Odd Fellows Continued...

I've met several people who say they remember going to movies and dances on Saturday nights at the old Odd Fellows Hall. They also remembered the Halloween parties that were held there.

Frank J. Shannon, who now lives in the Albany area, said his father, Frank P. Shannon, was the one who showed the movies in the dance hall.

In a letter to Carol Smythe, Town of Neversink Historian, Robert Hornbeck recalls how the building at 290 Main Street was "the social center of town." He writes:

Dear Carol,

Regarding your request for info about the Odd Fellows Hall, I'll relate what I know. I was a junior member of the Chestnut Valley Rod & Gun Club who purchased the property in the 1940's. Fred Akerly of Curry, also a member, held the mortgage.

This was the social center of town for a number of years. Alton Carney from Roscoe (ran the Roscoe, Livingston Manor movie theaters) brought in first run movies on Saturday nites which would be followed by dancing. No alcohol could be served but, as a youth, I was drawn to watching many adults making a lot of unsteady trips to their cars. Fun was had by all, some more than others.

The building was held by the club into the early fifties when it became too much for the club to sustain due to dwindling membership. Fred took the building back and it was sold to later become a clothing manufacturing operation. Also an auction house for a period of time.

Robert Hornbeck included a drawing in his letter that shows a floor plan of the building, then owned by the Chestnut Valley Rod & Gun Club. The rifle range was located on the second floor and the dance hall and movie house were on the first floor.

Floor plan drawing by Robert Hornbeck showing indoor rifle range, dance floor & movie house.

Although it has had several different owners since then, many locals still refer to the building as "the old Odd Fellows hall." Today, it houses a landscape architect's office upstairs, and my apartment and art studio downstairs.

The fact that I live there has prompted some local humorous types to claim that an odd fellow still occupies the building.