At Sessions this year, among all the many bills, resolutions, motions and elections, one action stands out both for its audacity, and its potential implications for the future of Odd Fellowship in California. The very last thing we voted on, a resolution crafted from the floor of Sessions itself rather than submitted in advance, concerns one building in Northern California. One shabby, old, and poorly maintained building, that just may point us toward the future of Odd Fellowship.
To provide a little background, in Mendocino County, what would eventually become the town of Ukiah began as a small settlement in the 1850’s, as Anglo settlers began arriving after California’s admission to the Union. Its name sprang from the valley’s original inhabitants, a nearby band of Pomo Indians called “Yokayo”, who still live in the area to this day.
By 1859, Ukiah had 100 residents and a post office, and by 1876 it was incorporated. But development was still slow until 1889, when it was finally added to the San Francisco and North Pacific rail line, which linked it to the national rail network. This makes it all the more impressive that Ukiah’s IOOF building was erected in 1882, back when building materials still had to be either created on site or shipped in by stage coach.
Ukiah Lodge #174 was originally chartered in 1870. But in 1992, facing dwindling numbers, it consolidated with Little Lake Lodge #227. When Little Lake lost their charter during the pandemic, the Ukiah IOOF building passed to the control of the California Grand Lodge.
The building has been somewhat neglected, to put it mildly, but it remains an income-generating property. The current tenants send their rent each month, but there have been complaints, and even at least one lawsuit, about the state of the building. The upstairs, where the lodge once met, now lies vacant. The roof has outlived its functional life and needs to be replaced. When it rains, water seeps in and has caused problems for the tenants. As the building itself is built with unreinforced masonry, seismic retrofitting may be necessary in order to preserve it.
In 2024, a squatter was found living there who did a considerable amount of damage, and to even use the upper floor of the building, the city of Ukiah requires an extensive amount of renovation. Seeing little benefit to holding onto it, the Grand Lodge board voted in April to sell the Ukiah building and began their search for a buyer.
But that’s on pause, at least for one year, thanks to the actions of Larry Guenther of Davis Lodge #169 at Sessions. His resolution, adopted after extraordinary parliamentary maneuvering – which included an initial motion to consider, a hastily written resolution presented the following day, a motion to table, a motion to pick it up off the table, a move to call the question, and finally a vote to pass it (which actually succeeded handily) – in the very last vote taken at Sessions in 2025. It should be noted that other than making the motion, at no point did poor Larry ever actually get to speak on the floor about it! But it didn’t matter. The members of Grand Lodge saw a plan to save a building and when they finally got the chance to vote, they said, resoundingly, “yes.”
As for the plan itself, it’s interesting. Larry discovered that within the California code, there is a Grand Lodge Real Estate committee that hasn’t had anyone appointed to it in years. As one of the chief proponents of monetizing, rather than selling, our old buildings, Larry saw the Real Estate committee as potentially becoming the group of Odd Fellows who can take charge of those properties that Grand Lodge owns, fix them up, and then rent them out in order to earn a steady income that’s not dependent on membership dues.
As so often happens when someone proposes an idea, the new Grand Master quickly appointed Larry to head the committee to make it happen.
Joining him on the committee are PGM Fred Dolling of Stanislaus #170, who’s both there as Grand Lodge board liaison, and also as the person most often credited with saving the Three Links camp. Additionally, they’ll have Marcus Marino, of Davis #169, a licensed architect, Jaimie Garcia, of San Fernando #365, a licensed real estate broker, and from Cupertino #70, Ron Myres, bringing in his expertise as a contractor.
These five brothers are going to determine, first and foremost, whether this building can be saved, and it’s far from clear at this point. This is a large building. The costs of a seismic retrofit, which may be essential to ever using the upper floors again, can run into the millions. Plus, adding a new roof is going to be a high priority, as according to first person accounts, when you stand on the upper floor and look up, there are places where you can see daylight streaming in.
But this is an important piece of history, and there may be grants available to help pay for it. The building itself is cashflow positive, and with improvements, more units could be made available for rent, and rents could be raised to market value, helping to offset the costs of loans that may need to be taken.
Further, if they do manage to save the building, it may even become a lodge again. There’s already a charter in the possession of Brother Jack Cain, of Upper Lake #241, to form a lodge in Ukiah, where he lives. He already has the people, he just needs a space to meet. His dream is to see Odd Fellowship return to Ukiah, and just how cool would it be if they returned to their original building?
Whether or not this specific project succeeds, I’m delighted that we’re giving it a shot. For generations, as the Order has shrunk, we’ve been selling off bits and pieces of it and spending down the proceeds. It’s helped cover a year of budget shortfalls here and there, but since we haven’t been reinvesting the capital, we’ve just been dragging ourselves closer and closer to the point where we simply don’t have Odd Fellowship in California anymore.
Some might say, “we’re running out of members anyway, who are we trying to preserve Odd Fellowship for?” But I don’t think that. Larry Guenther doesn’t think that. Friendship, Love, and Truth are still going to be necessary centuries from now, and so the Order can persist as well. But we’ve got to take care of what we’ve inherited so that future members have something too.
The Real Estate committee has a huge job, and the stakes are high, not only for one building in Ukiah, but to determine the viability of this whole concept: monetizing our assets rather than selling them off. Even if the committee fails; if they come back to Sessions next year recommending that after looking at all viable alternatives, it really is in the best interests of the Order to sell that building, it makes an enormous difference that we tried. Whatever we learn in the next 12 months, and no matter what happens to that building on North State Street in Ukiah, here’s hoping that we figure out a better way to preserve the legacy that’s been handed down to us, and regrow our beloved Order in our time.
— By Mason Wolf