On May 23, 1962, the Justice of the Subordinate Forum was instructed to draw up an agreement for the purchase of the First National Store property. The matter of settling payments with the architect for his previous work on the Hamlet Avenue project, now totally abandoned, was also addressed at this meeting. The amount of $4,450.00 had already been paid, but there remained a balance of $3,950.00 owed him if his services were terminated. A financial agreement was reached whereby N. Grochowski was retained to design the new Lodge. The Trustees promptly applied for Grand Lodge approval for the sale of Hamlet Ave. and the purchase of Social Street and received it without delay. On June 13, sale documents for Hamlet Avenue were prepared with an asking price of $50,000. On July 30, the Trustees signed the purchase agreement for the Social Street property and handed a $5,000.00 down payment to the seller’s representative the next day.
The acquisition was financed through a $120,000 mortgage and the sale of bonds to members in $100.00 denominations. The money generated through the bonds was vitally needed not only for the balance of the purchase cost, but for the required repairs and construction of the building interior as well. These amounted well in excess of $50,000. The Board of Trustees itself opted to serve a general contractor for the interior renovations and sub-contract, on a bid basis, the many projects this entailed. Bro. George Fortier was elected to serve as clerk of the works in this demanding task. Constructions of the Lodge Room, the bar and lounge, the kitchen, the hall, etc. were all given meticulous attention. During the renovations, the members continued to meet at the Hamlet Avenue facility that had not been sold, were kept informed on the progress of the new Home, and continued about the regular business of Elkdom, including the election of Officers who would be first to preside in the new quarters. In contest with Lewis Andrews, P.E.R. (1958-1959), Esteemed Leading Knight Mathias Thibault was elected Exalted Ruler for fraternal year 1963-1964 and would be the first to preside in this office in the new Home.
The relocation to Social Street took place during March 1963, and concluded with opening ceremonies on Thursday, March 28 through Sunday, March 31. The opening included a showing of the new Home for State, City, and surrounding Town officials from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. on Thursday; an open house for the public the next night; a grand opening dance with music by “The Happy Wanderers” on Saturday; finally a gala dinner on Sunday. The meeting of April 1, with installation of Officers, was the first to be held in the new quarters. The future looked bright, but a series of unanticipated problems would preoccupy the Officers and members soon after for some time to come.
Money anticipated from the sale of the Hamlet property and relied upon for the renovations of the new facility had not materialized, and as of yet there was no prospective buyer. The amount owed to the sub-contractors in May stood in excess of $35,000. To satisfy these obligations, the Lodge approved the sale of $40,000 of the stocks purchased in 1955 after redeeming the Series G bonds it had acquired during World War II. Furthermore maintenance and tax costs for the Hamlet Avenue site, where some members still lived, were exceeding the room rental income. Decision was then taken to have the members vacate the facility and close the building entirely as of September 1, 1963.
Then came the big surprise in 1964. As part of the final phase of the Flood Control project for the Social flatlands to avoid a reoccurrence of the devastation caused by the 1955 flood, the city imposed a permanent easement of 65,220 square feet on the Lodge’s property. This unforeseen action by the city not only resulted in the loss of a valuable piece of land that could be used as a field in the rear of the property, but also marked the beginning of a four-year process of negotiations and eventual litigation to obtain adequate compensation for the land. The offer of $16,500 extended by the Flood Commission in February 1965 was considered unacceptable in light of the $35,300 appraisal value. In addition, the project entailed the installation of an underground spillway that required excavation through the parking lot and severely limited the members’ access for several weeks. The Lodge claimed a business loss of an estimated $10,800 as a direct result of the construction and so notified the city. To compound the problem, the work crew caused significant damage to a section of the foundation and the Hall foyer during construction. A claim against the contractor’s insurance remained unsettled for more than three years, again necessitating another attorney’s services.
During this same period of time, the Hamlet Avenue property diverted the leadership’s energies. Despite its closing in 1963, as noted above, the facility remained a liability for the Lodge. There was still no prospect of a sale, taxes still had to be paid, and the building was deteriorating to the point where it should be razed. In the hope of saving demolition costs, efforts were sustained to sell the property with the building still standing, but to no avail. A decision was taken in December 1965 to raze the old Home. Before this work was undertaken, the Lodge received an offer of $13,500 and another of $14,000, both of which were turned down, since it was willing to accept no less than $20,000. These decisions proved to be rather unwise as time passed since the Lodge not only incurred demolition costs in 1966 but also, in the absence of another offer, finally sold he property for only $10,000 in April 1968.
