Have you ever wondered what the Munising Moose Lodge is all about? What goes on inside their walls? Here is a snapshot: The Moose is an organization comprised of men and women from all walks of life. There are over 1,300 lodges across the United States, Canada and Great Britain.
It has been in existence for over 130 years, vowing to provide for others, whether it’s children in need, senior Moose members or the communities in which we live. We also take time to celebrate life with one another through yearround activities and events.
These are our three missions. To care for children in need, the organization founded Mooseheart Child City and School, a residential and educational child care facility west of Chicago. Since 1913, over 12,000 children have been cared for in its stable learning environment. Mooseheart accepts children as young as infants. With live-in teachers and caretakers, the children attend its K-12 school and also receive scholarships to attend college. Our lodge has sponsored a number of children at Mooseheart, providing ongoing contact and holiday support.
Our second mission is caring for our senior members by supporting Moosehaven, a retirement community in northern Florida. This provides senior members a comfortable and secure full-service retirement option. Moosehaven has been in existence since 1922. Our lodge currently supports a “Sunshine Grandparent” year-round.
In order to support our community, the Munising Lodge is involved in a long list of local projects, too long to represent here. We award college scholarships and support the Boy Scouts, Food for Folks, Women’s Center, Annual Ice Fishing Derby, Adopt-a-Highway, the Alger Baby Closet, Pictured Rocks Days, Alger Food Pantry and more.
Members may work as volunteers, and all money raised goes toward worthy causes. When we hear of a person in need, we are able to host a fundraiser consisting of a reasonable meal, raffles and prizes. The money raised may be used for medical bills or travel to appointments.
We also make sure to save room for fun. Come check out these weekly events: On Monday evenings, our lodge hosts a weekly bingo game, which has become a local favorite. The players enjoy the friendly atmosphere, lively games and prizes. Food and beverages are available for purchase, and the event has become a welcome social event.
The lodge opens on Thursday afternoon for weekly game night and the acoustic jam. Musicians gather to play guitar, ukulele and other instruments, and welcome anyone to join in. Their music provides a backdrop for games of cards, Quirkle or Mah Jongg.
Friday is our weekly fish fry from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. In addition to fish, we also offer chicken tenders, shrimp and steak burgers. We also have a few new additions, including a tossed salad and bean salad. The Moose fish fry has been a popular, reasonably priced event for the community.
The Moose Lodge can be rented for high school reunion parties, baby showers, birthday parties and wedding receptions, to name a few possibilities. It’s one of the few local facilities large enough to accommodate groups as large as 100 and has a full kitchen available.
Looking forward, we are planning to refresh the dining area and be open for more events. We will also continue to support other local service organizations for the betterment of Alger County. All of our community volunteer organizations are doing great work, and together we can accomplish great things.
Would you like to join us? Feel free to come in for more information, or go to beamoose.org.
