A Slovene National Benefit Society (Slovenska Narodna Podporna Jednota) lodge charter issued to Camp 50, Girard, Kansas. The Society founded in 1904, offered affordable life insurance to Slovenian immigrants. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, many Slovenians came to America to work in the southeast Kansas coal mines. The Slovene National Benefit Society provided immigrants with social, athletic and cultural activities, college scholarships, and community service projects. At one time, there were 15 lodges in southeast Kansas and one in Kansas City, Kansas.
Kansas Memory
Kansas Historical Society
Slovene National Benefit Society, lodge no. 225, Girard, Kansas