BROOKINGS ­— The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the United States — BPOE — was formally organized in New York city on Feb. 18, 1868.

Its mission would encompass the four cardinal virtues of charity, justice, brotherly love and fidelity; promotion of the welfare and happiness of its members; American patriotism; and the cultivation of good fellowship. As a national organization, there are lodges in U.S. and its possessions. The Philippines is also included because at one time it was a United States possession.

Just over a half-century later, in July 1924, Brookings Elk Lodge 1490 would stand up. To mark that monumental event, the lodge will celebrate a century of service, tied to the Elks’ mission, on July 27, 2024, at the Activity Center/Lodge, 516 Fourth St. The celebration will include: 10:30 a.m., meet-and-greet; 11 a.m., program, with a display of memorabilia; and a free-will donation sandwich luncheon.

“We’ve been planning this (celebration) for a couple years,” said Exalted Ruler Dale C. Heesch, himself a member of Lodge 1490 for about 45 years, in a newsletter to Lodge members  “The Anniversary Committee has put together a program along with a book of ‘historical memories.’” One key piece of Lodge history has been its change of a meeting location over the years. 

“The lodge still meets in what is now the (Brookings Activity) center,” Heesch explained. “The building was put up there by the lodge in 1991, following the destruction by fire in 1988 of a previous lodge on that site, and sold to the City of Brookings in 2004.” The lodge now has agreements with the city for use of space as needed for Elks activities.

According to Heesch, in its heyday, from 1991 to 2004, the lodge “used to be the center of social activity for business, and (SDSU) professors and everything. It was one of the few places that had a liquor license, one of the few places that had a very upscale supper-club arrangement.  There’s a big scale commercial kitchen in there. They did steak nights. … The former Elks kitchen is now used for the 60s Plus Dining program.”

The current exalted ruler credited the late Jerry Bergum, a past exalted ruler, with keeping the lodge going during some challenging days at about the time the city took over the building.

“Jerry was instrumental in holding it together,” Heesch explained. He noted that Bergum and a few other past exalted rulers, including himself, gathered lodge memorabilia and put it in storage.

“Interesting thing, I found a bound book that was done by a young lady that used the Elks Lodge 1490 as her thesis for a Ph.D in (economics),” Heesch added. “I couldn’t believe this. I read through it and I’ve been giving it to some of our board members to read. Very interesting book that kind of tells the role over time of what’s happened to VFW (posts), American Legion (posts), Elks lodges, Moose lodges, Masons, Knights of Columbus. Their focus is not being absorbed by younger generations.

“She did research on that. Very interesting book to read. … It tells how things evolve and what happens with lack of people participating.”

Case in point: Heesch, laughing, noted that the Brookings lodge today has about 100 members and only one is under 50 years old. In 1999, the lodge had 807 members.

Service, charity, economic impact

Heesch, explaining that the Brookings lodge is a “service and charitable organization, very similar to other service/beneficial support groups,” also points out that in its doing good for the local community it has also been recognized by the city for “our Economic Impact for budget year 2024.” He cited a total of $8,000 awarded to local programs: Brookings Back Pack Program, Feeding Brookings, Share the Warmth (via the Salvation Army), and Brookings County Youth Mentoring Program. Add to that two local high school scholarships of $2,500 and $1,500.

In addition to its local charitable activities, the Brookings lodge is a participant in the statewide Elks Grants Program that donated $35,000 to LifeScape and $35,000 to Children’s Home Society.

“Every time for decades, when (Elks) pay their dues a portion of their dues goes into a trust fund at the Grand Lodge in Chicago,” Heesch explained. “That trust fund has built up into mega-millions (of dollars) over the years.

“We as a local lodge, if we could stay viable, stay chartered, stay open, we apply for a minimum of three or four grants per year from that trust fund. We do the grant and we can give that to other charitable (organizations): (to include) Feeding Brookings, Back Pack Project, Brookings County Youth Mentoring Program.”

Heesch further explained that during his time as exalted leader, the lodge has been asking for and receiving these grants each year: “We give between $6,000 and $8,000 a year to local non-profits, because the Elks Lodge is here.”

As Brookings Elks Lodge 1490 moves into its second century of caring and sharing, Heesch is challenging his fellow Elks “to become more diligent in promoting our Lodge. Bring your ideas, invite a guest, share your time, lend a hand when and where you can, to help us grow and continue the charitable work of our Lodge.”

Heesch is a native South Dakotan and hails from the Dell Rapids area. He’s a Jackrabbit, SDSU class of 1967, with a degree in agronomy, whose skills he is now using as owner and operator of Heesch Farms. He has fields totaling about 500 acres of soybeans and corn in rural Baltic, Dell Rapids and Garretson.

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.