"Prayers were answered," current state lodge president Dan Matuella said. It's been almost two and a half years since a kitchen fire destroyed the historic gathering place and restaurant on 10th Street. The rebuild still isn't finished. Construction was delayed and eventually stopped altogether when funds ran out.
"It was so stressful and it required a lot of praying," past state president Dr. Tom Pruse said. Matuella explained that efforts to cut costs on insurance burned them in the end, with coverage falling short by about $500,000. "The magnitude of this deal was above a lot of us," Matuella said, "I think it was August of '18 when work stopped."
