It has been several years since the White Eagle Society in Ware has been active.
WARE – After years of dwindling membership and a lack of funds, the White Eagle Society is dissolving, and its building at 56 Pulaski St. will be sold to pay off its mortgage, taxes and other debt.
Leslie A. Marsland, the society’s treasurer, said the White Eagle hasn’t operated as a society for many years, and that in accordance with the constitution of the White Eagle Fraternal Society, it can be dissolved if there are less than 10 regular members and no funds in the treasury.
A meeting will be held on Nov. 11 at 11 a.m. to discuss the future and status of the property. Any lifetime members, or members in good standing, are welcome to attend. It is unknown if there are any “lifetime” members, she said.
“As a courtesy we’re just notifying any interested parties,” Marsland said.
She said the White Eagles Club, a corporation, already has closed due to economic hardship. The club had maintained the property, and assumed all the financial obligations and licensing costs for the past several years. She said the six trustees all agree the assets need to be liquidated to satisfy the current outstanding debt. The club rented from the society, which owns the building.
The society started as a fraternal organization in February 1934, primarily for Polish males. It was tied to the town’s former Polish church. Eventually, women and those not of Polish descent were allowed to join. The society provided benefits to members. For example, if they got sick, they received a small stipend.
“The society just fell apart. Twenty years ago, it was quite busy and quite popular,” said Marsland, noting that suppers at the society were something to which members looked forward.
But the members who put on the suppers were getting older, and couldn’t continue, and efforts to revive them did not last, she said.
Dues haven’t been collected for several years. And when they were collected, there were only a dozen members, at the most.
“There is no active membership,” Marsland explained.
She said the building has been listed by Century 21 in Ware for $155,000. She described it as a large building, with a stage, kitchen, hall that holds close to 300 people, and a downstairs bar. She said the property was re-mortgaged years ago because the furnace needed to be replaced and other improvements needed to be made.
As a result of the 2003 Rhode Island Station nightclub fire, where 100 people were killed, laws were passed requiring automatic sprinkler systems in establishments that serve 100 or more patrons. Marsland said the White Eagle could not afford to put in such a system, and, as a result, could no longer host weddings and other large gatherings in the hall.
“If we could have kept that hall going, we would have been OK,” Marsland said.
The meeting on Nov. 11 will allow people to voice their opinions about the property. Any proceeds from a property sale must be given to non-profit organizations after the debts have been paid. She said any remaining proceeds will likely go to St. Mary’s Church, as it is close by.
Marsland said it is a shame the society has to end. But it may be a sign of the times, as one other fraternal organization in the region recently had a merger.
The West Springfield-Agawam Elks No. 2174 closed its lodge Oct. 2. Members of the Westfield Elks Lodge recently voted to accept the membership from No. 2174; The West Springfield-Agawam chapter, which has 176 members, voted to merge with the Westfield Elks Club, which has 361 members.
Approval of the fraternal organization’s national office still is needed before the merger will become official.
It appears that the only other White Eagle Society still operating in the region is in Greenfield, where it was formed in 1938. According to its website, that society has approximately 400 members and associate members.