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Elks celebrates over a century of making a difference

To make a difference in the community. Plain, simple and to the point--the Brainerd Elks Lodge No. 615 has lived by these words since Aug. 23, 1900. The national organization celebrated its 150th anniversary Friday as the founding of the Benevole...

Jim Van Duyn (left) listens as Herman Wisneski talks about the history of the Brainerd Elks Lodge No. 615.Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch
Jim Van Duyn (left) listens as Herman Wisneski talks about the history of the Brainerd Elks Lodge No. 615. Steve Kohls / Brainerd Dispatch

To make a difference in the community.

Plain, simple and to the point-the Brainerd Elks Lodge No. 615 has lived by these words since Aug. 23, 1900.

The national organization celebrated its 150th anniversary Friday as the founding of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks began on Feb. 16, 1868. Shortly after the Spanish American War in 1898 a group of Brainerd men recognized the need for a fraternal order or social club. Thus, the Brainerd Elks Lodge, was born and they were granted a charter membership to the BPO Elks. Jim Van Duyn, a longtime Brainerd Elks member and public information officer, said the Elks was the first service club in Brainerd.

Van Duyn said 150 years ago, a small number of theatrical and musical professionals met in New York City and laid the foundation of the organization. Known as the "Jolly Corks," its primary object was to support and practice the four cardinal virtues of charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity, and to help the weak and unfortunate and to cheer the despondent.

"This organization grew rapidly in both numerical and financial strength that a name distinctly of American origin was adopted, hence the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and often interpreted as the 'Best People on Earth,'" Van Duyn stated of facts he found about the organization. In the beginning, there were 64 local men installed as members of the Order at Gardner's Hall, which at the time was located east of the U.S. Postal Service building. Today, there are about 250-300 members.

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Van Duyn and Herman Wisneski, an Elks member and past state president, this week shared the history of the organization and the programs it organizes. The first thing to note, they said, is the misconception that people think the Elks is "just a bar."

"This always gets me going," Wisneski said, as the Elks consists of the building itself, which serves as a club/social parlour. This is where the Elks hosts its dinners and events. Then there is the Elks Lodge, which refers to the programs, which the members organize and staff.

Elks youth programs include:

• The dictionary project, with which about 600 third-graders receive a complimentary dictionary,

• Scholarships, with which the Elks provides more than $11,000 for Student of the Month and other scholarships,

• Soccer Shoot, which is a contest to test different level skills for different age groups,

• Hoop Shoot for ages 8-13, with youths who compete in a free throw contest,

• Americanism Essay Contest,

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• Youth Camp for "deserving" youths ages 9-13,

• Sponsoring a young person for School Patrol Camp each summer; an Ice Mites team for Brainerd Amateur Hockey Association, supporting the Elks debate high school tournament and Brainerd/Baxter Parks and Recreation softball, baseball, soap box derby, Miracle Field and other programs.

Elks veterans programs include:

• Bingo or casino night every other month with veterans at the St. Cloud VA Health Care System,

• Supplying teaching tools at the Brainerd VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic,

• Serving free dinners Tuesday night at the lodge for Central Lakes College-enrolled veterans and their families,

• Donating for Wreaths for the Fallen,

• Participating in the Disabled Veterans Turkey and Deer Hunts at Camp Ripley,

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• Offering a free week of camp to children ages 9-13, who are children of deployed soldiers.

The mission of the Elks is "to make a difference in the community," said Wisneski. "Whether that is with youth, citizenship, Americanism or veterans. We go into a community to make a difference."

Wisneski said the reason why the Elks has been so successful through the past century is because of the commitment of its members/volunteers.

"A tremendous amount of people over the past years have cared about the community they live in," Wisneski said. "The fact that we can make a difference and we can see what we are doing and see the effect we have in Brainerd and not somewhere else."

One of the Elks' biggest challenges is finding enough volunteers to run the programs. Wisneski said volunteers can give as much or as little of their time to an Elks program as they'd like. Wisneski is concerned as many of the members are growing older and will eventually retire and the organization needs new, younger blood to take over the programs.

