2026
Save the Glover!
Historic preservation of the General John Glover Farmhouse in Vinnin Square, Marblehead. Unanimous lodge vote, January 2026.
$10,000 pledgedOur Work
Practical good, in places we can reach.
We are a small lodge with finite means. We try to put every dollar where it will do real work — not where it will look good.
January 2026 · Marblehead
$10,000 to Save the Glover Farmhouse.
In January our lodge voted, unanimously, to pledge ten thousand dollars to Save the Glover! — the campaign to preserve the General John Glover Farmhouse in Vinnin Square.
General Glover commanded the Marblehead Regiment that rowed George Washington and the Continental Army across the Delaware River on Christmas night, 1776. The farmhouse he owned is older than the United States. It was scheduled for demolition in July 2026.
We did not save it alone, and we will not claim to. Other groups gave more. But the vote was real, the money was real, and the lodge stood behind it without a dissenting voice.
Selected contributions
A partial ledger.
We do not publish every donation. Some of our work, by design, stays private — at the request of the recipient or the family. But these are some of the efforts we have been proud to support.
2026
Synagogue Mezuzah Donor
The lodge was a named donor on the mezuzah of a local synagogue's new high-security entrance. Members attended the ribbon cutting in May.
Annual
Local Scholarships
Through the IOOF Educational Foundation and direct giving, the lodge supports North Shore students continuing their education each year.
Annual
Pilgrimage for Youth
An IOOF program that sends North Shore high school students to the United Nations and Washington, D.C. The lodge contributes to local delegates.
Ongoing
Visiting the Sick
The least visible part of our work. Members visit hospitalized brothers and their families, bring meals, sit with grief, and attend services. No campaign. Just the practice.
Ongoing
Vetting New Causes
A standing committee researches every organization that asks for our help — what they actually do with their money, what their finances look like, who runs them. We give carefully because we have little to give.
How decisions get made
No grand gestures. Just careful ones.
Every donation begins with a request. Sometimes a letter. Sometimes a phone call. Sometimes a brother who knows of a need and brings it to the floor.
A small committee — three or four members — takes the request, looks into the organization, talks to people, reads tax filings, and brings a recommendation back to the lodge.
The lodge debates. Sometimes we vote yes. Sometimes we vote no. Sometimes we vote yes with a smaller amount than asked for, or with a condition. The conversation happens face to face, and the vote is recorded.
That process is slow on purpose. We would rather give five thousand carefully than ten thousand quickly.