Tucked away in a secluded corner of Oregon's rolling farmland northwest of Portland sits the Hahn Farm. Owned by Gary Hahn, a third-generation Odd Fellow and fourth-generation owner of the farm, it has become a beacon for Odd Fellowship in the jurisdiction of Oregon. Every year since the early 1990s, on the third weekend of September, the farm hosts a Degree Weekend unlike most others in Odd Fellowship. Candidates take the Initiatory and Three Degrees on Saturday and then the Encampment and Canton Degrees on Sunday. The setting for the Degrees could not be more amazing. The Degrees are performed next to a pond in a grove of trees planted especially for the occasion. The dramatic elements of the Degrees becomes immediate and tangible to the candidates as they literally live through the experiences of the Degrees rather than watching them acted out in a stuffy lodge hall, watching the video of the Degrees, or having the lecture form read to them. Gary Hahn sits down with Toby to tell the story of the Degrees on the Farm. We're also joined by Brother Mason Wolf of San Jose, California who traveled to Oregon to experience the perils of the Rough Road as he took the Encampment Degrees. He shares a compelling account of why live Degrees are so crucial to Odd Fellowship. The Shoutout goes to Bay View Lodge #109 of Redwood City, California for their efforts to remodel their hall and become a popular music venue. In the Odd Podge, Toby talks about a new member in Arkansas who posted about joining on Reddit, Ainslie shares his recent trip to Montana and his Odd Fellows discovery, Mike introduces us to his new car (after his old one died with 400,000 miles on it), and Mason recounts his visit to a Portland brewpub for some good music and a very successful event at his home lodge in San Jose.
Tucked away in a secluded corner of Oregon's rolling farmland northwest of Portland sits the Hahn Farm. Owned by Gary Hahn, a third-generation Odd Fellow and fourth-generation owner of the farm, it has become a beacon for Odd Fellowship in the jurisdiction of Oregon. Every year since the early 1990s, on the third weekend of September, the farm hosts a Degree Weekend unlike most others in Odd Fellowship. Candidates take the Initiatory and Three Degrees on Saturday and then the Encampment and Canton Degrees on Sunday. The setting for the Degrees could not be more amazing. The Degrees are performed next to a pond in a grove of trees planted especially for the occasion. The dramatic elements of the Degrees becomes immediate and tangible to the candidates as they literally live through the experiences of the Degrees rather than watching them acted out in a stuffy lodge hall, watching the video of the Degrees, or having the lecture form read to them. Gary Hahn sits down with Toby to tell the story of the Degrees on the Farm. We're also joined by Brother Mason Wolf of San Jose, California who traveled to Oregon to experience the perils of the Rough Road as he took the Encampment Degrees. He shares a compelling account of why live Degrees are so crucial to Odd Fellowship. The Shoutout goes to Bay View Lodge #109 of Redwood City, California for their efforts to remodel their hall and become a popular music venue. In the Odd Podge, Toby talks about a new member in Arkansas who posted about joining on Reddit, Ainslie shares his recent trip to Montana and his Odd Fellows discovery, Mike introduces us to his new car (after his old one died with 400,000 miles on it), and Mason recounts his visit to a Portland brewpub for some good music and a very successful event at his home lodge in San Jose.