"If we can't get younger people to buy into this and ... volunteer to be involved, these programs eventually won't run," Wisneski said. "We are starting to get more younger people involved in the Elks Thanksgiving dinner."

Those interested in volunteering or becoming a member of the Elks can go online at www.brainerdelks.org or email info@brainerd.elks . They may also contact Van Duyn at 218-838-6529 or jamesvanduyn@gmail.com , or Wisneski at 218-839-8503 or herbar@brainerd.net .

Members must be 21 years old to join.

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Van Duyn and Wisneski both said the Elks have touched so many youths and veterans over the years. A touching story each year come from volunteers who pick up the youths who attend the Elks Youth Camp and bring them home. The youths typically are crying because they don't want to leave, as they established friendships they never would have made if they didn't go to the camp.

Of the many lives the Elks Lodge has touched, one who Van Duyn and Wisneski have high hopes for is Gabriella Haire, a 2015 Brainerd High School graduate. In 2015, Haire was the first Brainerd student in years to be named in the top 20 for the Elks National Foundation Most Valuable Student National Finalists-earning a $20,000 Elks Scholarship.

"She's going to make a difference," Wisneski said. "She already is."

"It's rewarding to be able to help all these kids," Van Duyn said, as the Elks are involved with up to 6,000 kids a year. "Being a teacher all my life I can carry on the teaching through the Elks. Seeing the excitement in the kids' eyes who participate in programs and seeing their face when they receive a dictionary, where that is the first book they ever owned, it's rewarding."

History of Brainerd Elks

Brainerd Elks Lodge No. 615 became a member of the Minnesota Elks State Association in 1905. The Elks adopted a Flag Day ritual in 1911 that was made mandatory to celebrate every June 14 and the Elks National Foundation was created in 1928.

Van Duyn stated early in life, the young Brainerd Lodge looked forward to a home of its own. Land was purchased near Seventh and Maple streets, only to be sold 10 years later. Then land was purchased, but the building was deferred at the Sixth and Laurel streets location. Finally, in 1926 construction began on the Brainerd Elks building at that location. Dedication was on April 23, 1927. With accelerated payoff, all mortgages, loans, notes and claims on the building, property and furnishings were paid and a burning ceremony was in April of 1944.

There then were two more moves for the Elks. The first in 1985, when the Elks moved to South Fourth Street, where the Crow Wing County Judicial Center is now located. Then in 2005, the Elks moved to the current location on 215 S. Ninth St., Brainerd.

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Between 1926 and 1985, the lodge grew totaling more than 1,500 members and having the largest membership in the state, Van Duyn stated. Multiple state functions and conventions were here; the Grand Exalted Rulers made an annual visit with stag nites, mixers, food and dancing on hand, making the Elks a "go to" venue. The national lodge added a patriotic essay contest, Elks Emergency Educational Fund, the free throw shooting contest and established the Youth Activities Committee in the 1940s.

In 1953, the Minnesota Elks Youth Camp property was purchased. Boys started attending in 1955 and girls in 1960.

The Brainerd Elks has had five state presidents: Dr. A K Cohen in 1931; Dr. M H Carlson in 1952; Everett F Anderson in 1967; Al Schlegel in 1983; and Herman Wisneski in 2009.

Elks programs

• 1971: first Fisherman's Stag, now the annual Fishing Fling, open to all men and women, to support veterans and youth programs.

• 1976-1981: Brainerd officers win their first Minnesota State Ritual contest title. They go on to win the title four consecutive years.

• 2009: Dictionary project.

• 2010: Minnesota Elks begins Youth Camp raffle project, asking each lodge to sell tickets, and money raised would pay camper's fees.

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• 2012: Charter Boy Scouts America Troop No. 7 and Community Investment Program Beacon grant.

• 2013: Promise grant and Miracle League Field, Public Library Interactive project.

• 2015: Imagination Library.

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