Three Ceremonies,
Festive Celebration
Mark Birth of Lodge
Activity marking the formal in
stitution of Palmer Elks Lodge
Number 1842 will get underway
as the special train from Anchor
age arrives at the local station
and is met by the Palmer School
band in full uniform.
Parade plans made by Ben
Hudgins call for assembly in
front of the Matanuska Hotel
promptly at 3 p.m. Led by the
Palmer High School band, march
ing for the first time in full uni
formed splendor, and 10 drum
majorettes from the high school
twirling team, local and visiting
Elks will march south along Val
ley Street to Fairview Avenue,
cross the tracks there, and pro
ceed southward to Co-Op Avenue.
The parade will end at the school
gymnasium, locale of the cere
monies connected with the insti
tution of Palmer Lodge No. 1842.
Institution Rites
Institution ceremonies will be
attended by all the members of
the new Palmer Lodge and visit
ing Elks from the Territory and
the States. Max LaLande of Ko
diak Lodge No. 1772. Alaska-West
District Deputy for the Grand Ex
alted Ruler, will conduct the cere
monies marking the institution of
Palmer Lodge Number 1842, B.
P. O. E.
The institution is slated fox*
completion by 5 p.m. Thereafter
a brief recess will allow local
members and visitors time for a
quick snack before the initiation
of new members begins at 6 p.m.
Initiation
Initiation of 72 local candidates
to the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, also held in the
school gymnasium, will be super
vised by officers of Anchorage
Lodge Number 1351, with An
chorage Exalted Ruler Vern Hen
drickson leading the ceremonies.
Ben Hudgins and his committee
have charge of the local “enter- j
tainment” of initiates.
The candidates are ordered to
report to the Co-Op Club room
by 5:45 p.m. and be ready to pro-1
ceed to the gymnasium for roll j
call at 6 p.m. sharp. All candi
dates and demitted members who
wish to be included as charter
members of Palmer Lodge No.
Palmer Elks Lodge Officers
Bottom row, left to right: Reed, Kyger, Onkka, Bell. Stock, a nd Lepak. Top row, left to
right: Snider, Felzien, Short. Brown, and Goodrich.
Exalted Ruler—Matt Onkka
Esteemed Leading Knight—Leonard Kyger Esteemed Loyal Knight—Clarence Bell
Esteemed Lecturing Knight—John Reed
Secretary L. C. Stock Treasurer—Thomas Lepak
Esquire—Russell Felzien Tyler—Lloyd Short Chaplain—Garret Snider
Inner Guard—Ralph Goodrich
Trustees—John F. Brown, Jan Koslosky, Harvey Hiber
1842 must be present for this six
o’clock roll call.
Installation of Officers
Immediately after the initiation
ceremonies, officers of the new
Palmer Lodge will be installed in
office by Louis Odsather, presi
dent of the Territorial Elks’ Asso
ciation, Past Exalted Ruler of
Anchorage Lodge No. 1351, and
Past Deputy Exalted Ruler. The
Grand Lodge representatives who
installs elected officials of Elk
Lodges must be either a Deputy
of the Grand Lodge or a Past
Deputy.
With the installation accom
plished, the local Exalted Ruler,
Matt Onkka, will take the chair,
and will proceed with the newly
instituted Lodge’s first official
business meeting.
For the Ladies
Meanwhile, the Elks’ ladies,
who are barred from the secret
rituals attended by members only,
will be entertained during the in
terim at the Fair Grounds Ad
ministration Building. Mrs. F. R.
Sims and wives of the Palmer
i
Lodge officers will be hostesses.
Rooms at the Matanuska Hotel
are provided for the ladies who
wish to change their clothes for
the buffet lunch and dance which i
begin at 9 p.m. in the gymnasium. J
Formal attire for the ladies is op
tional. They will be escorted to
the gymnasium at the close of the
Lodge meeting. All B. P. O. E.
members and candidates are re
quested to obtain from Secretary
Stock cards for their ladies, as
admission will be by card and re
ceipt only.
Committees in Charge
Chairman of committees in
charge of all local arrangements
for Elk activities and accommo
dations are: Planning, officers
elect of Lodge: publicity, A1 De
Julio; reception. Gerrit Snider,
Mrs. Foster Sims: transportation,
John F. Brown and Lee Hartley;
decorations. Richard Demming
and Glen Burnett; entertainment,
F. R. Sims and Everett Yohn; re
freshments, Andrew Norris and
Steve Ward: eats. Matt Perkins
and William Gulbranson; lodging,
Jack Maze and Carl Meier. On the
clean-up committee are David
Onkka, David Bryant. Fritz and
Ben Hermon, Howard Hanson,
Waldo Fox, Robert Meier and
Wayne Bouwen.
