In October, 1908, E. C. Deel, the Supreme Organizer of the Mystic Toilers of Des Moines, arrived in Ridgeway to start a subordinate lodge here. The group was not just a social club, but a fraternal benefits insurance group. The cost of joining was just one dollar for “local examination”. Per the article in the October 1, 1908 edition of the Ridgeway Journal, “accident, old age and disabiy (sic) benefits are paid out and not deducted from the face of the policy at the death of the insured.” The article went on to say that Mr. Deel had already gotten a number of prominent Ridgeway citizens to apply for membership and that “Fraternal societies, especially those admitting men and women, are becoming vey popular and the scheme of human protections is certainly one that should encouraged and embraced by our citizens because of the substantial aid it brings to the dependent ones in the hour of need.” Fraternal benefit societies offered insurance at lower rates than buying more traditional insurance.
The society didn’t just give its members security, but also social interaction. The Ridgeway society met twice a month. There were also groups in Bethany and Cainsville that held parties for their members. Despite the initial popularity, though, the societies didn’t seem to last too long. By the end of 1909, there were no more mentions of Mystic Toiler meetings in any of the Harrison County papers and in 1919, the Mystic Toilers, being unable to continue business due to financial constraints, was reincorporated as Liberty Life Insurance Company (not to be confused with the company of the same name based in South Carolina).
