The Three Links Odd Cast

Toby Hanson, Ainslie Heilich, Meredith Moore
  • 4.9 (19)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

The Three Links Odd Cast is an exploration of and discussion about issues in Odd Fellowship for members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. It provides a fun, light-hearted look at the history, traditions, customs, and practices of Odd Fellowship as well as an examination of where the fraternal order is today. NOTE: there will be *NO* discussion of The Unwritten Work or any of the signs, grips, or passwords of Odd Fellowship.

  1. 3D AGO

    Volunteers For A New Lodge

    There are many historical connections between Texas and Tennessee, from country music to Davy Crockett to Willie Nelson to the many brave Tennesseans who helped defend the Alamo.  Because of those links, it's appropriate that we follow up two very Texan episodes with one from Tennessee.  Recently, Crockett Hall Lodge #59 was re-chartered in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee.  Brother Robert Gentry, who headed up the effort to revive the lodge, joins us to tell his story.  Like many of us, he first encountered historical relics of the Odd Fellows' presence in Middle Tennessee, including a road bearing the name of the Order.  That led to research, which led to a desire to form a lodge, which eventually led to the Grand Lodge of Tennessee and PGM Tammy Barton, who assisted with the process.  He also shares some of the ways in which he was able to find members interested in reviving the lodge, including taking many people down to Alabama to get their degrees in the closest lodge.  The Shoutout goes to Four Creeks Lodge No. 94 of Visalia, California, home lodge of our guest host Michael Crile, for their work in becoming active again and getting new members.  In the Odd Podge, guest host Brother Michael gives us a brief history lesson of Tennessee Wesleyan University, which was first going to be chartered as Odd Fellows Women's College and spent an amount of time named for Brother Ulysses S. Grant; Robert previews the August Back-To-School Motorcycle Run, Toby shares his visit to Mount Constitution Lodge No. 88 on Orcas Island and gives an impromptu history lesson on the Pig War; and Meredith talks Cinco de Mayo and the "Good Neighbor" policies toward Latin America under President Brother Franklin D. Roosevelt, which, of course, prompts another history lesson from Toby.

    1h 8m
  2. Dipping Into Rebekah's Well

    APR 28

    Dipping Into Rebekah's Well

    For nearly 150 years, prior to 2001, the Rebekahs were a strong and vital companion organization to the Odd Fellows.  However, once women were allowed to be Odd Fellows and were no longer restricted to just Rebekah membership, numbers for that unit of the Order started to decline precipitously.  Director of Institutional Research Meredith Moore attended the Testamonial of IARA President Pam Isenhower to meet with and interview many prominent Rebekahs from around the US and Canada.  Sister Meredith asked many important questions of the attendees hoping to get a feel for the future of the Rebekah branch.  What followed were some frank and surprising answers, some of which may be controversial.  The Shoutout goes to Scott Encamment #132 of Pennsylvania that listens to the podcast and discusses what they hear in each episode.  In the Odd Podge, Meredith previews her upcoming trip to the now-passed Founders Day Reenactment in New Jersey, Ainslie shares his trip to a recently revitalized lodge hosting its first Degree Day in several years, and Toby lets our colleagues at Modern Goat Rider know that he's attending the Grand Sessions of British Columbia.

    1h 51m
  3. A Song Of Old San Antone

    APR 14

    A Song Of Old San Antone

    Odd Fellowship has  a long, proud history in the state of Texas, dating back to Lone Star Lodge No. 1 in Houston, the first lodge chartered outside the United States by the IOOF, in 1845, before Texas joined the union.  A big part of that history was San Antonio Lodge No. 11, only a few steps away from the Alamo, the cradle of Texan independence.  On April 11th, San Antonio Lodge No. 11 was rechartered by the Grand Lodge of Texas with eleven members.  Brother Daniel McGittrick joined us to preview the reinstitution of the lodge and give us the story of how it came to be as well as how the process worked for it to happen.  The Shoutout goes to *ANOTHER* new Encampment, this time Peoria No. 3 of Illinois.  Unlike many of the recent new Encampments, this one was spearheaded by older members who wanted to have their own Encampment to help support the Patriarchs Militant.  In the Shoutout, Toby gives an update on how the progressive Degrees are going in his associate lodge; Ainslie shares the cycle of Odd Fellowship he experienced participating as Noble Grand in the Funeral Ceremony and then, later in the day, attending a Degree Rally; Meredith gives props to the new Grand Master of Texas, Jason Ottwell, for performing the Installation of Officers for Dallas No. 44 the same day he was installed as Grand Master; and Daniel thanks three important Odd Fellows in Texas for their assistance and support of the recent growth: Charles Stephenson, John Woolsey, and Bruce Wayne Smith.  Special music for this episode was recorded by Toby Hanson.

