List of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks members

The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, also known as The Elks, is an American fraternal order founded New York City in 1868. Following is a list of some of its notable members.

Art

Name	Lodge	Notability	Reference
Harry Hershfield	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Cartoonist known for Abie the Agent.
Charles Marion Russell	Greater Falls MT Lodge No. 214	Artist of the American Old West

Business

Name	Lodge	Notability
Joseph E. Grosberg		Founder and the president of Central Markets, a grocery store chain in upstate New York
John Flint Kidder	Grass Valley Elks Club	Owner of the Northern California's Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad
Howard Kohn		Businessman and owner of T4 Cattle Company,

Entertainment

Name	Lodge	Notability	Reference
Gene Autry	Burbank CA Lodge No. 1497	Actor, musician, singer, and composer
Ed Begley	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Actor who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Jack Benny		Comedic entertainer on radio and television	^[1]
Irving Berlin	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Songwriter
Leonard Bernstein	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Conductor, composer, and winner of seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and 16 Grammy Awards
Lew Bloom		Vaudeville performer and stage actor who popularized the comical tramp character
Wilner Burke		Band director known for leading the Lumberjack Band
Bruce Campbell	Ashland OR Lodge No. 944	Actor
Jim Cramer	Summit NJ Elks Lodge No. 1246	Host of Mad Money on CNBC
Walter Cronkite		Broadcast journalist and anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years
Andy Devine	San Fernando CA Elks Lodge No. 1539	Actor
Jack Elam	Ashland OR Lodge No. 944	Actor
Rich Hall	Livingston MT Lodge No. 246	Comedian, writer, documentary maker, and musician
Bill Hughes		Jazz trombonist and bandleader
Al Jolson	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Singer, actor, and vaudevillian
Martha MacCallum	Summit NJ Elks Lodge No. 1246	Journalist and news anchor for Fox News
Paul Petersen	Gardena CA Lodge No. 1919	Actor known for The Donna Reed Show.
Arthur Pryor	Asbury Park Lodge No. 128	Bandleader, composer, and virtuoso trombonist in the Sousa Band
John Philip Sousa	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Composer and conductor known for American military marches
Danny Thomas	Toledo OH Lodge No. 53	Actor and comedian known for The Danny Thomas Show
Rudy Vallée	Portland ME Lodge No. 188	Singer, saxophonist, bandleader, actor, and entertainer
Robert Wagner	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Actor known for shows It Takes a Thief and Hart to Hart
Casey Webb	Red Bank Lodge No. 233	Television series Man v. Food.
Lawrence Welk		Bandleader and television impresario who hosted The Lawrence Welk Show	^[1]
Charles "Charlie" White		Blackface minstrel entertainer	^[2]
Tex Williams	Santa Clarita CA Lodge No. 2379	Western swing musician

Law

Name	Lodge	Notability	Reference
James R. Armstrong		Judge who served on the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals
James T. Hallinan		New York Supreme Court	^[3]
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Chester Ralph Hovey		Justice of the Washington Supreme Court
Sherman Minton	New Albany Indiana Lodge No. 270	Associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and United States Senate
Silas Wright Porter	Kansas City, Kansas	Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court

Military

Name	Lodge	Notability
Frederick Funston	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	United States Army general in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American Warl
George W. Gibbs Jr.		United States Navy and first African-American in Antarctica
Henry Nash		Sergeant in Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders during the Spanish–American War
John J. Pershing	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	General of the Armies and commander of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I
Eddie Rickenbacker		Most decorated flying ace in World War I and a Medal of Honor recipient

Politicians

Presidents and Vice Presidents

Name	Lodge	Notability	References
Alben W. Barkley		Vice President of the United States	^[1]
Dwight D. Eisenhower		President of the United States	^{[citation needed]}
Gerald Ford	Grand Rapids, Michigan Lodge No. 48	President of the United States	^{[citation needed]}
Warren G. Harding	Marion, Ohio Lodge No. 32	President of the United States	^{[citation needed]}
John F. Kennedy	Boston, Massachusetts Lodge No. 10	President of the United States	^[4]
Franklin D. Roosevelt	Poughkeepsie, New York No. 275	President of the United States
Harry S. Truman	Kansas City, Missouri Lodge No. 26	President of the United States

Governors

Name	Lodge	Notability	Reference
Fred P. Cone		Governor of Florida and Florida Senate	^[5]
Bob Ehrlich	Towson MD Lodge No. 469	Governor of Maryland, United States House of Representatives, and Maryland House of Delegates
John Christoph Blucher Ehringhaus		Governor of North Carolina and North Carolina House of Representatives
Joseph Flores		Governor of Guam and founder of the Guam Daily News
William S. Flynn		Governor of Rhode Island
David Sholtz		Governor of Florida	^[6]
Al Smith	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Governor of New York and New York State Assembly
William M. Tuck	Danville, Virginia, Lodge No. 227	Governor of Virginia, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, United States House of Representatives, Virginia Senate, and Virginia House of Delegates	^{[citation needed]}

