Elks celebrate 100th anniversary of construction of downtown lodge

Red Oak Elks Lodge #1304 celebrated a major and unique milestone in December.  
The Elks members celebrated the 100th anniversary of the building being constructed in 1925. The lodge is located at 519 N. 1st St., off the Red Oak Square. Drew Swanson and Brad Baker are both members of the Elks Lodge and Past Exalted Rulers. Swanson became an Elks Lodge member around 2011, while Baker has been a member since the 1990. Swanson said while the building itself is 100 years old, the history of the Elks in Red Oak goes back even further.
“In 2013 it was the 100th anniversary of our chapter being formed. I’ve done some research into our history and we actually had an older building in the exact same location where our current lodge is located. It was actually a house that those past members met in.  When it came time to construct the new lodge, the house was razed and then the Elkis members in 1925 utilized the Masonic Lodge and Beardsley Theater for meetings while the new structure was being built. Beardsley Theater actually hosted fundraisers for the Elks and other organizations. It used to be located behind the current location of Vial Insurance in downtown Red Oak,” advised Swanson. “Two performances of a show raised $745, and the Elks members received half of that money towards its new building fund.”
Researching the history of the Elks, Swanson said, is a passion project for him,  and he was able to get a fair amount of information from the words of the Elks from years’ past.
“I’m on the Historic Preservation Commission, as well, and I got interested in looking a little deeper into the Elks because I knew we were coming up to the 100th anniversary of our building last year. At the lodge, we’ve got the minutes book which ranges from the early 1920s to the early 1930s. I went through it and looked at all the key meetings where they talked about building it, they talked about financing it, they talked about the furniture, they moved in, and talked about the ceremony those members had to welcome themselves to their new home,” said Swanson.
Baker said Swanson tracked down the cost to construct the building back in 1925, and when he heard the numbers, it was a shock to see how differently things cost between then and now.
“Drew found that the original construction for the building cost around $40,000. To put it in perspective, that amount is $6,000 to 7,000 less than what we just paid to repair a portion of the roof. All the interior furnishings cost around $6,000. The ornate chairs and everything would be in that cost. Separately, the boiler and kitchen installation and things like that to get them operational was also around $6,000, which in todays money would probably be somewhere in the range of $50,000 to $100,000,” stated Baker.
According to Swanson’s research, plans for construction of the new building were started two years in advance.
“In March of 1923, those Elks members started talking about how they were going to erect a new location at a cost of nearly $40,000, at 1st and Reed streets. At that time, the were planning on razing the existing structure within a few weeks of that date to prep for the construction of the new building,” commented Swanson. “The existing home that was torn down had stood there for 50 years prior. It was built as a residence for B.B. Clark in 1871. In 1883, he sold it to Green Bay Lumber Company, which is now the Do-It Center, who later sold it to someone named I. Sanborn. The Elks members then purchased the home shortly after the lodge was organized.”
There were no major updates on the progress of the project throughout 1924, and Swanson said the first new bit of progress on the project was reported in 1925.
“In early September, 1925, they laid the cornerstone of the new Elks lodge. It says that during a ceremony, Rev. Ira Carney, then-Pastor of the Red Oak Christian Church, gave an address saying the new Elks building will be a thing of permanency in the years to come. Members of the Elks then marched from the temporary headquarters at Legion Hall to the building site. A strong box was placed in the cornerstone by Secretary Ardeen Rapp which included a history of the organization, greetings from the American Legion, an elk tooth, and copies of the Red Oak Express and the Red Oak Sun,” Swanson explained. “Afterwards, then-Exalted Ruler E.M. Woodward was joined by contractor Chas Barnes of B-J Concrete Company and architect Ben Todd of Shenandoah to place and seal the cornerstone.”
It was in early February of 1926, Swanson said, that the existing Elks Lodge was dedicated in a special ceremony with nearly 300 Elks members from Red Oak and around the state in attendance, including State President F. G. Cluett of Sioux City.
“The ceremony was very similar to what is done now when we members of our lodge go off to other places and celebrate the good things. Some of the amenities of the new lodge that were talked about were a north lounge, a reception hall, and a banquet hall. The doors of the lounge could be folded to open it up into a spacious 60 by 38 foot lodge room, and they talked about the kitchen, complete with every detail, that ran along the south end of the banquet hall. The building itself ended up costing $25,000, but when you factor in the total value of the property and equipment it was valued at $40,000. It was noted that with the exception of a $7,000 mortgage and a few personal notes to lodge members, the new building was free of debt at that time in 1926,” Swanson advised.
The lodge celebrated the 100th anniversary of it’s construction on Dec. 13 of last year. Baker said it was a very pleasant event.
