History of Emmet County and Dickinson County, Iowa Volume 1; A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 Excerpt: ...The Ringsted Rebekah lodge meets on the second and fourth Wednesday evenings in each month. KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS On the evening of February 15, 1864, five members of the Arion Glee Club of Washington, D. C, met and listened to the reading of a ritual upon which it was proposed to found a new secret order. The five men were Justus H. Rathbone, David L. and William H. Burnett, Robert A. Champion and Dr. Sullivan Kimball. The ritual, which was written by Mr. Rathbone, was founded upon the story of Damon and Pythias, and some one suggested that the new order be called the Knights of Pythias. That name was adopted and on February 19, 1864, the five original "Knights" organized Washington Lodge, No. 1. The Civil war was then at its height and the growth of the order was slow until about 1869, when it began to flourish and in a few years it had spread to all parts of the country. Red Gauntlet Lodge, No. 233, was organized at Estherville on June 5, 1889, by a "team" from Spirit Lake and members from other lodges in near-by towns, with sixteen charter members. The officers installed at that time were as follows: T. W. Carter, chancellor commander; E. B. Myrick, vice chancellor; Charles Miller, prelate; A. D. Cooley, master of arms; E. P. Butterfield, keeper of the records and seal; G. N. Evans, master of finance; N. A. Erdahl, master of the exchequer; E. E. Goff, inner guard; Bert Miller, outer guard. The lodge was incorporated on February 5, 1903, with J. C. Lovell, G. K. Allen and J. T. Johnson as trustee. In 1909 Red Gauntlet Lodge went down and was reorganized as Estherville Lodge No. 14, which was incorporated on October 25, 1916. The officers of this lodge at the close of the year 1914 were: Edward Maniece, chancellor commander; A. M. Jones, ...