Order of the Owls
history of the Order of the Owls
South Bend, Indiana was the city where this "order of the owls was born. John W. Talbott and a small group of his associates in November 1904 formed this fraternal group. When it was founded, the order sought to assist its members in business and in employment, provide help to the widows and orphans of the deceased members and to enjoy mutual fellowship with one another. Membership was originally open only to white males, but rather soon after the founding also were allowed in separate local lodges, called Nests. There are at present also Nests open for men and women. During the early 1920s the OOO had over 600,000 members in 2,148 Nests. Since the 1920s, the order has been losing members rather significantly. In 1979 the membership roster had about 40,000 members in 1994 there were little over 5,000 members.
degrees of the order
Male Nests of the Order of Owls (1st degrees)