Odd Fellows Tattoo

We're definitely very Oh I am in and to our surprise their headquarters is in downtown Tuscola. The group sounds They're called the Odd Fellows and their goal is to give back to their community. WCI3's Jessica Koons is here. Jessica the Odd Fellows have been around and sounds In Nepal they celebrate their 200th birthday in the US next year and while we're calling them a secret society they actually do want you to know who they are because they're working to make a difference in our town Tuscola. Of a steep staircase in downtown Tuscola Odd Fellows enter their secret meeting space. Who goes there? And this is where we give the password. That password gets you into this cavernous room. Ainsley Highlick and his business partner bought the building seven years ago and when they walked into this space they didn't know what to think. Then they found out it used to house an Odd Fellows lodge dating all the way back to 1865. We found all this great old regalia that was just hidden up in the crawl space. It's almost It's like you start down a path of little breadcr The Odd Fellows is a fraternal order. They used to offer financial support including insurance and social security. By the mid 1900s groups started disbanding. But now Highlick says there's an uptick with 55 lodges in Illinois alone. Highlick brought back to Tuscola's order three years ago. They focus on charity work. He says people crave being part of something bigger. For a lot of people of my generation were raised on the internet and we are seeking that in-person interaction and we're definitely growing tired of all the arguing on Facebook. He says this room is a safe haven for people looking for more out of life. When you come to a lodge you leave all that behind you. You can'talk about religion. You can'talk about politics. All you're allowed to do is focus on doing the good of the order and being good friends to each other. That's what brought Natasha Gardewine here almost a year ago. I was kind of looking for a group of people to kind of have similar interests and stuff. So I got here and I was really impressed with it because of the group of artists and it kind of felt She encourages others to join too. If not for the friends alone but being part of a secret society, it's pretty cool too. The Odd Fellows have a big event coming up this Saturday. It's their third odd market. They're bringing an artist from all over to the Tuscola community building downtown. The money they raise will benefit first gig rock camp for kids. We'll have lots more details on that event on illinoishomepage. net. Paul. Pretty cool. Thanks for unveiling the secret society. There you go.