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About Lodge #539
About Our Lodge
A chartered Odd Fellow lodge in St. John, Kansas, meeting continuously since 1910.
Our History — the short version
Lodge #539 was chartered in 1910. Our first meetings were held at the Shell Center on 4th Street, on the north side of the square. We built our current hall at 700 East 1st Street in the late 1980s.
The current hall is sizable — a full-size indoor pool, basketball court, racquetball court, hot tub, sauna, workout facility, lounge, and commercial-grade kitchen all live under the one roof.
We've never stopped meeting. Through two world wars, the Dust Bowl, the farm crisis, and every bad winter since, Thursday night has been Thursday night.
Who we are today
We are about 121 members, most of us from Stafford County, some scattered further. We have a waitlist of no one and an open door for anyone who wants to stop by and see what we're about.
We are part of the Grand Lodge of Kansas and through that, part of the Sovereign Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Order itself goes back to 1819.
Our Mission
Three words on our pins and our walls — Friendship, Love, Truth. Here's what they mean when they're not decoration.
Friendship
Show up for each other. Not as a slogan, as a calendar.
Love
Care for the sick. Help the grieving. Make sure nobody in town is unknown.
Truth
Say what you mean. Do what you said. Keep your word.
What we've actually done
We keep receipts. Here's a sample of the last twelve months.
- Ran the concessions stand for the Mid Winter Classic high school basketball tournament.
- Awarded scholarships to graduating seniors from St. John and the surrounding community.
- Sponsored multiple local students through the Pilgrimage for Youth program, sending them to a summer session at the United Nations.
Why we're still here
Small towns lose things. They lose post offices, grain elevators, grocery stores, and they lose the groups of people who used to make sure the town held together when things went sideways.
Lodge #539 hasn't gone. We're not a reenactment. We're an active fraternal lodge that meets every two weeks, does its business, votes on its projects, welcomes new members, buries the ones who pass, and keeps going.
If that sounds like something you'd want to be part of, the door is on 1st Street and there's usually coffee.
Related
Odd Fellowship in plain English, the line of Noble Grands, and frequently asked questions.