Hidden letter reveals secret society

The Order of the Owls, founded in South Bend, Ind. by John W. Talbot, stated as its' purpose "to assist each other in business, to help each other in obtaining employment, to assist the widows and orphans of our brother, to give aid to our brother in any way that they may need, and to assemble for mutual pleasure and entertainment." Built around the central bird, the organizations' local groups were called nests, one of which existed in McCook during 1909.

Arthur A. Preuss wrote a book, "A Dictionary of Secret and other Societies," which was published in 1924 by B. Herder Book Co., and contained the quote above plus the following ritual: "We advocate no creed. We know there are so many gods, so many creeds, so many paths that wind and wind. We believe that the art of kindness is all this old world needs." An interesting thought process for a group formed during the height of secret societies!

So, how did I know there was an Order of the Owls in McCook? Well, one only has to tear apart walls in an approximately 120-year-old house to learn all sorts of things! Out of the dust and trash fell an intact letter written to Mrs. J. R. McCarl of McCook from Mrs. Mary McLean of Calumet, Mich., dated March 9, 1909, containing the following note: To the Owl's Club: Please believe us to be sincere in our thanks to you for your kindness and expressions of sympathy to us in our recent bereavement."

Of course, I couldn't just leave it at that, I had to find out whose death had prompted this note and there the obituary was on our SWNGS website (www.swngs.org) under the headline of "Stuart B. McLean Passes On -- Death Claims His Courageous Young Spirit- Remains shipped to his Michigan Home for Interment." His obituary included the information that he had an aunt in McCook, Mrs. Mary Campbell, at whose home a memorial service was conducted. All members of the McCook Lodge No. 42, Knights of Pythias, attended the services and then escorted the remains to the depot with a committee of membership serving as pallbearers which included; J.R. McCarl, J. E. Ludwich, Dr. C.M. Duncan, D. J. O'Brien, Matthew Lawritson and Louis Thorgrimson. Although Stuart had served as postmaster of McCook less than a year before his death, he apparently was a railroad man originally, coming from Denver to McCook in 1900, having hired out in Denver as an oilman. Stuart was not married and having been ill for quite some time, passed away a few months short of his 30th birthday.

The other treasure is that this letter is addressed to Mrs. J. R. McCarl, nee Ethel Barnett, who just happened to be the daughter of Albert Barnett, McCook's lumber yard owner. Of course John Raymond McCarl was a quite famous product of McCook, having served as Comptroller General of the United States under the presidencies of Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and F.D. Roosevelt. The McCarls must be another story of their own.

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