Wildwood Elks Provides Christmas Cheer for Vets

NORTH WILDWOOD – Greater Wildwood Elks Lodge 1896 held their Christmas lunch for veterans Dec.18.
The dining area of the lodge was transformed into a sea of red and green tables with over 20 young people from the Wildwood High School Choir in attendance to welcome the veterans, many of whom were wheelchair bound and arrived from the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Home in Vineland.
Assemblyman Robert Andrzejczak (D-1st) and Assemblyman-elect Bruce Land greeted the veterans as they entered.
Lodge 1896, the second largest of the 113 Elks’ lodges in the state, has over 10 committees on which members work to provide services to the community. 
The Veterans Committee was front and center with a hot meal, gifts, and entertainment. Veterans spanned the years with individuals who served from as far back as World War II. A Navy sweatshirt, a Marine Corps hat and various items of attire testified to representation from the full complement of military services at the lunch.
The young men and women, and members of the choir, were spaced out across the room to give them greater exposure to veterans bridging a gap of many generations. In a salute to the freedom the veterans helped secure for all, the choir started the festivities with a rendition of the national anthem while veterans who could stand faced the flag.
Event organizer Charlie Feeney gave opening remarks as did Andrzejczak and Land.
Food followed with veterans served tableside by Elks while Mrs. Claus and Santa walked the room ensuring that all was going well and that each veteran had his or her red envelope containing a gift from the lodge.
Conspicuous as one entered the dining area was a large Christmas tree with many gift wrapped boxes below.
The Community Committee of the lodge was getting set to pass out gifts to needy children across the Wildwoods later in the week. The program involved not only children identified by the lodge but also a list of those in need provided by Cape Assist of Wildwood.
The gift tree was decorated with cards listing eventual gift recipients organized by age and gender. The size of the gift pile attested to the fact that there would be a number of happy children across the island.
Help for a veteran is not limited to the Christmas event. Services go on year-around, as does the connection to other groups that supplement that which is done by the Elks themselves.
One group represented at the event helps host a Vietnam veteran’s support group which meets regularly at the Cape May Coast Guard base. The group holds informal gatherings just to provide a forum for discussion. “You’d be surprised how important something like that is,” one noted.
Following entertainment by the choir, the veterans from the home in Vineland returned to their bus for the return trip. Many of those same Elks will make the trip out to Vineland at the start of the summer for an annual cookout at the memorial home. 
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.