On the morning of Friday, July 4th , the following call and response could be heard all through San Jose’s Shasta/Hanchett and Rose Garden neighborhoods:
“What is the first link? Friendship! What is the second link? Love! What is the third link? Truth! Who are we? Odd Fellows!”
Members of True Fellowship 52, including Scott Spence, Andrew Crockett, Debbie Wolf, Martin Stein, Sue Stein, David Tingey, Helmuth Litfin, Kat Powell, Honor Wolf, Jeff Rively, and Mason Wolf gathered behind the “Oddsmobile”, our 1937 Chevy Sedan, driven by Jane Beckman, all to celebrate Independence Day by marching together in San Jose’s annual Rose, White and Blue Parade.
In between the call and response we sang the Odd Fellows Opening Ode. Both were well received by the crowd.
All of those marching in the parade, plus the attending public, were blessed with beautiful weather and temperatures in the 70s.
But, as someone once said, “It’s not really an adventure until things go wrong”. Halfway through the parade, The Oddsmobile suffered a battery failure. But much to the delight of the cheering crowd it became a “community powered” vehicle pushed along the route by a rotating group of Odd Fellows. Three spectators from the crowd even volunteered to help push.
All along the 2-mile parade route we had the opportunity, if briefly, to converse with the crowd. Afterwards, Brothers and Sisters of True Fellowship 52 walked through the crowds at the post-parade festival and handed out flyers for upcoming events at our lodge.
Everyone seemed to have a good time, and hopefully we can have an even bigger turnout of Brothers and Sisters for next year’s parade.
— By Scott Spence