Fraternity Hi-Jinks

When you dabble in the vintage jewellery world, you often find overlap between the world of fraternal orders. See, in olden tymes, people often belonged to lodges and other non-professional organizations to network and schmooze. It was liked LinkedIn but in real life. I realize that these groups still exist, but their influence is much diminished. However their badges and medals live on.

I found the Daughters of Scotia pin pictured above on the weekend. The DOS were the ladies auxillary of the Benevolent Order of Scottish Clans, or BOSC. The BOSC was not just a social organization, it also operated as a mutual aid society that provided insurance to its members. In the 19th century, this was pretty common. One of my ancestors is buried with a Woodmen of the World tombstone.

The DOS still exists, although the BOSC does not. A more well-known group (which means that there’s a lot more of there stuff out there in the world) is the Independant Order of Oddfellows (IOOF). The baubles below are a Daughters of Rebekah (the oddladies) medal and a pair of cufflinks.

I like the idea of wearing a bunch medals. Now I wish I had bought one of those military style jackets last fall.