Missanabie Lodge No 266 of IOOF hold At Home described as one of most successful parties of year

Missanabie Lodge No. 266 of the Independent Order of Oddfellows (IOOF) held their 'At Home' which was described in the Chapleau Post as "without a doubt one of the most successful parties of the year."

The lodge, instituted in Chapleau on May 16, 1888 remains the community's oldest fraternal organization in 2019.

As this At Home was held during World War II the article noted that "On one wall was a large Union Jack in the centre of which hung a frame containing the names of those Oddfellows" serving in Canada's armed forces.

"At seven p.m. more than 200 Oddfellows, Rebekahs and friends sat down to a delicious turkey banquet. The supper was in charge of Sincerity Rebekah Lodge. The tables were tastefully decorated and the guests wore coloured paper hats. The hall looked quite gay with its pink, blue and white streamers and lanterns."

The At Home was held in the Town Hall basement, the location for so many community events between 1914 and 1978 when the Chapleau Civic Centre was opened. The lodge room was on the second floor which was also the Council Chambers.

Founding members 1888

Following the supper chairman Reg Thrush spoke a few words of welcome followed by a toast to the Order by Borden McLeod.

B.W. 'Bubs' Zufelt proposed a toast to those who were serving in the country's armed forces which was responded to by Ross Whitney.

After the toasts Mr. Thrush presented cigarettes to Jack Whitney, Ross Whitney and Lloyd Whitney who were in the armed forces. He added that cigarettes had been sent to Lodge members overseas. 

Nine of the ladies present who had husbands overseas were presented with boxes of chocolate.

Hiram Paul was presented with a past Noble Grand jewel by  Mrs. Ross Whitney and Mrs. H. Wooton pinned on the 25 year jewel presented to E. Woodard.

Following the presentations they adjourned to the auditorium on the main floor of the Town Hall where Arthur Grout was in charge of the entertainment which got underway with a sing song of some popular tunes of the day. Mr. Lauder played the piano accordion. 

Mrs. Bill Stedman and Mrs. Norman Veit "favoured" the audience with solos and both ladies were called upon for encores.

The article says Mr. Grout told "a very amusing story" but no details on it were provided. He also showed some photos. 

The evening ended with a dance with Mr. Darby getting it underway leading everyone in the Grand March and the dance floor, back in the basement, was filled to capacity. Dancing of all kinds continued until two a.m. with a break at midnight  for cake and coffee.

The article concludes: "It was a most enjoyable social evening and will long be remembered by those present". As I was working on this column, it brought back many fond memories of growing up in Chapleau, and in the 1950s, a bit later than this event, my friends and I would look through the basement windows to watch the proceedings. Sometimes my grandmothers Lil Morris and Edythe Hunt would be helping with the catering for a banquet, and we would sneak into the hall by the back door, and head to the kitchen for a treat.  Those really were the days my friends.

Thanks again to Margaret Rose (Payette) and Bobby Fortin for kindly loaning me the Richard Brownlee Papers. My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Santa Claus given 'rousing welcome' at Oddfellows and Rebekahs Christmas party plus Dr. Young's 'magical land' in heart of Chapleau in 1960

About 100 delighted Chapleau children, twelve and under, gave Santa Claus a "rousing welcome" at the Oddfellows and Rebekahs annual Christmas party in the Town Hall basement in 1960, according to the Chapleau Sentinel.

Each child was presented with a gift by Santa as he spent time having a "chummy chat" with all of them.

But before Santa arrived, there was a program of songs, recitations and solo to entertain the guests including lodge members and parents.

Mrs. Richard Hoath vice grand of the Rebekahs welcomed all, while Norm Veit of the Oddfellows was chair for the evening.

Janice Corston opened the entertainment program with the recitation of a Christmas poem followed by Kelly Romain singing 'Mothers of Salem'.

Norm Veit and unknown

Allen Coulter and Robbie Pellow also sang  solos. Gail May and Derek Edwards sang a duet.

Judy Godemair gave a piano solo.

Jo Anne Dunne sang 'Away on a Housetop' while Don St. Germaine gave his rendition of 'Away in a Manger.'

The entertainment ended with 'Silent Night' sung by Joyce and Janet Cluett and Beverly Hamilton.

And then, according to the Chapleau Sentinel, "with jingling bells and  a jolly 'Ho Ho' Santa arrived amid cheers and applause."

Soon, after Santa gave each child a gift a great variety of toys covered the floor in the Town Hall basement.

A special occasion was marked with a rousing Happy Birthday to past grand of the Oddfellows Roy Desson who was celebrating his birthday.

