Christian Child Care’s 30th and the Odd Fellows 200th anniversaries celebrated together

 

[June 25, 2019] 

The rainy weather did not dampen spirits on Sunday, June 23rd as the Odd Fellows and Christian Child Care hosted an anniversary celebration for both places. It is the 200th anniversary of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows in the United States and the 30th anniversary of Christian Child Care.

A brief history of the Odd Fellows and Christian Child Care

The United States Odd Fellows was founded by Thomas Wilde in 1819 at the Seven Stars Tavern in Baltimore, MD.

The International Order of Odd Fellows website says, “Our legacy has been 200 years of helping each other and others without seeking anything in return.”



Melissa Richards, who works with the Odd Fellows, said the actual anniversary was in April, but The Children's Home Board decided to have a picnic for the 200th Anniversary in June.

The property in Lincoln houses the Illinois offices for the Oddfellows and the building that Christian Childcare rents was the orphanage of the Oddfellows. Richards said there have been many children throughout the years at this facility.

Times changed and Richards said the orphanage was closed when the Oddfellows gave up their residential license for the orphanage in 1994 and went strictly day care until Christian Childcare took over in 2003.

There were other groups in the building between 1994 and 2003. For instance, CIEDC used the building for a couple of years between when the Oddfellows discontinued offering daycare and Christian Childcare took over.

Richards said, “The lodge in Lincoln is always looking for members who enjoy volunteering raising money for different charities and also helping their community.”

Christian Child Care, Inc. (CCC) has been serving Logan County since 1989.

CCC Director Liberty Canady (stretched out on front left)  said, “We were founded through a vision from five local Christian organization’s leadership which deemed quality child care a high need in Logan County. These organizations were Lincoln Christian College and Seminary (now Lincoln Christian University), Christian Homes, Inc., The Christian Village, Lincoln Christian Church, and Jefferson Street Christian Church. CCC began in the basement of Lincoln Christian Church with 19 children and a handful of staff.”

In 2003, CCC moved to its current location, 721 Wyatt Ave. Canady said, “Today, CCC cares for 107 children and employs 30 staff. We provide Christ-centered quality care for children from ages six weeks through 12 years of age, year-round.”

Christian Child Care, Inc. is nationally accredited through the National Accreditation Commission. CCC strives to provide a solid social and emotional foundation, while providing high quality care for children. Canady said, “We also provide developmentally appropriate educational experiences to help foster a child's spiritual and cognitive development by following an age-appropriate, early childhood research-based curriculum for daily activities called, The Creative Curriculum.”

These high-quality experiences and daily care routines have also earned CCC the highest level of quality, a ‘Gold Circle of Quality’ designee through the Illinois ExceleRate program. This program recognizes that the care and experiences our center provides is an environment where children thrive.

Partnership with various organizations help the day care thrive. Canady said the Odd Fellows take great care of their property, which helps us use our money better.

Partnerships with CAPCIL Early Head Start and Foster Grandparent Program also benefit CCC.

Community support is another valuable resource and it includes volunteer mystery readers, community members who donate items, support from local churches, mission projects, space, and prayers.

A celebration to mark years of service to the community

On the day of the celebration, there were around two hundred people that came for a day of food, fun and entertainment.

Among those attending the celebration were Harold and David Crowe, two brothers who lived at the Odd Fellows Orphanage between 1963 and 1975.

Many Odd Fellows members came from all around the state and one even came all the way from Wisconsin.

Odd Fellows Board member Bonnie Hensley said the event was very nice and it was interesting to see how the building and other things have changed.

Cathy Huerd once worked as an employee of the Odd Fellows Daycare and is now the President of the Board at Christian Child Care. Huerd said she loves working with children and enjoyed the celebration.

Former CCC employee Kirstin Bunting said it was great to see everyone and support such a great organization that has had such a huge impact on my life.

As the day’s activities began, a pork chop sandwich meal was served.



Attendees could also take tours of both the International Order of Odd Fellows Museum and Christian Child Care to learn more about history of the places celebrating anniversaries.



In the Odd Fellows Museum were many artifacts and following) from over the years. Lincoln is the headquarters for Odd Fellows, though it used to be in Springfield. Odd Fellows member Matt Diefenbach said the first Odd Fellows Lodge in Illinois was the Alton Western Star Lodge chartered in 1836.

Entertainment included music by the Kickapoo Creek Band (4661) of Heyworth and the Daughters of the King Dance Team (labelled DOTK) from Open Arms Christian Fellowship.



Members of the First Presbyterian Church did a read aloud of the story of Pinnochio in the afternoon. The church also has a mobile library and children at CCC can check out a book from it each week.

For kids, there were bouncy houses, face painting, balloon art, and CATCH program activities like a ring toss, hula hoops, a bean bag toss and the ALMH spin art stationary bike.

When activities had wound down, everyone quickly worked together to clean up.

Canady said it was wonderful watching the Odd Fellows and CCC collaborate to celebrate the children and the community.

[Angela Reiners]