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History of the Clearwater Royal Purple Lodge

Group concentrates on being a forum through which a community can organize and meet its needs
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Clearwater Royal Purple members Doug Bailey and Cheryl Thomas show off some pretty purple headwear.

The Royal Purple has moved from a modest beginning to a forward-thinking progressive organization.

Originally formed as an auxiliary to the Elks of Canada in 1914, known as the Royal Purple of Canada, the organization established its independent existence in 2014.

Retaining many of the rich traditions of the Royal Purple of Canada, the membership of the newly formed Canadian Royal Purple Society has embarked on a bold path of modern volunteerism.

Incorporating nationally and in five Canadian provinces, the men and women who form the membership are carrying on a brisk growth, adding one new provincial association and four new lodges in four years.

Concentrating on being a forum through which a community can organize and meet its needs, the Canadian Royal Purple has adopted the tagline, “Your Cause is Our Cause.” The volunteer work being done serves the needs of each lodge and each province with great enthusiasm and renewed success.

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The purple pansy was chosen as the national emblem for two reasons: first, because the pansy grows all across Canada and, second, because it means ‘pleasant thoughts’ which fits in very well with the principles of the Royal Purple, which are Justice, Charity, Love, and Service.

The Clearwater Royal Purple Lodge # 302 started in Nov 21, 1965. Lorraine Price was our first Honoured Royal Lady, Betty Wickstrand was our first secretary. Opening day for our Clearwater Royal Purple Lodge #302 was an excited 33 member count. The most senior member of this beginning is still active and was included in this count.

Each year the membership takes on projects to raise funds, which are then gifted in various ways back into our communities of the valley. Some examples (of the many we support) where you might look for a member of the Royal Purple are: serving at the Saturday Pancake Breakfast with members of the Elks; having fun at the Valentines Tea where we put on humorous skits and songs and encourage those in attendance to simply ‘enjoy each others company’ and visit; supporting a family during the Christmas Hamper Campaign, marching in the Remembrance Day parade and supporting the Poppy Fund, which in turn supports local veterans, and providing for the future by awarding funds towards the Smart and Caring Fund in this valleys’ North Thompson Communities Foundation, thus ensuring that our children’s children will continue to benefit from our efforts today.

Clearwater’s Royal Purple membership ebbs and flows at does the membership of all volunteer organizations. We always welcome new members, and encourage the readers of this column to contact us for more information on joining.

HRL: Debbie Bailey 250-674-7203

Secretary: Cheryl Thomas 250-674-3260



newsroom@clearwatertimes.com

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