Elks #112
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Stavely Elks #112
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Canada was founded on December 27, 1912 with the institution of Vancouver Elks Lodge No. 1. The influence of Elkdom quickly moved across the Dominion. Alberta's first premier, the Right Honorable A. C. Rutherford served as Grant Exalted Ruler in 1917. Right Honorable R.B. Bennett joined Calgary Lodge No. 4 in 1929, one year before becoming Prime Minister of Canada.
The Stavely Elks Lodge was instituted on July 17, 1925 and was active until 1942-1945 when it became inactive during the war years. In 1945 a meeting was held and the lodge was restarted. It continued to grow reaching a high of 304 members in 1980. We presently have 176 members and are the largest lodge in Canada outside the major cities. Members generally come from the M.D. of Willow Creek, but we have members from High River, Calgary, Grande Prairie and even as far away as Vancouver. These members are usually people that joined while living in or around Stavely and have just retained their membership over the years. We guess they do this so that when they come back to Stavely to visit they can come out and attend a meeting or if it is a supper meeting they can enjoy an excellent meal with a number of friends.
It is worth to note that every year we have a new leader and have only "recycled' an Exalted Ruler twice since 1945. The last time that a member was Exalted Ruler for two years was in 1962.
The Stavely Elks held their first New Year's Eve Dance in 1925 and it continues to the present time. Santa Claus first assisted the Stavely Elks to present candy bags to the kids on December 22, 1925 which we still do today. The Stavely Elks started the first annual kiddies picnic in the summer of 1928 at Willow Creek Park and continues it today at Centennial Park in the Town of Stavely. The Annual Stavely Elks Pheasant Derby is held each year in November, for further details, please click here.
The Elks were instrumental in building a covered curling and skating rink in 1927/1928 and, when it burned down in 1958, helped with funding and volunteered time for separate covered buildings in 1959. The skating rink/arena was renovated in 1975 to include artificial ice, and in 1980 with new dressing rooms and lobby renovations (with monetary help from the Elks). Sadly in 1983 it burned down again. Undaunted, the Elks once again, stepped up and helped with money and many volunteer hours to build yet another new arena in 1984. In 2002 the ice surface was explanded and the Elks contributed once again to this project.
Our Motto and Vision:
The Elks Motto is: "Promoting and Supporting Community Needs"
The Elks Vision Statement is: "To be the most progressive family focused organization in Canada. Meeting community and member needs and expectations."
To learn more, please visit the following links: