IRONTON — Through the years, the Knights of Columbus Watterson Council 1405 has moved its home base around Ironton on numerous occasions. But despite the frequent relocations, it also has been grounded as one of the longest-serving fraternal service organizations in Lawrence County.

That longevity, along with decades of constant and dedicated service, will come to an apex Saturday as Council 1405 celebrates its 100th anniversary of giving back to the Catholic Church and Ironton community.

Anniversary celebrations for the catholic men’s group will take place April 25 and include a social hour, an invitation-only dinner, an anniversary program, music and dancing. The event kicks off at the Knights of Columbus Hall located at 2101 S. Third St. at 5 p.m.

Proclamations from Gov. Ted Strickland, State Sen. Tom Niehaus (R-New Richmond), Lawrence County Commissioners and Ironton Mayor Rich Blankenship will be read and delivered as well.

The Knights of Columbus has been a part of Ironton and the local area since their founding in 1909 when it chartered with 82 members. Today, it has some 167 full Knight members and 150 guest memberships. It is the root council for Lawrence County.

They are named after nineteenth-century Bishop John Ambrose Watterson, the second bishop of the diocese of Columbus.

Council 1405 looks after much of the Lawrence County catholic community and churches with a variety of fundraising and volunteer efforts including “Kids Christmas” and the Ironton Gus Macker Basketball Tournament.

“I think this council is more active now than it’s ever been and I see that continuing,” said 40-year member J.C. Medinger.

The Lawrence County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities and Open Door School are the main recipients of donations from the Knights at 1405, Medinger added.

However, the most visible volunteer and fundraising effort for Council 1405 has to be their year-round Friday night dinners from 5-9 p.m.

Operated by a weekly rotating group of members who serve as cook crews once a month, the dinners serve as the largest fundraising arm of the Council. They are open to the general public.

“We have a very committed and reliable membership when it comes to our dinner and volunteer events,” Medinger said.

Dinners are served at the Council’s handicapped accessible facility that includes a 4,200 square foot Grand Hall with a large patio bordering the outside, a fully functioning industrial kitchen and a club room that seat 120 people.

But having such a modern dining and kitchen facility wasn’t always the case for Council 1405. In fact, it has only been in the past eight years that the members have had such a prize to offer the community.

Home Sweet Home(s)

The first recorded residence for Council 1405 was in the Furlong building near Third and Railroad Streets in 1913.

In 1946 the Council purchased property at Fifth and Park that would become home for the next 30 years.

However, in 1976, the property was sold to the city of Ironton and the Council moved to the 400 block of S. Second St. Members called this location home for 20 years when in 1996, the adjacent building caught fire and the surrounding block was destroyed along with the Council’s home.

Council 1405 struggled the next few years but continued to conduct meetings in the undercroft of St. Joseph Church. Then in Feb. 1999, members purchased property at S. Third St. and Kemp and two years later they current building opened in Sept. 2001.

That new location — considered to be one of the finest Council homes in North America — is also used on a regular basis for events such as receptions, proms, class reunions, blood drives and general gatherings.

“We do not charge for use of our hall and it is one of the few non-smoking halls in the city of Ironton,” Medinger said.

Council 1405 is also the representing Council of Fourth Degree Assembly 833 that fosters the spirit of patriotism. This Assembly has 38 members with 17 serving in the Assembly’s color corps for church services, funeral and civic functions.

Assembly 833 chartered in 1959 and will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2009.

The Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Roman Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus and is dedicated to four principles – charity, unity, fraternity and patriotism.

With more than 1.7 million members in 14,000 councils, the Knights of Columbus gave more than $136 million and 63.2 million man-hours to a variety of charities in 2008. Membership is limited to “practical Catholic” men 18-years-of-age and older.

The Order’s insurance program has more than $60 billion worth of policies in force.