Teddy Roosevelt Lodge, Fraternal Order of the Eagles Aerie #128, Part I
- The Senders
- May 10, 2020
- 8 min read
Updated: Jul 30, 2022
I wanted to tell an eerie tale for you, transporting you back into time and in the middle of a devastating fire that destroyed a part of this town's history but sadly, I cannot.
In truth, very little seems to be known about the history of this building. Countless hours have been spent looking for some smidgen of recorded history, an article or a headline or even a photograph. All efforts have turned up nothing more than a few mentions in published materials and stories that have been passed down from Order member to Order member throughout the years. We're sad to say that we have very little backstory to give you, much of which is surrounded in mystery and based on speculation. Perhaps this is what made this particular investigation one of our best yet and also, one of our most frightening.
What we do know is that the building that currently stands on the corner of Thomes and Lincolnway resembles nothing of what shows in historic photographs.
1901
This is the most widely used photo of the Eagle's Aerie, the copyright on the upper left corner is somewhat difficult to read but seems to be 1909. Records state that the Fraternal of the Order of the Eagles, Aerie #128 was founded in 1901. We are assuming that this is also the time that the original building was erected, however, we have been unable to find any details on the builders, architect(s) or completion date.
1910
I had never seen any version of the above image until the investigation. I hadn't come across it in any of my research. Take care to notice some differences between this photo and the one above it. The southern side of the building is completely different and appears to even have a new upper floor.
On the facade of the new portion of the building, on the very top of the building, is the date 1910.
I was surprised when I saw this image. There doesn't seem to be any public record of reconstruction or renovation having been done to the building. I scoured archived newspaper articles from almost every publication for every month in 1910 with no mention of the Lodge. I had started to look into newspaper from 1909 and at that point was exhausted by dead ends that I gave up searching. There are, however, stories circulating among members about a fire that had erupted, causing enough damage that the entire southern part of the building had to be reconstructed. Again, I find it surprising that there was no historic accounts of any fire taking place at or near the building around that time.
It was in 1909 that the City of Cheyenne took over fire protection of the city from volunteer companies. Perhaps this had something to do with the lack of record on the fire itself, as volunteers may not have been necessarily concerned with keeping accounts of their efforts. Maybe this event was one that contributed to the need for the city to take over.
1941
This is Lodge as it stands today. The majority of the building is different, including the entire facade. The upper floors seem to no longer exist and a parking lot now stands where the adjacent building once was. The entrance that once boasted the date of 1910 no longer remains, instead, on the lower southeast corner of the building now shows a plaque with the date 1941.
Lodge members say this drastic change was the result of another fire, one that occurred on July 4th, 1940 with the completion of the new building in 1941.
Once again, I am unable to find a SINGLE recorded history of a fire taking place in Cheyenne in 1940. The Denver Fire Journal & Western Fire History has archives from fires that took place in Cheyenne in 1939 and in 1941, both accounts details including locations and casualties. Now this isn't to say that NO fires took place in the city in the whole of 1940 but to point out the unusual lack of public records that year. One wouldn't expect that the oldest and longest running Aerie in Wyoming, the 54th oldest worldwide, would have burned, not once but twice, with absolutely no record proving so.
We know that fraternal orders, including the Elks, Freemasons, Odd Fellows and many others keep their inner workings close to the vest. After all, what would be the intrigue of such an order if there weren't mysteries contained within? Perhaps it is this secrecy, the protection of its members and inner workings that we are unable to locate public record or report. Perhaps, the truth has always and will forever lie within the walls of the Lodge, buried in boxes upon boxes of archived history. It is among these very stacks that we began our investigation into the strange hauntings at the Teddy Roosevelt Lodge.
MAY 1, 2020
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS MEGARA AND AMANDA RENEE
As invited guests of the Lodge, we were first given a tour of the building when we arrived. The space itself is a substantial size with large gathering areas branching off of a main hallway. To just the right of the entrance, a hallway leading to what seems to be offices most of which don't seem occupied at the time. A few more steps and we see the entrance to the bar on our left, going passed it and walking into what seems to be largest room in the building with high ceilings and enough space for a basketball game. Our tour guide gives us brief explanations of each space, eventually bringing us back to the bar.
She begins to tell us about some of the strange goings-on that the staff has been experiencing. Reports of uneasy and unwelcome feelings when entering certain rooms, staff refusing to go into the basement, strange noises with no plausible explanation, even some mention of dark figures seen in passing.
