Regina Elks heartbroken after fire destroys community hall

Members of the Regina Elks could only watch as firefighters hosed down the smoldering wreckage of their beloved community hall.

On Sunday, the fire department received several 911 calls before 5 a.m. By the time they arrived, the building located on First Avenue North near McIntosh Street was fully involved.

Nobody was hurt in the fire and the cause has not been determined.

Crews had the fire under control later that afternoon, as several members of the service club gathered across the road.

“We had a lot of fun here. A lot of fun. I’ve met so many friends here and we’ve all become very, very close,” said Charlotte Henderson-Wilson.

“There’s a lot of us here with a lot of broken hearts today.”

As the group’s secretary-treasurer, Henderson-Wilson spent a lot of time in the building, managing rentals, catering and cooking at the club’s monthly breakfast.

She first joined the Elks while attending one of the club’s jam sessions and over time, it’s where friends became family. The hall is where she met her husband. It’s where her children, nieces and nephews staged weddings.

Henderson-Wilson said the Elks used the building to fundraise for their charitable work, holding craft sales before Christmas, serving breakfast and hosting events like weddings.

Since they occupied the hall in 1996, the club has donated more than $1 million to the community, she said.

Charlotte Henderson-Wilson is the secretary-treasurer of the Regina Elks. She was one of a handful of members who watched firefighters douse a blaze that engulfed their building on First Avenue North on May 3, 2020. (Joseph Ho/980 CJME)

Ron McMillan also holds a leadership position with the Elks, as their Leading Knight. The organization’s work with children with hearing impairments is what he finds most rewarding.

It was only a few months ago they helped secure hearing aids for a family with a young child.

“They came and did a bit of a presentation. To see somebody come in, a youngster who has never heard sound before and everything, it hits here because it shows you what we have done,” McMillan said, thumping his chest.

“(It’s great) to see a family that we have helped and now the child is able to go to school.”

But lost in the fire were physical memories like photographs and memorabilia — more than 100 years’ worth, members said.

“The past secretary-treasurers back in those days didn’t have computers and stuff so they didn’t archive anything. We had a couple file cabinets back there that had all the history in it,” said Henderson-Wilson.

“Pictures of all our past Exalted Rulers were in there. The Elks used to have baseball teams. We’ve lost all of that. We’ve lost all of our history.”

Henderson-Wilson said she’s hoping that Elks Canada might have copies of some items.

Already, the Regina chapter has been in contact with Elks outside the city and beyond who are offering whatever help might be needed. Messages of support have poured in on Facebook.

“The support from our lodges all across Canada is going to be strong,” said Dave Davis, a former Exalted Ruler.

Once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, or once public health orders allow, the group’s members plan to meet and discuss what they’ll do next, McMillan said.

They’re trying to stay optimistic and are vowing to rebuild.

“This isn’t the end of the Elks. I don’t know where we go from here but it’s not the end of us … Somewhere, we’ll have another building,” said Henderson-Wilson.

“Someplace, we will have our breakfast again, we’ll have our jam sessions again and music. Lots of music and lots of fun.”