The Lake Current - November-December 2020
Welcome to the November-December 2020 edition of our Council newsletter!

One item right up front that needs your attention:
WE NEED BARTENDERS!
Our Home Corporation is once again putting out the call to members who may be interested in tending bar in our Lounge. A roster of quality bartenders is important to our Council, considering both that our Lounge is our social hub, and that rental income supports the operations and maintenance of our building. Please speak with VP Anthony Falco or Director Pat Cassidy for more information.

A reminder that we'll be setting up the Nativity Scene at St. James on Saturday, November 28th, starting at 9 a.m. We will need the usual tools and supplies (ladders, socket set / wrenches, staple guns, Tyvek for the roof, hay bales, baling wire, etc.). After we're done with the setup, we'll head back to the Council to join our Ladies Auxiliary in decorating our building for Christmas.

And here's another reminder that our Council Tree Lighting is Tuesday, December 1st. Once again we will join with KofC councils across America to "Light up for Christ" and light our Council Christmas tree to signify the true light of the world. Meet at our Council at 7 p.m. for light refreshments, caroling outside by the tree, and the tree lighting at 8 p.m. Bring the family and your best singing voice!

Our next regular business meeting will be Wednesday, December 9th, starting at 7:30 p.m. As always, we'll have something good for dinner starting around 6:30. All members are welcome and encouraged to attend. We'll be observing social distancing and face covering usage where appropriate.
$5,000 Oktoberfest Donation to St. James

All of the hard work we put into our Oktoberfest for St. James fundraiser was realized by the presentation of a $5,000 donation to St. James parish at our monthly business meeting on October 14th.

Monsignor Anthony Marchitelli, who is not only our parish's pastor but our Council's Chaplain, was on hand to accept the donation to the parish, as well as an additional $500 to the parish school from an anonymous winner of the Oktoberfest 50/50 raffle.

Monsignor expressed his gratitude to the Council and remarked that our Council stands out among the many councils he has been associated with over his years serving in the priesthood for our devoted service to our parish.

Monsignor Marchitelli also gave a special shout-out to our Council in the November 1st edition of the parish bulletin: "I want to thank the Knights of Columbus for their generous donation of $5,000 from their Octoberfest. More importantly I want to thank them for all they do throughout the year for the church. Their presence and the good works they do are an inspiration for all of us. I truly urge all the men of the parish to consider joining this worthwhile Catholic organization. You will not be wasting your time."
Another Great Annual!

Our members and Ladies Auxiliary made our Council's 49th Anniversary Annual Dinner Dance and Awards Ceremony on November 7th another fantastic night to remember!

Despite the limitations and challenges posed by the pandemic, we carried on with the tradition of celebrating our Council's founding and honoring the people who make our Council so special.

Thanks to the efforts of our decorating crew, our Council hall was transformed by elegant table settings, starry-night cityscapes on the walls, and subdued mood lighting to create a beautiful venue for the Annual.

We danced and sang along to the awesome musical stylings of Soulmates, created memories (or just goofed around) in the photo booth, and enjoyed another outstanding souvenir journal thanks to the generosity of our supporters and the hard work of our Journal Committee led by chairperson Debbie McDonald.
After a delicious dinner from Sauro's Town Square Cafe (and our in-house filet mignon carving station), our awards ceremony recognized some of the many dedicated and hard working volunteers who make our Council such a special place.

Rich Dambra received the well-deserved Knight of the Year Award for his leadership and dedicated service to the Council.
The Kane Family -- George, Beth, George Junior, and Jack -- was recognized as Family of the Year for setting a wonderful example for Catholic families through their service and the values they live every day and bring with them to our Council.
The Council presented service awards to Pat "The Refrigerator" Barry for his many contributions to the Council, and to Ladies Auxiliary Past President Maria Barry for her two years of outstanding leadership.
Our Ladies Auxiliary President Allison Keating and Vice President Kim Crecco presented the Auxiliary's own awards to Kathy O'Neill, Bernie Cummins, PGK Steve Gheduzzi, and Mike Rama for their multitude of significant contributions, leadership, and devoted service.
And as we do every two years, we recognized the service and leadership of our immediate Past Grand Knight. This year we presented PGK Steve Gheduzzi with certificates for each of the 23 wheelchairs purchased in his honor!

