Colfax Odd Fellows began fraternizing in 1860s

Imagine Colfax in the late 1860s. There is no electricity, therefore, not any TVs, computers, cell phones or other devices to while away the hours. No cars or planes to whisk you off to exotic places nor to go off to the mall. There is the train, and it is connected all the way to the east coast, so Colfax is by no means isolated. How, then, did people spend their leisure time and stay in touch with friends and neighbors? One solution was through religious, fraternal and service organizations. One such group was the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.The official line on the IOOF is, "a fraternal society based upon universal brotherhood and is founded on the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man," according to the History of Placer County by Thompson and West 1882. Thomas Wildey started the Odd Fellows on April 26, 1819 in Baltimore, Md. The first California group organized in San Francisco in 1849.Businessmen such as Jacob Keck and Nathan Traphagen were among the charter members of the Colfax IOOF Lodge No. 132 instituted on April 18, 1867. Other Main Street notables such as John Butler and Leopold Lobner joined later.The Odd Fellows were the first fraternal lodge to authorize a ladies' auxiliary. The Manzanita Rebekah Lodge No. 182 was instituted in March 1892.Early history of the group and the building itself, located at 14 North Main St., is sketchy at best. This may be because minutes and records were lost in one of the fires that devastated the downtown area.In studying the research completed by Gertrude Paul for the installation of the building's plaque in 1999, it appears that the Masons may have actually constructed the building. This is also evident by inspection of the upper floor; the two buildings were connected at one time. Joe Halton, current secretary for the Illinoistown-Clay Masonic Lodge confirmed the idea to be true.Halton said the bottom level has always been rented out as an income source for the owners. He had his printing business there from 1991 until last year when the building was sold. There had been another printer operating there in 1906, Halton said.The actual years and details of the transactions between the two lodges and with other groups like the Knights of the Pythias, who also used the meeting room, are a mystery in need of further inquiry. What we do know is that the IOOF purchased property on South Main in 1882, likely with the intention of building there. There was a depression in the 1880s and that may be why the Masons sold the property and brick building next to them to the IOOF. This would explain the add-on wooden staircase to the front of the building for separate access to the second floor. Over the years, the Colfax Record has reported many concerts, dances and shows happening in the building regularly.Standing in the middle of the grand ballroom – which long since has seen its better days – you easily sense the grandeur, albeit at a small-town scale. The preparation, talk and excitement of their events, as well as the functions themselves were all-consuming. And, that's what people did to pass the time in the "good ol' days."