About Aerie #2690
Our Lodge was instituted on the 27th of July 1947
in the city of Chilliwack, B.C. The
population of Chilliwack at that time was approximately 30,000 and despite that,
the Lodge wasn’t doing too well.
Most of the officers were from Hope and they travelled the 30 miles to
Chilliwack for every meeting however, the Chilliwack members usually didn’t
attend at all. In 1954 the current President, from Hope, wrote the Grand Aerie
advising that unless the Aerie Charter was brought to Hope, the Charter would
close due to lack of interest and attendance by the Chilliwack factor.
The Grand Aerie granted the permission and the Charter was brought
to Hope for the good of the Order.The 40 odd members of Hope (which had a population of 3,500
then) went to work. They bought an
old house on a corner lot, tore down the walls and built a small hall.
They ran weekly Bingo games, held raffles, had a building fund, etc and
as it grew, the President, in 1974, suggested a larger hall was required.
The Aerie sold debentures, borrowed from the local bank and through a lot
of hard work by many members, a new hall was built adjacent to the old one.
The old one now contains a modern kitchen and is home to the Ladies
Auxiliary, which was instituted on September 20, 1975, but not witnessed until
November 28, 1978. Our Aerie is very proud that they started “The British
Columbia Cancer Fund” and, “The School Patrol” and have worked
closely with the RCMP over the years.
Hope Aerie is very proud to say that back in 1954 they started the
Eagles Visitation. This annual
event involves Eagles members visiting all the Aeries in the Lower Mainland,
with meals and music being provided by the hosting Aerie at no cost. On
November 6, 1982, we burnt our mortgage, paid off all the
outstanding debentures and debts and today are proud to say we have
an Aerie with 150 Members and 83 Ladies Auxiliary
Members. We are aiming to make
Hope Aerie 2690 the biggest little Aerie in BC.
Won’t you come visit us? The
doors are always open.
Written by Past President – Brother
Joseph E. Buck