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Moose Lodge

Watertown Lodge No. 830, Loyal Order of the Moose

 

 

The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 with nearly 650,000 men in roughly 1,600 Lodges in 49 states and four Canadian provinces, plus Great Britain.

 

Along with other units of Moose International, the Loyal Order of Moose supports the operation of Mooseheart Child City & School, a 1,000-acre community for children and teens in need, located 40 miles west of Chicago; and Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community for its members near Jacksonville, FL.

 

Additionally, members of the Moose conduct approximately $70 million worth of community service (counting monetary donations and volunteer hours worked) annually. 

 

The Loyal Order of Moose organizes and participates in numerous sports and recreational programs, in local Lodges and Family Centers in the majority of 44 State and Provincial Associations, and on a fraternity-wide basis. 

 

Lodges across the Fraternity are known for creating life-long bonds between members through activities and a shared concern for children in need, seniors and the communities in which they live.

 

1920

08 17       MOOSE LODGE CHAPTER ESTABLISHED IN WATERTOWN

      Degree team from Fond du Lac present and thirty members are initiated at first meeting

 

Thirty members were initiated into the Watertown branch of the Loyal Order of Moose at a meeting held in Eagles hall Tuesday evening.

 

A degree team from Fond du Lac was present and exemplified the work.  William Dyhr of Fond du Lac, state deputy supreme dictator, and James Geraghty of Milwaukee, national supervisor, were also present and assisted in the organization of the local branch.

 

Officers recently elected were confirmed and installed as follows:

 

Dictator—Otto G. Kuenzli (lawyer).

Past Dictator-—Peter Hansen.

Vice Dictator—John Wilkes.

Prelate—E. O. Edwards.

Sergeant at Arms—George Day.

Secretary-—Walter Doolittle.

Treasurer—J. P. Holland.

Trustees—W. J. Schumann, John Wardlow, Albert Reusser.

Inner Guard—Peter Pope.

Outer Guard—G. C. Proehl.

 

A booster meeting for new members will be held at the same place on Thursday evening, August 26, when it is expected that the membership will go over the hundred mark.

 

1953

214 MARKET STREET

  

 

1963

02 13       OLD POST OFFICE BUILDING

Watertown Lodge No. 830, Loyal Order of Moose today assumed possession of the old Watertown Post Office.  Mayor Robert P. White announced this morning that negotiations for the sale of the property to the Moose have been finalized.  The common council previously authorized the sale, subject to the final approval of the planning commission.  The commission stamped its approval on the sale last week.  The city received cash in the amount of $17,500 and the property on North Second Street, valued in the neighborhood of $5,400.  The city paid the federal government $20,000 for the building last fall in hopes it could make use of the facilities.  After a thorough inspection by the council and the mayor, it was found the city could not economically solve its space problems with the building.   WDT

 

06 22       Watertown Lodge No. 830, Loyal Order of Moose, which was instituted on August 17, 1920 and which received its charter on Sept. 1 of that year, will hold an open house for the public at its new clubhouse, the former Watertown Post Office building in North Second Street on Sunday afternoon, June 23 from 1 to 4 p.m., according to announcement made today by officers of the lodge.  The public is invited to drop in and inspect the new quarters which give the lodge and its auxiliary a beautiful new home.

 

09 05       Plans are underway to hold the formal dedication of the new Moose Club, formerly the Watertown Post Office, on Sunday, Sept. 15, it was disclosed today.  The building, completely remodeled and renovated for lodge purposes, the former post office is now occupied by Watertown Lodge No. 830, Loyal Order of Moose and the local chapter of the Women of the Moose.  Open house was held in June but the dedication has been delayed until Sept. 15.  Many visitors will come here for the dedication, including several high-ranking officials of the Loyal Order of Moose.

 

-- --           POST OFFICE BLDG BECOMES MOOSE HALL

 

 

1964

07 17       Officers of Watertown Lodge No. 830, Loyal Order of Moose today announced plans for an intensive membership campaign which is being launched today and which will continue for a month or more.  Earl Spaeth, chairman of the lodge’s membership committee, is in charge of the campaign.  It was disclosed that a special dispensation has been granted by the Supreme Council of the Moose which will permit enrollment at only $10 during this special new membership effort.  The Moose has long been known as one of the finest nonpolitical and nonsectarian international fraternal societies in operation anywhere in the world.   WDT

 

1967

06 09       Harley Lehmann, 912 Garfield Street, long active in the affairs of the Loyal Order of Moose, has received the highest honor the order can confer, according to announcement made today out of Mooseheart, Ill., where the honor was conferred.  Mr. Lehmann has received the Pilgrim Degree which was conferred at an annual ceremony for the class of men selected for it this year.  The ceremonies were held in the House of God, which is the huge religious edifice on the grounds of Mooseheart and serves residents there of all faiths.  The class this year included one member who came all the way from England to receive it and three were from Canada.  In addition to Mr. Lehmann, other members of the class were from various parts of the United States.   WDT

 

1969

05 01       INSTALLATION OF GOVERNOR

Two men in suits

Description automatically generated with medium confidence  

Fred Busshardt, outgoing governor; Ralph Duddeck, incoming governor.  Loyal Order of Moose Lodge No.830

 

08 31       OFFER TO SELL THE MOOSE LODGE BUILDING

Officials of Watertown Lodge No. 830, Loyal Order of Moose, has offered to sell the Moose Lodge building, formerly the Watertown post office, to the park and recreation commission for use as a recreational facility.  The price for the building, which is located at 120 North Second Street, is $70,000.  A committee of members on the commission was formed to examine the building to determine if the structure could be changed into a recreational facility.  The commission appointed a second committee to show several possible sites of available land for a future recreational center.    WDT

 

1987

09 05       MORTGAGE BURNED

Watertown Lodge No. 830, Loyal Order of the Moose held a mortgage burning ceremony Saturday night at the lodge.  Master of ceremonies Larry Reykdal welcomed the members and guests, State Director Glenn Garbors, First District President Richard Nejedlo, and their wives, to the celebration.  The officers of the lodge honored Edgar Kuckkahn, who has been a member of the local lodge for 48 years, and presented Dan Mejia with a past governor’s ring. Kuckkahn, who received a plaque and cake, has served the lodge in various official capacities for 33 years.  State Director Garbors, a member of the La Crosse Moose Lodge, told members how lucky they were to witness a mortgage burning ceremony.  He said the lodge is moving into a new chapter of its life, and with the help and support of its members, it will continue to grow.

 

2020

-- --           100th ANNIVERSARY OF FOUNDING

 

 

 

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