Lodge History
The emergence of an urban society in America in the nineteenth century brought with it a
phenomenal development of Lodges, and in Las Vegas, the one which emerged in an enviable
position of popularity just before the turn of the century was Lodge #408 of the Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks.

The applicants for the charter for an Elks Lodge in Las Vegas, granted on May 12, 1898, were
only ten in number, but they were prominent citizens, including E. G. Murphey, druggist, as the
first Exalted Ruler, and among the others Miguel A. Otero, Jr. then the territorial governor.

The appeal of the humanitarian and patriotic objectives of this fraternity, along with its features
of mutual aid offered to members, attracted other local men of eminence, and then their social
functions lent an additional desirability.

When thirty members of the sponsoring Lodge in Pueblo, Colo., came to Las Vegas on January
26, 1899, to install this first Lodge of Elks in New Mexico, the mayor, Dr. F.E. Olney, who was
one of the applicants for the charter, met them as they arrived in their special coach in a train of
the Santa Fe Railroad. Most of the town turned out for the parade which escorted them through
the city and town, and then the guest and hosts rode on the spur railway to the Montezuma
Hotel for dinner and back to town for a banquet in Rosenthal Hall.

At the Lodge ceremonies, forty-two candidates were initiated as charter members, and B.F.
Forsythe was installed as Exalted Ruler
for the year, 1889-1890.
In mid-January, a year later, members of this lodge chartered a special
coach to go to Santa Fe and install Santa Fe Lodge #408.

Near the end of that month, when Number 408 observed its first anniversary at a banquet in the
new Castaneda Hotel, the delegates coming from other cities increased to sixty the number
seated at the tables.

Subsequently, in that first decade, the Elks repeated those memorable periodic banquets,
sponsored a circus at the Opera House, helped prepare a race track and fair grounds in the
valley of the Gallinas north of Old Town, and chartered a special car for members attending the
national meeting in Los Angeles in 1909.


By 1911 the Elks had raised funds, by promotion of special projects and by enrolling several life
members, for the launching of work on a special brick lodge building located on a large lot on
Douglas Ave. They selected E.W. Hart to prepare the plans and let the contract to A.M. Horne.
The Exalted Ruler at that time was George H. Hunker.

The new building, contracted at a cost of $25,111, was dedicated on August 27, 1912, by Judge
C.J. Gavin, of Denver, who, when he had resided in Las Vegas, had been an Exalted Ruler of
that lodge. Two hundred turned out for the grand ball that evening, including delegates from
Raton, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque.

Through subsequent years the local Lodge continued to be active in the civic and social life of
the community. Until the Lodge building's demise, it was the oldest Elks building in the state.

Las Vegas Lodge #408 was chartered on January 20, 1898. Las Vegas was the first lodge in
New Mexico, chartered even before New Mexico was a state.

Frank Forsythe was the first elected ER for New Mexico's Mother Lodge.
HISTORY OF THE BPOE ELKS

FORMAL ORGANIZATION AND NAME
The Order of Elks was formerly organized February 16, 1868, in the City of New York. Its full corporate name was "Benevolent and
Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America." Its declared purposes 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. The animal from which the Order took its name was chosen because a
number of its attributes were deemed typical of those to be cultivated by members of the fraternity. The Elk is distinctfully an
American animal. It habitually lives in herds. The largest of our native quadrupeds, it is yet fleet of foot and graceful in movement. It
is quick and keen of perception, and while it is usual gentle and even timorous, it is strong and valient in defense of its own.
A representation of the majestic head of the male, with its spreading antlers, was adopted as the first badge of the Order, and is still
the most conspicuous element of its copyrighted, fraternal emblem.

QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
Membership in the Order is limited to any citizen of the United States, not under twenty-one years of age, who believe in the
existence of God, who subscribe themselves to the objects and purposes of the Order, and who have been duly initiated in a
Subordinate Lodge. There are no branches, or degrees of membership in the Order; there are auxillary organizations, such as State
Associations, and Past Exalted Rulers' Associations.


