Chartered in 1925, the lodge was established because, at the time, Black people were barred from joining the city's all-white Elks. The bartender pulls a bag of popcorn from the microwave and pours it into a bowl for everyone at the bar to share. Get our quarterly newsletter to stay up-to-date, plus all speech or video narrative bookings near you as they happen. A name in this story has been changed to reflect the subject's preference. To get to the bar of Cascade Lodge No. Oscar Holden plays at the Black Elks Club, and he is kind to Henry and Keiko when he finds them in the read analysis of Oscar Holden. President Roosevelts New Deal cash infusions put money into peoples pockets, which created demand for nighttime entertainment. Seattle. The unique political and social climate of Prohibition and 1920s Seattle nurtured the rapid growth of the citys nightlife and Jackson Streets many clubs. Follow us: Facebook and Instagram for the latest News and Events, Directions: 6411 Seaview Ave NW Seattle, WA 98107, Office Hours: 10:00 A.M. 3:00 P.M. Monday thru Friday. Lodge Name or No. Cascade Lodge No. (Its so unflattering!). The Lodge is a short distance from downtown Seattle, South Lake Union, and the Ballard neighborhood. This may seem strange, but it is a fact. It was formally called the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and was founded in Cincinnati, OH. [20] Ibid., 39. Local jazz musicians encouraged Johnson to develop his skills and nurtured his passion. Every Sunday morning, Crosscut's weekly email sums up the best stories of the week. The view from the room is beautiful,, Satch S. said: Every time I have gone into this business to rent something it has, Seasaidh M. said: I had a bad experience for reasons that were outside of normal, Tim K. said: Having party needed table and chairs and few other items. In this country, there are two distinctive strands of Elks Club. Dockmasters, fishermen, liveaboards, all of us odd ducks. Lodge meets 2nd & 4th Tuesdays at 7:30 pm. (L to R) Longtime memberJ.R. Bonds, chapter president Maurice Blacknall and longtime member Al Brooks gather at the bar for beverages and conversation at Cascade Lodge No. The social quarters have no phone. I tell people that Im part of the Elks and they give me funny looks, Ben Braden, who sits on the Ballard Elks executive committee, told me. Both organizations are now open to all races, but they continue to operate as separate entities, with little cross-pollination. Clearly, police raids were a common occurrence. Our expansive club on the first floor is open for members and their guests to gather indoors in the Club Room or outdoors on our covered patio or open-air waterfront terrace. The official website of the order, however, traces the clubs origins all the way back to 1066. The phone is only answered during office hours. The initiation dinner is a mix of new, recent, and longtime members, sitting eight to a table, with thin paper placemats emblazoned with a proud and fully racked elks. Growing up in North Carolina, he says, "We used to go there as teenagers, but as long as we behaved ourselves, they let us stay.". Any Elks club in the world, when the clock strikes 11, we recite the toast.. May 24, 2016.Matt Lutton / Boreal Collective for BuzzFeed News. All members are required to state that they believe in a higher power and to pledge that they have never attempted to overthrow the government. Thank you! Yet in 2011, the Grand Exalted Ruler was dismissed for improper conduct, which she alleged was part of a larger plot on the part of older, male members to remove her and other female leaders from power. Condemnation of religious ideology is directed against church doctrine and not against individual adherents or members.. Our PARKING LOT is only open for members (and their guests) who are attending lodge functions or visiting the Social Quarters or the lodge office. According to the non-profit African American Registry, the fraternal order was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1899 after two black men were denied admission to the Benelovent and Protective Order of Elks of the World, which is still popular today and, despite questions raised on discriminative practices, now allows any American citizen, 21 years or older, who believes in God tobe invited to join its ranks. But this place bucks that trend. While TheDa Vinci Code novelist Dan Brown and his contemporaries have shined a light upon some of the bigger secret fraternal organizations likethe Order of Skull and Bones, Freemasons,Rosicrucians and the Illuminati, there are still other, lesser-known groups that have compelling stories of their own. In Ballard, the age span is part of the lodges allure. [13] Taylor, 154. Back then, Ballard overflowed with Scandinavians, Norwegians in particular; according to lore, local law required a church for every bar, which resulted in a profusion of both. The Ballard Elks has more than 560. Organizations like the Elks span age groups, political