History of Moose Lodge 2357
by Jack Carlson

 (This history is a work-in-progress. A gathering of some original members of the Lodge is in the foreseeable future to strengthen and highlight the many memorable occasions held in the past.)

 On may 17, 1989 at St. John Vianney Catholic Church we were instituted as Rancho Cordova Moose Lodge No. 2357. In attendance were many dignitaries, the recruiting force team, and many other members of the fraternity and guests. The crowd was estimated at over 300 in attendance. After many donated raffle prizes, and a very busy bar the whole evening , we met the next evening at Hal Neumann’s home and were presented with the grand profit of .54 cents (the money has never been spent, but is in a framed picture with the coins). We had 175 new members enrolled as Charter members. Today we still have 21 of the original charter members. In alphabetical order they are John Carlson, Terry Cornog, John Garrett, Gary Henifin, Carr Holliman, Gary Imhoff, Paul Johnson, Melvin Keeter, Chuck (Treehouse) Makela, Jerry McKeeman, Russell Meyer, Ron Molinar, William Powell, Wilfred Ringo, Lance Simpson, Bob Solorio, Don Tervo, Bob Timberlake, Lloyd Vaughn, and Elmer Vota. We recently lost three very important Charter members Robert Eaves, Angelo Thomas, and Joseph Jimenez.

The most important accomplishment our Lodge has achieved in our 18 year of existence is the elevation of 20 new Fellows: Hal Neumann, 1992; Jack Carlson, 1993; Bob Kawalik, 1995; Barry Burr, 1995; Howard Farron, 1996; Fred Dobert, 1997; George Tucker, 1997; Bob Callaway, 1998; Ron Hickok, 1998; Philip Crowe, 1999; Andrew Boardley, 1999; Tracey Harris, 1999; John Koenck, 2000; Bud Boyce, 2000; Jack Stirlen, 2001; Ken Stier, 2003; Ken Austin, 2004; Chuck Gile, 2005 Gene Humphery, 2006; Gordon Dunlap, 2006; Jess Ramirez, 2007; Jim Spence, 2007; and One Pilgrim, Hal Neumann, in 2000. What a wonderful job by such a young Lodge. My utmost congratulations to all of the many hard working members who have advanced to the higher degree. Our Lodge has been blessed with the transfers of many outstanding members of the Higher Degree. We now have Pilgrims George Hannum, Everert Snyder, Hal Neumann, and Dean Wood with each Pilgrim also holding a Fellowship Degree. Members transferred in to our Lodge holding the Fellowship Degree are Frank Gray, Tony Menacho, George O’Bryan, and Robert Winter.

My good friend Bob Timberlake recently asked me if there was any way we could remove our self from the list of Charter members because the only other way was we would be in eternity. There is a bright side to being here and that is the sharing of the many activities at the Lodge. We had a great first function at St. John Vianney Catholic Church, a Spaghetti feed. A fun time was had by all in attendance. At the conclusion, Hal Neumann and I were the only ones left to clean up and secure the Booze in the back of his pickup. We returned to his home about 3:30 in the morning and were preparing to unload the precious cargo to his garage for safe keeping. Backing-up he hit the nearly new garage door knocking it down awakened his wife and the whole neighborhood. The next day Hal had a new garage door installed.

During the course of establishing our Lodge, contact was made with a local bank that had recently merged leaving one of their branches vacant. The two bank buildings were just a few doors apart with a lease payment due on each of them. As a new Lodge we did not have the resources to rent or buy what was to eventually become our building. The Bank Manager said we could occupy the building for free which was a very generous offer. When the owner of the building, an attorney from San Francisco, found out we were selling beer and soda to raise needed revenue for the Lodge he said, "get out of my building, it is for banking only". We finally found a location at Coloma Road and McGregor, and stayed there until about 1996. Eventually we established a lease-purchase plan on the original building, and moved to our present location. With some fancy foot work by members of the lodge we were able to arrange financing and now hold a mortgage on our Lodge. There is much work still to be done, and many expensive improvements on the drawing board, but with the support of loyal members of the LOOM and WOTM we will continue to move forward and achieve these goals.

In 1991 we were fortunate to install the Women of the Moose Chapter 1941. What a glorious night to be Governor of the Lodge and present each Lady a beautiful corsage. The Ladies of this Lodge have continually been at the forefront of every activity and are respected and appreciated by the whole membership.