420
Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society
Publications.
Birchard to Buckland, Buckland to Hayes,
thence to Spiegel
Grove where the following program and
exercises were carried
out by the Odd Fellows in dedication of
their memorial window
in the Hayes Memorial Library and
Museum.
The Noble Grand, G. L. Roach, as
chairman, opened the
exercises with prayer by W. D. Pearce,
Vice Grand of the lodge,
and he not being present the prayer was
read by J. E. Courtney,
Chaplain of the lodge, which is as
follows:
Almighty God, we thank Thee that we can
come into Thy
presence and call Thee Father and
realize the common brother-
hood of men.
We come as representatives of a great
order to enter which
every man must acknowledge belief in
Thee and we wish to here
publicly acknowledge before the world
that the great lessons of
our order are all taken from Thy word.
We as an order are seeking to exemplify
in our lives the
teachings of Thy word as to Friendship,
Love and Truth.
We thank Thee for the undying influence
of a great and true
man such as the famous Odd Fellow, whom
we honor today.
We have come to dedicate a window in
this Memorial Build-
ing to his memory and we pray that this
Memorial, though it be
silent, yet may it speak to generations
yet to come of the lessons
of Friendship, Love and Truth, which
were exemplified in the
life of our departed brother, Rutherford
B. Hayes. And may
our characters taking inspiration from
such a life be true to the
principles of our beloved order which
are based on Thy word.
This we ask in the name of Thy Son.
Amen.
The chairman then introduced M. G.
Thraves, Past Grand
of Fremont, who was a personal friend of
Rutherford B.
Hayes and was Secretary of the lodge at
the time that Gen.
Hayes passed through all the highest
offices of the lodge and be-
came a Past Grand. In speaking of
Brother Rutherford B.
Hayes, Mr. Thraves eloquently said in
part:
MR. THRAVES' ADDRESS.
Sisters and Brothers of the Odd
Fellows and Fellow Citizens:
In behalf of the Odd Fellows of our
lodge, the brothers of
the order in Sandusky county, throughout
the state, nation and
Dedication of the Hayes
Memorial. 421
world, I wish to take this opportunity
to show our appreciation
and express our admiration, love and
esteem on this rare occasion
for our deceased brother, Rutherford B.
Hayes.
This fine Memorial Building, containing
Brother Hayes'
library, relics and curios, is a
monument to the intelligence, pa-
triotism and the high appreciation of
every citizen within the great
state of Ohio.
I know that I am expressing the
sentiment of every Odd
Fellow within the sound of my voice, and
every member of our
order in the state, when I say that the
2,500,000 Odd Fellows of
the world, appreciate the great
sacrifices, the unselfish work of
those through whom it became possible
for us to have this beauti-
ful building to be located here, which
will always be the pride of
our city and county and state.
With twenty-five years of experience
with libraries and li-
brary building, and without fear of
successful contradiction, I
am here to say that there is no private
library in the state that
measures up in any manner to this
library, quantity and quality
considered.
It contains historical data, manuscripts
and curios, unable
to be found anywhere. Men of high
education, and historical
turn of mind have traveled thousands of
miles across both oceans
to delight and revel in this golden mine
of research.
All this and more, the efforts, energy
and foresight, of a life
time of Brother Hayes, and his children
is a free gift to the people
of Ohio and of the nation.
On behalf of the Odd Fellows I wish to
express our sincere
thanks to Col. Webb C. Hayes and through
him to the rest of the
family, for this magnificent gift. A value
in a conservative finan-
cial estimate would reasonably be worth
at least a half million
dollars.
There are many other things that might
be mentioned in this
connection that are within my own
personal knowledge, of which
I would like to speak at this time but
will suffice it to say that
Col. Webb C. Hayes is ever alert for the
best interests of our
community and never permits an
opportunity to pass to put Fre-
mont and the state of Ohio upon the map.
It is a well known fact that he is
personally acquainted with
422 Ohio Arch. and Hist.
Society Publications.
more public men, and men that do things
in our nation than any
other citizen of the state.
I feel it a privilege, as well as a
pleasant duty in behalf of
our order, and citizens to publicly
thank Senator T. A. Dean for
his successful efforts in securing the
necessary legislation to make
this Memorial Building possible.
I also wish to express our appreciation
to ex-Governor Jud-
son Harmon for the interest he
manifested in behalf of the
Memorial Building.
As historian of Croghan Lodge No. 77, I.
O. O. F., I find the
following facts.
Croghan Lodge No. 77, I. O. O. F. was
instituted February 5,
1847, at Lower Sandusky, now Fremont,
Ohio.
The charter members of the lodge were N.
S. Cook, D. H.
Hershey, W. M. Starks, B. W. Lewis and
A. E. Wood.
The first officers of the lodge were
elected February 5, 1847.