orientations, sexual identities, classes, and, increasingly, race; in so doing, they foment bridging social capital that is, connections with people who are not necessarily like you. Think about it: Would you rather get a wad of birthday cash from your grandfather in an envelope, or would you rather receive it in a Crown Royal bag? Jackson Street jazz musicians also took their craft overseas and while entertaining international crowds, some learned a thing or two. Kendall Hicks, leader of the Frederick Allen Lodge, shows an old photo of Saratoga's historic Black Elks Club from when the building housed a restaurant on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, on Beekman . Under Bonds' stewardshipas former chapter president, the Elks Lodge paid off its mortgage and now owns the building. Turning 90 again? Ben teases. Theres a similar cult of personality around Nestor Tamayao, a retired Army communications officer who, along with his brother, Felix, joined the Elks in 2012. But what is most interesting is the explicit criticism of the American white man as ill-mannered and crazy. Few (if any) Blacks during the Great Depression supported racial segregation, but it was the law. In truth, Seattles transformation resembles that of San Francisco, Austin, and Brooklyn and is a natural extension of gentrifying processes set in motion more than 20 years ago. View Map (253) 300-8759 Contact Us. Living or dead, an Elk is never forgotten, never forsaken. . But will the Seattle Landmarks Board sign off? Paul Brice, an exalted ruler, says his lodge hopes to revitalize itself, which is now down to about 50 members. This multiracial character was partly a product of what Quintard Taylor calls Seattles admittedly benign racial environment. While there is no doubt that racism and discrimination were widespread, they did not have the harsh, caustic edge seen elsewhere in the country. The specific lore of the early Elks has filled books, but the bare facts, as presented during a recent Ballard new member orientation, are easier: Some actors wanted to drink on Sundays, which wasnt allowed at the time, so they put together a private club so they could succeed at that. We call it going Elkn. Its fun to get your friends to join, and to meet new friends here, he adds. Spearman is a Kent resident whose grandfather started an Elks lodge in Yakima. Together, the roadhouses and the Jackson Street night clubs embedded jazz in Seattles nightlife and [b]y 1928, jazz had taken over the popular music scene.[7] Clubs continued to pop up on and around Jackson Streetthe Blue Rose (later called the Rocking Chair) on 14th and Yesler and the Chinese Gardens Club (aka the Bucket of Blood), across from 511 7th Street Southand even when the stock market crashed and the Great Depression hit, there was no doubt that jazz would remain on Jackson Street. But then I take people here and theyre like, Do I have one of these in my neighborhood?. "We've basically been growing by 20 percent a year," says the lodge's former exalted ruler, Ben Braden, who acknowledges that his lodge's waterfront location on Shilshole Bay is a pretty enviable calling card. Elks prepare food baskets they'll distribute to needy families in theDenver area for Christmas, Dec. 1970. So what is the attraction? Matt Lutton / Boreal Collective for BuzzFeed News, Steve Larson/The Denver Post via Getty Images, Library of Congress; courtesy Ballard Elks, the only real place for black folks to go. [6] Ibid., 3. In Ballard, the Elks are a salve for very contemporary and Seattle-specific syndromes: For transplants, its an antidote to the Seattle Freeze, the term for the difficulty non-natives face in making friends or finding dates; for natives, its a retreat from the Amazon-incited condo-ization of the city as a whole and Ballard in particular. While the Great Depression was ending, the swing era of jazz was just beginning. Its all in the name of fun and fundraising, benefiting veterans groups, youth programs, Ballard Food Bank, and more. New disks are on their way. (All photos by Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut). (Photo courtesy of the University of Washington Special Collections), On June 10, 1918, Seattle saw its first local jazz band perform in Washington Hall, at 14th Avenue and Fir Street. Black musicians founded their own union, Local 458, in 1918. The emphasis on secret was what inspired so much distrust in the exclusive clubs. Ordering was, Planning and Coordination personalized to create an unforgettable experience from. The toast is ostensibly about the Elks, but it also ritualizes the broad and primal hunger to know that your presence has been, in some way, indelible a dream that joining, and its attendant commitment, of labor, of capital, of care, guarantees. Ruler GayeSpearman tends bar and speaks with member Doris Johnsonat Cascade Lodge No. That organization morphed into Local 493 in 1924, and the two unions co-existed inharmoniously for the next four decades. [20] According to historian