I didnt join until the 90s. Greeters, food runners and dish washers are all volunteer positions. Fraternal organizations have always met specific cultural needs providing a space for men as women entered the public sphere at the turn of the 19th century, and a return to the brotherhood of military service after both world wars. African Americans during the 19th and the first half of the 20th century were denied entry into any of the White fraternal organizations. The unprovoked beating of Len Turner by police two days later helps to confirm this suspicion. Outside in the lobby, Lois and Brad are checking steak tickets. "State liquor law enforcement officers staged a spectacular raid on the Black and Tan Cabaret, 12th Ave. and Jackson Street, early Sunday morning to the discomfort of 200 guests. With the Elks, its all about transparency, Rick Gathen, a representative from Elks National, told me. The fact that it was the police who first started abusing employees at the Black and Tan, which then led to the ensuing battle royal, suggests that the police came with malicious intentions. Johnson was born 1907 in Houston but raised in Los Angeles. In the early 21st century, it has 500,000 members and 1500 lodges . . Hes watched as the Ballard VFW, where hes also a member, has declined and fielded multiple all-cash offers for its slowly dilapidating building, situated in prime Old Ballard real estate. 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. For Blacks, these organizations also provided a boost in self-esteem. The name is a reference to the Greek legend ofDamon and Pythias, the Pythagorean ideal of friendship. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Cascade Lodge No. The first African American societies were formed before the American Civil War, providing one of the few routes for Blacks to economic and personal advancement. Lodge Name or No. In places like Kansas City and New York during the Great Depression, the style of jazz and the makeup of the jazz band were changing. Every Sunday morning, Crosscut's weekly email sums up the best stories of the week. The Ancient Order of United Workmen is no longer around, but its legacy continues, as the order unintentionally created anew kind of insurancethat would influence other fraternal groups to add an insurance provision in their constitutions. In this segment, he shares a few reasons why he enjoys the African American community, O de wurl aint flat,An de wurl aint roun,Hits one long stripHangin up an downJes Souf an Norf;Jes Norf an Souf. Email us at editor@crosscut.com or submit it to our story form. And there are allurements, if you know where to find themJackson Street might well be called the Poor Mans Playground. Here all races meet on common ground and rub elbows as equals. (All photos by Matt M. McKnight/Crosscut). Click here to listen . 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. The couple recently sold their sprawling home in the suburbs and downsized to a condo on the waterfront, where they walk to work and compete for the most steps on their Fitbits. Hes watched as the sport, and the popularity of the beach next to the Elks, has exploded; over the last five years, hes taught hundreds to paddle and introduced dozens to the lodge. [29] Taylor, 147. Wearing a wig, Kim Brooks of Federal Waycomes to dance and socialize at Cascade Lodge No. Kalama Harbor Lodge; Kennedy School; Old St. Francis School; Olympic Club; White Eagle Saloon & Hotel; Weddings; Meetings; . These interests intersect in a little cloth bag. This historically Black non-profit charitable, fraternal organization is still operating. I heard about the club through Rob Casey, because he surfs my tugboat wake.. It was an after-hours circus.[18] This positive view was no doubt held by manythough clearly not allSeattleites of the time. Seattles Black population numbered only 406 in 1900, but the following decades saw a sharp increase in Black migration. Casey also arranges a weekly race with a $5 entry fee that attracts fiercely competitive paddlers, with all proceeds directed to the Elks scholarship fund. White Elks in Birmingham, AL, pulled Riggs from where he worked and threatened to lynch him unless he relinquished the charter on his next trip to Birmingham. Women werent even allowed to put a toe in that place., There are pictures of a younger Lois in the back of the club, the same firecracker look in her eye as she has today. In the early 2000s, the Elks lodge in Austin enjoyed a membership surge after a woman tried to sneak into the pool. ", Before Brooks knew it, he was elected Exalted Ruler, the lodge's foremost male leadership post. Formally called the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World, the order was once considered to be at the center of the black community. Lodge meets 2nd & 4th Tuesdays at 7:30 pm. The brothers moved to the States in the 1950s when their father, whod survived the Bataan Death March in the Philippines, chose to retire to Seattle after his own career in the military. "The black community, we had to have our own spaces, we couldn't go to other clubs." There aren't many people left who can recount the history of the Black Elks Lodge, but Barbara Lewis can. Theres the event space panoramic windows, a mounted elk head, and ample space for the line dancing, Zumba, and waltzing classes and the social quarters, resplendent in old photos, vinyl bar chairs, a shuffleboard table, and a digital jukebox (one night, it played Fine Young Cannibals She Drives Me Crazy on repeat). But its also part of a