Santa Cruz, CA 824

Lodge History

 
OUR LODGE
By Wil Parsons

Thanks
The author thanks Louie F. Moro PDDGER, D. R. "Irish" Ferrigan PDDGER, Joseph P. Licursi PDDGER, Kenneth G. Reaves PER, Bill Sarow PER, et al, who were part of the history of this Lodge, for their encouragement, friendship, able assistance, and contributions to this article.

History

Santa Cruz Lodge No. 824 had its beginnings on December 27, 1902 when forty-six American gentlemen, mostly members of the San Jose Elks Lodge No. 522, decided to start a new Lodge in Santa Cruz. The Santa Cruz Elks Lodge #824 was chartered on July 23, 1903. The charter officers were Exalted Ruler Carl E Lindsay, Leading Knight Benjamin K. Knight, Loyal Knight C. M. Cassin, SecretaryW. C. Hoffman, Esquire C. E. Lilly, Chaplain W. H. Williamson, Treasurer H. E. Irish, Inner Guard J. J. Doran, and Trustees A. A. Morey, J. T. Demming, and Henry Willey. The first meetings were held in the old Native Sons Hall on Pacific Avenue. In 1904, the Lodge moved to the Williamson and Garrett building on Pacific Avenue, and to 1214½ Pacific Avenue in 1920. The Lodge remained there for 46 years.

In 1955, the Santa Cruz Lodge won the Ritual Contest for the West Central District and then traveled to San Diego to compete at the state level. The results of that contest are unknown.

In April 1960, Exalted Ruler Ted Schipper appointed a site-selection committee to locate property suitable for building the present Lodge. The committee comprised Ernest Dillon, chairman; Ted Alveraz; Larry Violante; William Yeazell; Carroll Woods; Harold Rysdam; Charles Brunjes; Harry Lucas; and J. J. Johnson PER. They acquired the present site, originally 10½ acres, on August 4, 1960, for $35,000.

In 1961, Project Chairman Ernest Dillon and Building Chairman James Dumond, assisted by Louis Haber, Donald May, Donald Haile, J. J. Johnson, Ben Pino, George Kriz, Eugene Adams, Robert Ferguson, Lee Harris, and Ted Schipper, began developing plans and securing funds for the new building. They selected an architect in 1963.

On January 16, 1964, an adjoining 50-ft parcel, now an upper parking lot, was purchased for $6500, bringing the total to $41,500 for the site. PER Joe Alcantara, co-chairman of fund raising, announced that Lodge members had pledged $190,000 to help finance construction of a new Lodge. On May 14th, the Lodge approved a resolution to proceed with the project, but on September 24th, the Lodge rejected all bids because of a large discrepancy between the architect's estimate and the lowest bid. The services of the architect were terminated.

In 1965, Exalted Ruler Ray Scott appointed Ernest Dillon, James Dumond, Lee Harris, Keith Shaffer, Ed Cacace, and Don Mungai to a new building committee. Following recommendations by this committee, the Lodge awarded a contract to the Carl N. Swenson Company of San Jose to build a new, 22,500 square foot Lodge for $375,000. Under the direction of Exalted Ruler Donald May, the cornerstone was laid on March 27, 1966. Members met in the new Lodge for the first time on March 31, 1966. On June 5, 1966, under Exalted Ruler Donald Mungai, the Lodge was formally dedicated. The Lodge membership rose to 1,025 and peaked at 1,653 in 1970.

In July 1977, in grave financial condition and needing some fast money, the Lodge sold part of the unimproved property at Ocean and Jewell Streets, below the Lodge, for $145,000. Henceforth, the Lodge was in sound condition for many years.

