There are a few Red Men lodges left and a few standing buildings of their
Wigwams.  The
Red Men, Modern Woodmen, Knights of Honor, Grange, Knights of  Pythias, etc.
once
upon a time a fraternal and insurance offering to folks which combined
meetings, a bit of
ritual and some benefits.  There were a goodly number of them, but  today we
have a few
like the Fraternal Order of Eagles, United Commercial Travelers, Loyal  Order
of Moose,
Elks, Legion, service clubs like Rotary, Sertoma, Ruritan, Kiwanis, etc.  all
designed to
fill a need.  The decline of numbers of farmers, modern things like  TV,
have caused the
disintegration of lodges. There is simply too much written on these
organizations to go
into detail here.  So, scholars, look 'em up on the net. At any rate,  our
folks were so proud
and enamoured of their affiliations they had them carved on their
tombstones.  I have a
jewel box full of their regalia...bet you do too. Only the Masons have kept
good records
on their brethren, and that generally initiation dates, addresses and
perhaps death.  The
study of fraternal organizations, also college fraternities, is indeed
interesting.


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