THE ELEVENTH HOUR TOAST You have heard the tolling of eleven strokes. This is to remind us that with Elks the hour of eleven has a tender significance. Wherever Elks may roam, whatever their lot in life may be, when this hour falls upon the dial of night, the great heart of Elkdom swells and throbs. It is the golden hour of recollection, the homecoming of those who wander, the mystic roll call of those who will come no more. Living or dead, Elks are never forgotten, never forsaken. Morning and noon may pass them by, the light of day sink heedlessly in the West, but ere the shadows of midnight shall fall, the chimes of memory will be pealing forth the friendly message, “To Our Absent Members.”
Origin of the Eleventh Hour Toast THE ORIGINAL JOLLY CORKS TOAST
Now is the hour when Elkdom's tower is darkened by the shroud of night, and father time on his silver chime Tolls off each moment's flight. In cloistered halls each Elk recalls His Brothers where'er they be, and traces their faces to well-known places in the annals of memory. Whether they stand on a foreign land or lie in an earthen bed, whether they be on the boundless sea with the breakers of death ahead. Whate'er their plight on this eerie night whate'er their fate may be, where ever they are be it near or far, they are thinking of you and me. So drink from the fountain of fellowship To the Brother who clasped your hand and wrote your worth in the rock of earth and your faults upon the sand. TO OUR ABSENT BROTHERS
The recognition of the Eleventh Hour dates back to the Battle of Hastings in October of 1066 when William of Normandy established a curfew demanding that all watch fires be extinguished at eleven each night. The Royal Order of Buffaloes, of whom Charles Vivian, an original Elk, was a member, practiced an eleven o’clock toast in remembrance of this battle. Charles Vivian brought this tradition here. George F. McDonald delivered the first official Eleven o’clock toast at a social session May 31, 1868, while Charles Vivian was out of town. By mid June, Charles Vivian no longer darkened the Elks door evermore. In earlier days, the social sessions were usually held on Sunday nights and were concluded about Eleven O’clock. As the participants departed, members naturally made inquiries about the absentees and expressed sympathetic interest in their causes. The toast is a way to remember and wish well to those absent Elks. In 1918, when the Armistice ended the fighting in Europe, it was a lifelong Elk, General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing, a member of New York Lodge No. 1, who is said to have decided that the 11th Hour Significance observed by the BPOE would be the basis for the signing of the papers. At the Grand Lodge Session of 1919, Past Grand Exalted Ruler offered a resolution that the public rendition of the eleven o’clock toast would be permitted.
DEPTFORD #2708 LODGE OF SORROW
LOUIS ALBERTA 04/25/2010
LAWRENCE ALBRIGHT 03/31/1997
GREG ALLOR 12/23/2009
JOSEPH ANDREPONT 09/01/2008
RUTH APOSTLE 07/08/2008
ROBERT ARRANTS 03/31/2000
WILLIAM AYALA 01/01/1991
TIBOR BANOCZY 02/01/2009
JOHN BARNES 03/31/1993
WILLIAM BELL 09/30/1999
ROBERT BENDER 03/31/1995
CAROL BENNETT 12/29/2010
SAM BILLBROUGH 12/14/2004
RAY A. BLOUNT 03/04/2009
GEORGE BOULTON 07/19/2007
BILL 'BeeBee' BOYER 10/21/2015
DANIEL J. BOYLE 10/11/2009
JOSEPH BRADY 01/01/1991
JAMES BRAKER 08/15/2002
THOMAS F. BRENNAN 08/10/2009
LOUIS BRUSCO 09/30/1995
BOB BUCCIARELLI 03/31/2000
DONALD BUCK 11/13/2004
JERRE BUDD 01/01/1991
DANIEL CAMPBELL 03/31/1997
MISSY CAMPBELL 02/01/2012
PATRICK CAMPION 03/26/2013
ROBERT CARTER 03/14/2016
EDWARD CEBULA 01/01/1991
ROBERT CERVINO, SR 08/27/2008