THE ELKS COLORS**
The Elk colors are Royal Purple and white, a combination
deriving its origin from the history of the Clergy, Nobility and the People. Throughout Europe, the Orient and in Rome, the symbolism
of colors was associated with severity of laws and customs. Each color in each pattern was identified religious, or political, and to
change or alter it was a crime of rebellion. a desertion of principles, party, or cause.
White denotespurity and absolute truth. When combined with Royal Purple, it signifies the love of truth and the highest degree of
virtue. Purple is the badge of Kingship, the color for the robes of Emperors and High Priests,and signifies highest favor. Blending of
white and Royal Purple indicate the favor of the people, which bespeaks the status of Elkdom.
** An Authentic History of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, by Charles Edward Ellis.

INITIATION
Naturally the ritual of initiation is the most important, as it is the most elaborate, of any Lodge cermonial. It is designed to instruct
and inspire the initiate; and in an appropriate setting, to secure his assumption of the solemn and binding obligation of
membership.
It is conducted throughout with dignity and decorum. It is wholly devoid of any feature which will embarress, or annoy the candidate,
or subject him/her to ridicule, or to any discomfort, physical, or mental.

ELEVEN O'CLOCK TOAST
Regular meetings of Subordinate Lodges have always been held at night. In the earlier days they were usually held on Sunday
nights and were concluded about eleven o'clock. As the participants departed, they naturally made inquiries about the absentees
and expressed sympathetic interest in the causes of their absence. It soon became a custom for some members to propose a
toast to the brothers who were not present. And in the course of time this custom was quite generally observed whenever a group of
Elks were together at eleven o'clock.
Eventually the Grand Lodge specifically provided for such a ceremonial to be observed during Lodge sessions; and designated it
as: "The Eleven O'clock Toast." Under this provision, whenever a Lodge is in session at that hour, the regular order of business is
suspended for a few moments while the Exalted Ruler recites the beautiful recital prescribed, concluding with the words: "To our
absent Brothers."
Upon other strictly fraternal occasions this "golden hour of recollection" is generally observed in somewhat the same manner. A
designated brother, with, or without a few preliminary remarks, proposes the toast, to which all members respond with the words:
"To our absent Brothers." Even when small groups of Elks are together at this hour, although it is not a formal fraternal occasion, it
is not inappropriate to recall the sentiment with a moment of dignified silence.
The ceremonial is a very effective one, distinctivelyassociated with the Order of Elks. The sentiment it embodies is wholesome and
commendable; and it is, therefore, obvious that the designed effect should not be marred by any lack of dignity and decorum; and it
should never be cheapened by observance in inappropriate surroundings.

MEMORIAL SERVICE
It was another early, but voluntary custom among Elks for the Subordinate Lodges to conduct a formal service in tribute to a
MEMBER who had died. With the growth of the Order, this custom became more and more general; and the appealing sentiment of
which it was born was crystallized in a Statute of the Order.
Under its provisions the first Sunday in December of each year is designated as "Elks Memorial Day"; and it is mandatory upon
each Subordinate Lodge to commemorate departed brothers on that day. A definate ritual has been prescribed for this annual
event, which lends itself with equal effectiveness to the simplest , or the most elaborate, of permitted programs.
The Memorial Service may be conducted in the Lodge room for members only; but it is often observed as a public ceremonial, with
a program of special music and other appropriate features.

FLAG DAY CEREMONY
It is to be expected that an organization dedicated to patriotic service should seek to promote a proper knowledge of, and respect
for, the American Flag, and all that it represents. The Order of Elks has done this in many ways. Perhaps the most effective of its
prescribed activities is the Flag Day Service. Each Subordinate Lodge is required to conduct this service annually on June 14th, the
anniversary of the birth of the American Flag.
The idea of a Flag Day Service was first suggested to our Order by the then Grand Exalted Ruler at the 1907 Grand Lodge Session
in Philadelphia. Of the dates submitted for consideration at that time, June 14th was adopted by the session and was called "Elks
Flag Day." The following year, in Dallas, the Grand Lodge approved a ritual for the Flag Day ceremony. The 1911 Grand Lodge
session at Atlantic City made the observance of Flag Day mandatory for Subordinate Lodges by the adoption of Section 229 of the
Statutes: It shall be the duty of each Subordinate Lodge to hold the service known as "Flag Day Services" at the time and in the
manner prescribed by the ritual of the Order.
Later on - at the Grand Lodge Session in Atlantic City in 1930 - there was added to this statute an amendment reading: "The Grand
Exalted Ruler may, in exceptional cases and for good cause, grant a dispensation for a different day, or to any two or more Lodges
to hold such services jointly." It was not until Auhust 3, 1949 taht the President of the United States signed Public Law 203,
designating June 14 as Flag day. Thus, our Order was not only the first fraternal organization to celebrate Flag Day, but had made
this ceremony mandatory long years before the date on which the observance became a nation-wide practice by legal decree.
The ritual for the occasion is an elaborate one and it is quite generally conducted as a public ceremonial. It is designed to be
informative as well as inspirational; and the colorful pageantry provided lends itself admirably to the achievement of these
objectives.


