1. Independent Order of Odd Fellows

ENTERPRISE — After receiving more than $200,000 in grants and donations to fund restoration work on its historic building, the Enterprise Order of Odd Fellows’ building in downtown Enterprise is now available to rent as an event venue.

The building, constructed in 1920, is located at 105 NE First St. and features a newly renovated kitchen area and accessible bathroom, a new roof, restored windows, and an improved entry area.

“The Enterprise Odd Fellows is a small but fierce group of individuals whose primary mission is to restore, enhance and maintain our historic building for the benefit of our community,” said Terry Polk, the grandmaster of the Enterprise Odd Fellows, in a press release announcing the completion of the restoration. “The improvements we’ve been working on for a number of years are now mostly complete, and we’re very excited to share this amazing event space with the wider Wallowa County community.”

A longtime member of the Odd Fellows, Ralph Swinehart, said the remodeling included some close calls and, on occasion, required extra effort from members.

“We had to go inside and seal the sag, tiles would fall off the ceiling every time it rained,” he said. “One night, one of our members spent the night in a sleeping bag and had to pump barrels that were catching the leaking water.”

Workers had to install new beams in the ceiling and used a forest of two-by-fours to hold the roof up. Workers also had to cut the beams in order to get them out; some sections were so old, they almost disintegrated when touched. Workers had to use a crane to move the new beams in, hoisting them through the second-level windows.

“It was literally just about to cave in; we got it just in time,” Swinehart said.

Polk said the historic hall, with its wooden floors, 15-foot-high ceilings and old-fashioned ambiance, is an ideal venue for everything from graduation celebrations and classes, to wedding receptions, reunions and dances. “It’s really a cool building and we hope the community will take advantage of such a unique and affordable resource,” she said.

Evidence from artifacts found in the hall during renovation indicate that, in addition to housing the meetings of the local chapter of Odd Fellows and the Rebekahs, the lodge was also a venue for card games, dances and parties. In recent years, however, participation in the Odd Fellows had dwindled to only a few aging members. Starting in 1995, membership began to grow as people came together to save the historic hall, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. The group’s membership meets monthly, and anyone is welcome to become a member.

The basement of the building is used by the Soroptimists for the organization’s Thrift Store. The second-floor spaces, which include the main hall/ballroom, a separate smaller meeting room and the kitchen, can be individually or collectively rented for a nominal fee.

Completed projects include restoration of the 60-by-40 foot main hall “ballroom” to its original 15-foot ceiling dimensions, with energy-efficient lighting and acoustic improvements, a new heating system with enhanced air filtration, renovation of the smaller meeting room on the second floor, reconstruction of the aging roof, and restoration of the building’s historic exterior windows.

The total 4,500 square-foot space includes a large stage, public address system, Wi-Fi, a grand piano, and chairs and tables that can accommodate groups of up to 100 people.

“It’s got a really cool vibe to it, and we’ve been really, really careful with the renovations because we’re trying to keep the old flavor,” Polk said. “We know there are ghosts here, and we’re very careful not to chase them away.”

“We don’t need this space for ourselves,” she added. “We only have one monthly meeting. This building’s for the community and everything we’re doing is trying to create a space for others who don’t have their own to have for activities and enjoyment.”

Renting the ballroom costs $15 per hour; renting the kitchen as well boosts the cost is $20 per hour. Rental information, including reservations, can be found on the group’s Facebook page or by emailing Dan Ousley at dousley46@gmail.com.

Key donors to the project include the Wildhorse Foundation, Oregon Community Foundation and the Wallowa Cultural Trust.

For a short video tour of the renovated Odd Fellows Hall, go to the Chieftain’s website at wallowa.com and click on this story.