Latest news with #ElksLodge
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Look Back: Honoring the Stars and Stripes on Flag day
Jun. 8—For more than 130 years, the Wilkes-Barre Benevolent & Protective Order Elks Lodge 109 has hosted annual Flag Day ceremonies honoring Old Glory. One of the biggest ceremonies was held in 1925 that included a parade that began at the lodge's home on South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre, and ended with a massive event with the raising of the American flag at the 109th Field Artillery Stadium. "Before the exercises there was a parade of Elks, war veterans and Boy Scouts through the central city to the baseball park, where the participants disbanded and filed into the grandstand for the services which were held directly in front of the grandstand in plain view of the 1,000 spectators," the Wilkes-Barre Record reported June 15, 1925. Principal speaker was U.S. Department of War Judge James Francis Ryan with Wilkes-Barre Mayor Daniel Hart summarizing Wyoming Valley's participation in wars and conflicts from the Revolutionary War through World War I. June 14 every year is Flag day in remembrance of the Continental Congress' adoption of the Stars and Stripes in 1777. During the 1925 exercises by the Elks B.P.O. Lodge 109, a miniature floral replica of the Liberty Bell was created and led the parade across the Market Street Bridge to the baseball stadium behind the 109th Armory. Members of the Elks drill team placed the floral Liberty Bell at second base as the Elks honor guard marched to the pitcher's mound with the American flag. Once in position, the Alexander Band played patriotic music at the same time a man dressed as Yankee Doodle Dandy and a woman dressed as Betsy Ross appeared next to the honor guard. One of the earliest Flag day ceremonies found from Times Leader, Record, Evening News and Daily News-Dealer archives took place in 1894 by students at the Union Street Grammar School on Union Street, Wilkes-Barre. "The closing exercises of the Grammar grades were held yesterday afternoon in the assembly room, 200 people being present and thoroughly enjoying the program," reported the Daily News-Dealer newspaper June 15, 1894. In the ensuing years after the Union Street Grammar School held what was believed to be the first school hosted Flag day ceremony, other schools in the Wyoming Valley began their own Flag day exercises, which usually concluded the school year. In 1898, Flag day exercises was held next to the iron deer in the courthouse yard adjacent to the courthouse that once stood on Public Square. The following year, 1899, members of the Wyoming Valley Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution celebrated Flag day by marking the sites of Fort Durkee and Fort Wyoming on the river common with American flags.
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘A Bed for Every Child' program helps provide beds for children in need across Mass.
WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A local Elks Lodge took part in an initiative ensuring every child in Massachusetts has a safe and comfortable place to sleep. A Bed for Every Child is an initiative with the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, a commitment to ensure that every child in the state has somewhere safe to rest. Holyoke Farmers' Market kicks off 2025 season 'We all know how important a good night's sleep is, and these kids aren't getting it when they are sleeping on the floor or whatever or in the homeless shelter,' said Lewana Dyer, Treasurer of the Westfield-West Springfield Elks Lodge #1481. 'So we are trying to satisfy some of that need.' The Westfield-West Springfield Elks Lodge #1481 is bringing together not only its members but also members from other Elks Lodges across western Massachusetts, community members, and even a couple of Boy Scouts, building 20 beds for children in need. The Lodge has been planning and fundraising for this event since October. 'We had a comedy show, we had dinners, members donated, the community donated,' Dyer said. Each bed kit costs $350, but with the money raised, they were able to provide more than just a bed for 20 kids on the wait list. 'We have sheet sets, we have blankets, we have pillows, we have backpacks, we have toys,' Dyer said. 'We have stuffed animals to go along with the beds when they go.' Members and volunteers that weren't able to get down on their hands and knees to build the beds could participate in the Inspiration Station, where they could create unique medallions for each child's bed. 'While each one of these beds may be built uniformly, there is a special element that folks are signing the back of the decal,' said Tina Baptista, Program Director of A Bed for Every Child. 'It's custom and it really just helps make these beds extra special for the child who will soon receive it.' The Westfield-West Springfield Elks Lodge hopes to make this an annual event going forward. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Webb City groups donate to provide service dogs to veterans
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Thanks to the cooperation of five groups in Webb City, another area veteran will be paired up with his own highly trained service dog in the coming year. Jimmy Burgess and his service dog, Riley, were on hand at the building in Webb City that houses the American Legion Post 322 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 7630 on Friday morning to accept a check on behalf of Heartland Canines for Veterans for $25,000 from the Elks Lodge of Webb City, the American Legion post, the VFW post, the Women's Auxiliary for the American Legion post and the Dawson Heritage Foundation. Burgess said the money will go to pay for the training of another service dog, which generally costs about $19,500, and to pay for Burgess to be trained as a master trainer of service dogs. 'We want to start training dogs internally instead of always having an outside trainer,' Burgess said. 'Right now, we outsource our service training, but that costs us quite a bit of money and it limits the number of dogs we can train in any certain timespan depending on the money we have to spend. 'We figured with it being our 10th year, it was time for us to get our own internal plan for training.' Burgess said this is the second year these particular groups have raised money for Heartland Canines in one of their 'One of Us' campaigns. He said the goal at Heartland Canines is to have one master trainer so he can train others to train service dogs. 'So the idea behind having an internal trainer is that we can continue to train because I'm already on staff,' Burgess said. 'Also, we're going to start an actual veteran training program so I'll be able to train other veterans in the dog-training community' Burgess said Heartland Canines will be celebrating the graduation of another service dog and the creation of a veteran-service dog team at the coming Veterans Outreach Night hosted by the Joplin Outlaws at Joe Becker Stadium on Saturday, June 14. Gates open at 5 p.m., and before the game, Burgess and his staff will introduce the new team. The dog was trained thanks to a donation by Jack Henry and Associates. More details about Heartland Canines for Veterans can be found at
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Community supports Chicopee Police officer battling cancer
CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) – A fundraiser for a local frontline worker Thursday night, battling cancer. Chicopee Police Officer Joel Martinez was diagnosed with cancer more than a year ago. Family, friends, and local officers from across the region gathered at the Elks Lodge in Chicopee for a benefit dinner. More than 125 tickets were sold at the event to help support his treatments. Travis Odiorne with the Chicopee Police Department told 22News, 'It's always great to show that the community comes together to support us when we need it we do a lot for the community and it reinforces the fact that we need it cuz they always come out to support us when we need it.' A donation page has also been set up to help Officer Martinez. WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local non-profit hosts International Women's Day celebratory event
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – International Women's Day was earlier this month but the celebrations continued Saturday afternoon at the Elks Lodge in Springfield. Local non-profit Afri(K)que' hosted it's 13th annual International Women's Day celebration where diversity and the strength of women were highlighted. In addition to local vendors, the event featured speakers and cultural performances all in an effort to inspire women of all ages while celebrating the ones making an impact in western Massachusetts. 'There are women out there in the community who are doing great things and sometimes nobody shines a light on it. This event is their chance to come out,' said Karina Tise, Founder & Executive Director of Afri(K)que. 22News Anchor Ciara Speller was in attendance, serving as emcee for this event. Springfield City Councilor Kateri Walsh also served as a speaker giving a brief history lesson on the birth of International Women's Day. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
