After their membership had dwindled to the point where it wasn’t feasible to maintain a lodge building, the local Masons deeded their building over to the city to use for a museum. It’s really a nice old building built before 1910 specifically as a Masonic temple. It even has a huge round stained glass window in the front that has the Masonic symbol on it and the cornerstone identifies it as a Masonic temple.
My favorite definition from Ambrose Bierce’s The Devil’s Dictionary, “regalia”:
My impression of Elk’s Lodges and such is that they had two main purposes: a place for local politicians and businessmen to network, and an excuse for menfolk to get out of the house and play poker.
I was once a Lion myself, but I really want to be a Fee-Faw-Fummer of the Inimitable Grip.
My great-grandfather belonged to the Royal Arcanum, sort of a combination masonic lodge and insurance company. It still exists as insurance. I don’t know how this one worked, but some of them worked like this: every time a member died everyone would kick in a dollar for the widow/family. Paying off the mortgage then was the origin of the expression, “bought the farm.”…We’ve had a generation or two very skeptical of anything organized–bowling team, fraternal organization, religion. (I’m surprised that no one has mentioned the Possum Lodge.)
I just want to make it clear that, while other lodges may be primarily social clubs, Masonic Lodges are definitely not. There is a social element to it, obviously. But the ritual work is taken very seriously. The ceremonies can go on for hours, and ideally, the spoken material is memorized precisely and delivered dramatically, just like stage acting. It is certainly not a club for drinking - as far as I know, alcohol is not allowed in lodges.
The Shriners do allow alcohol and they are known for their drinking. But that’s just one appendant group available to Masons.
There is also the Fraternal Order of Eagles, and of course the catholic fraternity Knights of Columbus.
Explicitly created because the Pope said (effectively) “Good Catholics can’t be Masons”. So the K of C is the Catholic not-Masonic Order.
That makes sense, given that The Flintstones was based, at least in part, on The Honeymooners.
My father was a member of the Elks when I was a kid. He mostly joined because my grandmother really liked going to the Friday fish fry there (this was Wisconsin, where a good fish fry is a must), and only members (and the families of members) could attend.
From what I remember, it was, otherwise, indeed mostly a place for guys to hang out without the family, smoke cigars and play cards. I imagine there was some level of community service that went on, too, but if so, I don’t remember the details.
Member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and also the Fraternal Order of Eagles here. By and large, these are just social clubs. No hats, no rituals, no handshakes, no passwords. Mainly what you gain as a member is access to a tavern with reasonable prices, a minimum of assholes, and seasonal social events.
In answer to the other question of the OP: many of these organizations still exist, but they are much smaller than they were in the decades immediately after WWII. Relatively few baby-boomer men (much less men in the following generations) joined them, and so, their membership now tends to be much older (and, many lodges have closed entirely). I suspect that men stopped joining them because it was a kind of thing that didn’t fit in with newer leisure activities.
Also, many banned anybody with long hair, calling all of them Hippies.
Things like the Lions Club and Rotary International are still around, but they don’t have lodges. Usually, they meet weekly at a local restaurant. They have speakers and also organize community projects.
The initiation oath of the Moose Lodge still makes you swear you are not a Communist.
The Elks dropped that clause just last year. (The membership voted down a proposal to change the titles to club President, Vice President, etc.)
25 year Elks member here. Also a Past Exalted Ruler (Lodge President). Scumpup is half right. It’s a good atmosphere to relax with your favorite beverage, good food at decent prices, and being around decent people. That being said:
The Elks do a lot of work within their local community. Our Lodge sponsors Christmas baskets for needy families every year, we are a sponsor of the local Shop With A Cop yearly event, we help support the local Care and Share, and many other local charities.
On a national level the Elks are the second largest granter of scholarships to young men and women in the United States (the first is the US Government). From the local level to the final national competition, our National Foundation along with local lodges and State associations provide over 5 million dollars for scholarships every year.
Our Youth programs are second to none. We provide many opportunities for young people to win scholarship funds for their future and have fun doing it.
And we take care of our own as well. When you are a lodge member you have a large extended family that care about you and check in when they know you’re going through a rough patch in your life.
We’re a whole lot more than a bunch of old men who sit around a bar and drink.
Sorry for the long explanation. It’s something I’m very passionate about.
I’ve been told that that’s only true in America - European Masons drink.
Yes, that is true. They do drink in Europe. But from what I understand, they take their rituals and degrees even more seriously than the Americans do. You can go from Entered Apprentice to Master Mason in a few months in an American lodge. In Europe, I think, it can take years. And candidates are required to write lengthy philosophical papers on Freemasonry, which they need not do here.
My Dad was a Mason and a Shriner - 32nd Degree, Scottish Rite, Ararat Temple if I recall correctly. And a large amount of his progress within it was due to his charitable work, donating puppet and magic shows to children’s charities. He also sponsored a girl who had burns over her face, hands and upper body to get skin grafts at the Shriner’s Children’s Hospital.
Because of the hours professionals are expected to work these days, most of these organizations are suffering from a lack of members and the good works each had adopted is going undone.
In the earlier thread, silenius made a comment that the VFW wasn’t recognizing current conflict vets. He was misinformed… They do have requirements that ask you to prove you’ve served overseas (or were afloat in hostile waters) but they are recognizing OEF/OIF/OND veterans.
Tripler
They’re actively recruiting too…
6 year Eagles Auxiliary member, chiming in. The Fraternal Order of Eagles is very simular to what Rico described about the Elks.
Our main purpose is charity work. We have 10 + specific charities that we raise money for. The money raised goes towards grants for research. Most Aerie clubs do have a bar (“social room”) in them. Some clubs are ONLY meeting halls. We take our rituals very seriously, much like Argent Towers described the Masons as doing. Spoken material is memorized and basically performed. The FOE was founded by theater members - thus the performance aspect. Drill and ritual teams compete with each other at yearly state and national conventions. We aren’t all about drinking.
Both sexes are “supposed” to be equal in clubs, but many still choose to have a separate Aerie for the men and Auxiliary for the women, with separate rituals for each.
Sorry for jumping on the soap box, but a lot of people think we are “just a bar” with a secret membership.
We are coming up on our 5th year in raising money to fund the Diabetes Research Center at the University of Iowa. $5 million spread out over 5 years. We are only paying for research funds, the building is paid for through other grants or donations. This should be a huge step in getting closer to a cure for diabetes.
Band names!