Elks serve 500-plus free fish dinners in Bethel Park
As Lent approached this year, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge 2213 in Bethel Park prepared for its usual series of fish fries.
“We had all the fish,” Bonnie Filyo said.
And then the plans were scratched, along with mostly everyone else’s, as a precautionary measure against the spread of COVID-19.
Lodge members thought about what exactly to do with the seafood they planned to serve. And Filyo, the lodge’s exalted ruler since 2012, came up with the idea:
“We ought to do just one big one on Good Friday.”
And so the Elks offered free meals to folks who registered ahead of time and, as it ended up, some who drove up to the lodge that very day.
“We gave out 502 dinners. And we stayed in bed for three days,” Filyo joked.
Along with the main course, they served other popular fish fry fare: french fries and coleslaw.
“Then we got creative, and we thought, well, it’s Easter time,” Filyo said. “So we made up containers with straw and put a colored egg in all of them, and jellybeans and a chocolate bunny,” thanks to donations from Sarris Candies Inc. and Walmart.
Another treat was homemade banana nut bread with the flour courtesy of Walmart and Giant Eagle.
A variety of people helped serve and deliver the dinners, both members of the lodge and members of the community, as well.
The Good Friday event represents the latest in a long list of Lodge 2213’s philanthropic efforts, including conducting clothing drives for Light of Life Rescue Mission and Dress For Success Pittsburgh, making donations to the Salvation Army and South Hills Interfaith Movement, supporting Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and hosting events for the region’s veterans hospitals.
Each December, the lodge puts on a holiday celebration at Southwestern Veterans’ Center in Highland Park.
“We receive a wish list for each individual patient,” Filyo explained. “They’re asked what they want, and we try to get everything on the list. Last year, we spent $7,600 on them.”
Currently, the lodge is working on filling a VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System requests to provide patients with facemasks. For more information, call 412-613-1593.
Founded in 1962, Lodge 2213 now is located at 2789 South Park Road. As for the initials of the Elks’ official name, BPOE, Filyo mentioned an alternative:
“‘Best people on earth’ is the nickname.”
Visit www.elks.org/lodges/contactus.cfm?LodgeNumber=2213 or www.facebook.com/elkmember.