Woodmen of the World Lodge to Celebrate 100 years

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 Happy birthday, Chapter 106 of the Woodmen of the World! Chartered on January 22, 1908 the local chapter, which now includes some 800 members, is the oldest in the state of Virginia. On Saturday, April 19 the chapter will hold its official birthday celebration at the Lodge Hall on Seymour Drive beginning with a fellowship hour at 1 p.m. That will be followed by a more formal  ceremony from 2 to 4 p.m. National officers from Omaha and state

officers from Roanoke are expected to be here for the event. According to Financial Adviser Robert Clowdis, the organization has two missions — one financial which offers insurance, investments and annuities and the other participation in community activities. "We're a very patriotic group," said Clowdis, noting that over the past

year the local WOW chapter has donated over 500 flags for the County's public schools, fire departments, rescue squad and Ruritan clubs. Back when South Boston celebrated its Centennial, Lodge 106 donated 150

flags that flew along Main Street. Lodge members began meeting at the Old South Boston Bank and Trust

Company building, located on the corner of Main and North Main Streets, formerly the home of A.R. Via Jewelers. They met in that location until June of 1959 when their new building on Seymour Drive was completed and

dedicated on June 6 after two years of planning and construction. At the dedication ceremony Bill Caldwell and Harry Wall led the beginning parade down Wilborn Avenue prior to a concert by the Concert  U.S. Congressman and former governor Bill Tuck was in attendance and introduced the dedicatory speaker, the Hon. E. D. Rivers, who had served as governor of Georgia twice and who at that time was national chairman of the WOW Board of Directors. The lodge has a special group — its degree team — which conducts the opening and closing ceremonies at their meetings. Degree teams also compete in contests and the South Boston team once was named second

best in the state. Lodge 106 has joined with other local chapters, the Hunting Creek Lodge in Nathalie and the Wylliesburg Lodge No. 179 in donating flagpoles which now stand at the South Boston Museum, the Library and in Serenity Gardens, as well as at several local ballfields. Members are also very proud of their emphasis on youth — "the future of our nation," says Clowdis who explains that the WOW's Ranger program works to prepare youth 8 -15 for the future by operating summer camps in Thaxston and Amelia where participants learn about the history of

the American flag, the proper procedure for handling it and the ceremony of raising and lowering it. Those camps have been training youth since the early 1940's, he says. With over 800,000 members across the nation, North Carolina has ranked first as the most active state with Virginia coming in fifth of the 38 states participating in the program.