During the years it experienced the setbacks just described, membership and dues payment records were not properly kept, unbeknown to the leadership. A subsequent audit of these records for March 1967, disclosed that many members were in arrears, some by as much as five years and still remained on the rolls. As a result of the audit, many members were dropped as of March 31 that year. The number of members now stood at 633 from a total of 766 reported to the Grand Lodge the prior year. The non-payment of dues had further added to the financial strain on the Lodge. By the second half of 1967, creditors, especially business members, had not been paid for quite some time. The existing condition, most unfortunately, prompted the Lodge that year to curtail sponsorship of a hockey team, the Christmas party for the children of St. Francis Orphanage (a long-standing charity), as well as the Christmas party for Elks’ children (a function held every year since 1955). On the other hand, there is no evidence that other programs and charities were impacted in the same manner. Yet a ray of hope was on the horizon. In November 1967, the Trans America Insurance Group finally settled the Lodge’s claim against it for the 1964 flood control damages to the building in the amount of $11,556. Then in April 1968, only days before its scheduled jury trial and advice of its attorney, the Lodge accepted a $25,000 offer from the city of Woonsocket as settlement for the flood control easement suit. These funds (as well as the $10,000 from the sale of the Hamlet Avenue property mentioned earlier) certainly helped the Lodge recover from its temporary financial woes. The Officers and members of Woonsocket B.P.O.E. #850 could leave the decade of the 1960’s as hopeful as when they entered it.
(Writer’s note: It is at this point that the narrative sequence relating to the Lodge’s development must be interrupted due to lack of records from 1968 through 1992. This writer hopes that future interviews with current older members, contemporaries of those years, will supply some additional information for the full-length history under preparation. We are sorry that time did not permit to explore the memories of these members for inclusion in this historical sketch.)
As the Lodge entered into the decade of the 1970’s, one can only assume that its sad financial condition, just described, had stabilized and improved. In fact we know that there was no existing debt against the Lodge and the mortgage was paid off prior to expansion plans set in motion in the late 1980’s, as we shall see below. Some of that debt reduction must have occurred during the prior decade. We also learn from the souvenir booklet published for the 75th anniversary in 1978 that the occasion was observed with due solemnity, though perhaps somewhat less elaborately than that of the 50th. The date of the dinner highlighting the event is not given in the booklet, but appears to have taken place in the latter part of the year. Again, as was the case for the 50th anniversary celebrations, the date of the Charter was viewed as the anniversary date rather than that of the Lodge’s institution that we have chosen to honor for this 100th birthday celebration. Lewis A. Andrews, Exalted Ruler for the second time (he first served in that office in 1958-1959), was General Chairman of the Diamond Jubilee festivities. At the time of reaching this 75th Jubilee milestone, the total membership had decreased to 537, according to a very brief history found in the souvenir booklet. One of the highlights of the anniversary year was the State dinner held at Woonsocket Lodge in honor of Grand Exalted Ruler, Dr. Leonard J. Bristol, on the occasion of his official visitation to the State of Rhode Island.
