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Annals of the Order: "ONCE AN ELK, ETERNALLY AN ELK"

Although a strong departure from the usual "always an Elk" phrase, the reason behind this intensity will become clear soon enough. Scattered across the United States in peaceful corners of the landscape are sacred plots of ground- some small and simple, others quite grandiose- wherein rest the remains of Departed Brothers, still side-by-side in fraternal unity though their final summons to the Celestial Lodge came as far back as a century ago. Some of these Lodge-owned cemetery plots, called ELKS RESTS, have outlived the Lodges which established them, while others have even been forgotten by their Lodges, passing almost invisibly through the years in peaceful repose while a lonely sentinel elk statue presides over its silent Lodge amid the changing seasons.

While we can't fully understand all the social factors which might have induced an Elk in 1905 to want to be buried in an Elks Rest as opposed to some more traditional family plot, we must accept it as irrefutable proof of a strong commitment to the Order, certainly on the part of the deceased Elk, but also by the Lodge which consecrated the site in the first place.

Although the following list cannot be guaranteed as complete, it's all we've found in our records to date, and we'll gladly accept any documented additions. If you ever are in an appropriate locality and feel fraternally inspired, you may want to search out one of the indicated cemeteries and discover the ageless power of true Fraternity by visiting "our Absent Brothers" in the Elks Rest section.

Elks Rests