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 Social And Dramatic - Cody, WY Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 44° 31.565 W 109° 03.703
12T E 654020 N 4932133
Built of local sandstone blocks, a substantial portion of the Pioneer Building was built to house the Odd Fellows of Cody.
Waymark Code: WMXY5X
Location: Wyoming, United States
Date Posted: 03/15/2018
Views: 0
The building almost appears to have been built in two sections as there is a break in the coursing of the stone blocks between 1305, the business block, and 1313, the IOOF section. In a stone panel above the second storey windows of 1305 is the word "PIONEER", while, in a similar, but differently styled panel in the 1313 section is engraved "1905. I.O.O.F.". The difference in the name panels may lead us to believe that the building was, indeed, built at two separate times. It is treated as a single entity by the NRHP Nomination Form, however.
While the Odd Fellows remain active in Cody (The Wyoming Grand Master was, as of 2013, a member of the Cody lodge) they built a new lodge hall around 50 years ago, meaning that this building has not hosted IOOF activities for a half century or more. Below what was the IOOF hall is now a saloon, the Silver Dollar Bar, which claims to serve "The Best Burgers In The West".
Though the Odd Fellows of Cody didn't seem to make much news in days gone by, they seemed to make the papers once a year, each time they celebrated the order's aging by one more year, as shown below.
Since Wyoming newspapers can't be individually linked to, I've included screen shots of the paper in question.
SOCIAL AND DRAMATIC
ODD FELLOWS CELEBRATION
The Cody Enterprise | CODY, WYOMING, MAY 2, NO. 3; VOL. VIII. 1907
Big Horn Lodge No.30, I.O.O.F., celebrated the eighty-eighth anniversary of the founding of their order last Friday evening in a delightful and most fitting manner. The Odd Fellows of Cody have a beautiful hall one of the finest and most commodious in the state, but it was not large enough for the time they proposed to have, so they secured the lower floor of the Arnold building, which has just been fitted up for a rollerskating rink...
About midnight refreshments were served at Odd Fellows hall. Here long tables had bean arranged, extending along both sides of the room and across the front. The refreshments were dainty and appetizing and served in good style by members of the lodge. Altogether the occasion was one of the most pleasing social entertainments of the year in Cody.
April 26 was the eighty-eighth anniversary of the founding of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in America, the founder having been Samuel Wildy. All over North America, and indeed in other parts of the world, the event, was made an occasion of rejoicing by the members of this excellent order. Before Wildy's day Odd Fellowship had existed in England, and still exists; but in America it has been improved by rich ceremonies and ornate liturgy, and it is now said to be the largest in point of numbers of any secret society in the United States. It has reached out beyond the political boundaries of the United Slates, and the grand lodge of Canada and of other countries acknowledge the supremacy of the supreme grand lodge of the United States.
The order is a benevolent one and has never made the mistake of running its benefits as an insurance society, although the legal and voluntary benefits are many. It seeks to unite men under the three links of Friendship, Love and Truth, and is a good, respectable and well-governed order. There is no public display of its benevolences although the amount expended in good works is very large and the portion laid away for the benefit of widows and orphans is carefully guarded. The Cody lodge is one of the most prosperous of our many fraternal societies, and the guests of Friday evening's entertainment certainly wish the Odd Fellows continued prosperity.
From The Cody Enterprise 
Type of publication: Newspaper
When was the article reported?: 05/02/1907
Publication: The Cody Enterprise
Article Url: [Web Link]
Is Registration Required?: no
How widespread was the article reported?: local
News Category: Society/People
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