The Odd Fellows' Grand Display
Despite a drenching rain, a thousand Odd Fellows marched through downtown Tacoma to celebrate the 90th anniversary of their order.
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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.
Despite the rain and murky weather, 1,000 Odd Fellows turned out for the grand parade last evening in commemoration of the nintieth anniversary of the order, and marched through the streets in all their uniform splendor. The parade was over three blocks long, and was led by Chief of Police Duley and twenty-four of the 'finest.' After the parade the Odd Fellows assembled in their temple, at Seventh and Pacific, for the grand ball, the concluding event of an illustrious day. During the afternoon J. M. Ralston, deputy grand master, of Port Townsend, gave an interesting talk on the work of the I. O. O. F., and praised the Tacoma order for its efficient labors. There are now more than 1,800 members of the Tacoma lodge.
“Marched through the streets in all their uniform splendor.”
Fraternal organizations were once the heartbeat of local civic life, providing a social safety net and public spectacle that few modern institutions replicate with such scale.
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