Sean C. Morgan
The Sweet Home Elks celebrated the 50th anniversary of their lodge building Saturday afternoon, Nov. 23.
The Elks dedicated their building on Nov. 23, 1963, moving from the Veterans of Foreign Wars clubhouse, just after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
That was eight years after the Sweet Home Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks Lodge 1972 formed in 1955, sponsored by the Lebanon Elks Lodge, said Past Exalted Ruler Ron Sharrah.
The organization had 805 members at the time. Exalted ruler was Merle Ream, and officers included Gib Walsh, esteemed leading knight; Frank Enos, esteemed loyal knight; Merle Richard, esteemed lecturing knight; Frank Ryan, secretary; Al Chritton, treasurer; Ken Bate, esquire; Bob Jenkins, assistant esquire; Rob Harbaugh, chaplain; Dean Davis, inner guard; Walt Leisy, organist; Delman Pearl, Tiler; and Earl McFarlan, justice of sub forum. The Board of Trustees included Lloyd White, chairman; Murrel Gilkey; Mel Lester; Ken Tracewell; and Fred Grissom.
The lodge was built with post and beam construction with framing between the posts and beams, Sharrah said during a slide show about the building. It had a fitness room and sauna, with a steam room started but not finished.
Conceptual drawing of the Elks building
The building has been the headquarters for local Elks engaged in a variety of charitable activities for national and local interests.
“Of the many things we do, our service to our veterans and patriotism is probably the most important,” Sharrah said. The Elks alternate a Flag Day ceremony annually with the VFW.
“We open every meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance,” Sharrah said. “We’re Christians first and foremost, and we’re patriots through and through.”
The Elks have supported the youth of Sweet Home since their foundation, he said. From Scouting to the Hoop Shoot, which was developed by Frank Hise, a past grand exalted ruler from Corvallis. From the beginning, the Elks have provided scholarships to local college-bound students.
The Elks have been active in sports, and most recently, they have been supporting local schools with an annual back to school carnival, where children play games and win supplies for their schools.
The building has served as a social hub for the Elks too, with dinners, dances and celebrations, often with local bands providing entertainment.
“Sweet Home seems to have almost a plethora of talented people,” Sharrah said. They play music in their garages and front rooms, and the Elks often tap these groups.
The Elks have provided an all-you-can-eat breakfast since the 1960s, serving breakfast at the lodge, at Sankey Park and Cascadia.
“We serve our community,” Sharrah said. “We participate in as many things in the community as we can so we get our name out there and people know we’re here.”
The Elks have entered floats in the annual Sportsman’s Holiday Parade, and they participate in the Sweet Home Sweet Ride car show each June, which was started by Susan and Larry Angland, members of the Elks and the Kiwanis.
The lodge joins with other community organizations and provides Christmas food boxes, which include toys for families with children, Sharrah said. It also participates in the Food Pak program, which sends food home with needy students each weekend.
During his remarks on Saturday, Sharrah specifically remembered two members who have died in recent years, Howard Drago and Ron Fogle.
“They did so much to make us who we are,” Sharrah said. Fogle’s entire life was dedicated to service. He also served with the Fire Department. “He always had a smile on his face no matter what. He was the epitome of Elkdom.”
The Elks building was constructed on five acres donated by Stewart Weiss, who died before the building was completed, Sharrah said. The Elks took out a mortgage of $199,961. The Elks held a mortgage burning ceremony in 1973, “thanks, in part, to how quickly the membership grew.”
At its peak, the Elks numbered more than 1,000 members, Sharrah said. “This was a very active lodge.’
Among 50-year Elks attending the celebration was Jim Cook.
Though just shy of half a century as an Elk, Cook remembers the building going up, he said. “In those days, it was an honor to be a member. You had to live here for six months before you could join.”
He moved to Sweet Home in September 1963 to work on Green Peter Dam, Cook said. “I tried to join, but they wouldn’t let me.”
He joined in March 1964.
Cook was a mechanic on Green Peter and Foster dams. He also did some diamond drilling. While here, he bought a house and stayed, traveling to work on about 20 different dams. He served in various officer positions when he could, but his job took him out of town. After retiring in 1988, he became an officer again and served as exalted ruler in 1990.
“We did everything,” Cook said. “We had a Boy Scout Troop.”
The local lodge sent a lot of money to the Elks National Foundation, and one scholarship sent a boy to college for four years, he said.
“In the sixties, everybody belonged to the Elks it seemed like. There was not a businessman who didn’t belong.”
His favorite memories are from his term as exalted ruler, he said. He enjoyed attending the national convention with grand exalted rulers, past grand exalted rulers and other high-ranking Elks from Oregon and Sweet Home.
Merle Osborn is a 53-year member of the Elks who lived in Sweet Home most of his life. Today, he lives in Lebanon.
When the building went up, he remembered, it was all glass upstairs.
The Elks building today
It’s changed a lot since then, he said. The windows are gone now, with walls instead to conserve energy.
“It’s a nice lodge,” Osborn said. “It’s got dedicated people. They do a lot of good. There’s good times to be had too.”
Osborn enjoys the friendships and camaraderie throughout the organization, he said. “You can just go about any place in the country and find a lodge. You look out for each other.”
The Elks spent one day last week looking for a time capsule.
“The first thing we wanted to do was to dig up the time capsule,” Sharrah said. They tried to find it early so it would be ready to go by 2 p.m. Saturday when the celebration started. “We spent six hours with a backhoe, removed a lot of concrete we probably didn’t need to and a flag pole.”
White’s Electronics donated a technician’s time to try to help find it. They found all kinds of metallic scrap, and they dug up the original flag pole, which Elks members thought might have had a hollow container on the end. They cut it open, but it contained nothing.
Sharrah said he talked to Hal Hennick and Cook about it. They agreed on the location of the time capsule but disagreed on which corner of the flag pole it was located. It was apparently 1½ to 2 feet deep.
Cook said it was 1½ feet deep.
“Nobody ever knew it was there but me,” he said. “There was just three of us the day we buried it.”
He thought it was probably buried about 30 years ago.
The Elks dug up the whole area down to 6 and even 8 feet in some places, Sharrah said. “We didn’t locate a time capsule. I suspect if there was one, maybe someone dug it up for the 25th anniversary or something or maybe it’s still out there. We’re still thrilled to be celebrating 50 years in this building.”
Regardless of the old time capsule, the Elks are planning to bury another one, said Past Exalted Ruler Jim Heimbuck. This one will be well-marked and documented to ensure the Elks can find it on the 100th anniversary of the building.