These wheelchairs are going to people in need here at home and around the world through our combined donations to the American Wheelchair Mission that totaled $3,250!
This was a record-breaking effort that served as a fitting tribute to Steve for his steadfast leadership over the past two fraternal years. Special thanks go out to Chairman Dennis O'Connor and the entire Wheelchair Committee, as well as to all of the donors, for such a tremendous effort.
Worthy GK Ralph Fleischman extends his thanks to the Annual Committee for their incredible job in putting together another great Annual, especially under such challenging circumstances. "No matter what, we wouldn't fail to do something special to recognize the members and Ladies who do so much for our Council and our community," he said.

Any guest who would like electronic copies of his or her photo booth pics, just send an email to Webmaster Rob and he'll hook you up!

Thanks to all of our guests and see you again next year for our blow-out 50th Anniversary extravaganza!
Helping the CTA Keep a Holiday Tradition Alive

On Friday, November 20th, we partnered with the Carmel Teachers' Association to help keep their Annual Senior Citizens' Thanksgiving Luncheon tradition alive!

COVID-19 didn't stand in the way of the CTA's favorite annual event: welcoming our community's senior citizens over for a Thanksgiving meal, this time courtesy of Three Brothers Restaurant in Kent.

The CTA extended their thanks to our Council for our hospitality, as we welcomed them with open arms to conduct their grab-and-go meal distribution from our Council with help from our members.

The CTA looks forward to next year when they hope to be sitting back at the table with their guests.
Turkeys Away!

With the holidays upon us, our Council has not stopped our efforts to combat hunger in our community. The economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to hit families in our area hard, and we're continuing to hit back even harder.

Putnam Community Action Partnership is an anti-poverty program dedicated to serving the residents of Putnam County who are struggling to support themselves and/or their families. Back in September, CAP was devastated to learn that their supermarket partners could not permit food drives this year, which would have crippled CAP's Thanksgiving Basket Program. So they made the difficult decision to accept donations of turkeys only and $25 grocery store gift cards.

And that's where our Council comes into the picture, in a big way. Using funds collected from our food drive this past spring, a couple of weeks ago we purchased 100 turkeys from a wholesaler in Danbury, and stored them in the freezers of Ace Endico in Brewster until needed. Then, on November 23rd, we distributed those turkeys, along with 100 $25 supermarket gift cards, through CAP's Thanksgiving Basket Program.

The end result is that Putnam's families in need will be enjoying delicious, traditional meals as plentiful as what CAP has provided in years past!

Thanks to our Turkey Team led by Chairman Rich Dambra. Rich sourced the turkeys and made the key arrangements for purchase at a great price so we got more bang for our donors' bucks.
Council Christmas Party - Saturday, 12/19 @ 5 p.m.


As with everything else we've done this year, our annual adults' Christmas Party is adapting to unique circumstances. But it could turn out to be our best Christmas Party ever!

First, since our lounge has to close at 10 p.m. under current state restrictions, we're moving the party from its usual Friday evening to Saturday, December 19th, so we can start earlier - at 5 p.m.

The Council will be providing dinner for free, and all we ask is that guests bring either: 1) a $25 gift card for local grocery stores; or 2) a donation of cash or a check payable to the Council. Proceeds will be split between charities that fight hunger in our community and the PFC Joseph P. Dwyer Putnam County Vet2Vet peer counseling program for veterans, both of which are greatly in need at this time.

Next, thanks to the creativity of our Ladies Auxiliary, there will be several fun events throughout the evening. There will be two cooking contests: a Chili Challenge and a Pasta Smackdown. Bring a half-tray of your best chili or pasta dish to enter. There's a $5 entry fee for each of the cook-offs because there will be cash prizes for the winners! There will also be a "Cookie Swap" so our dessert table has lots of great options for us to enjoy after we've sampled all of those cook-off entries!

And we'll also be playing the "Naughty Santa" gift swapping game. If you want to participate, simply bring with you a gift valued at $20, purchased locally in Putnam -- no gift cards / gift certificates, scratch-off lottery tickets, or liquor, please!