It was during the latter half of the 1980’s that plans were drawn to enlarge the building and refurbish much of the interior. We mentioned above that the Lodge had no outstanding debt at this time and the leadership was able to negotiate a $300,000 mortgage loan to launch this ambitious undertaking. The project called for the extending the rear and side parking lots of the present structure by several feet, relocating the members’ entrance from the alley to the rear, and surfacing the brick exterior of the entire building with a stucco-like material, thus enhancing its external appearance. This would provide considerable additional square footage of interior space to enlarge the lounge and the bar, also to construct a new game room, more storage for the kitchen, a liquor storage room, as well as a maintenance utility room. Groundbreaking took place in December 1989. Once the electrical transformer was moved from the rear of the existing building to a utility pole installed on Social Street and the air conditioning unit relocated from the rear of the facility to the roof, the construction of the exterior walls proceeded. The outside renovations were completed by August 1990. Once the landscaping curbstones and planting beds were in place in early fall, volunteer members planted decorative shrubbery at the side and rear of the building, now visually more attractive. The interior renovations continued through January 1991 and provided a larger and more pleasant lounge environment, and a new game room. A conference/meeting room and a new office shared by the Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Exalted Ruler were constructed in the space that had served as the card room since the Lodge occupied the Social Street facility. Although these changes and alterations were physical in nature, they nonetheless give evidence that Elkdom was alive and well in Woonsocket during the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Less tangible perhaps, though no less important, is the spirit that prevailed among the Officers and members at that time – and still continues strongly to this day – in preserving the noble traditions of Elkdom. One of the finest examples was the Lodge’s commitment to ritual, especially that of initiation. While the Officers competed in State ritual contests over the years since they began, no team appears to have won a State championship (none found in the records through 1968), although individual Officers did win their respective chair from time to time. Beginning in the late 80’s, however, the tide changed. The Woonsocket ritual team won four consecutive State contests, 1987 through 1990. From 1991 through 1994, the championship was won by other Lodges, although in one of those years, the Woonsocket team chose not to compete. It reclaimed the title in 1995, lost it again in 1996, and won it every year from 1997 through 2003. While the Lodge may be proud of this achievement, it should be noted that, most unfortunately, interest in the ritual has seriously waned in Lodges throughout Rhode Island and in many other parts of the country as well. Regardless, weekly ritual practice was and remains mandatory for the Officers of Woonsocket #850 and tuxedos the proper attire for meetings. A resolve to preserve the traditional practices of the Order, a legacy inherited from its predecessors and now entrusted to all incoming leaders, remains a hallmark of the Lodge and its membership.
After incurring the sizeable mortgage debt for the expansion of the facility of which we spoke above, a major priority for the Trustees and the members was to amortize the principal of the loan in the shortest possible time. Thanks to the efforts of the Trustees, the Officers, and the members’ support of the various fund-raising functions and events, the Lodge was already well on its way to reducing the mortgage debt significantly by October 5,1992. At that meeting, Trustee Al Forte announced that the loan was renegotiated at a lower interest rate for a 15-year term, with a balance of approximately $135,000 remaining. Trustee Chairman George R. Benoit expressed the leadership’s gratitude to the members for their support and entertained the hope that the mortgage would be paid off in five to six years. That goal was realized and the Trustees jubilantly presided at a mortgage-burning event in the latter half of 1996. Having paid off a $300,000 mortgage in the span of only seven years was indeed cause to celebrate.
This celebration was all the more noteworthy in that it was held in the Hall that had been totally refurbished only months earlier. The Hall had remained virtually unchanged and had not undergone a facelift during the prior construction and renovation project of the Lodge of which we spoke above. There is no doubt that improvement of this function room was needed. The services of an interior decorator were retained for this purpose and the work of redecorating the Hall was undertaken in 1995, spanning the term of Office of Exalted Rulers Ronald Lemoine (1994-1995) and Josef Makar (1995-1996). The project was thorough and included new ceiling and wall lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, a fresh color-scheme with coordinating draperies and carpeting. The painting of the majestic full-size Elks, affixed to one of the walls since relocation in 1963, was cleaned and the forest background artistically extended by several feet on either side of the painting. The overall effect was that of a new mural that extends almost the full width of the Hall. As a result of the project, the Lodge could boast of having one of the most beautiful halls in the city.
The latter half of the 1990’s was also marked by the most radical change experienced by the entire Order of Elks since its inception in 1868 and was not without having drastic repercussion on all Subordinate Lodges. Woonsocket B.P.O.E. #850 was no exception. The issue of admitting women to membership in the Order heretofore limited to male citizens by its Constitution, was resolved by the courts of the land in their decision that barring women from membership was discriminatory and a violation of equal rights. An amendment to the Constitution to accept women members was approved at the Grand Lodge convention in 1995. The matter met with considerable opposition from the membership of Woonsocket Lodge, as well as in many Lodges throughout the country. The new policy was not tested in Lodge #850 for some time, in fact until early 1999 when balloting took place for the first two women applicants, Jeanette Riendeau and Beverly Forcier. Both were rejected, to the great dismay of Exalted Ruler Ronald Heroux who had actively promoted their acceptance. When balloted upon a second time, they were again rejected. At the beginning of the next fraternal year, a letter from Grand Exalted Ruler, C. Valentine Bates, to the newly installed Exalted Ruler Normand Vaillancourt directed the Lodge to vote again on these two women applicants expeditiously. On May 17, 1999, the two women finally received a favorable vote and were initiated at the first meeting in June. Other applicants soon followed and as of the end of February 2003, fifty-six women members are listed on the rolls. A good number of these are active and contribute wholeheartedly to the activities of the Lodge. Jeanne Clancy currently serves as Esteemed Loyal Knight for this centennial year. She has the distinction of being the first woman Officer in the Lodge’s history while another, Mary Lapointe, served as Chaplain during the lodge year 2002-2003.
