When I was in St. Louis a few weeks ago, I started reading the earliest St.
Louis Jewish newspapers on microfilm in the St. Louis County Library. The
first thing of interest I found was in a column of short items concerning
local people in the Jewish Tribune of Jan. 16, 1880. It noted that

L. Kober (Louis KOBER) was the newly installed treasurer of the I.O.F.S. of
I. Progress Lodge.

I assume that this was either a Jewish fraternal group or a labor union, but
does anyone know what the full name and purpose of this organization was?

Martin Fischer Oak Park, Illinois

Fischer and Levin family history Web site: http://mefischer1.home.comcast.net/