We'll explain all of the rules at the party, but you can expect chances to "steal" gifts from the other players. No matter what, all players will go home with a gift. It may be one you really want, or maybe not! Regardless, it is certain to be loads of fun!
Win $5,000 in our Ladies Auxiliary Super Raffle!

Our Ladies Auxiliary donates thousands of dollars every year to numerous worthwhile charities and causes, most of which are right here in our own community. This year, however, the pandemic forced cancellation of many of their fundraisers. So they're holding a very special "Super Raffle" with a grand prize of $5,000!

There will be only 200 tickets sold, and there are also $750 and $250 prizes in addition to the grand prize. So you have a really good chance of winning, and you also know that your donation for a ticket is going to some really great charities.

Buy your tickets at the Council at any of our events, speak to Ladies Auxiliary President Allison Keating or Vice President Kim Crecco, or send them an email for more information on purchasing tickets.
Fourth Degree News

MEETING NOTICE

The next meeting of Mother Cabrini Assembly will be Thursday, December 17th at our Council. The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. All Fourth Degree Sir Knights are welcome and encouraged to attend.
The First Thanksgiving in America was a Catholic Mass!


And it happened 50 years before Plymouth!


Enjoy this interesting bit of holiday history from Aleteia courtesy of St. James the Apostle Religious Education!

Did you know that the first “thanksgiving” meal in the United States was actually not celebrated by the Pilgrims in Plymouth, but rather by Spanish settlers, in what became Florida? And that first “Thanksgiving” was Eucharistic!

“When the first Spanish settlers landed in what is now St. Augustine on September 8, 1565, to build a settlement, their first act was to hold a religious service to thank God for the safe arrival of the Spanish fleet… After the Mass, Father Francisco Lopez, the Chaplin of the Spanish ships and the first pastor of St. Augustine, stipulated that the natives from the Timucua tribe be fed along with the Spanish settlers, including Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, the leader of the expedition. It was the very first Thanksgiving and the first Thanksgiving meal in the United States.”

The Spaniards, with food that they brought with them on the ship, prepared the communal meal. According to records, the meal would have consisted of salted pork, garbanzo beans, ship’s bread and red wine.

This account of the first “thanksgiving” reflects what was found in Father Francisco’s memoirs. In it we read, “the feast day [was] observed . . . after Mass, ‘the Adelantado [Menendez] had the Indians fed and dined himself.’”

The feast celebrated by the Spaniards was that of the Blessed Virgin Mary’s birthday, a day in the Church calendar that follows nine months after the feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary on December 8 (which just happens to be the patronal feast of the United States of America).

The meal “may have also included Caribbean foods that were probably collected when Menéndez stopped to regroup and resupply at San Juan Puerto Rico before continuing to Florida… If the Timucua contributed, it would likely have been with corn, fresh fish, berries, or beans.”

Additionally, before the Mass was celebrated, “Father Francisco López, the fleet chaplain…came ashore ahead of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the leader of the founding expedition, and then went forward to meet Menéndez holding a cross… Menéndez came on land, knelt and kissed the cross.”

This historical event reminds us that the Eucharist (from the Greek that literally means “thanksgiving”) is the primary way to offer thanks on Thanksgiving Day, followed by a meal shared in a spirit of fraternity. Let God be a central part of your holiday! As Americans this is our heritage, one that we hope to pass on to the next generation.







Please make sure to SAVE THE DATE for our upcoming events!

  • The "J.O." Men's Beefsteak: Normally by now we would have started accepting reservations for the J.O. Men's Beefsteak fundraiser, which is normally on a Saturday in mid-January during the NFL playoffs. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we expect to be unable to hold the event as we normally do. So our Council officers are hard at work on a creative solution, just as we came up with for the Golf Outing, Oktoberfest, and the Annual. We will announce our plans as soon as we can, but be advised that seating is certain to be much more limited than in past years. It will sell out fast, so make sure you make your reservation right away!
Remember, a full calendar of events can always be found on our website: carmelknights.org under the Upcoming Events tab. And don't forget to "like" our Facebook page for up-to-the minute announcements, photos, event listings, and items of interest.