STEPHEN CHRISTINA 01/01/1991
CHARLES CLIFFORD 03/31/2003
JAMES CONWAY 06/13/2006
NICK CONWAY 03/31/1999
FRED CORMANEY 12/25/2004
HARRIS COTTON 03/31/1997
MICHAEL COX 08/28/2010
JOSEPH CRISTINZIO 08/01/2002
THOMAS CROSSON 03/31/1995
ALFRED CRUMLEY 09/30/1994
JACK DALE 03/24/2008
ROBERT DELLARIA 01/01/1991
PATRICK DICKSON 10/10/2013
MARYLOU DIGIORGIO 01/21/2009
PAUL DINGWITZ 01/01/1991
WILLIAM "BUFFY" DOWNEY 03/29/2016
DAN DOYLE 03/31/1990
ROBERT DUPUY 01/16/2008
ALEXANDER DUVINSKI 03/31/1995
ROBERT EICHENBERG 10/13/2015
WILLIAM ENGLEHART 03/31/2000
EDWIN ERICKSON 09/30/1998
JOHN ESPOSITO 01/01/1991
JAMES EVANS 09/02/2014
“BEANY” FACCIOLINI 01/01/1991
CLYDE FAVINGER 03/31/1997
JOSEPH FELDHAUS 09/30/1995
JAMES FERRY, SR 08/28/2006
JOHN FLEMING 09/30/1999
JOSEPH FORSTER 03/31/1996
GEORGE FUNK 02/13/2008
CAROL FURPHY 10/03/2003
TIMOTHY GALBRAITH 10/21/2008
CHARLES GALLAGHER 01/16/2008
ALLEN GARDNER 01/01/1991
THOMAS GARRITY 03/24/2013
WALTER GAWASON 09/30/1996
ROBERT GIOSIA 03/05/2002
ADOLPH GOLASKY 01/01/1991 J
OHN GREELEY 01/01/1991
CHARLES GULLER 07/15/2011
PETER HAROW 03/31/1990
JACK HAWLEY 05/21/2008
ERIC HEDDY 01/01/1991
JAMES HENRY 02/16/2012
BARBARA JEAN HOGAN 12/04/2012
ANTHONY HORNEY 01/01/1991
JOSEPH HUMES 03/31/1996
RICHARD HUTCHINSON 09/30/1996
JOHN JEFFERS 09/02/2012
RALPH JONES 01/01/1991
HERBERT KELLEY 09/30/1992
ROBERT KENT 03/31/1998
WILLIAM KIRKWOOD 12/20/2009
JAMES KLEVENZ, JR 03/31/1989
JOHN KOCHMANSKY 09/01/2008
WALTER KRUEGER 11/19/2003
FRANCINE LAGROTTO 12/18/2014
JAMES LARGE 03/07/2000
MARTIN LYNAM 03/30/2005
CURTIS MADDOX 01/01/1991
FRANCIS MAIER 03/31/1993
ROBERT MALIN 06/04/2002
ANTHONY MARCO 03/31/1993
EDWARD MCGOLDRICK 01/01/1991
JOSEPH MCGRATH 01/01/1991
ED MCGUIRE, SR. 05/03/2010
GREG MCGUIRE 11/15/2003
CORNELIUS MCINTYRE,SR. 01/01/1991
NEIL MCINTYRE, JR. 01/13/2010
GEORGE MCLEAN 12/13/2007
GEORGE MESSNER, JR 09/04/2003
GILBERT MONIZ 08/21/2013
EDWARD MORRISON 07/06/2014
DON MOSER 03/31/1992
JAMES MULLIGAN 03/31/1992
WILLIAM MUNSON III 01/01/1991
GERALD MURPHY 07/16/2006
JAMES M. MURPHY 07/27/2007
RUSSELL NAYLOR 04/20/2006
EVE NICHOLSON 07/08/2011
EDWARD OLSEN, SR 01/16/2003
DANIEL ORZECHOWSKI 01/01/1991
RICHARD PAPRZYCKI 04/01/2008
ROBERT PAYNE 02/09/2010
THOMAS PITROSKI 02/2014
ROBERT PLUM 03/31/2000
STEVEN POZZA 01/ 20140
JAMES PRICE 03/31/1994
FRANCIS PURVENAS 01/01/1991
RALPH QUIDONE 06/30/2014
JAMES QUINN 11/25/2008
THOMAS RADCLIFF 01/01/1991
JOHN RAKUS 12/22/2014
DONALD REA 09/30/1999
DAVID REAMER 01/01/1991
WHITFIELD REDDIN 05/05/2006
RONALD REDINGTON, SR 01/01/1991
JOSEPH REED 01/01/1991
NICK ROASH 08/23/2010
ALFRED ROGERS 07/22/2006
JOHN ROSSER 03/31/1995
WILLIAM RUTTER 03/01/2006
PAUL RYAN 01/01/1991
JASON R. SADLER 10/12/2007
FRANK SANTO 08/17/2009
JACK S. SCARLETT, JR 02/21/2007
SAMUEL SCHOFIELD 03/07/2012
PAUL SCHULTZ 05/24/2002
FRANK SHARP 01/01/1991
RALPH SHINKLE 09/30/1999
STEPHEN SIMM 03/28/2008
DAVID SIMPSON 03/31/1999
JOSEPH SIMPSON 03/31/1999
MATT SKALA 07/17/2008
EDWARD SMALL 03/31/1998
GEORGE SMALL 03/31/1996
ANDREW SNYDER 01/01/1991
DONALD SPISSELL 12/29/2004
FRED STAVELY 01/14/2008
EDWARD STUBITS 01/01/1991
JOHN TEESDALE 01/01/1991
PATRICIA TILTON 09/19/2004
JOSEPH TRANI 205/11/005
JOHN E. TROXELL 10/14/2007
ROBERT TURCO 03/31/1995
MARIANNE ULZHEIMER 02/18/15
HAROLD VANDERLIP 09/30/1994
JOSEPH VILLARI 03/31/1998
JOHN WALSH 01/01/1991
RICHARD WALTERS 01/01/1991
WALTER WASHINGTON 05/27/2014
DR. DON WEEMS, JR 07/29/2013
SERGEANT MAJOR WEIMANN 08/20/2010
FRANCIS WENDELL 01/01/1991
JOHN WETTON 12/17/2005
ARTHUR WILLIAMS, JR 11/19/2005
THOMAS WILLIAMS 01/01/1991
BRUCE WOODWARD 01/01/1991
JOSEPH WRIGHT 12/12/2005
ANTHONY YOWORSKY 09/30/1993
ANTHONY ZAPPLEY 01/01/1991
MARTIN ZEPP 09/30/1993