Mr. Veit was assisted by Walter Midkiff, Hiram McEachren and others while assisting Santa were Mrs. Hoath and Mrs. Isabel Robinson.

 Whenever the subject of favourite memories of Christmas arises among those of us who go back to at least the 1950s, someone, or most likely everyone, unanimously will declare, "Dr. Young's Christmas display".

It was a highlight of the season for all ages to visit a magical land right in the heart of Chapleau.

I am including a couple of photos from the early days of his display before he converted the G.B. Nicholson home, which he had purchased after returning home to practise medicine in 1944-45.  I thank Harriet (Newcombe) Bouillon for providing me with the photos.

As I reflected on my own years growing up in Chapleau, I think the display and the lights and the music were most meaningful as we walked from our home on Grey Street South on a usually bitterly cold Christmas Eve's to the midnight service at St. John's Anglican Church.

Along the way, and on the way home we would meet and greet folks from Trinity United Church and Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, and when I was a teenager, I would run between St. John's and Sacred Heart to attend the service there with some of my friends.

My email is mj.morris@live.ca

Missanabie Lodge No. 266 of I.O.O.F founded in 1888 Chapleau's oldest fraternal organization still carrying out its good works

Wilf Simpson described the "seven gentlemen" as being "sartorially dressed and tonsorially elegant in the top styles of the gay nineties (1890s) looking impressively correct in the regalia of their Order ... proudly holding a framed document."

Wilf was writing in the Chapleau Post in 1950, and the gentlemen he so lavishly described -- in  a bygone writing style -- were the founding members of the Missanabie Lodge, No. 266, Independent Order of Oddfellows.  The document was the lodge's charter, and for years the photo hung in a corner of their Lodge Room on the second floor of the old Town Hall on Pine Street.

Missanabie Lodge No. 266 was instituted on May 16, 1888, making it the oldest fraternal organization in the community, still carrying out its good works to this day, 128 years later.

I saw in the May 19, 2016 edition of the Chapleau Express that Missanabie Lodge had recently donated two oven roasters to the residents of the Bignucolo Residence.

The founding members were W, Yuill, J.B. Dexter, H. Curran, A. Austin, J. McN Austin, C. Kyle and N. Atkinson, all prominent members of the fledgling community of Chapleau.

Wilf noted that stories about the founding meeting varied adding that it was evident "in the intervening years , with such stalwarts as G.B. Nicholson and Richard Brownlee and others" that the cornerstone of Odd Fellowship in Chapleau was laid on a solid foundation and that the lodge had expanded and grown into what became one of the "most aggressive fraternal organizations in the community."

Interestingly, Wilf researched how it came to be called "Missanabie Lodge." He discovered that J. McNiece Austin, the first noble grand asked William Mcleod who was familiar with "Indian dialects  for an Indian name which would be both inspirational and prophetic." (I use the word Indian as it was written in Wilf's article in the Chapleau Post in 1950)

Apparently Mr. McLeod provided the name Missanabie which translated into English  means "pot of gold at the end of the rainbow".

Wilf added that as early as 1888 it was believed that rich deposits of gold were to be found in the Missanabie area and the search for it continued as did the work of "benevolence and charity by the lodge".

A fitting climax to the parallel came in 1948 when at the same hour as the directors of Renabie Mine near Missanabie were witnessing the pouring of the first gold brick, Grand Lodge was selecting a new Grand Master,Reg Thrush, who was a member of Missanabie Lodge in Chapleau.

Wilf provides a scenario of the role the lodge played in the early years. "In those early days of this struggling community, before such things as radio, theatres, hospitals, workmen's compensation, mother's allowance and other things which go to make modern living more enjoyable, the lodge played an important want in the community."

They visited the sick, relieved the distressed, buried the dead and educated the orphans. An Oddfellows plot was established in the cemeteries.

By 1950, the lodge had 131 members in Chapleau with Mr. Brownlee being the oldest living member.

In its community work, the lodge furnished a standard hospital bed to the home of any needy person whether or not they were a member or related to one.

Starting in 1946, the lodge became actively involved in the care, prevention, and treatment of cancer, polio and tuberculosis.

Wilf noted the service record of Missanabie Lodge members in World War and II. In World War I, 19 members went overseas and in World War II, there were 17.

Tee Chambers, Harry Pellow, Aldee Martel IOOF Bantams 1954

At the time of the writing of his article the lodge was involved in the raising of funds for the Chapleau Memorial Arena which opened in 1951. It also sponsored the Bantam hockey team in the 1950s --- and it just struck me as I am typing that a friendly rivalry took place in the arena when the Oddfellows met the Knights of Columbus in an annual fundraising hockey game. My email is mj.morris@live.ca