The adage "Charity begins at home," certainly applies to Council 1412. With the new meeting Hall located at 595 St. Clair Street, the Knights now had a facility in which to put on the fund raising events that could raise the monies necessary to support local charitable undertakings. The charitable donations from the Knights however, began long before the St. Clair Street site was purchased. Some of the earliest records made available indicate that it was a regular practice for the Knights to conduct Monthly K. of C. Bingos at St. Joseph's Parish Hall under the chairmanship of Brother Leo Stang.

Among the regularly staged events that took place at the 595 St. Clair Street site, were the Inter-Council Dances with monthly rotations between Chatham, Wallaceburg, and Sarnia. Bus transportation and admission to the dance was provided at a cost of $5.00 per couple.

During the late 1960's and 1970's one of the more successful charitable fund raising events was the regular Saturday Night Open Dances. These dances usually brought in a "full house" to the Columbus Hall on St. Clair Street. Real live music was provided by such well known bands of that era as: Country Drifters, Jerry and the Casuals, The Miracles, Melody Ramblers, The Misfits, Reflections, and Pony Express. Each band had their own "followers." The dance floor was always "hopping," and each evening ended with a delicious lunch of sizzling hot spare ribs, baked beans, accompanied by an assortment of cold cuts and bread. And the crowd went home Happy!

The success of these events was attributed to the co-operation of such committees as: ticket sellers, bar-tending committee and last but not least, the coat check committee — handled by the Squires. These dances were a major source of revenue for the Council. This was indeed a different era!

1962, marked the beginning of the Annual Chicken Bar B-Q, which continued for over 25 years. The Bar B-Q pits were set up at the farms of either Clarence or Henry Fauber( on Highway 40, just north of the city. Among its movers and shakers were such names as: Erford Smith, Roy Kreiger, Clarence Zimmer, Joseph Gerber, Frank Bonvarlez, Paul Woodman, to name but a few.

This annual event involved the active participation of more Knights than any other activity ever staged as a "fund raising" event. For this reason alone, it is virtually impossible to give recognition to all those Brother Knights who put forth such fervent effort to make it a success. Perhaps this historical summary should include some information as to how the Annual Chicken Bar B-Q came about.

Erford Smith, an executive of DeKalb Seed Coin Company, was transferred to Chatham to look after the local operation of the seed corn company. The K. of C. Chicken Bar B-Q was his brainchild. For many years after Erford returned to Illinois, he would return to Chatham to see how things were going. Inter-Council Euchre Tournaments were regularly held between the three councils which made up District 16 at that time — namely Chatham, Wallaceburg, and Sarnia. Regular Tuesday Night Euchre Tournaments tested the skill of the players from the City, Harwich, Raleigh, Dover, and Chatham Townships.

Virtually anything you can think of was used as a "fund raiser" to generate the necessary charity monies. Just how were these charitable funds put to use — you ask? As difficult as it might be to prioritize the charitable donations, the primary objectives have always been to, "help the neediest first." In many instances families in distress were the first to be given assistance. The names of those so involved was never revealed to the general membership, such information was dealt with in closed meetings by the Executive Members of the Council. That still remains the top priority of the Knights of Columbus. Numerous community projects of considerable magnitude received financial assistance from Council 1412, over the years. In the mid 1970's the Council made a commitment of a $10,000.00 a year donation, for a period of 10 years to the St. Joseph's Hospital Building Fund.

Annual donations were made to support the construction of the Chatham Seniors' Centre, (now known as the Active Life Style Centre) situated at the north end of Merritt Ave. The sale of Nevada Tickets was originally started as an effort by Council 1412 to fund Catholic Education for students in grades 11, 12, and 13, at the Pines. This was prior to the Government of Ontario providing "equal funding" for Catholic schools in the province.

In the mid 1970's recognition was given to the then Past Grand Knight for his role as Chairman of the Citizen's Committee, which raise over $78,000 towards the North-Side Area Project. There is no doubt that the Council played an important a role in helping that objective to be reached. In the 1980's the Council presented the Chatham Sports Complex (St. Clair College) with a donation of $5,000. In the early 1990' the Council contributed over $5,000 to the Catholic Church Extension Society of Canada; $4,800 was raised towards the purchase of a neo-natal crib which was donated to the Pediatric Care Unit at St. Joseph's Hospital; and a $10,000 donation was presented to St. Joseph's Hospital, in Chatham, during the C.T. Scan fund raising drive. During the 1990's when Transition House was in full operation, it was a regular practice for the Knights of Columbus 1412 to ensure that "freezer was full of meat" and the "cupboards were well stocked. "Charity - truly does begin at home."