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A sign of the times
Great Bend Elks Lodge to close doors, but chapter will remain intact
new deh elks lodge building pic web
This photo taken in the 1930s shows the original Great Bend Elks Lodge that was dedicated in 1910. It was located across the street north of the City Auditorium. - photo by DALE HOGG Great Bend Tribune
When the Great Bend Benevolent Protective Order of Elks Lodge 1127 was born over a century ago, it boasted 400 members, a number that jumped to over 1,600 by the 1940s. However, at the time it opened its current lodge at 1120 Kansas in 1955, the membership was 800. And when it celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008, the roster was down to 250.