Nickel 2022-03 Regular Meeting

The first meeting in 2 years was held on March 2nd. There was a lot of business to take care of, and the goal was to get back into the swing of things.  It was nice to get a few visitors as well including the D.D.G.M., R.W. Bro. David Spencer.

Winter Clothing Drive 2021

Several Brethren from multiple lodges participated in the Nickel Lodge Winter Clothing Drive 2021.  For example, Bro. Jason Brown of Friendship Lodge and Manager of TSC Hardware at Southridge Mall donated 200 pairs of new woolen socks on behalf of TSC.

The Sudbury Star has an online article about the Winter Clothing Drive:

Masonic Lodge collects clothes for Sudbury’s most vulnerable

The picture above is from the article, so the credit goes to them.

Community Garden 2020

 In 2020, the 4H Community Garden was able to provide 370 lbs. of fresh produce to families and their children!  They thanked their sponsors which included Nickel Lodge No. 427.

Belrock Renos 2020-08

 Here are some recent photos of Renovations at Belrock:

Please note social distancing is maintained throughout the operation.

The Banquet room insulation is complete/ new lighting is completed/new gyproc installed and painted/New heating installed and now for the new dropped ceiling...over 90% of the cost is covered by donations//Special thanks to JAVA GUILD.And 90 % of the Labour is Volunteers Special Thanks to the Volunteers...Looking AWESOME..

Be well Be safe

4H Community Garden 2020

Here are some pictures from the 4-H garden in 2020 and a summary from Paulette MacDonald . I have also  included pictures of my wife and I from last Friday harvesting some of the produce. My wife Celena Leonard is a member of OES (Algoma Chapter #139) as well. -- John Leonard

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There’s no doubt that this was a challenging year. Initially, all community gardens were closed and it appeared that Public Health would not enter discussions about reopening. However, a diligent group of volunteers from the core group of the Sudbury Community Garden Network took up the cause and through several meetings, social media announcements, and news reports were finally able to sit down with Dr. Penny Sutcliffe and provide important feedback as to the importance of community gardening. Many examples were provided as to how gardens feed people, supplement food banks, soup kitchens, and meal plans. We provided stories of how the gardens provide places of comfort for seniors who help feed other seniors, and of youth who garden with the families to serve the community, as is the case with the 4-H Garden. At that point, Public Health made the decision to allow key contacts to plant, maintain, and harvest the gardens. The 4-H families and a couple of community volunteers stepped up and once again, we had a successful planting season. Our gardeners rotated water duty all season including spending time staking, weeding, and cutting the grass regularly. We are still harvesting as there are several heavy squash and potatoes to pull. We expect to surpass 350 lbs. of produce. The produce was provided to an organization that assists at least 6-10 families which house a few children each and live with their elderly parents.

Thanks to Nickel Lodge No. 427’s continued support, we were able to purchase the extra sanitizers, new hose, tarps, and other items like replacement plants and supplies. We hope you enjoy the photos!

Kind regards,

Paulette Macdonald

Sudbury 4-H Club Leader, 4-H District Association Representative/Board Member, 4-H Ontario.
Westmount 4-H Club Community Garden Team Lead, Sudbury Community Garden Network. 
“Home Garden Project,” Cultivate Your Neighbourhood, Greater Sudbury Covid Response Group.
Laurentian University representative, Greater Sudbury Food Policy Council.
Westmount Neighbourhood Association Board member.

Nickel General Purposes 2020-08

While were are rather locked down due to covid-19, I thought I would share a picture from tonight's General Purposes Committee meeting for Nickel Lodge brethren.

Visit Simcoe Lodge 2020-03

Four Brethren from the Sudbury-Manitoulin District visited Simcoe Lodge No. 79 in Bradford to witness the initiation of Bro. Michael Edgar's cousin, Mr. Joe Silveira. Two of the Sudbury Brethren assisted by doing work.