Moose Lodge hosting fundraising dinner Saturday to feature whole roasted pig

For many years, members and officers of the Pahrump Moose Lodge 808 regularly assist with fundraising dinners for various organizations in the community.

On Saturday, their efforts will focus on their own organization with a special donation dinner that is open to the public.

Laurie Knight, a 23-year active member of Women of the Moose, said the lodge is offering up a pig roast from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., at their 1100 East Second St., location.

“This event is open to the public and it will feature a roasted whole pig, rice pilaf, potato salad, pasta salad and a roll,” she said. “I understand we will be slow-cooking a 150-pound pig on our spit out in the back. There will also be entertainment, games and a gift draw, as well as the Women of the Moose bake sale. This time however, we are doing it to benefit our lodge.”

Barry Resh was installed as governor of the lodge back in May.

Resh said Saturday is a great opportunity for those who are not familiar with the organization to socialize and learn more about what the lodge offers to its members.

“We would like to public to come in and see what we are all about and have a great time,” he said. “We are looking to get a horseshoe tournament going on and there will be plenty of games. This is for the entire family to enjoy. Although you actually have to be a member to be involved with the Moose Lodge this event is open to the public.”

Though spaghetti dinners are usually the cuisine of choice for the lodge’s community fundraisers, Resh said members decided to try something slightly different this time around, and a bit more time-consuming.

“It’s going to take a good 16 hours to prepare the roast pig,” he said. “The night of October 27th is when we will start the coals burning because you have to have a good hot bed of coals to get everything going properly.”

Knight, on the other hand, said there is no set price for the pig roast.

“This is strictly donation-driven, so whatever a person can afford to pay, we will accept because we don’t turn anybody away,” she said. “Right now, I am posting flyers about the pig roast throughout town. I just want to get the word out.”

At present, there are roughly 445 male members and 432 female members of the Pahrump lodge.

Each member pays dues to maintain their membership.

As far as day-to-day operations with the organization, Knight said things are going well after the passing of longtime lodge officer Cal Greenleaf, who died Jan 4, 2015.

Greenleaf’s wife is still a member of the lodge.

“Overall, the Pahrump Moose Lodge is doing well,” she said. “We provide dinner and of course our popular Sunday morning breakfast. It could be a little better but we just need to encourage our members to come in more often. The lodge here in Pahrump was started for the Cancer Victim’s Thrift Store back in the mid-1980s so we have hung in there this long and we plan to continue to do so. We have a bulletin that we put out for our members every two months throughout the year.”

Lodge members and officers are also preparing for their annual Thanksgiving dinner next month, open to members and guests.

For additional information on Saturday’s pig roast fundraiser or membership to the lodge, call 775 727-6465.

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes