The Rebekah Lodge Rises in Bothell
A festive delegation of Seattle Odd Fellows journeys to Bothell by steamer to establish a new chapter.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A party of Odd Fellows and their wives went on Saturday, February 24, to Bothell to assist in the institution of Cloverleaf Rebekah Lodge, No. 64. Past Grand Master H. E. Holmes and Grand Warden W. L. Ames performed the ceremonies. The party left the lake end of Madison Street on the steamer Duck Hunter at 10 a.m. and arrived at Bothell at noon, where they were treated to a dinner the visitors declared superior to any in the city. The ceremonies took place at the Odd Fellows' hall, where the Rebekah degree was conferred on ten charter members, including Alice Bothell and Mary E. Bothell. After the election of officers, thirty-nine additional candidates were initiated by the staff of the Ridgely Rebekah lodge of Seattle.
“The party said on their return that no one could set up a dinner like the Bothellites.”
This piece highlights how social life at the turn of the century revolved around tightly-knit fraternal orders. While the secret societies have faded from their former central role, the transit route used by the party—the Madison Street connection to the lake—remains a core artery for Seattle's east-west movement.
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