Kindersley Lodge # 492
Kindersley Elks were chartered in March of 1965 with 35 members. Within a year we had purchased a Church and turned it into a home for the Elks to hold our meetings and functions. The Lodge rapidly grew and in the mid 70s there were over 200 members which prompted the Executive of the time to start negotiations to build a new Hall. In 1979 following a Christmas party where over 200 guests jammed the small Church Hall, we started construction in the spring. Our new facility was completed in October of 1981, and the first function held in our new facility was the 1981 Walkathon, with 250 Elks and their guests attending. Our Lodge continued to host Provincial events and in 1986 we hosted our first Provincial Conference. We did catering, Bar functions, Raffles and in 10 years we burned our Mortgage. We continued with many wedding caterings, Bar functions, and shows. In 2001 we hosted National Curling, Provincial Darts, and the Provincial Conference for the second time. In 1999 we started Bingo, which allowed us to stop catering. Our numbers were starting to diminish, and we had fewer people to work with. We continued Bingo for 15 years, then we decided not to have Bingo any more. We celebrated our 50th Anniversary in 2015, with the Grand Exalted Ruler Brother Duane Felt and his wife Elaine in attendance. We also had our Provincial President Brother Maurice Koszman and his Wife Judy at this prestigious event. In 2009 when the School division changed, they in their wisdom decided to tax all Hall facilities, and our members would not work for a charitable organization to pay taxes. We donated our Hall to the Town of Kindersley, with the agreement that we would always have a facility in which to meet. Our membership continues to decline and at present we have 49 members to continue the work that we need to do. Over the last 50 years and with the donation of the building the Kindersley Elks have donated back to the community and our National causes $ 1.2 million dollars. Our Lodge continues to support the Elks and Royal Purple Fund for Children, The Saskatchewan Elks Foundation, and ALL causes that are sponsored by our Town.
