A Young Man's Benefit

The Three Links Odd Cast

What if the narrative we've all been told—that the government takeover of social services led to the decline of Odd Fellowship—was wrong? Esteemed Canadian economist, author, and educator Herb Emery, author of "A Young Man's Benefit," joins us to discuss his research into the end of beneficial membership in the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. What he discovered from researching records of the Sovereign Grand Lodge and various jurisdictional Grand Lodges is surprising and challenges that long-accepted narrative. It wasn't the government takeover of social services which doomed beneficial membership. It was other factors, like demographic shifts (jurisdictions that were no longer growing), increasing upward mobility of young workers who were able to provide their own insurance through savings, and a general misunderstanding of the financial projections that determined the future affordability of beneficial membership. Emery's book also gives valuable insight into the nature and working of upper management in Odd Fellowship. For those interested in the book, it's available in print form from McGill-Queen's University Press and electronically from Google Play. There's no lodge Shoutout this episode but, for the Odd Podge, Toby tells about the network of listeners helping a member find a new lodge in his new home city, Herb expresses hope for the continuation of fraternalism, and Ainslie shares the news of another new lodge just on the horizon.