When we last spoke about the Cave Degree, it's fate was left uncertain. The deck in the cave was in disrepair and there was a fundraising effort underway to restore it to a functional condition. Now, in its second year post-revival, the Cave Degree has evolved into a full-blown Cave Weekend, with a meeting of the Richard Brouse Degree Lodge No. 190 and an English Country Dance on Friday evening, the Initiatory and First Degrees Saturday morning, instructional session later in the afternoon, the Second Degree in the Cave by the light of the moon, the Third Degree and Rebekah Degree Sunday morning, and then the Patriarchal Degree back up in the Cave on Sunday afternoon. All this makes for a busy but exciting and inspiring weekend. On this episode, we talk to three of the many people who helped organize the renovation of the Cave and organize the weekend: Lizzie Martinez of Yreka Lodge No. 19, Stacy Thomason of Gold Hill No. 129 in Oregon, and Mason Wolf of True Fellowship No. 52 in San Jose. Andrew Crockett and Debra LaVergne also drop in to share a little bit during the course of the episode. The Shoutout goes to Water Valley Lodge No. 82 of Mississippi for their fine work recruiting younger members to keep the lodge going.

Season six kicks off in Grand—or, should we say—Sovereign Grand style! We recorded this episode of the podcast live from the historic hall of Kanawha Lodge #25 of Charleston, West Viriginia, host of the 2025 Sovereign Grand Lodge Session. We were joined by a wonderful live audience and guests who told us about what's going on in their jurisdictions. We heard about a tiny lodge in Rhode Island that suddenly had an influx of members, the growth of Encampments and Cantons in Texas, a roundabout way of getting the mayor of Pine Island, Minnesota to join that town's lodge, and many more great and inspiring stories from around Odd Fellowship. In the Odd Podge, Ainslie talked about how Thomas Wildey had to place several advertisements in the newspaper in Baltimore before he was able to round up enough Odd Fellows to form a lodge (and he also gave a great plug to Mike's new book Oddtistic); Mike announced his new podcast "Odd Fellows Today" again; and Toby shared why he comes to Sovereign Grand Lodge even without a job to do. Hint: it's all about all of you listeners out there!

Five years ago, a new podcast emerged on the fraternal landscape, the Three Links Odd Cast. Shrouded in mystery, the reclusive hosts have done their best to keep knowledge about the show secret—until now. Join host Ian Love-Jones of Peninsula Lodge #128 of Portland as he guides this exposé of the Three Links Odd Cast. Host Love-Jones digs into the shady past of the show, calling on disgruntled former hosts for their perspective. Marvel as he reveals the secret process of choosing show topics. Listen with rapt attention as the planning of each episode is captured with secret audio recordings of the hosts during a meeting. This is the unfiltered, unfettered access to the show that fans have been demanding for years. This episode is so shocking you may never want to listen to another episode (but probably not).

As more and more people are searching the Internet for Odd Fellowship, many of them are finding this podcast. As a service to them, we put together this episode where we give an introduction to Odd Fellowship, including what it is, how it's structured, how to join, and what members get out of it. We hope this will be helpful to those of you looking for a way to connect with your community through Odd Fellowship. As always, you can contact us for help in finding a lodge to join. The Shoutout goes to the newly-rechartered Glacier Lodge #77 of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. In the Odd Podge, Toby looks forward to the Washington Grand Sessions (and the Past Grand Masters banquet), Mike shares a special and unusual event planned for the upcoming Sovereign Grand Lodge session, and Ainslie talks about his recent trip to Springfield, Ohio for the Midwest AMOS Meeting.

Spring is here and many jurisdictions are having their Sessions, which means electing new Grand Masters who will be traveling around to visit lodges. In response to a listener's question, we discuss the process and protocols involved in a Grand Master's visit. Should you feed the Grand Master? When does he or she get introduced? Where should they sit? When do they speak? Who else gets introduced with the Grand Master? There are a lot of questions to answer and we do our best to get to all of them. The Shoutout goes to yet another new Encampment, Razorback No. 100 of Oregon. That's TEN new Encampments during the five years of this podcast! In the Odd Podge, Ainslie shares his lodge's new mode of transport, Toby shares receiving is 25-year pin for Sons of Norway (and can't resist an impromptu history lesson about the group), and Mike talks about his most recent experience participating in the Pilgrimage to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington, Virginia.

Not everyone understands fraternalism or takes the groups at face value. The suspicion of Freemasonry by the Roman Catholic Church is well known. Lesser known is the skepticism of so-called "secret societies" by Evangelical Christians. In response to a listener question, we asked Paul Michaels (not his real name), an Evangelical pastor, to come on the podcast and shed some light on why some Evangelical Christians are highly suspicious of Odd Fellowship and other fraternal groups. By keeping him anonymous we were able to get candid and honest answers about why Evangelicals distrust Odd Fellowship as an institution. Some of the answers were apparent but others were quite surprising! The Shoutout goes to a new Canton in Florida: General George Washington #70 of Miami. In the Odd Podge, Mike shares the publication of his new book, Paul talked about his passion for cemeteries and "The Good Cemeterian," and Toby recalled his visit to the Easter Egg Hunt at the Olympia Odd Fellows Park.

Brothers Aiden Brink and Will Sparks both joined their respective lodges in the past couple of years. Each have become very active and spurred growth in their areas. They were both kind enough to join us to discuss their perspective on Odd Fellowship: what we get right, what we get wrong, and what we can do to build a solid future for our Order. Some of the answers may be surprising, especially to long-time members, but they are incredibly insightful and provide a very appealing pathway to future growth. Hint: newer members see a lot of value in our history and traditions! The Shoutout goes to *another* new Encampment, Faro Fraternal #70 in Miami, Florida. In the Odd Podge, Ainslie reflects on watching a new streaming drama through Odd Fellow eyes, Will cherishes some of his most recent Odd Fellow gifts, Mike announces his newest side project, Odd Fellows Today, Toby recounts the story of meeting listener Michael Crile of Four Creeks Lodge #94 of Visalia, CA during his recent vacation, and Aiden gives thanks to those who listened to him and Ray Jackson of Illinois in particular.

Although it's tempting to think that Odd Fellowship has been handed down from the past completely unchanged from some visionaries at an ancient building site, that's not the case. Odd Fellowship has adapted and changed through its history to meet the needs of members and the Order as those needs have changed. In this episode, Kris Gratz of Virginia shares his research into the developments in Odd Fellows' regalia through the ages and how that has coincided with changes in our ritual and also various cultural cross-currents. For example, gold fringe on a collar used to indicate that a member had taken the Encampment Degrees. The number of stars on a collar had a meaning as well. Joining Kris is his friend and previous podcast guest Nick Curry to talk about some legislation he's working on regarding the future of regalia and suppliers. The Shoutout goes to the newly-revived River Raisin Encampment #154 of Michigan (our first Shoutout from Michigan!). In the Odd Podge, Toby previews his upcoming trip to the Northwest IOOF Meeting in Canada, Nick talks about the importance of mentorship in lodges, Mike announces his latest book (available at www.duminiak.com), Kris clues us in to his deep dive on the Odd Fellows' Tartan, and Ainslie updates us on the project to get a stairlift in his lodge hall, as well as reminding us of the upcoming Tattoo Event at Sovereign Grand Lodge.

For those interested in seeing some of the regalia examples discussed in this episode, head over to The Odd Fellows' Guide to see Kris' article and pictures.