The Iowa I.O.O.F. Orphans Home Orchestra

And you have the Iowa I.O.O.F. Orphans Home Orchestra of Mason City. The seven solemn faced girls in this small ensemble lived at the Iowa Odd Fellows Orphanage and Old Folks Home, an institution that first opened in May 1903 but tragically was destroyed by fire in September of that same year. It was rebuilt in 1906, only a few years before this photo of the girls orchestra was made. Music instruction was an important part of the training provided to the children, with brass band instruments for boys and string instruments for the girls. Mandolin bands were a popular fad in this decade, and such vintage school photos are not uncommon to find. The mandolin is tuned the same as a violin and at this time were typically made in the traditional Italian or Neapolitan pear shape with a round back.






Here is the I.O.O.F. orphan home as it looked in 1911. The main building was on 240 acres which included a working farm to supply its residents with food and work. The Independent Order of Odd Fellows is a benevolent fraternal society that got its start in England and was established in America in 1819. It has a motto developed from the order's "Triple Links" logo – the letters F, L and T which stand for Friendship, Love and Truth. From its beginnings the society's mission was to "visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan." 

Musical groups like the girls orchestra were especially important when fund raising for an institution. The girls performed at several regional and state conventions of the Odd Fellows and its  women's branch called the Rebekahs. The following newspaper report appeared in the Nashua IA Reporter on June 1, 1911 and gives a good description of the home.

Nashua Iowa Reporter June 1, 1911

Mesdames J.H. Hildebrand and L. P. Hanson returned Thursday afternoon of last week from Marble Rock, where they had been attending a convention of the Rebekahs of the northern district of Iowa. Among the best things of the convention were several selections by the girls' orchestra from the Odd Fellow's Home at Mason City and an address by the matron of the home, Grace Lewis. 
This home is a beautiful place, also a home in the true sense of the word and one which all Odd Fellows and Rebekahs can be proud of. It has sheltered 150 aged brothers and sisters and orphaned children in the eight years it has been running. There are at present in the home 48 children , 21 old people, 2 totally blind, 2 lame, two utterly helpless, eight who are over 80 years of age, one 94 years, two couple who have been married 60 years, and one little 20 months old girl who had just lost her dear mother and was brought to this home to be cared for.  The order is taking care of the unfortunate ... (unclear)







The postcard of the I.O.O.F. Orphan Home was sent to Miss Ruby Harper, Hansell, Iowa. The message reads:



Did Ruby not receive this card? Who wrote it? Ruby G. Harper was the daughter of a farmer in Franklin County, Iowa and was age 15 when this was posted. 





Back in January 2011 I wrote a story on the Orphans Home Band of Mason City, Iowa. Not long after that story I acquired another postcard of the Iowa I.O.O.F. Orphan Home Band that is identical to one in that post but has extra value with a postmark of February 17, 1909. The Odd Fellows triple link F-L-T logo is on the bass drum. The photographer Washburn, is the same one that took the photo of the girls orchestra.

These boys had the good fortune to be identified on one of the other postcards in that story by a girl named Hazel Jones who also lived at the orphanage. Though the girls orchestra are not named, I like to believe that she may one of them.




The boys band postcard was addressed to Miss Vetta Morse, Ranelagh, Ontario, Canada which is near London, Ontario between Buffalo, NY and Detroit. The message reads:









The postcard of the Mason City, I.O.O.F. Orphans Home was also produced in a sepia tone version. This enlargement of the portico steps comes from a postcard mailed in January of 1911. On the left are some adults, perhaps some of the elder residents. There are boys in the center, and girls in white frocks on the steps below.

The orphanage was closed in 1966 and this building was demolished in 1994. However the Odd Fellows continue to support good works around the country and still maintain a nursing care center on this same location in Mason City.

If you look closely at the foreground of the orphanage steps there is a garden fountain which has a statue of children holding an umbrella. It seem seems a very fitting symbol for a protective home for orphans and the elderly. I hope that it was preserved.