The Founding of the Bell Island Knights of Columbus                                  Back
By 1918, the number of Knights in the colony of Newfoundland had increased almost five- fold and consideration was given to extending the Order to Bell Island. In order for Bell Island residents to attend the meetings of Dalton Council in Harbour Grace or Terra Nova Council in St. John's, it was necessary for them to travel by boat from the island to either Holyrood or Portugal Cove. This was inconvenient at the best of times and often impossible during the winter months. Thus the intention to apply for a charter for a Bell Island Council was met with enthusiasm by all concerned, including Archbishop Roche who wrote in the summer of 1918:

"The number of Knights at present on the Island and the largely increased number which I feel the presence of a Council would ensure are sufficient to warrant the Bell Island Knights of Columbus Club in endeavoring to obtain a charter for a new council. It will be, no doubt, taken into consideration by the Supreme Knight that Bell Island is a prosperous and a thriving centre, and it is in such places that the Order finds the best scope for its activities and its energies."

Conception Council was instituted at Bell Island on December 8,1918, during a snow storm that brought the colony's limited transportation and communications Systems to a virtual standstill. Those Knights who chose to travel to Bell Island via Holyrood arrived at their destination some twelve hours after departing from St. John's and so the installation ceremonies did not begin until one o'clock in the morning.

In the meantime, another delegation from Terra Nova Council had left from Portugal Cove in the morning to be followed by a second group which would leave for Bell Island in the afternoon. After arriving at Bell Island, the first group realized they had forgotten some of the regalia that was needed for the degree ceremonials and tried to contact the men still in St. John's. Upon learning that the submarine cable from Bell Island to St. John's was out of order, another Knight was sent to catch the ferry but he quickly discovered that the boat had already left for the second contingent from St. John's. The Knights then sought out the services of Mr. Burke, a telegraph operator on Bell Island, in the hope that he might be able to cable the telegraph operator on Signal Hill. This attempt also proved futile; being a Sunday, the Signal Hill operator was not working and there was no one to receive the message. The St. John's group had resigned themselves to the fact that they would be unable to carry out their original plans when Burke decided to try another approach. The telegraph operator cabled a town on the west coast of Ireland where his message was quickly received. The Irish operator in turn cabled the Bell Island message to Harbour Grace where coincidentally, the Harbour Grace Operator was a member of Dalton Council. He contacted the second group of Knights in St. John's before they left for Bell Island. It was little wonder, then, that the Bell Island ceremonies did not conclude until 4:00 a.m. Of the thirty-eight charter members who comprised Conception Council, thirty-one had transferred from Dalton and Terra Nova Councils.

The establishment of this council was important not only because it marked the beginning of the expansion of the Order in Newfoundland but also because with the institution of a third chapter, the Knights were able to form a Newfoundland State council in early 1919.

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