To be sure, donations to the Elks National Foundation were not neglected during the three or four decades we just briefly delineated. While the total amount donated through all those years is not readily available, the Lodge and it’s members, boosted by the annual $1000 contribution of the Garlic Connection (our budding cooks of renown), have contributed in excess of $25,000.00 to the ENF for its charities in the past three years alone.
Furthermore the activities, programs, and charitable endeavors for the benefit of the community remained a major focus through those decades as they do today. True, sponsorship of Boy Scout Troop No. 850 and PeeWee Hockey may have been discontinued due to lack of participation during the 70’s and 80’2, but others such as Hoop Shoot, Soccer Shoot, and Special Needs programs took on added prominence. New programs were initiated later as well. For instance, beginning in the late 1980’s, the Woonsocket Elks assumed responsibility, at the request of and in association with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, for the annual Fishing Derby in which some 300 youngsters participate year after year. Bro. Ernest Carignan, with the help of his wife Charlotte, has planned and organized this endeavor since its inception, as well as the Hoop Shoot and Soccer Shoot. After the death of Lewis A. Andrews in 1992, the P.E.R. Association launched a scholarship fund in his honor and raised the money to endow it through a variety of fund-raisers. The first annual $500.00 scholarship was presented to a deserving student in December 1994 by Exalted Ruler Ronald Lemoine. To date, $4,500.00 has been awarded in scholarship grants to nine children or grandchildren of members. Another $500.00 scholarship award program in memory of Henry Briere, past Lodge and State Chaplain, was launched in December 2002, through the generosity of his family who established and funds it. They have entrusted the solicitation of applications for the scholarship and the selection process to the P.E.R. Association. Whether through recent or long-established programs, Woonsocket Lodge always was and is committed in its history to reflect the Order’s slogan “Elks Care...Elks Share.”
Not only did many members distinguish themselves by their service to the Lodge ant the community during the past 100 years, but a goodly number also chaired a State Committee or held a State Office. Furthermore, nine achieved the high office of President of the Rhode Island State Elks Association since its inception in 1936 and Robert Blais is currently serving as Vice President East. The Lodge was further honored in that eighteen members were also appointed over the years since 1907 to serve a District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler for a one-year term to coincide with the term of Office of the respective Grand Exalted Ruler who appointed each. A rarer distinction is the appointment of a member to a Grand Lodge Committee. A communication was read at the meeting of March 20, 1950, and subsequently published in the Lodge Bulletin, regarding the appointment of Anthony Lawrence to the Grand Lodge Youth Activities Committee to serve as a Judge in the Student Scholarship contest. The appointment appears to have been for that year’s contest only since he was appointed District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler for the fraternal year 1951-1952. No other such Grand Lodge Committee appointment would be forthcoming until 2001 when James Clancy was appointed a two-year term on the Grand Lodge Committee on Ritual for Area I compromising all of New England and the State of New York. He is the first from Woonsocket Lodge to have served on a Grand Lodge Committee for that length of time. In many respects, Lodge #850 has provided valuable service to Elkdom in its one hundred years of existence and gives evidence that it is ready to forge ahead with zeal.
CONCLUSION
The history of Woonsocket B.P.O.E. #850, just as that of any human society or institution, is ongoing. The present can never totally sever its ties from the past, for it is the past that gave it existence and meaning. Similarly the present cannot pursue its course without an eye to the future. A future Lodge historian is bound to look back some day on the present times now unfolding before us, just as we have done in these pages regarding the activities and endeavors of our predecessors. Will he/she have reason to be impressed by the achievements of our day as we have been by those of the past one hundred years? Our predecessors were responsive to the community needs even in their period of financial reversals, honored the American flag and promoted its significance among the public, actively engaged in patriotic activities in peacetime and all the more in wartime, and held veterans in great respect. All told, by overcoming their indifferences that might have surfaced at times, the provided us with shining examples of what it means to be Elks, and entrusted us with a legacy of commitment and dedication well worth emulating today and in the future. We are grateful for their contribution to Elkdom and pay homage, on the occasion of this centennial, to each and every member of Woonsocket Lodge #850 who were part of its history.
Compiled and written by
Normand L. Vaillancourt, PH.D.
Past District Deputy