history of the silver bell club #2365
In 1925, twenty-six (26) young sports minded men banded together to form an athletic club which became the Silver Bell Club. These men were of Polish and Slovak origin. The club's primary objective was to participate in various competitive sports of boxing, baseball, and basketball.
The club became affiliated with the Polish National Alliance of North America, the largest Polish Fraternal organization in America. To distinguish this Lodge, it was named the "PNA Silver Bell Club, Group # 2365.
In 1944, the Club, leased a building at 1700 Massachusetts Street. At the end of World War II,
it became a place to reunify the neighborhood GI's returning home from military service.
In 1950, the Club purchased the former Gleason Welfare Center. In 1995, the first amendment to
the Constitution and By-Laws were written and adopted, for new members and the inclusion of sport activities.
In 1974 the Silver Bell Club President initiated the first annual "Sports Awards Banquet". Two champion members were honored, Tony Zale, former world middle-weight boxing champ, and Hank Stram, former head coach of the super bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs. This sports award program drew crowds from 700 to 900 people to the event. This continuing event features National sports figures, honoring graduating high school students of Polish-Slovak decent.
The Club purchased a 50 acre site and hall at 10310 Grand Blvd., in Crown Point, Indiana, in 1997. This hall was home to all Silver Bell Club meetings and was rented out to members and those in need of a hall for various events. Unfortunately a catastrophic fire destroyed the 5,000 square foot hall on Christmas Eve in 2004. All monthly meetings are now held at the Gary Sportsman's Club in Crown Point, Indiana.
Why "The Silver Bell Club"?
Silver: means faith and purity. It also can mean having the soft, clear tones of a "silver bell."
Purple: means high rank or royalty, a cloth or garment was formally worn by sovereigns, hence it has connection with royal power, or dignity.
PNA: Polish National Alliance
Since 1880, the PNA began providing insurance protection for Americans
of Polish origins and ancestry, their families, friends and neighbors, both
by owning quality life insurance and by taking advantage of our many
excellent fraternal programs.