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LEWISTOWN -- Chalmer Kline admits he initially joined the Lewistown Moose Lodge because "way back it was a place to get cheap beer, good food and a safe place to go to have a party or enjoy yourself."
Nearly a half century later, the 71-year-old Kline's perspective has changed dramatically. "Now, I get a lot of fraternalisms out of it," he said.
Kline, who serves as the current president of the Lewistown Moose Family Center Lodge No. 143 or Chapter No. 212, is referring to the Moose's support of local scout troops, Little League teams, Mother Hubbard's Cupboard and other community ventures.
"Our goal is to give back to the community as much as we can," Kline explained.
Like many civic organizations, the Moose fraternity's membership numbers have tailed off in recent years. "Our membership has fallen off," Kline said. "Corona (virus) really hurt us, but we're trying to come back. We've got to get our volunteers back and build our membership back up."
Kline said the Lewistown Moose has about 1,300 active members, which is down from 3,300 members prior to the pandemic. "A lot of people join but they live out of state," he said. Or they've moved away from the area.
Originally, Kline joined the Laurel, Md., Moose Lodge in 1976 before coming to Mifflin County in 1979.
He said the Moose organization has a strong presence in Pennsylvania with more than 100 lodges. Nationally, nearly 650,000 members belong to roughly 1,600 lodges in 49 states, four Canadian provinces and Great Britain.
Along with other units of Moose International, the Moose Fraternity supports the operation of Mooseheart Child City and School, a 1,000-acre community for children and teens in need, located 40 miles west of Chicago; and Moosehaven, a 70-acre retirement community for its members near Jacksonville, Fla.
"It's just something I enjoy," Kline said. "I've been to Mooseheart 13 times and Moosehaven once for a visit. I've made a lot of friendships (from being a member)."
The cost of becoming a member is $45 annually, plus a one-time $20 application fee. Kline said, volunteering time is a member's biggest commitment.
Kline said Moose members who volunteer feel an increased level of pride in membership. The Moose's mission is "to have fun while providing greater service to the Moose fraternity," with their motto: "To do some good thing for someone each day."
Kline also holds the highest honor a Moose member can have bestowed upon them, the Pilgrim Degree of Merit. It comes as a reward to members for extraordinary service to the fraternity. "You start out as a Moose member, then becoming a Moose Legion is the next step."
That is followed by the Fellowship Degree then the Pilgrim Degree "if you work at it," Kline said.
"People involved with the Moose are like a family," he added. "They're really great.
The Lewistown Moose became a family center in the early 2000s, recalled Kline, which required the Moose fraternity to routinely hold family-oriented events.
"We try to give back to the community and help out as much as we can," Kline said. "We hold fundraisers for different things, and we do a lot of charity stuff and community service."
He believes the Lewistown Moose fraternity is back on the right track.
"We've got good people working right now, it just depends on a lot of 'ifs' and 'buts,'" Kline added. "We've got a good board right now. We just need to take small steps to get back."
For more information about joining the Lewistown Moose, the fraternity meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m. at the Lewistown Moose Family Center, located at 80 Brady Lane, Lewistown, call (717) 242-1251 or find them on Facebook.