Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City.
"Elks" redirects here. For the animal, see Elk. For the Canadian counterpart, see Elks of Canada. For other uses, see Elks (disambiguation).Abbreviation
The fraternity currently focuses on Community, Friendship and Charity.
Tangential Organizations[edit]
Elks State Associations[edit]
The state level organizations are called "Elks State Associations"; state level officers include presidents, vice presidents, secretaries and treasurers. Generally state associations are setup to govern and control the "State Major Project".
Antlers[edit]
Despite its 1907 resolution banning any auxiliaries, the Elks at one point had a youth affiliate for young men called the Antlers. The first chapter was organized in February 1922 by San Francisco Lodge #3. The 1927 Grand Lodge approved the junior order, granting the Grand Exalted Ruler the power to permit subordinate lodges to instituted organizations for males under 21. In 1933, there were 45 local units of the Antlers with 3,584 members. However, the Antlers numbers were decimated during the Second World War, with so many young men having gone off to war. Despite 86 local Antlers groups still existing in 1946, the Grand Lodge deleted all reference to them in their constitution and bylaws that year. However, some local Antlers groups were still active in 1979, according to one source.[56]