Secretary Reviews
Local Elks Lodge
Organization History
L. C. Stock, secretary of Pal
mer Elk Lodge Number 1842, pro
vided the following statement
about the organization and future
; plans of Alaska's newest Elk
lodge:'
“The formal institution of Pal
mer Lodge of Elks No. 1842- re
presents the consummation of
plans and talks- by Elk members
in the Valley over a long period
of time.. v’
"With the start of serious plan
ning in April of 1950 and the sel
ection of thp organization com
mittee consisting of Matt Onkka,
L. C. Stock. Arthur Stenberg.
Leonard Kyger, John Reed, and
Walter Teeland, these plans be
gan to take shape. A meeting was
arranged with this committee and
Grand Exalted Ruler Joseph B.
Kyle by Louis Odsather when Mr.
Kyle visited the Anchorage lodge.
The necessary steps on how to
proceed were then outlined.
At the time of signing the offi
cial petition to Grand Lodge, re
questing permission for a Lodge
in Palmer, there were 44 members
by demit from other Lodges and
72 candidates’ signatures. Later
additional demits came in bring
ing the total to 120 prospective
charter members.
“Not only has the committee
had under consideration the or
ganization on the Lodge, but pre
liminary discussion was also held
on the location and building of an
Elk’s Building.
“If the Palmer Lodge follows
the pattern of the other Lodges
of the nation, we in Palmer can
expect a building that will be a
credit to our city. This building
will house such activities as a
Lodge room large enough for dan
ces and other social activities,
club rooms, reading and lounging
rooms, and, as time goes on, bowl
ing alleys and other recreational
facilities.
“We will be expected to take
our places with the other Lodges
in the fostering of social activi
ties, scholarships, community wel
fare, assistance to crippled and
above everything else-teaching
underpriviliged children, and
(Continued on Page 17)
Charter Members, Palmer Lodge 1842, B.P.O.E.
Members Received by Demit
Howard Andreson
C. A. Blodgett
E. R. Brock
John F. Brown
Owen John Butcher
Hal Chance
Sdih B. Cook
Frank P. Cornelius
Richard E. Demming
Russell Dow
Erwin Doyle
Jack Fabyan
Byron G. Felkner
Russell Felzien
Johnny Gore
Ralph Goodrich
Raymond Grasser
William Grow
Alfred V. Hagen
Lee Hartley, Jr.
Norman Hartung
William Head
Charles Hodson
Ben E. Hudgins
Ralph Dye
Don L. Irwin
Jan Koslosky
Leonard Kyger
Ray McCartney
Clifton McKenzie
Andrew R. Norris
C. David Onkka
Matt Onkka
Oliver Onkka
Matt Perkins
John Reed
Harry L. Rice
Lloyd V. Short
Foster Sims
Gerrit Snider
Arthur W. Stenberg
L. C. Stock
Jack Taylor
Walter Teeland
Jack Tost
Mijce Ulrich
John J. Weisenberger
Rudolf Yerbich
Ernest Zehm
New Candidates
Merle L. Anderson
Marvle H. Anderson
Ivan S. Barton
Norman H. Bear
Clarence Bell
Thurman G. Betts
Laurence W. Bixby
Bernard Bouwen
Wayne Bouwen
Earl T. Brown
David A. Bryant
Earl R. Bryant
Richard G. Burnett
Benjamin Cabo
Thomas L. Carter
Thomas M. Connelly
Luther G. Cook
A1 DeJulio
Nile Theodore DeLand
Clinton O. DeWitt
A1 K. Dickow
J. W. Dickson
Harold Dunn
Hal E. Eckard
Victor G. Falk. Jr.
Waldo Fox
R. B. Graham
William Gulbranson
Geprge Howard Hanson
James Henry Harrison
Robert D. Hartley
Carl Hendrickson
Ben H. Hermon
Harold T. Hermon
Harvey H. Hiber
Joseph M. Hyland
Wilfred R. Jacobson
William Kotila
Thomas Lepak
Jack L. Long
Archie Forest Lowe
Leo Lucas
Albert J. Mathews
Jack E. Maze
D. T. McMahon
Carl H. Meier
H. W. Meier
Robert W. Meier
Thomas Moffitt
Don D. Moore
Roy A. Morrison
David T. Morton
Carl M. Onkka
Carl Peterson
Robert Peterson
Warren H. Richardson
William H. Roberts
Orvan A. Ross
Harold Stephan
Howard L. Stickney
John L. Sullivan
James P. Teters
Arthur W. Thompson
Paul Ubert
Ernest A. Utt
Lawrence R. Vasanoja
David C. Vigdahl
Eino Wakkuri
Steve Ward
Chester C. White
Everett Yohn