Presenting...
12 GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS
For every $20 purchase, you will get a scratch-off ticket for a chance to win a gift!
74 N. Broadway, Peru • 765-470-2035 PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326
FREE.
December 8, 2021
Published Weekly, Read Daily
Peru Elks Lodge No. 365,
PHS Choir continue tradition By Michelle Boswell mboswell@thepaperofmiami.com In a solemn ceremony, the Peru Elks Lodge No.365 memorialized lodge members who passed away this year. Lodge Secretary and Past Exalted Ruler (P.E.R.), Phil Walker, opened the ceremony, which took place Sunday, Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. “Members and guests. Phil Walker our order has decreed the first Sunday of December we set apart as a day for Elks to gather and refresh with the dew of recollection, the tender blossoms of hope and love, the memory of the departed. Obedient to our laws with hearts attuned to perfect sympathy, we meet on this Memorial Day to pledge anew, fidelity to the memory of our fellow members who have passed into the realm of eternity,” Walker said. Walker asked that all in attendance stand as the Chaplin said a prayer. After the prayer, the Peru High School Choir, lead by choral director, Dr. Jason Gornto, sang, “Mary Had a Boy Child.” When the song ended, Brad Dillon, Esquire, went to the candelabra and waited for the roll call of the departed members to be announced. As each departed member was named, a candle was extinguished in their honor. The names of the departed were Donald Beech, Melissa Bishop, Sherry Bohn, James Chapman,
Vol. 2, No. 41
Brad Dillion, Esquire, extinguishes a candle representing an Elks Lodge member who passed away this year. The Peru Elks Lodge No. 365 has this ceremony annually. Photo by Michelle Boswell Jerry Chase, P.E.R, Rex Colgrove, Penny Frederick, Kenny Maple, Edwin M. Maus, Don Ousley, Nelson Owens, Charles Radliff, P.E.R., and Ron Wheetly. Following the roll call, Walker said, “In vain we call they have passed through the valley of the shadows into sunlight of eternal morning. Places that have known them shall know them no more. But upon our tablets of love and memory their names shall endure forever.” Walker then asked what offerings would be
Proudly Serving Miami County
placed on the altar in memory of those who are departed. The offerings were placed on the altar with the meaning behind each one explained. The Forget Me Not, to remind many that fellow members are never forgotten; the Amaranth, the emblem of immortality, and the Ivy, the symbol of brotherly love. The PHS Choir stood and sang its second song called, “That’s Christmas to Me.”
See Elks, Page 8