Moose Lodge remembered for its community impact and perseverance

Traffic along the street leading to the Newton Moose Lodge was exceptionally high Monday morning, but if anyone tried to pull in to the parking lot they would have been met with barricades. If they bypassed the barricades, walked straight to the entrance and opened the front door, they would only see destruction.

Nothing physically salvageable remains of the Newton Moose Lodge after it caught fire Sunday night. Firefighters responded to the structure fire around 9:30 p.m. When crews arrived, flames were visible through the roof of the building; images of which were shared by residents on social media throughout the night.

Newton Fire Marshal Jacob Halferty said the structure was fully involved. For now, it is hard to tell where the fire originated from due to the significant amount of damage done to the building. The department has some ideas, but it won’t know for sure until crews can start moving debris and complete the investigation.

No people or animals were injured in the fire. From what the department could tell, there were no vehicles damaged either; nearby campers were cooled off in time so at least no significant fire damage was sustained. Halferty said it took about three-and-a-half hours to douse the flames. Crews left at 1 a.m.

Firefighters were confronted with strong winds that threatened to spread the flames to adjacent businesses like Dave’s Wholesale Furniture and Car Country, both of which made Facebook posts confirming no damage was done to their properties. They also offered condolences to the Moose Lodge members.

“The wind just really fed the fire and made it aggressive,” Halferty said, noting access to water was also a challenge for firefighters. “We did have our aerial device up … We also had to lay over 1,000 feet — maybe 1,200 feet — of supply hose and have an engine in between to help relay pump the water up to us.”

In a press release from the City of Newton, it was stated mutual aid was provided by Colfax Fire and EMS, Baxter Fire, Kellogg Fire, Newton Police Department, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and Newton WaterWorks. The city said the coordinated support of mutual aid agencies “was key in managing the incident.”

Halferty added, “We couldn’t have done it without our mutual aid partners. They’re great at showing up right when our guys are about gassed out from their first couple of bottles of air. They step in and put in the work. They stuck around long enough to put over 1,000 feet of LDH (large diameter hose).”

Bill Yeager, a 25-year member of the Newton Moose Lodge, saw the destruction for himself the morning after the fire started. Looking at the mangled building filled him with sadness and memories of its heydays. He recalled how he spent many nights dancing in the lodge with his late wife. It was a place of happiness.

“We went to the dances and helped out when we could,” Yeager told Newton News. “It holds a pretty dear place for me … We had our anniversary dances there. We danced there a lot and we would eat meals there. It’s tough. There are just fewer and fewer of those places around. It’s a shame.”

For the past several years, crowds at the Newton Moose Lodge have been steadily declining. Yeager said it is still an older crowd and it is difficult to get younger people involved. Back in the day it was a different story. There was a coat check back then, and some nights it would be difficult to get a table.

“Bartenders were dressed up and the place would be packed,” Yeager said. “They danced every Saturday night. Big families around town were all really active. It was unbelievable. Now, of course, it’s slowed down and they lost a lot of their old members. The young crowd just isn’t interested.”

Gary Howard, a trustee of the Newton Moose Lodge, has been a member for a collective 30 years or better. Howard said the lodge has regularly raised money or offered gifts for different causes in the community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Moose Lodge donated food to healthcare workers at MercyOne.

Moose Lodge always kept the youth in mind. In 2019, the Moose Lodge provided stuffed toy moose to emergency medical personnel to give to children after a traumatic experience. Howard said members frequently gave away school supplies in the fall and held an annual carnival.

“If the school supplies don’t go during the carnival, we gather them all up and give them to the school,” Howard said. “We did a lot of stuff. They got a lot of school supplies. We also had dinners for the fire and police departments … We helped people. I hope people remember the things we’ve done for the town.”

Obituaries of past members always mention their association with the Moose Lodge or how proud they were to be members or active leaders. Some were members for more than 50 years. It wasn’t uncommon to hold celebrations of life for past members at the Moose Lodge.

Newton Moose Lodge established itself as something more than just a fraternal society, and despite declining membership and its difficulties attracting younger people to maintain the facility’s community service, it pressed on. The sign on the north side of the building described it perfectly: The family fraternity.

How fitting then the sign remains untouched by the blaze.