“There was some good memories shared. Our group was very supportive, and we had some Shenandoah Elks members join us. We really had a fun night, and we made fun of each other. It was a great opportunity in a different environment to bond a little bit with our group. We also held an auction that was led by Grant and Brenda Vrba and they got together and do that mother-son routine that they’ve got. Everybody responded real well, and we raised some money that we’ll be able to put towards future Elks events,” commented Baker.
Baker said that since they started more than a century ago, the Elks is focused on benefitting the local community.
“We do scholarships, a lot of youth work, we support the veterans. We also do a lot of charity work, supporting families in need, just events and crisis-type situations. We also do a lot of work on drug awareness and food security. We recently made a donation of $9,500 that was split between the two food banks here in Red Oak, which we were happy to do,” Baker stated. “We’ve got a banner the state is currently updating that says the Red Oak Elks Lodge has donated $1.1 million back into our community in financial contributions, in-kind, and labor. My understanding is at the state meeting I was at, when the state updates our banner, it will indicate those donations are closer to $2 million now. We do grant writing, we put the orchard in at the community garden in the Evergreen Cemetery, we’ve done the Ball Stadium bleachers, we’ve done the chicken coops at the fairgrounds, and then we do all sorts of other things on top of that, like our charity auctions and the superheroes and helping with National Night Out.”
Recently, the Elks have focused on maintaining the lodge. Before the 2010s and 2020s, the last time the building had been overhauled was in the 1970s, and was in need of help.  
“Drew started looking at DUR money, and we really concentrated on doing things in phases. We fundraised for individual projects. For example, we addressed a sewer issue that had been a major problem for years, then addressed other issues in the basement and did renovations. We completely ripped out and replaced our HVAC. As of today, we’ve spent more than $269,000 in much-needed renovations to our building. Some of that money was insurance, but the majority of it was from fundraising and out-of-pocket from lodge members,” said Baker. “It was a lot of money, but it was very important to us to keep our facility. A number of other communities aren’t as lucky as we were and lost their facilities because it got to be more expensive for repairs than they could manage. We’re also fortunate that because we were able to maintain our building, we can rent it out, we can host parties, we can host meals. Not all of the facilities are in good enough shape to allow for that.”
Baker added that it was the combined efforts of the Elks members that saved the lodge.
“We had hard discussions, and the old MediCap Pharmacy building was talked about, whether or not it could be a lodge facility. That was around the time that we knew we needed new HVAC and it was discussed that we had a lot of other things that need fixed, too, and maybe it was time to jump ship. But a lot of people came together and decided while that might be the easier way out; they didn’t want to give up on the building. Thanks to those efforts, we were able to celebrate 100 years, and we’ll be able to celebrate many more, and preserve our history,” advised Baker.
Swanson added that saving the building also sent a strong message to the community that the Elks were committed to the future.
“I didn’t want it to look to the community as if we were fading away or going away by going from this big old grand building to something different and probably smaller. It might have given that perception, which could have hurt membership and hurt the ability of us to continue with our mission. By staying in our building that we’d been in for almost 100 years and fixing it up to where it’s ready for even more years going forward, that shows that we’re committed to not going anywhere,” commented Swanson.
In addition to the many changes to the building over the years, Baker said as of late, there’s been a return to some of the lodge’s older philosophies.
“So many of the older members talk about how their kids were raised here, and so we tried to get back into the family dynamics. We’re holding family-friendly events and food nights and things like that. We have a kid area, and people are not discouraged to bring their kids here. There was a perception for a time that kids weren’t welcome, and we’re working hard to change that,” explained Baker. “We also for a time struggled with handicapped accessibility. Now we’ve got a wheelchair lift to the club room and a stair lift to the lodge room, so we can be open and accessible to anyone that wants to come.”
To become a member, Baker said there’s a flyer that has been put together that’s available next to membership applications at the lodge.
“All a person has to do is get an application, fill it out, and bring it back down, or they can get it online at elks.org. There’s two questions. You have to believe in God, and you have to believe in the flag of our country. Membership dues annually are around $120 per year, and we hope people can get the opportunity to figure out what the Elks do that fit into what people need. If it’s going out and working National Night Out or being on the scholarship committee or working Hoopshoot or any of that, you have to engage yourself into where we’re at so that you get value. Some people join strictly to have the social club part of it, but I hope they expect and receive more,” advised Baker.
For those that are considering joining, Swanson said there are a lot of great service clubs in this area and they all do wonderful things, but one thing that he thinks makes the Elks stand out is that they have a dedicated gathering place.
“You’re not limited to just coming to the meetings or just doing the pre-scheduled service activities, you can come down anytime. You can talk about anything including new ways to give back to your community with your fellow members while you’re enjoying a meal or a drink or what have you, or you can just come down here and enjoy the company of your fellow members. The fact that we have a place to gather, I feel like, makes our group closer than we could be if we didn’t have a venue that we can all congregate at on a regular basis,” Swanson said.