The Shadow
President of the Clifton Forge Moose Lodge Paula Crance and David Furry, the administrator, announced that the Moose Lodge 1683 will honor veterans by providing them with a free dinner on Sat., Nov. 12.
The free dinner of pork loin, vegetables, side dishes and desserts will be made available for pickup as a carry-out dinner or be served inside the Moose Lodge to veterans from 5:00 p.m. till 7:00 p.m.
Crance, who was born in the C&O Hospital in Clifton Forge, became the first woman to be elected president of a Moose Lodge in Virginia, following the recent merger of the Moose Lodge and the Moose Chapter that has enabled women for the first time to hold the office of president.
Paula is the daughter of the late Dallas L. Nicely from Longdale and the late Elizabeth Thurston Nicely from Clifton Forge.
Dallas, too young to enlist in the military service, followed in the footsteps of Audie Murphy by claiming to be 18 in order to enlist in the U.S. Army in 1950.
During his military career, he served in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War before retiring as a Sergeant Major. Following his retirement, he served as a ROTC instructor at Ball State University and Morgan State University.
The year following her father’s retirement from the U.S. Army in 1975, Paula went to work at the Clifton Forge West Elementary School as a secretary for Principal Roy Putnam, and in 1983, after Clifton Forge City Schools consolidated with Alleghany County Public Schools, she served as Putnam’s secretary at Clifton Middle School that was housed in the building that had previously been Clifton Forge High School.
After work at the school, she held a part-time job as a clerk at the 7-11 Store on Commercial Ave. in Clifton Forge for 11 years. The store was owned by the late James David “Doody” Morris, Jr., a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in the Vietnam War.
Dooty was elected to serve on the Clifton Forge Town Council where he held the office of mayor by garnering the most votes of the councilmen elected.
Paula recently retired as a deputy secretary for Alleghany County.
In 2016, Paula was appointed by Appalfolks of America Association as director of Special Theatrical Artists Revue & Showcase (STARS), a troupe of performers who have physical disabilities and/or intellectual challenges.
She invited Sonja Kimberlin to serve with her as co-director, and the two recruited Officer Chris Fisher of the Alleghany County Sheriff’s Department to emcee the STARS’ variety shows.
She and Kimberlin will direct the STARS’ Christmas show at Good News Church on Main in Covington on Sun., Dec. 4, at 3:00 p.m., the last production of the troupe’s 26th performance season.
As for honoring veterans with a free dinner each year in Nov., Paula remarked, “We do not have our dinner on Veterans Day.”
Furry, who served in the U.S. Army, added, “There’s a lot of activities on Veterans Day, so we hold it either the day before or the day after.”
Paula noted, “It is (free) for all veterans, not just members of the Moose Lodge.”
She remarked, “When COVID-19 hit, we continued the tradition (of providing free meals to veterans) as carry-out meals to go.”
Moose International is a fraternal charitable nonprofit organization that operates a home for children in Mooseheart, Illinois.
“The Clifton Forge and Covington Moose support Special Olympics by holding fundraisers such as dances and dinners,” Paula observed.
The Clifton Forge Moose Lodge 1683 also permits STARS to hold its rehearsals there free of charge.
Moosehaven, a retirement community in Orange Park, Fla., offers members of the Moose who are 65 and Moose couples, with at least one of the two being 65, a safe place to retire.
The Moose also actively supports the Safe Surfin’ Foundation headquartered in Floyd, Va. Founded by Mike Brown, the retired sheriff of Bedford County, the foundation educates students about the dangers of surfin’ the internet.
Furry said, “I’ve been taking bookmarkers to schools and public libraries for some time now.”
The bookmarkers help advertise Safe Surfin’ Foundation’s services.
Furry recalled, “Sheriff Mike Brown over in Bedford County was the real driver behind the Safe Surfin’ Foundation.”
Paula concluded, “In 2021, via a grant from Mooseheart, we held a Christmas in October Carnival on our property here at the Moose where we raised more than a $1,000 for the Christmas Mother.”
To raise the funds for the Christmas Mother, the Moose sold tickets to the event that featured a bounce house, vendors, various games and bingo.
The Loyal Order of the Moose has lodges in 50 states, four Canadian provinces and in Great Britain.
