Baker Oregon Elks Lodge Drum and Bugle Corps Rock it!

MAD Hoppers at Elks Lodge

Nazareth Kids Day, June 21

We had a great day at the River Park. We counted nearly 60 kids plus house parents from the home. The weatherman was wrong and the rain held off. We had probably the best and largest group of volunteers as well.

Fishing however wasn't quite as good as last year but they still had a great time. One young girl caught a large snapping turtle and courageously brought him up under the shelter for all to gawk.

Special thanks to Glenn Shimmell, LA and Marla, Dano, Jeff Mills and Mike Davis for bringing their boats and taking all out for rides. Also, Julie & Steve Copley for cooking the chili, Zach Holshouser for furnishing the worms, Glen Shimmell for the hot dogs, Danny Ray for 25 NEW fishing rods and Ellen Wagoner for donating a doz hats which came in handy when the sun finally came out.
Also, we had lots of help with the fishing and serving. New members Cal and Krista Flannery, Paul Flahive, Brad Walworth, Audrey Dennis and our intrepid ER Kevin Frey and Sec. Vanessa Eanes. There are others I'm sure I've missed but a great job was done and one that these kids greatly appreciate.

To see more pictures please go to http://picasaweb.google.com/SalisburyElks699 If you were there and have more pictures you would like to add, please email mikejonea2@yahoo.com

New Elks initiated June 19th

Seven new Elks initiated on June 19th. BTW, our lodge had its 13 th consequetive gain and we now stand at 433. Highest since the 1950's!

Flag Day Service at river park,

Since 1908, Elks across America have honored our flag by holding a ceremony observing the significance of this grand symbol of our great country. Flags we used since Colonial times were on display and a 30 minute program was given by various Officer's of the Lodge. PER Linda Brown delivered the main message quite eloquently and all seemed appreciative.

We had a good crowd on hand, the weather was hot as one could see from ER Kevin Frey's attire and the popular poker run was about to begin a few hours later. So another good day in Elkdom!

NC Elks Spring meeting

A few of us attended the Spring Convention in New Bern the first weekend of May. It was a beautiful weekend with several hundred elks and guests attending.

Featured here is Exalted Ruler Kevin Frey, Secretary Vanessa Eanes, Past Exalted Ruler Bob Sce and newsletter editor Gail Sce.

Bob and Gail's golf team won the tournament thanks to a lucky draw that found them pared with a scratch golfer. Yours truly's team had to scratch and sniff to eke out a tie for 3rd place. No ringer's for us to lean on!

All and all, it was a good meeting. There is a new Elks Lodge in Shallotte NC that will be instituted on May 18th. That's a good thing and it is expected for this lodge to grow rapidly. However, NC overall lost 300+ Elks this past year which is troubling. Salisbury did it's part though adding 23 to our rolls making this the 13th consecutive increase which brings us up to 433 Elks.

The New Bern Elks lodge hosted the event and they have a unique lodge in that it is open 24/7. Each of there 300 members get a key and essentially work on the honor system. It's beer and wine only though. Volunteers work for special events and they have a group called the Committee of 100 that apparently provides or encourages participation. New Bern was instituted in 1902 and a number of pictures of it's early history can be found at www.elkshistory.org

Shag club dances the night away at the Lodge

More than 260 shag club members danced Saturday night away at the Salisbury Elks Lodge.

The Salisbury Shag Club brought its annual competition to the Elks Lodge and drew dancers from 12 shag clubs across the Piedmont. And at least two Richmond, Va. club members showed up to enjoy the event.

The Salisbury club, headed by President Jeff Mills, began the competition four years ago. Cash prizes are awarded based not on dancing, but on which clubs have the highest percentage of members attending.

While the Winston-Salem club had 48 members on the floor, Piedmont Shag Club of Harrisburg -- a much smaller club -- won top honors with 47 members participating. The top three clubs get cash prizes, which organizers say are used for charities.

Rae and Connie French serve as coordinators of the competition. Over the past year, the club held a social at the Elks Lodge on the fourth Saturday night of each month.

"The Elks Lodge and the club are both looking for new members," said Rae French. "We can help each other out."
French said the Elks Lodge offered to host the club's big event and it went very well.

Dance areas were set up downstairs and upstairs with local DJs Butch Mattox, of Mount Pleasant, and Dana Grubb, of Spencer, virtually donating their time.

For the past three years, the annual competition has been held at Cripple Creek (formerly John's Tavern) on Stokes Ferry Road.
The club also holds a dance each Friday night at the Boat and Ski Club and is working to attract new and younger members.

"We need to get younger folks involved. We're trying to preserve the music and the dance. We don't want to see the Carolina shag dance go by the wayside," said Rae French, who met his wife, Connie, at a dance at Myrtle Beach.

For more information on the Salisbury Shag Club, call French at 704-213-6058 or log on to the club's Web site at www.keeponshagging.com.