It’s been a long six months for the Elks at Lodge #1880.
Back in February, when much of the city was frozen and without power, their building’s fire sprinkler pipes burst and flooded the lodge.
“Walls, floors, it took out a lot of the infrastructure,” Elks Public Relations Chair Harry Thomas said. “It’s basically taken us six months to work with the insurance companies and contractors to get us back to where we are today.”
Thomas said the remodeling is about 99% complete at this point, and that’s enough to open the doors and get back to hosting community events at their home base again.
First up is Saturday’s free breakfast for veterans and first responders. Thomas said the monthly get-together (which was hosted at the VFW for the last few months) has become an important outlet for veterans.
“Sometimes these veterans don’t like to talk about what they’ve been through. But they’ll sit down and talk with another vet. I think it’s key that we continue to do those types of things as we go forward.”
Next month, the lodge will partner with the Lion's Club to host a fish fry benefiting Lion’s Club charities. Thomas said the fraternity and communication the Elks have built with other local groups is crucial.
“We want to also partner with other organizations. We want to be a part of the community but we also want to make sure we’re doing it in such a way that we support other organizations in the community.”
They’re also looking for new members.
“In the months of September and October, the application fee is only one dollar," Thomas said. "So I’m encouraging people to come down and visit with us because that’s a good way to get involved and not expensive, and we can go over then what we do and how often we have these events.”
The first responders breakfast will take place from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the lodge, 2121 S. Chadbourne St.
Next month’s fish fry will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, also at the lodge. Tickets are $10 each, dine-in or takeout. For more information or to buy tickets, contact the Lions Club's Emit Lopez at 325-277-2664 or Jerry Wilson at 325-234-7662.
For more information about the Elks Lodge, call 325-227-6920, visit their Facebook page, or email them at lodge1880@suddenlink.net.