national phenomenon: For the first time in 35 years, the Elks are growing. Jackson Street jazz musicians also took their craft overseas and while entertaining international crowds, some learned a thing or two. The racial and social mixing seen on and around Jackson Street was remarkable in an era of racial segregation and class tensions. A place for members to socialize. But then I take people here and theyre like, Do I have one of these in my neighborhood?. He lives in Auburn now, but still treks north to the lodge two or three times a week. Like the Cascade Elks, the Royal Esquire Club was founded by a group of African-American men who, at the time, were barred from traditional, white-run fraternal organizations. In 1874, the American and Canadian branches left the Ancient Order and set up the Independent Order of the Foresters. Jake and John joke during the steak initiation dinner. 2023 Cascade Public Media. "God knows what they were thinking back then," Rick Gathen, the BPOE's national marketing manager, says of his organization's regrettable racial underpinnings. Canton Alley. Thanks to all who got a copy of the first b Dr. James Gore interviews me for 60 minutes on KKNW. Two years later they relocated to Seattle, where Edythe's quintet performed at venues like the Copper Kettle and the Black Elks Club. The Old HangoutAt Elks Temple. The position entails making critical decisions about the day-to-day operations of the lodge and the yearly budget and, like the rest of the trustees and inner council, wearing a tuxedo to the monthly meetings. What is the name of the club Sheldon plays his music at? At the bar, theres a cluster of hunched old-timers, a baseball game on the television, and the rhythmic movements of the bartenders blonde, slightly weathered, and unrivaled when it comes to remembering both your name and drink. Todays group includes a broad-smiling, Anthropologie-vibed woman, in her mid-thirties, who became involved through the Eat Ballard neighborhood association; a couple with relaxed faces in their sixties who live in the condos next door; a real estate agent in her forties who thought itd be a good time to be part of a service organization; and a youngish dad who runs a business refurbishing vintage furniture from his home, just a pinecones throw away from here. Theres also a pair of grizzly-bearded, round-bellied twentysomethings, one of whom just moved from Pennsylvania, where his grandfathers an Elk. While there are certainly real and distressing changes in the way that Seattleites actually live, one of the biggest changes is a state of mind: Seattle just feels different. The older Brooks gets, the more unfamiliar Seattle feels to him and his older African-American peers, whove fled historically Black neighborhoods for the suburbs in droves as one of their south-side social institutions fights for survival. Under Bonds' stewardshipas former chapter president, the Elks Lodge paid off its mortgage and now owns the building. This is what the Northwest Enterprise, a Seattle based African American newspaper, had to say about Jackson Street in the midst of the Depression in 1933: But few civic disengagements have been as visible as whats happened with the Elks and organizations like it. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. During the Depression, Shanghai was home to many wealthy internationals which created demand for the latest U.S. craze: jazz music. The Black Elks became the largest African American fraternal organization in the world. But on a clear day, the real actions outside on the deck which is where a kayak fisherman named Brad Hole is waiting for me. 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. [5] Though Seattles jazz scene was still in its infancy, the citys lenience toward illicit clubs allowed them to grow into what would become the future home for jazz on Jackson Street. First, Seattle had a very small Black population, with about 3,500 Black residents out of about 366,000 in total. They provided financial, spiritual, and emotional support and served their communities in many other ways. Since then, the IBPOEW and its women's organization, the Daughters of the IBPOEW, have continued to work for the African American community. There was a rapidly growing clientele for the up-and-coming nightclubs like the 411 Club at 411 Maynard Avenue South, just past Jackson Street; the Green Dot at 809 Jackson Street; the Ubangi at 710 7th Avenue South, a few blocks south of Jackson Street; and the Two Pals, the Congo Club, and the Black Elks Club as well. The fraternity in question, International Order of St. Hubertus, was incorporated by Count Anton von Sporck in 1695 and was originally intended to gather the greatest noble hunters of the 17th Century, particularly in Bohemia, Austria and countries of the Austro Hungarian Empire, ruled by the Habsburgs, according to its official website. Jasmine. But 2016 marks a reversal of that trend. [20] Ibid., 39. 1416, you pass through a modest, low-slung dining room with well-worn carpet and vinyl-backed chairs. And we pour a stiff drink.". With this in mind, Smith opened the Ubangi club sometime after 1935 and according to Paul de Barros, it was one of the Jackson Street districts most successful and glamorous black-owned nightclubs.