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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2012/0...5e945754627.txt

Local Moose lodge celebrates 100 years

By Deborah Sederberg
Staff Writer
Published: Friday, May 11, 2012 5:07 PM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — On Jan. 17, British polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his team became the second expeditionary group to reach the South Pole.

On March 27, Mayor Yuko Ozaki of Tokyo gave 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C.

It was 1912, and on May 9, the Loyal Order of the Moose, Lodge #980 came to Michigan City, Indiana.

That first meeting of the fraternal organization was on the third floor of a building on the southwest corner of Franklin and Fourth streets, in what then was known as the German Odd Fellows Hall. That building now is home to Ryan’s Irish Pub.

Over the years, the Moose met in the F. W. Reinhart building which was at the northwest corner of Franklin Street and Michigan Boulevard. The organization then bought property on the northeast corner of Franklin and Detroit streets which was destroyed by fire on Dec. 19, 1938.

In less than a year, the Moose opened at 1108 Franklin St.

“They had their open house on Nov. 4, 1939,” said Mike Mills, a Moose trustee. That building, still home to The Loyal Order of the Moose Family Center #980, has seen numerous renovations and even some additions.

Mills, a long-time Moose member, has spent many long hours researching the history of his club.

The Women of the Moose Charter 935 was established in 1927, Mills noted. “They support everything we do,” Mills said.

In addition, the women have their own projects.

Moose members have been celebrating the century mark since last weekend, when they had a dinner and a special cake. Visitors from Moose International and the president of the state organization celebrated with them.

Local Moose members, like Moose everywhere, are devoted to Mooseheart Child City and School, a 1,000-acre residential childcare facility and school about 40 miles west of Chicago. It is home to children from infancy through high school.

The local Moose Center has sent 25 local children whose parents either died or became unable to support them to Mooseheart over the years. Members here also support other children at the facility with encouraging letters and gifts for holidays and birthdays.

Moosehaven City of Contentment, another Moose facility, in Florida, is a home for members of the Moose who choose to retire there.

Jim Pizarek, administrator of the local Moose Family Center, said the Moose 980 works with many local organizations, including Boy Scout Troop 899, which Moose has sponsored since 1926.

Young people with disabilities also bowl in the Moose bowling alley in the basement.

The Moose Show and Parade Corps, a familiar sight at various Michigan City parades, has been in existence since about 1960 and Moose member and City Councilman Joe Doyle has been active with the group since about 1968.

His daughter Mary Jane (Kutch) grew up in the corps.

“We took (the corps) everywhere,” said Doyle. “We even went to Disney World.”

Doyle still serves as vice president of the corps and he still schedules parade appearances.

The corps once performed for President Ronald Reagan when he visited Michigan City on a campaign stop in 1980.

Mills said the Moose membership also participates in Adopt-a-Highway and cares for eight of the city’s planters.

These days, membership in Family Center #980 comes to a little less than 1,000, Kayser said. Nelson Deming, who now lives in Florida, has had an active membership since 1944, longer than any other living member.

Moose member Rick Partyka assisted Mills with his work on the club history and on the elaborate display.

A professional photographer who formerly worked for Loyola University, Partyka has been taking photographs of the century celebrations of the Moose in Michigan City.