History
A program of the Archive Committee research team member, Pamela Eakins, presenting historical information about the Circle Druids who rented space in our lodge building during the 1930s. The Circle Druids was the women’s sect of the California Druids.
Background
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is one of the oldest voluntary civic organizations in the United States, with its first US lodge established in Baltimore in 1819. The American Odd Fellows organization separated from its British origins in 1843 to become the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. The IOOF is credited as the first national insurance provider in the United States, as members could transfer their burial and sickness benefits from one lodge to another, an especially important practice during the decades of western expansion during the nineteenth century. The IOOF’s missions are to “visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”
25th Anniversary of losing our beloved "little c"
McCoffee opened in 1976 across the street from its later location below the Odd Fellows Hall. McCoffee started with kitchenware, coffee and tea. Espresso and ice cream came with the move to the Odd Fellows Hall. There was a wonderful period (1980-85) when it was a cheese and wine shop. Later, it became more of a cafe. What a great place to be. City Hall and HMB Review across the street, the bustle of town through the door. Then came the letter from McDonalds to cease using the name even though McCoffee had been in business for 16 years. Thus the “funeral of the little c” and a new abbreviated name–M Coffee.
The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is an international fraternity that traces its roots back to 17th century England, where small groups of working-class people banded together, using some of their wages to create a common fund that they could turn to in times of sickness, loss of a job, or death. These altruistic groups became known as “odd fellows” since it was then considered odd or peculiar to find people organized for the purpose of giving aid to those in need and pursuing projects for the benefit of all mankind.
Sarah Griego Guz / Half Moon Bay Review
Reprinted with permission
Beyond a white picket fence lies a peaceful space that time has forgotten. It is a place where both the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, rest peacefully together while the rest of the world spins on into the future.
Nestled on just three acres and tucked away alongside Highway 92, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows Cemetery sits quietly near the entrance to Half Moon Bay. Established in 1875, the graveyard served as the final resting place for non-Catholics as well as suicide victims, indigents, and sailors who had washed ashore.
