Welcome to Mesquite Elks Lodge #2811.
THE BENEVOLENT AND PROTECTIVE ORDER OF ELKS
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America was organized in New York City on February 16, 1868, by a group of fifteen men with mutual interests, who identified themselves as “members of the theatrical, minstrel, musical, equestrian and literary professions and others who sympathized with and support the object in view.”
The central figure of this group and the man who is recognized as the founder of the Order was Charles Vivian, the son of an English clergyman.
Declared purposes of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks were then, and still are, to practice its four cardinal virtues: Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity;
to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its members; to quicken the spirit of American Patriotism; and to cultivate good fellowship.
Eligible for membership in the Order are citizens of the United States twenty-one years of age, who believe in God, who subscribe themselves to the objects and purposes of the Order and who have been duly initiated in a Subordinate Lodge.
The animal from which the Order derives its name was selected because of its many admirable attributes. The Elk is distinctly an American animal. It is fleet of foot and graceful in movement, quick and keen of perception and, while usually gentle, an elk is strong and valiant in defense of its own.
The majestic head of the male, with its spread antlers, was adopted as the symbol of the Order and is the basic element of its copyrighted fraternal emblem.
As it became evident that the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks would grow increasingly national in scope, in 1871, a Grand Lodge was organized with authority to authorize Subordinate Lodges in any communities which are under the governmental sovereignty of the United States.
The Order early adopted the policy of permitting its Subordinate Lodges to select their own particular fields of charitable endeavor rather than requiring them to participate in national projects undertaken by the Order as a whole. That rule has been relaxed in only ten instances, in each of which the objective was national in scope and appealing to the entire membership.
The first of these was the establishment at Bedford, Virginia, of the Elks National Home for the retired members. The second was the creation of a war relief fund, and its administration during World War I, directly under the supervision of the Grand Lodge. The third and the fourth were the construction and maintenance of the Elks Memorial and the concurrent establishment of The Elks Magazine as the official journal of the Order. Fifth came the creation of the Elks National Foundation for the promotion of charitable, educational and benevolent activities, primarily to supplement and aid those already under the administration of State Associations and Subordinate Lodges.
With the outbreak of World War II, the Grand Lodge, recognizing the potential threat of the conflict to the peace of our country, created the Elks National Defense and Public Relations Commission to aid our Government in awakening the people of America to the vital necessity of adequate measures for the national defense. When the war came to America, this commission became the Elks War Commission, and assumed direction of the Order’s participation in the war effort.
With the end of World War II, the Grand Lodge, mindful of its wartime pledge to “serve those who serve,” created the Elks National Veterans Service Commission to take over the unfinished work of the Elks War Commission, and to carry on and expand the program of veterans’ hospital service inaugurated by its predecessor. In 1949, in recognition of the changed world conditions, the Grand Lodge voted to change the commission’s name to the Elks National Service Commission.
At the Grand Lodge Session in Honolulu in 1983, two new national programs were inaugurated. Delegates voted to assist in the fund-raising campaign for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty, which was to celebrate its centennial in 1986. A goal of one million dollars in contributions from the Order was set, and with enthusiastic participation by members and Lodges throughout the land, over $1,442,000 was raised during a three-year period.
At the same time the Order, gravely concerned about the devastating effects of drug use on our nation’s youth, launched the Elks Drug Awareness Education Program. This program is designed to stop drug use before it starts by reaching schoolchildren, particularly those in grades four thru nine, with information that will cause them to make a firm decision not to use drugs. The Elks continue to reach millions of children and their parents with their drug-prevention programs and the Order has been recognized by many state and national government agencies and officials for its leadership in this critical area.
Non-sectarian, non-political, drawing its members from all sections, from all denominations and from all political parties, the Order was naturally a medium through which those of differing creeds and political affiliations and sectional viewpoints would reach a better understanding of each other.
It was the first, and is yet the only, fraternal organization to require by positive mandate that each Subordinate Lodge shall annually observe Flag Day with appropriate ceremonies. These recurring celebrations, instructive as well as inspiring, constitute a patriotic service to our country whose value cannot be overestimated.
The prescribed memorial services held by each Lodge on the first Sunday in each December, in memory of its fraternal dead, are uplifting and heart-cleansing occasions, quickening the finer sentiments and emotions. They have come to be recognized as annual events of general community interest in hundreds of cities and towns all over our land.
State Associations, organizations of Subordinate Lodges within their respective states, are committed to the benevolent projects of major importance. The treatment and training of handicapped children, the operation of hospitals, and the maintenance of summer youth camps, are among the many activities engaged in by these bodies. State Associations are also charged with the duty of carrying on the Veterans Hospital Program in cooperation with the Elks National Service Commission.
Our Government has time and again enlisted the aid of the Order in patriotic undertakings where civilian cooperation was deemed essential.
Membership in the Order of Elks is a badge of citizenship, for none but an American can be an Elk. “Love of country, home and friend” are its principal tenets, and our country’s flag is raised in silken benediction over the altar of every Elks Lodge.
With its record of war service, its benefactions, freely and impartially bestowed over the years, its tolerance and good fellowship, and its all-pervading spirit of good will, the Order makes an irresistible appeal to people who love their country, cherish fraternal association and welcome an opportunity to serve their communities.
