A Very Sad Week for Our Moose Family Center

Our Moose Family Center is relatively young compared to most of the others in the country. The lodge is 23 years old but actually we have only had a facility to meet, eat and spend time at for 17 years. When we moved into our first very small facility (850 sq ft) we lovingly called The Palace, all our members learned to work together in very close confines. We had only one 3 ft x 3 ft bathroom, and our kitchen was only 6 ft long by 4 ft wide yet we still served complete meals. Both the men and women who became officers of this tiny lodge had a goal to succeed (well maybe the word should be survive) and even though most of us didn't know each other before we joined the Moose, by working together that close in the tiny wooden building, we became more like brothers and sisters than Moose members.

Over the years, as our membrship has grown and we moved into a much larger facility (also more beautiful and plush), those of us who worked together the first 12 years building our fraternity from a Moose Lodge into a Moose Family Center, have remained very close.

This week, we lost two of our brothers. Both had been Past Governors. Jim, who passed away last Monday was Governor the year I was Senior Regent. We had a wonderful year and worked like partners the entire year. We continued to be close friends after our year was over. Mal who passed away Sunday was Governor the year after Jim and I. Both men passed away after being ill. Both were taken from us much too early.

These are the first two out of the 17 men and 17 women, who have been Governors and Senior Regents from the Palace forward, to be taken from us. The pictures of all the Past Governors and Senior Regents are up on a wall so members will always see them up there. What's unfortuate is that the essence of who they were and what they meant to the Moose can't be taken from the pictures and members who join from now on will never know how much these men contributed to our wonderful Family Center.

Those who had the opportunity to work with these men will have memories for a very long time. Sometimes we argued like siblings if we felt our ideals were being compromised but we always managed to work everything out. We will miss these brothers, but we will always be thankful for the opportunity to share the Moose experience with them.