Independent Order of Odd Fellows

Independent Order of Odd Fellows. . , For almost a century, members of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Warriner Lodge No. 75, accessed their meeting rooms through a small door and up a steep set of stairs to the second floor of the Currie block on Queen St. , It was here, after the local IOOF received its Charter in June 1871, they would meet weekly in a grand and spacious Lodge Room. In the beginning their meetings were held every Monday night, but years later reduced to twice a month. , The first few years were not kind for the fledgling organization, as the Currie block was plagued by fire on three separate occasions in less than four years. The first of these came in July 1884, when the entire downtown, including Currie's building, was destroyed by fire. , Less than two years after rebuilding, the upper floor of the new Currie block was gutted by fire. Once again the Odd Fellows lost the furnishings of their hall, including regalia and official papers. , Following repairs to the building, the Odd Fellows returned to their meeting hall, only to be confronted with another fire about six months later. This fire destroyed the entire building, including all of the Lodge contents. , Despite all the setbacks, when George Currie completed construction of his new building, the Odd Fellows once again returned to their Lodge Room at the top of the stairs. This location was used by Warriner Lodge No. 75, and the Maybelle Rebekah Lodge, which was instituted in 1950, until they moved into a newly constructed hall on Simcoe Street, just south of Port Perry in 1964.