COUNCIL INFORMATION
Walter Pollard Bio
Sir Knight J. Walter Pollard
The man for whom Council 5480 is named, fully deserved this honor. A
Peninsula resident for 30 years, he went on to Eternal Life on March 15, 1955. It
was during this 30-year period that Walter Pollard let his strength and
unassuming manner be felt.
Walter was a new convert to Catholicism in 1930, after a Christian upbringing
in the Church of England. He was born in 1894 at Ossett, Yorkshire, England.
He never ceased in his untiring efforts to help his Church and neighbor.
Through the advice and help from the Priests at St. Vincent Catholic Church,
he founded the Pollard’s Florist Co. in Warwick. He was an active member of
Newport News Council 511, Knights of Columbus, and a Fourth Degree Sir
Knight.
It is fitting indeed that Council 5480, Knights of Columbus, selected the name
“WALTER POLLARD.” No words can more fittingly apply than those of the
committee appointed to select a name:
“Walter Pollard — a developer of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish. An active
member of the Knights, he spent much time and energy in helping to build Our Lady
Mount Carmel Parish. His unselfish devotion to this task of making Our Lady Mount
Carmel a proud parish was carried forward without flourish or publicity.”
Sir Knight Walter Pollard was a friend to many and an asset to the community.
It is a privilege that this Council can proudly carry his name into the future as it
has over the past 60 years.
Forming of Walter Pollard Council
By the early 1960's, the Peninsula was in ferment and change loomed on all sides. The 1950's had
seen Newport News expand tremendously by annexation to Warwick County. Suddenly, the city
limits extended past the James River Bridge to Lee Hall. The land from Lee Hall to Hilton Village was
still primarily farmland, but suburbanization of American cities was already an inexorable process.
Obviously, Newport News would also expand to the North, for it was bound on the East by
Hampton, and the northeast by York County. The Denbigh area, farms and a residential neighbor-
hood for Fort Eustis, was destined to become the magnet that would create the city of the 80's.
Change was coming to the Catholic community, as well. Not only the changes resultant from
Vatican II, but the same demographic changes that were affecting the community as a whole. As the
middle class population surged outwards from downtown Newport News, the Catholic population
also shifted. St. Vincent DePaul Church had long been the rock of Catholicism in the city, but as the
population moved, it sought a more accessible religious center. Then, as today, Newport News
citizens railed against a long, narrow communications line for the city. Warwick Boulevard did not
exist as we know it today. It was a two-lane, black top, road winding through old Warwick County.
St. Jerome's parish, which would later become a major anchor of Council 5480 did not yet exist,
put in 1953, the Diocese of Richmond authorized the creation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish,
on Harpersville Road. From that point on, the Catholics in the expanding suburban areas of
Newport News had their religious center. OLMC became a thriving parish and, from the beginning,
operated the parochial Mount Carmel School which provided a Catholic education to the children of
that population base.
As the Catholics of Newport News drew away from their downtown roots, some Knights of
Council 511 began to consider a similar evolution for Knighthood. They saw OLMC as a growing
parish, and also a burgeoning population outside of the old downtown area. They began thinking
about a new Knights of Columbus Council to serve both.
The requirement to form a new Council at that time was to have the approval of the Parish
Pastor and 20 Insurance members. During the first week of July 1963, three Brother Knights, all
members of Newport News Council 511 — Dan Downer, Joe Wilk, and Joe Carpenito — met with
Father Welch to get the necessary approval. After Father's approval the group grew — Brother's
Scarborough, George Hill, Buck Soter, and Nick Frankie joined the first
brothers to form the new Council. From July to September 30, 1963, these brothers met
once a week at their homes to plan the formation of the Council. On Monday night, September 30,
1963, they had their first membership drive at Mt. Carmel’s School Cafeteria.
The crucial meeting occurred on November 12th. Potential membership met the minimum of
20 insurance members. A slate of officers was elected to serve until June 30, 1964. Brother Daniel
Downer, a native of Reading, Pennsylvania, and a Council 511 Knight since 1942 was elected to head
the new council as its Charter Grand Knight. The complete slate of charter officers was as follows:
Daniel Dower... Grand Knight
Joseph WEK ....... Deputy Grand Knight
Anthony MeCleod ..... Chancellor
Donald Tackett .... Advocate
L.P. Waltz .... Recorder
Joseph Carpenito .Financial Secretary
James Miante .... Treasurer
Warren Scarborough ..Warden
William Cornelius .... Inside Guard
George Hubbard ..... Outside Guard
Mathew Stowell.... Trustee
W.R. Kipper ................ Trustee
George Hill ... Trustee
To complete the application for council certification, a name was needed. At this same
meeting, the name of Walter Pollard was proposed and approved. Sir Knight Walter Pollard was
only recently deceased; those assembled that night believed that his life best exemplified dedication
to the American Dream, the Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus.
Pollard was a native of Birmingham, England. He emigrated to the United States in the early
1920's, a new convert to Roman Catholicism. He was much like millions of other immigrants
arriving during those years. They were generally poor. They were committed to hard work as the
road towards financial security in a new land. They sought political freedom and freedom to
worship as they wanted.
Walter Pollard typified the immigrant of this period. He was passionately devoted to the ideals
of Columbianism. He started a florist business in Newport News and through hard work made it the
success it remains today. He became a stalwart of the Church on the Peninsula and was a driving
force behind the creation of OLMC parish in 1953. He raised a family and taught it Christian and
American values. He became a Knight of Columbus, achieved its highest degrees, and furthered his
dedication to Country, Church, and Family on the Virginia Peninsula.
On November 26, 1963, many hours of prayer, work, and planning were fulfilled. Supreme
Council, Knights of Columbus, announced approval for the formation of Walter Pollard Council
5480. The Council was formally constituted with 44 members at a ceremony held on December 10,
1963. With the permission of the Pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Father Edmond
Welch, the Council was initially located at the OLMC School cafeteria where regular business
meetings were held for several years. Council 5480 was assigned to District Six of Virginia State
Council along with Newport News Council 511 and Mary Star of the Sea Council 5323, in Hampton.
This new band of brothers were determined to succeed. They reasoned that success would be a
product of time and work. Goals would have to be set, with phased plans for achievement. Above
all, they resolved, Council 5480 would not just sit back and wait for results. Its members, instead,
would have to go out and grab success.