Tuesday, June 01, 1999
Lodge sells 1847 site in Sharonville
BY WALT SCHAEFER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SHARONVILLE — Bunny Arnett and Mike Roe just bought a piece of this city's history from some Odd Fellows.
Until Sam Casey retired and pulled his 41-year-old television repair shop out of the first-floor storefront on Reading Road last month, the Sharonville Odd Fellows Hall had a distinction.
According to the Sharonville Historical Society, the two-story brick building — built in 1847 — was recognized as the oldest building in Ohio still used for its original purpose.
While Mr. Casey repaired and sold televisions on the first floor, the Odd Fellows still met on the second.
Now, the Odd Fellows have left. The new owners plan to restore the building's exterior as close as possible to its original appearance and remodel the inside with offices, conference rooms, a state-of-the-art kitchen and support space for their business — Reliance Food Brokerage.
Mr. Casey is one of the five remaining members of the Rose of Sharon Lodge No. 74 of the Odd Fellows, which continued to meet in the building.
“The Odd Fellows owned (the building). We sold it for about $100,000. We have not dissolved our lodge. We still have the option of remaining (an independent) lodge or going with another lodge and transferring our assets to them,” said Mr. Casey, 65, of West Chester.
Discussions have been held about a merger with the Odd Fellows lodge in Lebanon, but no decision has been made.
The old lodge building still holds some memories of the secret group that first occupied it more than a century ago:
• Peep holes used to identify members coming to attend secret meetings.
• A door-mounted, hand operated bell to announce an arrival.
• Fancy wooden closets built before the Civil War to house official robes and regalia.
• A safe where the secret documents of the lodge were kept.
Mr. Roe said he and Ms. Arnett were looking for a new location and wanted to stay in Sharonville after opening their business here in 1996 in a Kemper Road business park.
“We were going to lunch and drove by, and Bunny said: "Look, that building's for sale.' We turned around, took a look and called the real estate agent,” Mr. Roe said.
Food brokers act as sales representatives for various food and associated brands, generally to large retail grocery chains in the area. And most chain sales offices are convenient to northern Hamilton County suburbs, Ms. Arnett said.
“This building fits for our office location, and we will do what we can to augment the building to fit our needs and at the same time give something back to the community” by restoring its exterior, Mr Roe said.
Restoration will include brick work to return the three original doors that faced Reading Road, an attempt to remove the white paint from the original brick, replacing an original stone stoop with metal boot scrapers on either side, and replacing shutters.
The inside will be in sharp contrast, with a modern office atmosphere, although original ceilings will remain.
The new owners said renovation and restoration work will cost more than the purchase price, but declined to be specific.
headABOUT THE ODD FELLOWS
Odd Fellows lodges are much more prevalent in the western United States than in the Midwest, where Springfield, Ohio, is the regional headquarters.
Documents describe the Odd Fellows as a Christian, charitable organization with a mission “to visit the sick, relieve the distressed, bury the dead and educate the orphan.”
A history of the group indi cates the Odd Fellows were founded in 1700 England, with the American order started in Baltimore in 1819. It is a secret society with rites and passwords with symbolism involving friendship, love and truth.
A skull and crossbones speak of mortality, and an eye represents an all-knowing God. There are three degrees of membership.
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