In July 1978, with John Regan reigning as Exalted Ruler, the Lodge celebrated its 75th anniversary. Ivano Comelli was Leading Knight; Andrew Van Valer, Loyal Knight; Joseph Licursi, Lecturing Knight; Cy Williams, Secretary; Jack Newhall, Treasurer; Rudy Del Grange, Tiler; Bill Simas, Esquire; Henry Queen, Chaplain; , Scott Macaulay, Inner Guard; and Bill Ryan, Organist; Trustees were Bernie Bourriague, Mario Esposito, Enrico Raffanti, Alvin Morris, and John Amin. Of these, John Amin, Bernie Bourriague, Mario Esposito PER, Joe Licursi PER PDDGER, John Regan PER, and Cy Williams are still members today (8/6/2002).

In February 1979, a 20-unit condominium was completed on the formerly owned property at Ocean and Jewell Streets, and Santa Cruz Elks members were afforded the first opportunity to buy these units. Fifteen members applied.

October 19, 1984, led by Exalted Ruler Ken Reaves, the members of Santa Cruz Lodge burned the Mortgage. Ray McCaulay, 92, a member of our Lodge for 69 years, was honorary chairman of the event, with Bernie Bourriague as general chairman, assisted by PERs Larry Violante, Lou Moro, and Don Mungai. Charles Olivas was Leading Knight; Leslie A. Yeffa, Loyal Knight; Clyde Cross, Lecturing Knight; Cy Williams, Secretary; Truman Wildman, Treasurer; Bill Gray, Tiler; Elmer Brown, Chaplain; Pat Alford, Inner Guard; Dave Frankel, Organist; and Bill Sarow PER filling in as Esquire. Trustees were Bernie Bourriague, Chairman; Alvin Gregory; John Amin; Bill Simas; and Mario Esposito. The reigning Miss California, Donna Cherry, presented a musical program, which was followed by a dinner and dance.

Santa Cruz Lodge #824 is currently one of eleven Lodges in the West Central District. At one time, the district included Redwood City, Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Maria, Lompoc, Milpitas, and Cupertino, but these latter Lodges have either been absorbed by other districts or disbanded.

William Caiocca, #941, who was initiated December 1, 1938, is our current, most-senior Elk in good standing in our Lodge.

During its 100-year existence, The Santa Cruz Lodge has provided four CHEA Vice Presidents* and nine District Deputy Grand Exalted Rulers (DDGER) to the West Central District.


  1. Benjamin K. Knight was DDGER for 1916-17
  2. James R. Williamson was DDGER for 1928-29
  3. Lloyd Foster was DDGER in 1933-34
  4. Raymond A. Macaulay was DDGER for 1938-39
  5. Louie F. Moro was Vice President in 1975-76 and DDGER for 1979-80.
  6. D. R. "Irish" Ferrigan was Vice President in 1983-84 and DDGER for 1987-88
  7. Joseph P. Licursi was Vice President in 1988-89 and DDGER for 1994-95.
  8. Tom Brazier is the current DDGER for 2002-03.

Note: The California-Hawaii Elks Association was established in 1950. There were no VP's prior to that time.

The Santa Cruz Elks Lodge #824 began recognizing the Elk of the Year in 1964. This honor is conferred upon the member, who in the opinion of the Exalted Ruler, provided the most extraordinary services to the Lodge during the current year. The following members have received this honor:


  • 1964 Robert Brimblecom
  • 1965 None
  • 1966 James Dumond
  • 1967 Peter Pianavilla
  • 1968 Nino Faggiano
  • 1969 Arnold Levine
  • 1970 Vernon Riddle
  • 1971 Elio Orlando
  • 1972 Marvin Shaw
  • 1973 Spike Pezzola
  • 1974 Joe Licursi
  • 1975 Larry Di Tano and Bob Young
  • 1976 Fred Ruhland
  • 1977 Bob Young
  • 1978 Pete Wilson
  • 1979 Angelo Passarino
  • 1980 Chris Sana
  • 1981 John Wilson
  • 1982 Roger Hope
  • 1983 Ted Alvarez
  • 1984 Larry Di Tano
  • 1985 Bill Sarow
  • 1986 John W. Bowe
  • 1987 Theodore McEwin
  • 1988 Louie F. Moro
  • 1989 George Price
  • 1990 John Harray
  • 1991 Rufus McAin
  • 1992 Bill Wightman
  • 1993 Duke Overton
  • 1994 Alvin Gregory
  • 1995 Lloyd W. Rodoni
  • 1996 Ken Reaves
  • 1997 John Amin
  • 1998 Bernard Volker
  • 1999 J. J. Meyer
  • 2000 Mario Esposito

