The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows in America is a fraternal organization established in 1843 for Black members at a time when the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the United States was largely closed to African Americans. Rather than receiving its authority from the American IOOF, the organization obtained its charter directly from the Odd Fellows in Manchester, England, and consequently developed as a separate and independent fraternal body. Although the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows remains in existence, its American membership declined substantially during the twentieth century as racial barriers within other fraternal organizations diminished and participation in fraternal societies declined more generally.

Like many fraternal organizations, the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows adopted distinctive regalia, including the fez. Surviving examples display a remarkable variety of colors, wording, and decorative styles, with considerably less visual uniformity than is found in the regalia of some other fraternal orders. This variety makes individual examples particularly interesting to study and collect.

Unfortunately, information about many individual Lodges and their regalia can be difficult to locate, so the fez itself often provides the best clues to its origins. In this case, the familiar three-link emblem and the letters “F.L.T.”—representing Friendship, Love, and Truth—identify the piece as belonging to a regular Lodge rather than one of the Order’s appendant bodies.

This fez is relatively modern and was manufactured by the Lauterer Company. Based on its construction and decoration, we believe it likely dates from approximately the 1960s through the early 1980s.

This fez is clearly associated with the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, although identifying the specific branch or body it represents required a bit more investigation. We believe the lettering refers to Past Grand Master’s Council No. 16, abbreviated “P.G.M.C. No. 16.”

The Grand United Order of Odd Fellows maintains a complex organizational structure, with numerous interconnected bodies, councils, committees, and appendant organizations. Because documentation on many of these individual units can be difficult to locate, the precise use of this fez remains somewhat uncertain. If you have additional information about this particular body or its regalia, we invite you to reach out through our contact page.

The fez itself is relatively straightforward in design. Its emblem and lettering are embroidered in colored thread on a red body, and it is finished with a blue tassel, a color frequently encountered on Odd Fellows regalia. Based on its construction and materials, the piece likely dates from the second half of the twentieth century.

For this fez we take a deep trip into the world of somewhat obscure fraternal organizations. Just as the Freemasons and Knights of Columbus were originally “whites only” organizations, so too was the Odd Fellows. In the late 1800’s, a group of African Americans petitioned the Odd Fellows of England and received a charter to form their own group, seperate from the Odd Fellows already operating in the U.S., thus creating the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows. The group would go on to create appendant bodies as it grew. One of these organizations was the Household of Ruth. This organization was the women’s auxiliary to the African American Odd Fellows order. The Household of Ruth was organized in 1857 for the admission of the wives or women related to men in the fraternal order of Odd Fellows.

Hailing from Terre Haute, Indiana, this fez is a rare piece for the collection, and certainly makes a splendid addition! Based on its construction, we believe it dates to the mid twentieth century and probably belonged to a local past presiding officer.

Household of Ruth items are pretty rare in the world of fraternal collecting. We were lucky to snag a Household of Ruth piece very early on in our collecting, but haven’t had much luck with finding more. This fez was recently sold by an auction house in Florida and we just had to have it. The fez is blue, with a white tassel, and yellow embroidery. There are no jewels or other decorations, leading us to believe it belonged to a regular member. It depicts the usual logo of the Household, a sheaf of wheat and a scythe. As you can see from the photo, the fez originates in Fayetteville, North Carolina. We think this piece was likely made in the 50’s or the 60’s, but it could also date back further.