Fergus Falls Elks Club to celebrate centennial

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, July 18, 2008

The 100th anniversary of Elkdom in Fergus Falls will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Saturday at Elks Point, with the general public invited to attend the ceremony and spend some time at the club’s property on the east side of Wall Lake.

“We’re calling this an informal get-together,” Elks 1093 Exaulted Ruler Darrell Iverson said. “Following the brief ceremony at 1 p.m. Saturday, we invite people to stay for a casual afternoon.”

Iverson recently returned from the Elks National Convention in Anaheim, Calif. One of the main concerns of Elks nationally is that many local lodges, similar to Fergus Falls, have experienced membership losses in recent years. On a positive note, however, many women are coming in as new members.

“Both men and women are joining and bringing in fresh ideas and commitment,” Iverson said.

In 2007 the Fergus Falls Elks Club sold its downtown facility, but kept its summer operations at Elks Point. Elks leaders said the downtown building was simply too large and the fixed expenses were too great for the number of active members.

A former Fergus Falls resident, Flint (Joe) Yale, purchased the former downtown Elks building. Fergus Falls Elks Club members started holding regular meetings at 120 East Lincoln Ave.

Elks Club 1093 Trustee Kelly Chandler said the club is alive and well.

“It’s important that we make the distinction between a building and a club,” Chandler said. “And of course we see a lot of potential with the continuation of operations at Elks Point.”

To that end, Elks Point opened for the summer 2007 season under a new name, The Point Bar & Grill. The campground at Wall Lake has continued to attract people from near and far.

As competition in the food and liquor industry increased during the past few years, membership in the Fergus Falls Elks Club — not unlike other clubs across the state — declined. Local Elks Club trustees said there were too many options for people to spend their money.

In the 1950s and 1960s the Fergus Falls Elks Club had the largest membership of any Elks Lodge in the state of Minnesota, with close to 1,700 members.

“Good food, drinks and good music combined to make the local Elks Club the premier place to go in Fergus Falls,” Chandler said. “There were waiting lines all the way out into the street on typical Friday or Saturday evenings.”

Although the Fergus Falls Elks Club still had more than 500 members in 2007, many of these members no longer actively attended Elks events.

The Elks Club, along with other Fergus Falls service clubs, uses profits and volunteers from their organizations to do things for people within Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. Elks have sponsored programs such as drug awareness, and have assisted groups such as veterans and senior citizens.

During this, the centennial year, Iverson, Chandler and other trustees are optimistic that if people get involved the Elks will thrive..

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---