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A brief history of how the Moose organization and Lodge 994 were born.
The Moose Fraternal organization was founded in the late 1800's by Dr. John Henry Wilson,
with the modest goal of offering men a place to gather socially. They first met in the parlor
of his home. This seemed to fall apart, but was reinvented during the first part of the early
1900's. A few lodges were opened in some northern cities, but after a time, Dr. Wilson
became dissatisfied and left the Order.
In the fall of 1906, James J. Davis became the
247th member of the Crawfordsville, OH lodge. He saw the potential to build the tiny Moose
fraternity into a force and provide protection and security for its working class members. He
was given the title of Director General. By 1912, under Davis' direction, plans were put in
place to construct a building where Davis' office and other officials would work from. It was to be
centrally located and would be called "Moose Institute". This place would also provide a home, schooling and
vocational training to children of deceased Moose members.
In 1913 ground was broken in a location 50 miles west
of Chicago, IL. This location became Mooseheart, the organization's headquarters and "The Child City". In the
beginning, both children and older Moose members resided at Mooseheart.
In 1922, 26 acres of land were purchased
outside Jacksonville, FL and this location became Moosehaven "The City of Contentment" for the senior members
of the Moose organization.
The inception of Lake Worth Lodge 994 took place on June 25, 1955 when its charter was signed. Kenneth
Joyner (deceased) was inspirational in helping the lodge become a place for men to join. There were 50 charter members,
with more added later on. In the beginning, meetings were held in Claude Hick's garage on Federal Highway, Lake Worth.
In early 1956, the property at 428 South H Street in Lake Worth was purchased, where the lodge continued to grow.
According to property records, our current property on Bowman Street was purchased in April of 1983. Hard to believe, but at that time
there was nothing else in the area. No houses or apartments, just open land. The original building is now where our dining room is located.
In 1984, an addition was built that is now the Social Quarters, restrooms and kitchen. Apparently, Phi Delta Kappa built the pavilion we use for cookouts.
On August 30, 2005 we paid off the mortgage on the building. We had a cookout and mortgage burning ceremony on March 5, 2006.
Its hard to believe the lodge is now 68 years old.
Membership in the lodge has increased and dwindled as people move away or pass away, but at the present time we have about 750 members. Of these we have about 100 Moose Legion members, 22 members holding the Fellowship Degree and 4 Pilgrims (one deceased)
Remember, your dues, donations to the Endowment Fund and your participation keeps everything running. Our main commitment is to Mooseheart, Moosehaven and the children at "The Child City".
For more information on the Loyal Order of Moose history, Click Here.
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Lake Worth Moose Lodge 994 Contact Us
4844 Bowman St. Greenacres, Florida 33463 (561)433-0947
Webmaster: Member Big Jim Mixon
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