This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Knights of Pythias to Hold Chicken Dinner, Turkey Raffle

Group Will Throw Annual Event at Little Neck's Marathon Jewish Community Center

North Shore Lodge #824 of the Knights of Pythias will celebrate Thanksgiving a little early this year with their annual chicken dinner and turkey raffle on November 16.

"We do an awful lot of charity work, but the chicken dinner is something we do for ourselves," said Irving Kleiman, the group's recording secretary.

The North Shore lodge, which draws members from Douglaston, Great Neck, Glen Oaks and other communities, has been going strong since Kleiman founded it in 1953. Its meetings are held at the Marathon Jewish Center, located at 245-37 60th Ave. in Little Neck.

Find out what's happening in Bayside-Douglastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Kleiman joined the Knights of Pythias in 1950. After going to Manhattan for meetings, he decided to start one in his own community.

"I bought a little mimeograph machine and went out and delivered 2,000 flyers," he said. 

Find out what's happening in Bayside-Douglastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 Air conditioners were not common during that time, so Kleiman and his wife would deliver the flyers on hot August nights when most residents were sitting on their porches.

The group had its meeting in his basement. It overflowed.

"We started the lodge with well-over 200 members - from nothing," Kleiman said.

They changed the name to North Shore Lodge after a number of other communities showed interest in joining the group.

Kleiman said charity work plays a large role in Pythian brotherhood and sisterhood.

Members of North Shore Lodge participate in and help run local Special Olympics events. They also sell Diabetes awareness wrist bands for $1 and operate the annual Queens Walk to Cure Diabetes in Flushing Meadow Park.

The chicken dinner has been an annual occurrence for the past 15 years and the turkey raffle was started some time later. 

Kleiman gets three gift certicates from working at Pathmark and, at the dinner, they will be raffled off.

 "We started off going to a kosher butcher, but this is better," he said of the prizes. "They buy what they want."

Kleiman said the group is currently attempting to lure new members.

"At one time - when my lodge started - we were up to 800 men," he said. "But it's like every other organization. We're losing members."

For more information on North Shore Lodge #824 of the Knights of Pythias, vivsit www.littleneck.net/kop. For more information on the Knights of Pythias New York, visit www.kopny.com.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Bayside-Douglaston