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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Odd Fellowship isn't something that can be joined casually. It requires a certain amount of effort to be expended on behalf of those joining the lodge to fill out an application, pay the application fee, and proceed through the interview and initiation. For the applicant, this process should ensure that they get an opportunity to find out about the nature of the lodge to which they are applying. For the lodge, this process should help them decide if this applicant should become a candidate for membership and, ultimately, a member. For the process to work as intended, the Interviewing Committee must do a thorough job of investigating the applicant and find out if they will make a good member of the lodge. Just like in many other areas of Odd Fellowship, however, that doesn't always happen as intended. Too many lodges treat the Interview as a formality; a speed bump on the path to getting as many people in the lodge as possible as quickly as possible. Ray Jackson, PGM of Illinois, joins us to talk about the application and interviewing process and how it is supposed to go when done properly, and some of the ramifications of it not going properly. The Shoutout goes to another West Virginia Lodge, Harrisville #99. In the Odd Podge, Toby previews his upcoming 50th Birthday Party (hint: it's also a fundraiser), Ray remembers a departed long-time member in Illinois, Ainslie shares the positive outcomes of holding an open meeting at his lodge, and Mike talks about visiting Ainslie's lodge for that open meeting—and then gives us all a shocking surprise!

Waxahachie Lodge No. 80 is one of the largest and best-known lodges in North America. Because of their excellent promotion on social media, they have become household names in the world of Odd Fellowship. We talk with their Noble Grand, Alex Freeman, about his journey into Odd Fellowship, how it intersects with his professional life, (spoiler alert: he's a tattoo artist) and what it's like to be in charge of such a large, active, prominent lodge. Brother Alex offers some fantastic advice and insight for others on the journey through Odd Fellowship. The Shoutout is back for this episode and it goes to Iroquois Lodge #74 of Illinois for their revival from near-death. In the Odd Podge, Ainslie reviews the Odd Market, Mike reveals his new jobs in West Virginia and at Sovereign Grand Lodge, Alex follows Ainslie's lead and shares his experiences with the Odd Fest in Waxahachie, and Toby revels in the fruits of his fame as appreciative fans bought him dinner (and dessert) at the NW IOOF Meeting.