An Era of Tribulation For Fraternal Orders

Md. Knights of Columbus Hall Burns As Groups' Ranks, Finances Decline

Byrne Manor, the popular Knights of Columbus hall tucked in the woods off Southern Avenue, was in trouble long before flames gutted it last month.

The one-story building had no electricity, and the corporation that owned it --Bishop Byrne Council Home -- was battling for control of the property after defaulting on a $2.75 million loan, according to officials and court records.

"It's a tragedy because this is a facility that's been here a long time," said Dan Quagliarello, who works on a special committee helping with the hall's financial issues. "Then to just see it kind of nose-dive, and then actually burn down, that's a very bad deal, to say the least."

The fiery end to Byrne Manor in Oxon Hill is part of a narrative familiar to Knights of Columbus halls, Elks lodges and other private, charitable clubs around the region. Times are tough, old members are dying off faster than they can be replaced and what once were hubs of social activity are fading into obscurity.

"Sometimes we don't have enough business to pay the bartender," said Bill Morris, a member of the Elks lodge in Riverdale. "People ain't got no money."

The Knights of Columbus international organization does not keep tabs on individual halls, making it difficult to determine how many there are and how many have shut down or merged. Officials estimate that between the Knights, the Moose and the Elks, there are probably several dozen active lodges and halls in the Washington area -- some more successful than others. The halls typically have bars or restaurants for members and can be rented by the public for wedding receptions, birthday parties and other events. Collectively, they donate millions of dollars every year to charities.

The Knights of Columbus halls might be disappearing fastest, but that is by design, said Patrick Korten, a spokesman for the international organization. About 30 years ago, he said, Knights leaders in Connecticut decided to move members into the Catholic parishes they serve, rather than run separate halls. The halls, which boomed after World War II, generally cost too much and require too much work to be worth keeping open, Korten said.

"More and more, these halls are being closed or sold," he said. "You have to pay property taxes on it, obviously. If you're going to rent it out on a regular basis, it's very hard to do with a volunteer staff. . . . It becomes a business in and of itself, and what the Knights of Columbus is really all about is charity and aiding the church."

That's not to say any of the organizations are facing imminent demise. A regional manager for the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Moose Association said membership has held steady over the past nine years. The Knights of Columbus gave $150 million to charity last year, about $6 million more than the year before. One Knights council in Arlington sits on a 10-acre property where 1,700 members can enjoy three swimming pools or a $2.50 beer at the bar.

But Jerry Garren, the financial secretary for the Knights of Columbus Edward Douglass White Council in Arlington, said halls such as his are "the exception, rather than the rule."

"That's what makes it so attractive. It's hard to find," Garren, 46, said. "You're never looking over your shoulder, you're never worried about who's going to walk in, you're all there for the same purpose. . . . In a manner of speaking, this is 'Cheers.' "

Byrne Manor, then, was "Cheers" gone bad. The facility had stopped running bingo games for the past six or seven years -- a crippling blow to the once-bustling facility, said Anthony D. Diallo, a former grand knight. Even lacking electricity, the hall was rented to go-go bands that brought generators, local officials said. A recent show advertised un-Catholic entertainment: "Booty shorts vs. Lingerie."