In September 1995, the Grand Lodge ratified the acceptance of female members into the Order. Carmen Perez-Anderson became the first female member of the Santa Cruz Lodge. She was initiated by Exalted Ruler Peter Putt and his corps of officers on January 29, 1998.

On March 17, 2001, Patricia Kleinert was installed as Inner Guard for the 2001-2002 Lodge year, becoming the first female officer in the Santa Cruz Lodge. When Pat Kleinert became Esquire for the 2002-03 Lodge year, her husband, Richard Kleinert, was installed as Chaplain.

On May 4, 2002, Santa Cruz Lodge place second in the annual ritual contest in Monterey with Exalted Ruler Don Hayward, Leading Knight Wil Parsons, and Esquire Pat Kleinert placing first.

The Lodge has supported the CHEA Major Project since its inception in 1950, in addition to supporting the Elks National Foundation.

At the local level, the Lodge embraces a Local Charity account dedicated to Santa Cruz area activities and a Lodge Charity account.

The Local Charity account was established in May 1994, when our late member Joseph Harrison bequeathed $240,000 to our Lodge. Joseph Harrison instructed in his will that the trustee of his estate sell real property and establish a Santa Cruz Elks Memorial Fund from the proceeds. He also instructed that any contributions to the fund be retained as principal, invested and reinvested, and that the income be used exclusively to support local charities, without touching the principle.

Using this account, the Santa Cruz Lodge has regularly sponsored a local Boy Scout troop for over 75 years, and continues to support local Cub Scouts, Little League, drug-awareness programs, scholarships, hoop-shoot free-throw contest, soccer shoot, Christmas parties for children of Elks, Christmas baskets, back-to-school clothing for underprivileged children, a Youth Appreciation night, a pre-teen gymnastics team, and other youth programs.

And, to ensure that veterans in our hospitals are not forgotten, our members regularly prepare calamari feeds, BBQs, etc., for veterans at the Palo Alto Veterans Hospital.

The Lodge Charity account, which is funded by income from member donations and fund-raising events, may be used for any purpose approved by the membership. The fund helps worthy members who are destitute, unable to find employment, and without the necessities of life. The Lodge annually honors local law-enforcement and fire-protection personnel, funded by the Lodge Charity account. This account may also help other Elks Lodges that have suffered a catastrophe and contributes to disaster relief such as fires, floods, earthquakes, etc., throughout the United States. A donation to the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center disaster was made from this fund.

Each Flag Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Independence Day, members of our Lodge, assisted by Boy Scouts, erect an impressive Avenue of Flags at a local cemetery, using over 350 American flags. Each flag was donated in memory of a deceased person. About 40 flags are also erected around the Lodge on these special days.

The Lodge currently meets every Thursday night, except when a dispensation is granted to conduct a special event. On the first Thursday of each month, the Lodge celebrates the birthdays of members who were born in that month, by awarding them a free dinner. This is also "ring-a-buddy" night, when guests are allowed to have dinner.

As of March 20, 2002, Santa Cruz Lodge had 1023 members, of which 211 are Life Members, exclusive of Honorary Life Members, and 28 are Honorary Life Members.

Sources
Santa Cruz Sentinel, June 3, 1966
75th Anniversary Brochure - Commemorative Issue, July 1978
Mortgage Burning Ceremony Memorial Brochure, October 1984
News Bulletin(s), Santa Cruz Elks Lodge #824, April 1973 to present
Scrapbook kept by Kenneth G. Reeves PER

 
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