On This Date in Nativity History

29 March 1982

Nativity Council of the Knights of Columbus was officially instituted on March 29, 1982, the Centennial Founders’ Day of the Order. The officers were installed a week later on April 6, following a Mass by the Council’s first Chaplain, Father Frank Ready. Brother Clarence “Frenchy” Cyr was the first Grand Knight. The Nativity Council began with 57 charter Knights, of whom 32 were new members. The new Council set two goals: increase the Council’s membership by involving more men from Nativity Parish, and charity. The Council’s first charitable endeavor was to raise funds for the Knights of Virginia Assisting the Retarded, or KOVAR. That first year’s drive collected $2,348. (The recent photo below shows Knights Bill Canavan and Carlos Perez raising money for KOVAR.) Efforts to support Pro-Life work (particularly the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C.) and the Northern Virginia Training Center (a State facility for the developmentally challenged) followed soon after. Other highlights of that first year included the Parish Picnic, a Columbus Day Dinner Dance, and an Open House membership drive, which brought in 19 new members. In November, Brothers built a specially designed playground for the 200 physically limited children at the Key School on Franconia Road. In December, the Council hosted the first CCD Teacher Breakfast for the 150 CCD teachers and their spouses to show their appreciation for the men and women who give so much of their time for the children of Nativity Parish.

Our thanks to Mark Sawyer, Jason Hines, and other Nativity Knights for the information, and to Gene Del Polito for the photo.


 

 

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