FUNERAL SERVICES
It not infrequently happens that the family of a deceased member of the Order desire his Lodge to conduct a funeral service incident
to his internment, either in supplement
of the usual religious rites, or as the only ceremonial to be used.
A ritual for such a service has been provided, to be conducted by the officers and members of the Lodge. Without any suggestion of
sectarianism, it is beautiful and impressive, and its appropriately designed for use in the Lodge room, in a funeral home, or at the
grave.
This ceremonial is designated "Lodge of Sorrow."

CHARITABLE AND PATRIOTIC SERVICE
The primary object of the Order is the practice of Charity in its broadest significance, not merely that of aims giving. Its service in this
wide field necessarily involves a great diversity of activities, which naturally are influenced by local conditions. It therefore adopted
the policy of permitting its Subordinate lodges to select for themselves the benevolent endeavors in which they severely desired to
engage, rather than to require them to participate solely in national projects undertaken by the Order as a whole.
However, throughout its history, the Order has endeavored to maintain itself in readiness, as a national body, to extend its aid in
cases of major catastrophe and misfortune. Through its official agencies in all parts of the country, it has been able to render such
assistance with a promptness, effectiveness, and a lack of red tape, which have tremendously enhanced the practical helpfulness
of its adopted measures.
For many years the aggregate expendatures of the Subordinate Lodges for charitable purposes have run into millions of dollars
each year, covering humanitarian services of infinate variety. Among the most usual of such activities may be mentioned the
following: food to the hungary; shelter for the homeless; clothing and fuel for the needy; milk for the under-nourished babies;
medical attention to the sick; baskets to the poor at Christmas and Thanksgiving; outings for underprivileged children;
entertainment for shut-ins; education for young people; artificial limbs for the maimed; hospital beds; free clinics; night schools. And
the list might be indefinately extended. All of the State Elk Associations have undertaken important and extensive charitable works
within their own several jurisdictions, determined by the particular conditions therein existing and the preferences of their
constituent members. They include rehabilitation of crippled children, treatment of indigent tubercular patients, provision for
scholarships to worthy students, maintenance of orphans, boys' camps, training of the blind, eyeglasses for needy boys and girls,
cerebral palsy clinics, cancer clinics, and other state wide projects of similar character and of equal worthiness, which are being
carried on as continuing activities. No history of social service in the United States would be complete without an inspiring chapter
devoted to the achievements of the Order of Elks in this field.
In the field of patriotic service the Order of Elks has likewise proved itself an agency of singular force and effectiveness.
Organized at a time when the bitterness and rancor of the Civil War had left their wounds on every heart on both sides of the Mason
and Dixonline, the Order patiently taught its members through the years, drawn as they were from all sections of the country, that
bitterness ought to be sweetened; that rancor ought to be assuaged; those wounds ought to be healed. Through the widening
influence of its members, thus bound together by the ties of brotherhood, and thus fraternally schooled, the restoration of national
accord was assuredly hastened, and a patriotic service of superlative importance was thus performed.
Never an altar is erected in all its jurisdiction, but that the first emblem to be benevolently placed beside it is the American Flag. No
man is permitted to stand in front of that flag and altar and assume the obligation of membership unless he be an American citizen.
And at the close of every Lodge session he attends, he is required to renew his pledge of allegience to that flag and all for which it
stands.