A subtle armed forces memorial in Tumwater

• Washington Our Home
• January 1, 2012
• Western Washington
• 2
• 1798

Boy, do a little research and it’s amazing what you might learn. Nearly every day, I drive past the Odd Fellows Memorial Park at the corner of Custer, North and Cleveland (Yelm Highway) in Tumwater. Most people know it as “The Pellegrino’s intersection” or the “Artistry in Flowers” corner, or “the one right by Baskin-Robbins, Safeway or Domino’s Pizza,” or – more appropriately for this blog post – “the one by the old cemetery.”

Every time we drive past with Parker in the car, he shouts out, “Daddy! There’s the statue!” And I always know exactly which one he’s talking about. About 20 yards in from Cleveland Avenue stands a tall concrete memorial adored by a life-size figure of a man. There’s a plaque beneath his feet and up until about a week ago I’d always assumed it was the final resting place of either some rich narcissist or some local historical figure of moderate importance. Turns out I was wrong.

The same day I’d discovered the Willamette Meridian and the former site of Fort Eaton, I’d also had the rare opportunity to kill some time. As I drove past the Odd Fellows Memorial park for the umpteenth time I caught sight of the statue once again and finally decided to take a closer look.

Now I’m not entirely comfortable driving through a cemetery where nobody I know is buried. I feel a little…inappropriate. Macabre, maybe. But I also felt that since it was a public cemetery and nobody there knew me from Adam, as long as I remained respectful and reflective I figured it would be okay. To begin with, I know nothing about the Odd Fellows. I had always assumed that it was just another fraternal organization of a bygone era, like the Elks, the Eagles, the Lions, the Benevolent Order of Antelope, or the Loyal Order of Water Buffalo.

As it turns out, in 17th century England, it was odd to find people organized for the purpose of giving aid to those in need and of pursuing projects for the benefit of all mankind. Those who belonged to such an organization were called “Odd Fellows.” Odd Fellows are also known as “The Three Link Fraternity” which stands for Friendship, Love and Truth.

The Independent Order of Odd Fellows was founded on the North American Continent in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 26, 1819 when Thomas Wildey and four members of the Order from England instituted Washington Lodge No. 1. This lodge received its charter from Manchester Unity of Odd Fellows in England.

Odd Fellowship became the 1st national fraternity to include both men and women when it adopted the beautiful Rebekah Degree on September 20, 1851. This degree is based on the teachings found in the Holy Bible, and was written by the Honorable Schuyler Colfax who was Vice President of the United States during the period 1868-1873. Yes, the same Schuyler Colfax who so inspired the residents of a small eastern Washington town just north of Pullman that they decided to name it after him.

Anyhoo, I slowly made my way into the memorial park via the entrance on North Street. It should be noted that neighboring the Odd Fellows park at this entrance is the Tumwater Masonic Lodge #1 and Memorial Park. I assume the two cemeteries border each other, but they could possibly share the property. Either way, and say what you will about Masons, there are some very notable Washington State historical figures buried in this park. Two examples that spring to mind are David & Frances Shelton, the 1852 pioneers who founded the city of Shelton on Hammersley Inlet, and James McAllister, an 1845 Pioneer who settled in the Nisqually Valley and is the source of the name McAllister Creek and McAllister Springs. His murder – allegedly by Native Americans – is what sparked the Indian Wars of 1855-56, about which I’ll blog in great detail at a later date.

So thinking that the statue was another one of these notable historical figures, I drove toward it and parked nearby. Getting out of the car, I was struck – as I often am at cemeteries – by the peacefulness and calm despite being just yards from the busy Yelm Highway. I approached the statue and found, to my surprise, that it wasn’t a famous Washingtonian or rich narcissist after all, but a Spanish War memorial dedicated by the State of Washington to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces!

Surrounding the statue are the grave sites of dozens of war veterans, mostly from WWII. While I only had time to snap a few photos and take some notes for this blog, the research I’ve done for this entry has ignited ideas for several more entries, and I’ll soon be taking another afternoon to peruse some of the historical gravesites located here in the south Puget Sound area.