Old Town Knights celebrate 100th anniversary

From its youngest member, 20-year-old Thomas Bubniak, a University of Maine student, to one of its oldest, 94-year-old Richard Doucette of Old Town, members of Father Druillette Council 2537 of the Knights of Columbus gathered on January 25 to celebrate 100 years of fraternity and service.

“It’s a fraternal organization so you get that feeling of being with other people, and then, it’s an opportunity to give back to the community around you,” says Bubniak. “I just love that feeling.”

“It’s a relationship, and that’s what I like very much,” says Doucette, who has been a council member for 66 years, having joined in 1959.

The centennial celebration was held at Holy Family Church in Old Town 100 years to the day since the council was founded in 1925. Bishop James Ruggieri, who is a member of the Knights, celebrated the centennial Mass, which was concelebrated by Father Kyle Doustou, the council’s chaplain and pastor of the Parish of the Resurrection of the Lord, and by Father Nathan March, state chaplain for the Knights.

In his homily, the bishop noted the valuable contributions of the Knights since the fraternal organization was founded by Blessed Michael J. McGivney in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1882.

“The spiritual and charitable impact of the Knights is indelible on the life of our Church: promoting eucharistic devotion, Marian prayer, supporting seminarians. I could go on and on,” the bishop said. “Your work touches the lives of many, both Catholic and non-Catholic alike, and I thank you for that.”

“We have a very active council that has deep roots in our parish and community. My brother Knights are always organizing charitable events, providing support to families in need, and fostering a fraternal spirit that strengthens the parish and beyond. Along with the Daughters of Isabella and the Ladies of St. Ann, they help us to grow and thrive. I’m honored to serve as their chaplain, and I hope the next 100 years will be as fruitful,” says Father Doustou.

The first Knights council in Old Town was actually established in 1896, but it lasted only three years. Its successor proved to have far more staying power. Although membership suffered during The Great Depression, numbers quickly rebounded, and between 1937 and 1938, the council added more than 100 new members. In the post-Depression years, the council even featured a 27-piece band.

In those early years, the Old Town Knights often sponsored sporting events, including amateur wrestling matches and boxing bouts. They also had a baseball team and later sponsored a basketball team. Today, the council holds basketball free-throw shooting contests, including one that took place the morning of the anniversary celebration.

The Druillette council’s charitable works also include supporting seminarians, donating items to Maine Veterans’ Homes, volunteering monthly at the parish food pantry, cooking at the parish picnics, and buying coats for kids each winter, something it’s been doing for nearly a quarter century. It also has a strong commitment to serving individuals with physical and developmental disabilities. Council members support Special Olympics, Treats Falls House in Orono, Camp CaPella in Dedham, and the Pine Tree Camp in the town of Rome. 

“That’s what we do here. We help the community. We raise funds for different projects in our church and outside our church,” says Duane Brasslett, who has been Deputy Grand Knight of the council for the past five years.

“What we’re doing is helping those in need, but it also helps enrich the Church itself by allowing younger members to become involved in a council. That allows them to feel good about what they’re doing and to help other people. It just gives you a charge,” says Lee Malvin, a fourth-degree Knight.

“It’s the organization that helps take care of all the aspects that can’t be done at the parish level. It’s trying to get the men involved in the Church,” says Philip Dunn Jr., Grand Knight of the council.

Serving the Church, families, and the community have been hallmarks of the Knights of Columbus since Blessed Father McGivney founded the order at St. Mary Parish in New Haven. He saw it as a way to keep Catholic men connected to the Church, rather than having them enter one of the many secret societies that were popular at the time. He also was seeking a way to assist families left without a breadwinner, the result of dangerous working conditions in factories.

“Their mission then, as it does now, reflects service to the Church, and to families, and to the vulnerable in our midst,” Bishop Ruggieri said. “The Knights of Columbus embody putting the word of God, which is dynamic and powerful in and of itself, putting that word into practice, something that we are all called to do as Catholic Christians.”

The Father Druillette Council currently has about 180 members, with about 50 of them actively engaged in Church and service work. Members say they enjoy the fraternity of the organization and the opportunities that it provides them.

“It’s the comradeship with the rest of the Knights. You meet Knights from different councils, and you see what they’re doing,” says Larry Wade, who, as a former sea captain, had the opportunity to visit different councils around the world. “There is always somebody in need, and that’s what’s really pushing the Knights to help out.”

 “I love being a Knight because I feel a sense of family and community. There’s unity, and we can feel very close to each other. Whether we’re having a terrible or a very good day, we’re supported,” says Malvin. 

“It’s a sense of belonging, first off. It’s a great community. All the people that I’ve met at Knights have been awesome, just really, really awesome guys to work with. It’s something positive you can do for your community. You can materially help people around you in a way that you really can’t with a lot of other things, at least not as easily,” says Bubniak. “It’s just a really good organization for people to be a part of.”

Also joining in the Old Town celebration were State Deputy Michael Giroux, State Advocate Gary Boynton, Past State Deputy and Past State Master John Deetjen Jr., Past State Deputy and State Master Jon Harvey, and Bobbie Malvin. She and her husband, Lee, are state family life directors. The Fourth Degree Honor Guard at the Mass included members of the Father Druillette Council as well as members of Pine Cone Council 114 from Bangor.