N. S. Cook, Noble Grand.
D. H. Hershey, Vice Grand.
W. M. Starks, Secretary.
R. W. Lewis, Treasurer.
The first brother to present a petition
for membership in the
lodge was John Smith, and on Feb. 5,
1847, he was initiated.
The second meeting, Feb. 13, 1847, John
Bell. John M.
Smith, A. Coles, J. B. Smith, Charles
Fitch and L. B. Otis were
initiated into the order.
The lodge prospered and was busy every
night conferring
the degree on new members.
Sept. 15, 1849, the application of
Rutherford B. Hayes was
presented and referred to a committee of
E. I. Orton, L. S. Foulk
and W. B. Kridler. The lodge then
adjourned to meet in special
session Monday evening, Sept. 17, 1849,
at which meeting Grand
Master Glen, of Grand Lodge of Ohio
initiated Rutherford B.
Hayes into the order and instructed him
in all the degrees, brother
Hayes being the forty-third member.
The first office held by Brother R. B.
Hayes in the lodge was
on Oct. 6, 1849, when he was appointed
right supporter to the
Noble Grand, John L. Greene, Brother C.
R. McCulloch acting
in the Vice Grand chair at this time.
424 Ohio Arch. and Hist. Society Publications.
Nov. 19, 1849, R. B. Hayes was duly installed
in this office
which he surrendered on his removal to
Cincinnati, the same year.
On his return to Fremont in 1873, he
re-joined Croghan Lodge.
Brother C. R. McCulloch who died a few
years ago, was the
last surviving member of our lodge that
belonged at the time
Brother Hayes was initiated into the
order.
He was a brother whose spirit was filled
with the milk of
human kindness. His hand was always
administering benefac-
tions to his fellow men. In the councils
of the lodge he was
wise, prudent and generous. His opinion
was sought for and
relied upon in all emergencies. At the
time of his death, he was
chairman of the local committee of Odd
Fellows, appointed to
secure for Fremont the Odd Fellows'
Orphans' Home for the
state of Ohio.
After filling the highest office in the
gift of the greatest
people on earth he returned to the rank
and file, a true type of the
American citizen, in the broadest and
noblest sense, and engaged
in the mission of doing good to
humanity.
He visited the sick, relieved the
downtrodden and distressed,
and did everything within his power to
educate and live up to
the standard of mankind.
General Hayes was ever kind, true and
unselfish in all his
dealings; a man of the most exalted
character, a soldier of dis-
tinction, a patriot, and a statesman.
His personal history is a part of the
history of the Union;
in honoring him we honor ourselves.
During the decade in Cincinnati he was
also an active
member of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows, which he
had joined at Lower Sandusky. He was in
frequent requisition
for lectures before various lodges of
the Odd Fellows, and the
diary mentions with natural pride the
applause and prominence
that came to him therefrom:
"Last evening I rejoined Croghan
lodge I. O. O. F. I be-
longed to it when I left Fremont in
1849, almost 33 years ago.
I have long been satisfied that they
were in many ways very
useful. Leaving out the beneficial
feature, which is certainly
valuable, the social and educational
elements are excellent. All
descriptions of reputable people are
here brought together and
Dedication of the Hayes
Memorial. 425
instructed in the orderly management of
public business. All
are on their best behavior, a fraternal
friendship is cultivated,
virtuous and temperate habits are
encouraged, and the best of
our social instincts are called into
play. The festive organiza-
tions, convivial clubs, and the like are
not safe places of resort
for all natures. No man can be worse for
the associations of Odd
Fellowship and their kindred
organizations. Most men will be
made better. With this perhaps too
moderate estimate of the
society, I am glad to unite with it
again."--(Diary January 1,
1882).
At the conclusion of Mr. Thraves'
historical address the
chairman introduced Hon. Ivor Hughes,
Past Grand Master of
the Grand Lodge of Ohio, of Columbus,
who was a lifelong
warm personal friend of Rutherford B.
Hayes.
ADDRESS OF IVOR HUGHES.
Members of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows and Friends:
I come to your beautiful little city of
Fremont from my home
in the capital of our state to join with
you in the dedication of
this beautiful edifice erected to the
memory of him who was great
in everything that constitutes true
greatness, true manhood.
On the 30th day of May in the year 1878,
there gathered in
the city of Paris, France, one of the
largest assemblages of men
and women that had ever before that time
convened for a like
purpose in that or any other city of the
civilized world. In that
vast audience were to be found many of
the great men and
women not only of France but of many
other of the civilized
countries of the globe. They had
assembled to pay tribute to the
memory of a distinguished Frenchman of
whose death the oc-
casion was the one hundredth
anniversary.
The speaker was Victor Hugo, another
great man. The
opening words of his address were:
"Men and women of
France, one hundred years ago today a
man died." Had the
speaker uttered not another word he
would in that concise sen-
tence have paid to the memory of the
dead the highest compli-
ment that it is possible to express or
pay to the living or the
dead. Just pause a moment for thought as
to how comprehensive
that expression is, "A man
died." Think for a moment how