History of the Msgr. Hunt Council K of C #3312

A Brief History of the Msgr. Hunt Council
Knights of Columbus #3312
7080 Garling Drive, Dearborn Heights, Michigan 48127

The new Knights of Columbus Council was originated in February 1950, and the first initiation was on March 28, 1950, at Our Lady Gate of Heaven and rental hall on Warren Avenue between Rosemont and Ashton.  The first picnic that the Council had was at Grodanski Park.

In 1952, the Knights of Columbus Building Association worked to find a permanent location for the K of C Council.  The original location was proposed to be on a Joy Road property between Patton and Braile Streets.  However, the decision was made not to move to this location.  Instead, the Council bought three acres of land on Garling Drive in Dearborn Heights in early 1955 because of it being the best price.

Construction was started with the basement level, which opened in the fall of 1955.  The upper level was completed in early 1956, and the Council members along with Mariuchi Builders did most of the construction.  With this being the permanent Msgr. Hunt Knights of Columbus home, there were 75 initial members.

By early 1960, the Council had close to 1,000 members, most of them from Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, along with members from St. Christopher, Our Lady of Grace, and St. Suzanne Parishes.

By 1970, the Council had up to 1,500 members.  Mr. Carl Kalita served as Grand Knight from 1968 through 1970.  The Council served as home to the Polka Booster Club of America for 47 years until 2015.

The Knights of Columbus hall on Garling Drive was sold in December 2014, and formally closed on January 10, 2015.  Although the Knights of Columbus Council was not able to find another building structure in Dearborn Heights, they were invited to set up the K of C Monsignor Hunt Council at the Pvt. Lyskawa VFW Post #7546 at 6828 N. Waverly Street in Dearborn Heights.  As of this writing, it is unknown how long the K of C Council will be located within the Lyskawa VFW Post.

NOTE:  This history was compiled from an interview conducted with Mr. Carl Kalita by Society Director Tim Rothermel on Saturday, April 7, 2018.  Our thanks to Mr. Kalita for providing this history to the Society.