On Saturday, August 19, 2017 the Butte Knights of Columbus will be throwing a party to celebrate the centennial of their building. The council itself was organized on July 9th, 1902, their present building not built until 1917-18. Designed and built by Wellington Smith, the Renaissance Revival building remains in good condition, in spite of the high cost associated with its upkeep.
With a party to celebrate the centennial of the Butte Knights of Columbus hall on the near horizon, the Montana was Johnny-on-the-Spot to make everyone in Silver Bow County aware of it. The beginning of their news article, hot off the press, can be seen below.
Happy 100th birthday, Knights of Columbus
RENATA BIRKENBUEL for The Montana Standard |14 hrs ago
If you’re one of 52 organizations the Knights of Columbus donated to last year, then you get it.
If your organization received a chunk of the $20,000 the Catholic fraternal order raised in 2016, then you understand the built-in, eyes-on-the-needy support the KC Butte Council No. 688 has sustained for the Butte community during the past century.
In exchange, the 164 members (46 are honorary members) and stalwart citizens who are not members help the KC make ends meet with donations and volunteerism of their own.
So, to celebrate its rock-solid sense of community and the historic hall’s 100th birthday, the council holds its first-ever free street dance party on Saturday, Aug. 19, from 4 to 10 p.m. at Park and Idaho.
Organizers ask that you bring your own lawn chair, but be prepared for the irresistible urge to be-bop to hoppin’ bands King Friday and the blast-from-the-past Bop-A-Dips of Missoula.
Built for $100,000 in 1917, during what historian Richard Gibson calls “the last great construction boom,” the KC hall has been a non-stop, one-stop venue for dedicated members, Catholic Youth Organization sports, wide-ranging community dinners, parties, ballroom events and KC Council rituals for a century.
In between raising funds for causes like the An Ri Ra Festival, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Coats for Kids, Dynamic Dance, the Jeremy Bullock Memorial, numerous private benefits, West Shriners, Montana Tech Football and dozens of other entities, KC aims to throw a great party.
From the Montana Standard