It is not my purpose, however, to abuse that venerable lodge-room. It was a pleasant place, notwithstanding its numerous deficiencies, for it was warmed and lighted by the true spirit of Odd-Fellowship. The brethren who came there, did so because they enjoyed the meetings. They had for each other a genuine feeling of mutual regard. They did not quarrel over non-essentials; they valued each other’s good name, and took a sincere pleasure in the prosperity or success achieved by any one of their number, in any vocation or pursuit. The town was a straggling cottonwood village, but they had an abounding faith in its destiny; their lodge was weak and poor, but they had unfaltering confidence in its future. I think some of the most pleasant meetings I have ever known were those held in that old lodge-room. The war came, and its fierce enthusiasm swept nearly all of the younger members into the army. The years that followed were indeed dark and perilous to Friendship Lodge. I was told, when peace dawned on the land again, that frequently, for months in succession, a quorum could not be obtained for a meeting; that when the Grand Lodge dues were payable, a few of the members had to advance them; and that when the semi-annual election nights came around, it was frequently difficult to find enough members to fill the offices—an odd-enough thing, even in Odd-Fellowship. With the return of peace came better times for the old lodge. The town began to grow, and the order kept pace with it. Its roll of members rapidly lengthened, and in a few years there was talk of removal to more commodious quarters. These were obtained, after much discussion, in the third story of the building on Second street, now the St. James Hotel, and on the 17th of March, 1868, the new lodge room was formally dedicated in the presence of a large assemblage of members, with their wives and daughters. Less than a month after this removal, on the 7th of April, the lodge, by resolution, granted permission to its German members to withdraw and organize a new lodge, and shortly thereafter Schiller Lodge was duly organized. The two lodges met, for five years, in the hall on Second street. But in 1873, another change occurred. A large and beautiful room in the building on the corner of Commercial and Sixth streets, was leased for a term of years, elegantly fitted up, and dedicated, with appropriate ceremonies. Ten years later, in 1883, the building of the present Odd Fellows’ Temple was commenced, and on the 20th of November, 1884, it was formally dedicated. It is an enduring monument to the enterprise and public spirit of the Odd Fellows of Atchison. It is worth fully twenty-five thousand dollars, and the debt contracted in building it has been, in less than three years, almost extinguished. The lodge has one hundred and forty-four members in good standing, and its future prosperity is assured.