As we stood there talking, I could already feel eyes on us. It was as if they had heard mention of their existence and suddenly started to pay attention. They started to gather in the room we were in, careful not to get too close.
PART I - THE UPSTAIRS
We decided to begin run our investigation of the building from top to bottom, starting with a small upstairs room that currently holds the fraternities paper records and other miscellaneous items and files. Our hostess told us of a story of a portrait she found up there of a young girl. She claimed to have felt something odd or special about the portrait and that she believed it to be very old. Our team felt that the space as well as the painting were worth investigating.
We left the bar and headed down the short hallway to gym area. Stopping just at the base of a narrow staircase, we took a moment to get our team organized. It was here that I felt a weight within my chest. What had been gathering in the bar had now followed us into the open gymnasium and circled us, watching our every move.
The staircase was in slight disrepair, each well-worn step creaking as we went up. I felt only a moment of ease as we left our followers in the gym and encountered an entirely different energy just a few steps up. This new energy was not as strong and not as brooding, watching us with curiosity.
This room was oddly shaped, a collection of random spaces connected by a small walkway. Stacks of boxes towered around us, full of the lodge's history. The first door to our right opened to reveal a simple, small restroom that did not seem to grab any attention. We moved on to find a larger, single room so full of file boxes that we could barely step through. Our hostess asked for assistance in pulling forward a small table and some chairs for us to use.
Our team is comprised of individuals with particular skill sets. Each of us specializing in different divination tools and methods of communication. This diversity allows us to explore thoroughly and understand from different perspectives. Megara excels with pendulum work, translating yes and no answers to the questions we ask, as well as assisting in reading positive and negative energies and is almost always how we begin. Amanda specializes in spirit boards, helping us gain more in-depth answers including dates, names and reasons. Most investigation communication ends with Amanda, as we're allowed to formerly say goodbye through her board. As for myself, I'm considered by many to be a spiritual empath. I do most of my work through clairsentience combined with direct verbal communication that I keep active throughout the entire investigation in order to encourage conversation. Each Senders team member possesses a certain gift of being able to see, hear or feel the supernatural.
Once we were set up, our hostess presented us with the portrait she found. A gilded oval frame surrounded an image of a young girl with a kind face, wearing a soft dress - a small pair of wings sprouting from her back. I immediately recognized this image but chose to keep quiet on the truth so as not to interrupt the investigation. Megara, pendulum in hand, opened up with general questioning.
Megara: Is there anyone here with us?
Pendulum: "yes"
Megara: Are you male?
Pendulum: "no"
Megara: You are a female?
Pendulum: "yes"
Megara: Thank you. Have you been here a long time?
Pendulum: "yes"
Megara: Did you used to work here?
At this, the pendulum did not give a clear answer. Megara, aware of the building's history, knew that it had never been a place of residence, temporary nor permanent and she could safely assume that anyone that came through the doors was either a lodge member, a lodge family member or a worker. Megara asked again...
Megara: Did you work here?
Pendulum: "yes"
This answer was certainly not what we'd expected. Our hostess (who at that time was convinced that the energy we connected with was the figure in the portrait) had steered us in the direction of it being a young girl. Although the lodge has a reputation of being family oriented, we hadn't considered the possibility of a very young girl being employed there. Keep in mind, dear readers, that I knew the truth about the image and in that, also knew that whoever we were talking to was not her.
After some discussion, we considered that she may have been a child or other young family member of someone who did actually work there. Megara asked exactly what we were thinking...
Megara: Did you work here with a family member?
Pendulum: "yes"
Megara: Was it your mom?
Pendulum: "yes"
Megara: Did you spend a lot of time here?
Pendulum: "yes"
Megara: Did she (mom) used to clean the building?
Pendulum: "no"
I reminded Megara of the kitchen we had passed near the gymnasium.
Megara: Did your mom used to cook here?
Pendulum: "Yes"
Amanda: Did you die here?
Pendulum: "no"
Emm: Did your mother die here?
Pendulum: "no"
Megara: Was this a happy place for you?
Pendulum: "yes"
At this, we decided that our pendulum work had been satisfied. The energy we had connected with did not give us the impression of sadness, torment nor any other reason that we should prod any further. We decided to bring the investigation upstairs to a close.
THE PORTRAIT
No doubt a mysterious image, the portrait does hold a certain amount of significance. It is a famous 1909 oil-on-canvas painting entitled "Psyche" by American artist William Sergeant Kendall and is currently housed at The Met.
The version we were presented with was simply a print.
READ MORE IN PART II
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