Paul de Barros, the absence of local big bands was a product of two factors. [23] Ibid., 17-20. And here at the Elks, I dont ever have to worry about my drink being spiked, or my purse being stolen, or guys harassing me., A man one seat down, silent our entire conversation, speaks up, his eyes still focused on the Mariners game in front of him: And if you ever do have problems, you know, you can count on us.. 527 were here. Sunday, April 02. [12] Carlos Bulosan, America is in the Heart, (USA: Originally published by Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943; reprinted by the University of Washington Press, 1973), 99-100. Jackson Street became the hotbed for Seattles jazz scene primarily because of its proximity to the Black community and because of the underground nightclub scene that developed during the Prohibition years. The swing era attracted new listeners to jazz music, particularly young people. On this date, in 1868, the Black Elks were formed. We bring people together in all kinds of ways, from our weekly paddle club, to bingo games and car shows, to Scout meetings. Explore the lives of little-known changemakers who left their mark on the country, The popularity of these secret clubs peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries. Moreover, because public opinion generally sided with the clubs owner and patrons, raids created sympathy and sometimes additional patronage for Jackson Street night clubs. No less than the New York Times weighed in on secret societies in 1880, not wholly dismissing the theory that Freemasonry brought about the civil war and acquitted President Johnson and has committed or concealed crimes without number. The Times comments, This able theory of Freemasonry is not so readily believed as the theory that the European secret societies are the ruling power in Europe, but there are still many people as yet outside the lunatic asylum who firmly believe it., Many religious leaders felt at the very least conflicted about secret orders. Welcome to Ballard Elks Lodge 827 a social and charitable group that strives to make a difference in our community and beyond. Turnham was a charismatic musician who next led her own big band. I asked the other leaders, do I need anything covered, like my tattoos or anything? Millennials are philanthropic 84% made a charitable donation in 2014 but that giving is largely directed toward national, non-chaptered organizations; 62% of donations took place via an app, an email, or a text message, with little in terms of direct, visible results. They were determined to form an organization that granted membership to all qualified individuals without regard to race, creed, or ethnicity. In the early 21st century, it has 500,000 members and 1500 lodges . The invitation to the Portland Elks initiation, 1908. Saturday: 3:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. The actors referred to in a quote regarding the origins of the Elks formed a private club after they wanted to drink on Sundays and it wasn't allowed. These interests intersect in a little cloth bag. Brooks was impressed by the stream of successful African-American professionals the lodge brought in for chats, and membership was robust through the early 2000s. The suspected culprit? As multiple studies have shown, the more you drink and eat and do philanthropy work and live with people unlike you, the more likely you are to treat them as people, whether in your voting patterns, public speech, or willingness to help them in a time of crisis. Were getting a lot of new blood, but we have to sustain it. John and his partner, Jake, chose bingo, helping run the Memorial Day events and eating monthly steak. Canton Alley. Fill in any field or combination of fields to find a lodge. [7] Ibid., 12-17. [30] de Barros, 45. You are Welcome Day and Night."[31]. There's a kitchen to the right, with cooks whipping up hot links, wings, catfishand pork-chop sandwiches. Tape Recording, University of Washington Manuscript Collection. As the above excerpt suggests, Jackson Street was a unique part of Seattles nightlife and jazz was one of its allurements. Although the Northwest Enterprise did not mention jazz clubs explicitly, one could call Jackson Streets jazz scene the catalyst for racial mixing and comradeship. [16] Country Constables Raid Black & Tan Night Club, Northwest Enterprise, 14 September 1933, p.4. Sure, the Freemasons are too mystical and readily associated with the villains of The Da Vinci Code; the Odd Fellows, whose membership once topped 2.7 million, cant overcome their name; and the business networking function of the Jaycees, Lions, and Rotary have been overtaken by LinkedIn. Prospective members of the Protestant fraternity dont take a pledge, they just have to affirm their acceptance of the Principles of Reformation, as well as loyalty to their country. Previously the site of lavish Victorian homes, by 1890 Yesler-Jackson had an abundance of third-rate hotels, shops, bars, and brothels, which made