Elks National Memorial – May 1926

Grandpa was an Elk.

Which on the face of it would seem to be a good thing. After all, Lorain was a hotbed of fraternal organizations and for decades beginning in the early 1900s, many men enjoyed memberships in several of them. "It's not what you know – it's who you know," was one of Grandpa's sayings that Mom often repeated, and he believed it. That's why he was an Elk as well as a Mason.

Grandpa and some fellow Elks. He's second from left (with the cigarette holder)

Grandpa worked at the Lorain Journal as a Linotype operator when it was located on Seventh Street, and he had to walk by the Lorain Elks Lodge on Sixth Street to get home. And since Grandpa (as Mom used to say) was a 'hale fellow well met," he used to stop there for a few drinks and songs with the boys. Unfortunately what was supposed to be a short visit used to last several hours. And many times, Grandma had to send Mom over to the Elks to go fetch her father for dinner. Years later, Mom still remembered the loud boisterous singing going on there.

Anyway, Grandpa was no doubt proud that his beloved Elks erected a memorial to the members who died in the Great War. This small photo and caption appeared in the Lorain Journal on May 18, 1926.

Years later, the beautiful Memorial was rededicated to honor all veterans, regardless of whether they were members of the Elks. You can find a great detailed history of the Memorial here on the Elks website.

Photo courtesy of Paul Saint John

If I'm ever in Chicago, you can bet that I'll stop and see it – as a tribute to Grandpa, and veterans.

Happy Birthday, Lorain Elks!

It was great to see the article in the Morning Journal over the weekend about the Lorain Elks Lodge No. 1301 celebrating its 100th Birthday today.

If you missed it, you can find it online here.

It's no small achievement, seeing as how many of the other fraternal organizations in Lorain have disappeared over the years. So it's wonderful to see the Lorain Elks thriving in the 2000s. Lorain is richer for it, especially with all the good that the organization does for the community.

I've mentioned my family's Elks connection on the blog before. My mother's father, Louis Bumke, was an Elk.

That's why it was such a nice surprise to see Grandpa in one of the archival photos featured in the Morning Journal article on the Elks. That's him in the sweater on the left-hand side of the photo, chomping on his cigarette holder. I still associate that particular item with him.

Courtesy Morning Journal and Lorain Elks

It's fitting for Grandpa to appear in the Morning Journal, because he worked there for years as a linotype machine operator; he fixed them too. 

Anyway, I digress. Happy Birthday, Elks! Hope you are around for another hundred years!

Elks Club Then and Now Part 2

While doing a little research at the Black River Historical Society back in March, I found this undated vintage photo in a collection of Lorain Elks paraphernalia.

Lorain Journal ad from January 1954

I feel kind of sentimental about the Lorain Elks, because my grandfather was a member of that lodge for many years and it meant a lot to him. According to my mother, her father was a "hail fellow well met" type of guy, who enjoyed stopping at the Elks lodge on the way home from work. (Maybe a little too often!)

Grandpa was also a Mason. Basically, he was one of that dying breed of men who, back in the 1940s and 1950s, belonged to several different fraternal organizations. It really seemed to be a necessity back then, career-wise.

Anyway, here is another recent shot of the Lorain Elks building at 203 Sixth Street. According to the City Directories, it was the address for a barber, as well as a few residents, in 1945. It wasn't listed as the address for the Elks until 1947 or so.

Recent photo of the Lorain Elks building

Elks Club Then and Now Part 1

Residence of A.N. Garver, M.D.

Last week at the library, I was thumbing through a facsimile copy of the 1895 Lorain Evening Herald Industrial Edition book (which I also mentioned back here) when I saw this photo. The caption read, "Residence of A.N. Garver, M.D." The article provided a short bio of the doctor and mentioned that "He has his office both at his handsome residence at No. 8 Bank Street, a cut of which appears in this article, and also at the "South End."

The photo is great, we see someone (maybe the good doctor?) watering the tree, as a child looks on from the porch steps.

Of course, I hoped I could do a 'then and now' shot of the house. Since Lorain renamed all of its streets (and renumbered addresses) just in time for the 1912 Lorain City Directory, once again I had to do a little cross-referencing.

It turns out that 8 Bank Street is now 203 Sixth Street – which is why the photo looked vaguely familiar to me. Today it is the home of the Lorain Elks. I pass it every time I go to the library!

And here is my shot from Sunday. I guess that tree that was being watered is long gone.