Fonds - Valentine Rebekah Lodge No. 343 fonds

The Valentine Rebekah Lodge No. 343 Atwood was instituted on February 2, 1948 in Atwood, Perth County, Ontario. The first Noble Grand was Margaret Cowan and the first Recording Secretary was Marie Liebrock. Meetings were held in the IOOF Hall in Atwood. In 1982, Valentine Rebekah Lodge No. 343, Atwood merged with Monkton Star Lodge No. 345 in Monkton, Perth County, Ontario. Rebekah Lodges are associated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Both orders follow the motto "Friendship, Love and Truth" (the "three links") and make use of secrecy and rituals based on Biblical teachings. Started initially in England the IOOF came to North America in the early 1800s. The first IOOF Lodge in Canada was established in Montreal in 1843. The first Lodge in what is now Ontario was founded in Belleville on June 17, 1845. A “ladies branch” of the IOOF came into existence on September 20, 1851, in Baltimore, Maryland, with the adoption of the Rebekah Degree by the Grand Lodge of the United States. This “Honorary Degree” was conferred upon the wives and daughters of Odd Fellows during special meetings. In 1868 the Grand Lodge of the United States passed a resolution authorizing the institution of Rebekah Degree Lodges by Grand Lodge bodies. Although the male members were to oversee the meetings, the women had the right to elect their own officers and attend to their own affairs. In the 1880s, the women won the right to completely govern their own lodges and changed the name from “Daughters of Rebekah” to the Rebekah Lodge. Today, Rebekah Lodges generally operate as service clubs offering such services as free loans of wheelchairs and other medical equipment to those lacking the income to provide them for themselves. Some Rebekah Lodges are also involved in sponsoring medical research, scholarships and offer support to victims of fires and others in need.