an unfortunate turn of the wheel of fate, have no one to do it for them And so it is with the Rebekahs, ever sweeping onward with the progress of civilization and standing under the ban- ner which is the symbol for Truth, Humanity av-d Friends The § : WORR ofthe HOME i By Matron Olive T. Allen properly for such tots, but the wheel of fate turned once more and stopped at a cruel place. Instead of the fever abating, it raged with a flercer fire un- til nine days after his wife’s death the father and provider went to meet the helpmate that had so recently crossed the river from which there is no re- turning. And so almost in a twinkling eight babies were left absolutely alone with- out a soul on the great earth who cared what happened to them one way or the other. It is true enough that the neigh- bors saw that they did not go hungry, but that was about all; for while every one had but the kindliest feelings for the desolate ones there were too many mouths to feed and too much work to do at home. Just at this time the lodge people stepped forward to see what could be done in this matter, for clearly here was a problem that nobody seemed particularly anxious to solve. Both Mr. and Mrs. Newport were Rebekahs and Mr. 1 ort was also an Odd Fellow, so their children were entitled to all the benefits that either'the one or the oth- er, or, in fact, the combined forces of the institutions, could bestow upon them. So after a little delay the entire fam- ily of eight was taken down to Gilroy and established in the home, and for five years they have been among the happiest and the livellest children in the place. The eldest, a young miss of 16 years, is now in the Gilroy High School, and the other children are fol- lewing in her footsteps just as fast, as they can; even the baby, a mischievous boy of 5 years, is struggling with his letters and making all manner of pot- hooks and queer-looking things that he proudly calls “printin’.” Another little man, the pet of the home, dimples and talks in a language all his own, and if he misses his father and mother we are not aware of it. “Baby Carl,” as he is called, s a full orphan, but he has more than a dozen wee mothers who do their very best to spoil him and to make up t6 him the loss of those nearest and dearest. Baby Carl never knew his mother or her loving care, for as his life dawned hers went Gut, and the boy's father was left with a soul to make or mar. For seventeen long months he watched over his tiny son and saw him grow more and more like his mother, and at the end of that time he went to her to give an account of his.stewardship. Being an Odd Fellow, his last hours were easy, for he had been promised that the lodge would give the baby the best of care and that he would be taught to be a strong, self-reliant man, whose duty in life would be tp protect and help those weaker and more un- fortunate than himself. And so the story goes'on. Each and every tot's life has been touched with sorrows, some more and some less, but with trials and tribulations far too heavy for baby hands to struggle with, and it is to lessen these difficulties that the Rebekahs have opened, not onmly their doors, but their hearts as well, to all who are less fortunate than them- selves. Ring out, O bells, with glad refrain; What blessed task to us is given, To rear a temple in his name And show to earth the law of Heaven. May this, our home. forever stand Through winter's blast ;nd m:m-r- sun, Proclaiming hence, throughout the Love’'s holy mission here begun. And may at least the earth redeemed, And every tear of sorrow dry, The {ight that through our home has streamed Shine on through All etemnity.