Ron Stern remembers joining the New Holland International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Lodge 413 in 1963. "There was a lodge on Locust Street across from the cemetery," recalled Ron, who noted that the lodge members raised funds by holding bingo nights at the venue and enjoyed corn roasts in the backyard of the building. "That was a great time," said Ron, adding that the local lodge had close to 60 members when he joined.

On Nov. 20, Ron celebrated 60 years of being a member of the Odd Fellows when his fellow members and family held a surprise party at the Charles E. Ludwig VFW Post 7362, 755 Rancks Church Road, New Holland. Lodge member Ralph Hess presented Ron with a plaque and a certificate of recognition from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to mark the occasion. Most of Ron's six sons were there, including his youngest son, Kyle, who is also a lodge member.

"Our code is 'visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan,'" said Ron, who noted the IOOF was established in New Holland in 1850, which means the organization will celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2025. IOOF traces its roots to early 18th-century England. Originally, the lodge was formed by working men for social purposes and to give aid and assistance to each other when out of work. A former member of a London lodge brought the organization to Baltimore in 1819.

Locally, the 10-member lodge donates annually to the ELANCO Library and Garden Spot Fire Rescue. The lodge has a pavilion in the New Holland Memorial Park on Jackson Street near Chestnut Drive, and a recently refurbished water fountain in the center of the park is dedicated to a lodge member. The Odd Fellows sponsors the horseshoe competition held during the New Holland Farmers Fair, and the lodge was involved in creating the octagon on the playground in the Chad Burkhart Memorial Park on Locust Street. On a regional level, IOOF gives to Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia and Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.

When the lodge on Locust Street closed, the land was sold for apartment buildings. Part of the proceeds was donated to the New Holland Recreation Center. Ron said there is a plaque located on Locust Street to mark the site of the lodge.

In the last several years, the lodge has held chicken barbecue fundraisers about twice a year. Ron said the lodge members start cooking chicken at 6 a.m. and that the barbecues are good fundraisers.

IOOF officers include a noble grand, vice grand, warden, conductor, guardian, and chaplain, and officers change yearly. Ron served for a year as a grand lodge officer on the state level, and he has also served as a representative to the Middletown Home, which is associated with the Odd Fellows. Ron noted that at one time there was an orphans' home in Meadville. The home served about 1,200 orphans over a 100-year period. Ron noted that there were once IOOF lodges in nearly every small town in the area. He recalled traveling to Long Island by bus with members of the Lititz lodge. He said that when the Ephrata and Elizabethtown lodges folded, they merged into the New Holland lodge.

Ron said it saddens him to see membership dwindle from what it once was, but he is thankful for all the years he has belonged to the lodge. "Like anything else, you get out of it what you put into it," he said. "I met a lot of people all over the country," he added, sharing stories from trips to Blain, Philadelphia, and New York.

The lodge meets on the first and third Mondays of each month at the VFW post at 7:30 p.m. Ron explained that the first meeting is a business meeting and the second is a social meeting. "We are open for membership," he noted. Readers who are interested in learning more may email earllodgesecretary@gmail.com.

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