Odd Fellows of Elgin go all out with fundraiser for South Elgin playground

Have you ever tried to persuade people to donate to your cause after prefacing your speech with "I'm with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows"?

David Martin of South Elgin has done so plenty of times and, perhaps not surprisingly, has been met with everything from curiosity to skepticism and refusal.

"I ask for sponsorships and donations, and (people) kind of look at me like they don't know what to do," Martin said. "I always ask, 'Have you heard of us?' And 85 percent say 'no.' I say, 'OK,' and I give them a brief history. I tell them, 'We're legitimate, you can look us up online.' I try to explain it, but it's kind of difficult."

That's why he and other members of the Odd Fellows Elgin Lodge 12 decided it was time to go all out and make their name known, Martin said.

ODDtoberfest, a fundraiser featuring live music, a carnival, food vendors and a beer tent, takes place Friday through Sunday at 50 N. River St. in South Elgin, north of State Street along the eastern bank of the Fox River. The lodge is organizing the event in partnership with the South Elgin Lions Club.

Half the net proceeds of ODDtoberfest will go to the all-inclusive playground at SEBA Park in South Elgin, which accommodates all children, including those with disabilities. The rest of the proceeds will be split between the lodge and the Lions Club, which in turn will donate the money to their favorite charities, Martin said.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows started in 18th-century England and came to the United States nearly 200 years ago, according to its website.

According to lore, the English ruling class deemed it "odd" to want to help others, hence the name of the organization, Martin said.

"That's how we got our name, not because we're weird," Martin said. "Well, some of us are," he added with a chuckle, "but that's OK. Weird is good."

The lodge was chartered in Elgin in 1849 and has since relocated to South Elgin, although it kept its original name, said member Larry Sitkiewicz of South Elgin. The lodge has held fundraisers featuring a flea market and car show for the last four or so years, but the results were modest, especially last year, he said.

"Last year, the weather didn't cooperate. After six months of planning, it didn't go very well," he said. "This year we needed something bigger."

The 30 or so members of the Elgin lodge hope the event will finally will put them on the map as a bona fide, well-meaning, all-volunteer organization, Martin and Sitkiewicz said.

"In the past, we would do good things, do good deeds for people, and we would keep it a secret, just do it for ourselves," Martin said. "Now we're kind of coming out in the open."

Sitkiewicz agreed. "You hear about the Masons, you hear about the Jaycees," he said, "but you never hear about us."