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The Maryland Curiosity Bureau

Who are the Odd Fellows?

A monument on Broadway Ave in Baltimore, commemorating the founding of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows by Thomas Wilde (photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
A monument on Broadway Ave in Baltimore, commemorating the founding of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows by Thomas Wilde (photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

Have you seen those mysterious "Odd Fellows" signs on buildings across Maryland? Who meets there? What do they do? And where did that name come from? This episode, we get invited behind the curtain of a secretive, centuries-old fraternal organization with deep Baltimore roots.

Laura and Jeff Teate, Grand Secretary and Deputy Grand Master at the IOOF Grand Lodge of Maryland (photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Laura and Jeff Teate, Grand Secretary and Deputy Grand Master at the IOOF Grand Lodge of Maryland (photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Jeff Teate displays ceremonial robes worn by Odd Fellows a hundred years ago (photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)
Jeff Teate displays ceremonial robes worn by Odd Fellows a hundred years ago (photo credit Aaron Henkin / WYPR)

Curious to learn more? Visit www.marylandoddfellows.org

Aaron creates and produces original radio programs and podcasts for WYPR. His current project is The Maryland Curiosity Bureau. Aaron's neighborhood documentary series, Out of the Blocks, earned the 2018 national Edward R Murrow Award. His past work includes the long-running weekly cultural program, The Signal, and the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series, Tapestry of the Times. Aaron's stories have aired nationally on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.