    1h 3m

  4. MAR 24

    Another Minnesota Revival

    Pine Island, Minnesota is the kind of idyllic Midwestern farm town that most people picture when they think of anywhere in the middle of the country: friendly people, a strong sense of community, and civic pride.  The town also had one other fixture that used to be common in every little town in the Midwest: an Odd Fellows lodge.  Unfortunately, the lodge had fallen on hard times.  Membership was low and the building was falling apart.  Evan Goranson and David Friese stepped in about a year and a half ago and started turning things around.  Sometimes that job was fun and easy, like getting people interested in sorting through old treasures in the building.  Sometimes it was more of a challenge than they wanted, like dealing with a leaking toilet.  Through it all, the lodge is prospering and starting to grow, having reconnected with its community.  The progress is significant and shows that with the right combination of new members, guidance from the Grand Lodge, and a can-do attitude, a lodge can be revived and start to thrive.  The Shoutout goes to a new lodge in Tennessee, Crockett Hall Lodge #59.  In this episode's Odd Podge, Meredith previews a special parade inclusion for the upcoming Pilgrimage to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Ainslie shares another somber memorial service in Illinois, Evan expresses excitement for the first day over 70 degrees Farenheit for Minnesota and Wisconsin, David expresses gratitude both for the nine candidates poised to join his lodge and for being able to talk about it on the podcast, and Toby recounts his conversation with a Chief Patriarch about how to make his Encampment more interesting for its members.

    1h 20m

  5. FEB 24

    Small Town; Big Creativity

    Coulterville, California is a relic of the Gold Rush; a small mountain community nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  There are 110 residents of the town, which is situated at the crossroads of two state highways that take tourists to and from mountain tourist attractions like Yosemite National Park.  Like so many other towns of the Old West, Coulterville has an Odd Fellows Lodge, but one that was on the verge of closing.  Just when it seemed like the lodge was about to join so many other Gold Rush-era lodges in the history books, along came Erica Wolfsen, a multi-generational resident of Coulterville, and Willow Polson, her friend and partner in reviving the lodge.  When they joined, rumors were swirling around the town that the lodge couldn't afford to stay open.  They both stepped up and found ways to make the lodge an essential part of the community again and membership has rebounded as a result.  They tell us the story of what they did and how they did it.  Spoiler alert: it involves getting active and holding events in the community.  The Shoutout goes to another re-chartered lodge, this time San Antonio No. 11 in Texas.  In the Odd Podge, Erica raves about the inspiring speech Grand Master of California Rita Cooper gave at her recent visitation, Willow shares her happiness with the recent membership gains, Toby talks about the new plan his associate lodge has adopted to bring members in more gradually, and Ainslie previews the sad but rewarding duty of tending to a member at the end of his life.

    1h 26m

  6. JAN 27

    Odd Market

    The annual Odd Market hosted by Tuscola Lodge #316 in Illinois has become a community mainstay.  It didn't start out that way, though.  The beginning had a lot more variety—and lizards.  Sister Rain Martin and Sister Renee Moore join us to talk about the current Odd Market, how it started, how it grew, and how other lodges can copy its success.  There were a lot of challenges along the way (some involving food trucks) and a lot of re-evaluation but it has grown into a major event in the area and is a main recruiting tool for Odd Fellowship.  The Shoutout goes to Oak Grove Lodge #115 of Missouri which has recently begun getting active again after a period of dormancy.  In the Odd Podge, Ainslie shares the story of his father doing degree work, Meredith talks about how female members have helped shape Odd Fellowship in Texas, Rain recounts her fundraising efforts for Kerrville after the floods, Renee offers to help any lodges needing assistance or guidance with doing events, and Toby recalls the recent Installation of Officers for Pilgrim Lodge #187 in Everett, Washington, the first formal Installation that lodge held for many years.

    1h 20m

  7. JAN 13

    Burnout

    The new year finds us with a new co-host: Sister Meredith Moore of Dallas Lodge #44 in Texas.  Meredith brings a wonderful background in Odd Fellowship and in data collection and analysis to the show and we waste no time in putting her skills to work.  She developed and posted a survey on member burnout that got responses from 37 jurisdictions.  The results are, in most cases, not surprising.  Members like meaning, ritual, and regalia.  The real question is whether any action will be taken based on the data from the survey or if higher levels of leadership will just continue on as before. There's no Shoutout on this episode.  We would love it if you would share great things your lodge is doing so we can tell the rest of Odd Fellowship about it.  Email us at 3linksoddcast@gmail.com and give us the info about what you're doing.  In the Odd Podge, Ainslie shares the exciting news that his father joined the Odd Fellows, Toby talks about a visit from Michael and Ryan Crile of California (including a tour of the Washington Odd Fellows Museum), and Meredith previews the upcoming Encampment and Canton Degree Days at the end of January.

    1h 46m
  8. How The Grand Master Stole Christmas

    12/13/2025

    How The Grand Master Stole Christmas

    What exactly is a Grinch, anyway?  Is it a person?  A creature?  An outlook on life that sours every interaction?  The Three Links Odd Cast does another adaptation of a timeless holiday classic focused on Odd Fellowship as we present, "How The Grand Master Stole Christmas."  In our version we get to explore what happens when individual desire supersedes our duties as Odd Fellows and how we can get back in touch with those duties.  Our all-star cast returns for this episode, with Gil T. Rodelo, Ian Love-Jones, Matthew Thornton, Evan Ochs, Mason Wolf, Michael Greenzeiger, Steven Cross, Meredith Moore, Kyle Fuller, Kait Osman, and Elizabeth Keena.

    50 min
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About

The Three Links Odd Cast is an exploration of and discussion about issues in Odd Fellowship for members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. It provides a fun, light-hearted look at the history, traditions, customs, and practices of Odd Fellowship as well as an examination of where the fraternal order is today. NOTE: there will be *NO* discussion of The Unwritten Work or any of the signs, grips, or passwords of Odd Fellowship.

Information

  • Creator
    Toby Hanson, Ainslie Heilich, Meredith Moore
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    128
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Three Links Odd Cast
  • Show Website
    The Three Links Odd Cast

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