the area decidedly lower-class. Brooks' first exposure to the Cascade lodge was as a DJ. THE SEATTLE ELKS 92 - 45 Photos - Seattle, Washington - Venues & Event Spaces - Phone Number - Yelp The Seattle Elks 92 6 reviews Unclaimed Venues & Event Spaces, Social Clubs Edit Open 3:00 PM - 11:30 PM See hours See all 45 photos Write a review Add photo Location & Hours 3014 3rd Ave N Seattle, WA 98109 Nickerson St & Etruria St Queen Anne Membership is exploding in San Francisco, the Florida Keys, North Carolina, and dozens of other areas, including the bedroom communities of New Jersey, where Eli Manning was just voted to membership. We had my party down here last Saturday night, and one of the gals, she had those things that you put on your titties and twirl around, and she glued them right on her sweatshirt!, Lois has served as the secretary of the Ballard Elks for more than 100 years, managing membership rolls, dues, and correspondence. As recently as four years ago, announcements were made through a clipboard in the lobby; today, its all email and Facebook, both of which Lois has mastered. DJ Smooth T sits in the booth and plays music for members at Cascade Lodge No. Email us at [email protected] or submit it to our story form. Two years later they relocated to Seattle, where Edythe's quintet performed at venues like the Copper Kettle and the Black Elks Club. by Jessie Carney Smith When it hit 80 degrees late this past April, the city filled with Velcroed sandals, summer skirts, pale legs, and musty athletic gear all of which could be found in abundance at the Ballard Elks at 5 p.m., where Brad was prepping to brief the latest crop of initiates. Elegant and well-spoken, he is passionate . 2) The Black Elks Club: 662 S Jackson, 662 MISTAKE top floor. Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium, Theatre Arts during the Great Depression, Culture and the Arts during the Great Depression, Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium | University of Washington. Sadly, some Elks and auxiliary members say some young people aren't fit for their groups, and others say drug use is unacceptable. [6] While Jackson Street was always the heart of Seattles jazz scene, the nightlight extended to semi-legal roadhouses (freestanding nightclubs located on the outskirts of town) where alcohol and jazz flowed freely. As late as the 1970s, the lodge was where you went to dance on a Saturday night, to dress up on New Years, to play bridge and hobnob and drink under the auspices of charity. WA's government transparency committee is ready to call it quits, At Seattle Opera, A Thousand Splendid Suns burns brightly, Seattle's Third Avenue Project takes a new approach to old problems, Planting the seeds for Washington's forest restoration efforts, This Elks Lodge is a throwback to South Seattle before gentrification, In Seattle, a one-of-a-kind hospital for broken vacuums, The century-old butcher shop that has become a Seattle staple, Seattles oldest country bar keeps two-stepping, Pacific Science Center plans to transform its iconic pools, Human Elements: A lone ranger rides for the wolves in rural WA, Starbucks union fight shows hard road for many toward contract, Sign up for the Crosscut Weekly newsletter, WA lawmakers work to keep public records from the public again, Free school lunch for all is off the table, but WA may expand access. 2023 Cascade Public Media. [4] Black migrants brought with them jazz and musical traditions from around the country and, by the 1910s, Seattles culture of legalized corruptionsupported venues for music. Prohibition, which began in Washington in 1916, prompted the need for underground clubs and speakeasies and city officials were all too eager to look the other wayand even encourage viceupon receiving cash payment. Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! It wasnt until the 70s that they allowed male minorities to join. On November 17, 1898, the first meeting of the Black Elks was held. To include the principles of Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love and Fidelity; to a belief in God; to promote the welfare and enhance the happiness of its Members; to quicken the spirit of American patriotism; to cultivate good fellowship; to perpetuate itself as a fraternal organization, and to provide for its government, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States of America will serve the people and communities through benevolent programs, demonstrating that Elks Care and Elks Share. And in a town where thats no longer the case in a lot of ways, it feels really freeing.. Its a fun place, and a light place, but I wouldnt take it lightly. So when I moved to Seattle, I asked myself, How do I capture that same community?, In my job, Im in a world of How do you make big global change,' she continues. , 14 September 1933, p.4 of popcorn from the microwave and it... That granted membership to all qualified individuals without regard to race,,! 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