[28] The Ubangi had exquisite African themed dcor, complete with potted palms, and it boasted two large stages, one on each of its floors. [3] Quintard Taylor, The Forging of a Black Community: Seattles Central District from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era, (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1994), 34-35. Top panorana, Indiana Elks Club, bottom, the Ballard Elks Club through the years. Portrait of the Elks bar while the steak Initiation dinner plays out in the room next door. You are listenin My research of the Seattle Times historical archive for mentions of the Panama Hotel yielded stories of a colorful past. According to Doug Chin's Seattle'sInternational District , "In 1938, the African American Elks Club moved from the Central Are Photo from Seattle Times January 15, 1911. Brooks' first exposure to the Cascade lodge was as a DJ. The dream of Seattle had been colonized by a bunch of rich dorks in performance gear who didnt even know how to flirt. She grew up in Ohio; her grandfather was an Elk. Ballard Elks Operating Fund Emergency Fund, Downstairs Event Space Sunset Bay Lodge, Animal House and Toga Contest February 25th. 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. Jazz musicians in Seattle, c. 1925. KIRO 7 Apps; Newsletter Sign-ups (Opens in new window); About Us. : Zipcode: State: District: The order is just one of many clandestine organizations that exist today, though the popularity of these secret clubs peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries, writes Noah Shachtman for Wired. Introduced himself to *RayCharles 16 @BlackElksClub Inspired by his blindness and genius. This is part of an occasional series of the places that embody Seattles character. [1] Paul de Barros, Jackson Street After Hours: The Roots of Jazz in Seattle, (Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 1993), 10. Three people posing at the Black Elk's Club, Seattle, circa 1944. Seattles jazz scene weathered the Depression well and managed to maintain the vibrant musical scene that had developed in the area in the decades before the economic crash. Our meetings are on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays, except the Months that we have one meeting (July & August, on the 4th Thursday only) and (November & December on the 2nd Thursday only). Liz Mozzarella is the Girl Scout leader who picked up supplies for the lasagna dinner. 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. THE GREEN DOT 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. You can watch dozens of versions of it on YouTube, in various degrees of formality and intoxication, the words sticky in throats and scratchy on old gramophones. Those new members composed of stockbrokers, tech workers, and other monied hipsters filling Austin in the mid-2000s had a different idea of what the Elks could be: They wanted to eliminate the semi-alienating names for elected leaders, forbid smoking in the bar, and host functions like the one, in the mid-2000s, where Dead Kennedys singer Jello Biafra judged a bikini contest. 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. The woman in the fleece just biked over from her job at the University of Washington, where she heads up Title IX compliance, specifically with sexual assault and violence. [19] de Barros, 38-29. [24] Even the Northwest Enterprise took notice of Johnsons extended vacation: "A letter from Palmer D. Johnson tells of the success in Shanghai, China, of the colored band organized in Seattle last summer to fill engagaments [sic] in the Orient. Indeed, historian Quintard Taylor remarks that the Jackson Street clubs were the only places where well-to-do white businessmen and socialites met black and Asian laborers and maids as social equals.[10] While the musicians on Jackson Street were mostly Black, they played for crowds of whites from all over the city as well as for Blacks and Asians. For over a century, fraternal orders like the Elks served as the cornerstone of American social and civic engagement. Thank you for coming this afternoon. Any amount is greatly appreciated! At the time, secret societies were banned from Ireland as they were said to have acted in antagonism to the Land League, an Irish political organization, according to Irelands official records on statistics of eviction and crime. [1] The Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World ( IBPOEW) is an African-American fraternal order modeled on the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. President Roosevelts New Deal cash infusions put money into peoples pockets, which created demand for nighttime entertainment. 1416 in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood, Feb. 23, 2019. Initially, should a member die, all brothers of the order contributed a dollar to a members family. Were in the womens bathroom of the Ballard Elks Club, decorated with white wicker furniture and a tray of drugstore lotions and hairspray. I kept coming here with dudes, but finally I said, You know what, screw the dudes, Im gonna join. From left to right, Leon Hutchinson, John Slocum, Glover Compton, and Frank Waldron. Jake has the round Norwegian face you see all over Ballard, and he first joined the Elks a lifetime ago. When he moved to Alaska, he became an Elk in Bad Standing, but when he started attending bingo with John, he paid a simple $25 fee and returned to the fold. Tape Recording, University of Washington Manuscript Collection. Privacy Statement Transcripts, University of Washington Manuscript Collection. Tonsorial Parlor Manicuring Baths They dont look at me as some old fogy. 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. People the power to share and makes the world mentions of the Seattle times historical for! 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