Dance Party at the Odd Fellows Hall

N.J. Abele took this picture of a large group of people at a dance at the Odd Fellows Hall about 1912. A few people were identified in notes on the back of the original picture:

The couple at the bottom of this close up view appear to adore each other:

The people at the party were dressed in formal attire.

Some of the ladies wore flowers or ribbons in their hair.

The upper level of the Odd Fellows Hall was the site of many dances in twentieth century Sandusky.

G.M. Heck Stoves and Tinware

 From the 1860s through the 1880s, the G.M. Heck Stoves and Tinware business was in operation at 725 Market Street in downtown Sandusky. (Around the middle of the first block of East Market Street today.) In the picture above, you can see that Mr. Heck’s business is next door to Theodore Goessling’s grocery store at 727 Market Street. 

George Michael Heck was born in 1836 in Baden, Germany. He came with his parents, Samuel and Magdalina Heck, and several siblings to the U.S. when he was about ten years old. An article in the June 2, 1898 issue of the Sandusky Register stated that G.M. Heck was “an expert mechanic with a thorough knowledge of the tin and stove trade.” In January of 1868, he married Lena Gilcher, the daughter of Peter Gilcher. On June 1, 1898, Mr. Heck died of influenza, at the age of 62. Members of Sandusky Lodge, No. 669, I.O.O.F. attended the funeral of Mr. Heck. The flag at the Odd Fellows’ Temple was at half-mast in his honor. Funeral services for Mr. Heck were held at his residence, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery.

Odd Fellows in Sandusky

The badge below once belonged to Frank B. Leake, who was a member of  Ogontz Lodge, No. 66 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) in Sandusky, Ohio.

The principal emblem of the Odd Fellows is three links, with the letters F, L, and T, which stand for friendship, love, and truth. Other symbols on the pendant include a Bible, an hourglass, a heart in an open hand, and fasces. The open Bible represents a source of truth, while the hourglass reminds us of how quickly time passes by. The fasces represents strength in unity, and the hand holding the heart is an indication of love and mercy.

Sandusky's former Odd Fellows Hall, located at 231 West Washington Row, was built in 1889 by the Feick brothers. Lodge members met upstairs, and businesses and offices were located at the street level of the building. In 2003 the IOOF building was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Now privately owned, and still home to offices, the Odd Fellows Hall hosted many lodge meetings, dinners, and dances, throughout most of the twentieth century. It remains a beautiful historic building in downtown Sandusky. The photograph below was taken at a dance at the Odd Fellows Hall about 1912.

To read more about the history and principles of the Odd Fellows, see the Odd Fellows Manual, accessible at Google Books.

Odd Fellows’ Festival in 1856

On March 25, 1856 the Odd Fellows’ Festival was held at West’s Hall in the West House in downtown Sandusky. The floor managers were John Youngs, Warren Smith, and Jerome Monroe. Twelve Sandusky men served on the Committee of Arrangements, including John W. Holland, a well-known local sign painter and businessman.

Clock’s Band provided music for the evening’s entertainment. Rev. Samuel Marks addressed the Daughters of Rebekah, the women lodge members, who attended the festival in full regalia. An article in the March 26, 1856 issue of the Sandusky Daily Commercial Register reported that the Odd Fellows’ Festival was “one of the most brilliant and admirably conducted entertainments ever given in Sandusky.” After Rev. Marks’ address, the crowd enjoyed a dance and music. Several amateurs sang throughout the evening. Dinner was served at eleven o’clock p.m. One hundred seventy people attended the banquet, which featured three tables “loaded down with all the luxuries and substantials the most craving appetite could demand.” The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a fraternal organization. The I.O.O.F. symbol features a three link chain, which represents Friendship, Love and Truth. The I.O.O.F. building in Sandusky was dedicated on March 18, 1890. Several attorneys and businesses are now located in the I.O.O. F. building on Washington Row in downtown Sandusky.