IOOF

                                                                                         - Photo by Gary Thomas

This imposing building always made me feel uncomfortable as child.

I distinctly remember looking up at it and asking my father, "what does the IOOF stand for?" and he would answer, "I can't remember...it was some kind of club".

My dad seemed to know everything, and he grew up in Chardon, so his vague response to this question made the building seem even more mysterious to me.  What kind of club could it have been?  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't conjure up any kind of club name that would fit the IOOF acronymn.  It seemed spooky to me...those big letters up there looming down.

Somehow, years later, I finally learned what it stood for and then promptly forgot - until I relearned it again somewhere else, years later.  I have probably learned and forgotten what the IOOF means at least 4 times in my life, and to be honest, I hardly even notice those letters any more when I'm in town.

All of this was brought to mind when I saw this photo by Gary Thomas the other day. He is a local photographer that I follow on Flickr. I really love his creative and beautiful images of Geauga County and the Western Reserve.  He submitted this photo in response to a photo challenge for the topic "odd".

Why is this "odd", you ask?  I'll let Gary answer that question with his caption for the photo:

IOOF - Independent Order of Odd Fellows

Taken for Our Daily Challenge .. ODD.  Built in 1879 this is the IOOF (Independent Order of Odd Fellows) building in Chardon, Ohio. The chapter is no longer active. "As an organization, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows are dedicated to improving and elevating the character of mankind by imparting the principles of friendship, love and truth and making the world a better place to live by aiding the community, the less fortunate, the youth and the elderly in every way possible." - Wikipedia

So there you have it.  Memorize this and impress your friends!

By the way, the IOOF is still an active organization nationally, and you can find a lot more information about it in Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independent_Order_of_Odd_Fellows

And if you would like to see more of Gary's wonderful photos, you can find his photostream on Flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26992926@N08/

I think it is really great that these letters still remain on the building after all these years.  I'm sure that a decision must have been made at one time, to either leave them up or remove them.  I'm so glad that they were left there and I hope they remain...to continue to perplex people and provide a symbol of Chardon's history.