United States Congress

Name	Lodge	Notability	Reference
William Clay Cole		United States House of Representatives and Missouri House of Representatives
Richard E. Connell	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	United States House of Representatives	^[7]
Everett Dirksen		United States Senator and United States House of Representatives	^[4]
Barry Goldwater		United States Senate and Major General in the Air Force Reserve	^[4]
Henry M. Jackson	Everett WA Lodge No. 479	United States Senator and United States House of Representatives
Thomas Kean Jr.	Summit NJ Elks Lodge No. 1246	United States House of Representatives, New Jersey Senate, and New Jersey General Assembly
William Knowland	Oakland Lodge No. 171	United States Senate
Fiorello La Guardia	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	United States House of Representatives, Mayor of New York, and the 2nd Director General of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration
Warren Magnuson	Seattle Lodge No. 92	United States Senator and United States House of Representatives
John W. McCormack		Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and Massachusetts House of Representatives	^[1]
Chester L. Mize		United States House of Representatives
John Matthew Moore	Houston Lodge, No. 151	United States House of Representatives and Texas House of Representatives	^[8]
Alexander Wiley		United States Senator

State politics

Name	Lodge	Notability	References
Harvey R. Abraham	Oshkosh Elks Club	Wisconsin State Assembly
Lonnie O. Aulds		Louisiana House of Representatives	^[9]
Edward Francis Blewitt		Pennsylvania State Senate	^[10]
Edward H. Burke		Maryland House of Delegates
John J. Burns		Vermont House of Representatives and Mayor of Burlington, Vermont
David Dank		Oklahoma House of Representatives	^[11]
Miles Dewey Davis Jr.		Failed candidate for the Illinois General Assembly and father of jazz trumpeter Miles Davis.
Claude DeBruhl		North Carolina House of Representatives
Joe Dorman		Oklahoma House of Representatives
Gilbert Dupre		Louisiana State Representative and District Judge for St. Landry Parish	^{[citation needed]}
Charles R. Fenwick		Virginia Senate and Virginia House of Delegates
Harry Goldstein		Florida House of Representatives
John Grange		Kansas House of Representatives
Jeff Harris		Missouri House of Representatives
Jerry Kearns		Iowa House of Representatives
Ron Kraus	Albert Lea Elks Club	Minnesota House of Representatives
Frank J. Lonergan		Oregon House of Representatives	^[12]
LeRoy J. Louden		Nebraska Legislature
William Lovenstein		President pro tempore of the Senate of Virginia
A. J. Rosier		Wyoming Senate	^[13]
John Spiros	Marshfield Elks Club	Wisconsin State Assembly
Edwin Orin Wood		Chairman of the Democratic National Committee of Michigan

Local politics

Name	Lodge	Notability	References
Robert E. Lee Chancey		Mayor of Tampa, Florida
Richard J. Daley		Mayor of Chicago	^[4]
Vincent R. Impellitteri	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Mayor of New York City and New York City Criminal Court judge
David Levine		President of the Seattle City Council
George P. McLain		Los Angeles City Council
John C. Montana		Buffalo Common Council and consigliere of the Buffalo crime family
John Edward Moran	Buffalo, NY	Mayor of Burlington, Vermont
David Roberts		Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey
Winfred J. Sanborn		President of the Los Angeles City Council
William Pruden Smith		Mayor of Miami, Florida
Francis L. Wing		Mayor of Tampa, Florida
Frank C. Zehrung		Mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska

Religion

Name	Lodge	Notability	Reference
Francis Spellman	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Archbishop of New York

Sports

Name	Lodge	Notability	Reference
Frank Aasand		Curler, a 1972 World Men's silver medallist, and a 1972 United States men's curling champion.
Michael Badgley	Summit NJ Elks Lodge No. 1246	Professional football player for the Detroit Lions
Shawn Boskie		Professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs
Jon Condo	Philipsburg PA Lodge No. 1173	Professional football player for the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, Atlanta Falcons, and San Francisco 49ers
Wuert Engelmann		Professional football player with the Green Bay Packers.
Dan Feeney	Summit NJ Elks Lodge No. 1246	Professional football player for the Minnesota Vikings
Whitey Ford	Queensborough NY Lodge No. 878	Professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees
Jack Fox		Professional baseball player for the Philadelphia Athletics	^[14]
Will Fries	Cranford Lodge No. 2006	Professional football player for the Indianapolis Colts
Willis Glassgow		Professional football player
Ray Guy	Hattiesburg MS Lodge No. 599	Professional football player for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders
August Herrmann		Executive of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team and president of National Baseball Commission	^[15]
Ned Jarrett	Newton, NC Lodge No. 2042	Race car driver, two-time NASCAR Grand National Series champion, and broadcaster
Bobby Jones	Atlanta-North Lake Lodge No. 78	Amateur golfer who founded and helped design the Augusta National Golf Club and co-founded the Masters Tournament
Bud Jorgensen		Athletic trainer for the Green Bay Packers
Willie Keeler	Brooklyn, New York Lodge No. 22	Professional baseball player with the Baltimore Orioles	^[16]
King Kelly	Boston, Massachusetts Lodge No. 10	Professional baseball player and manager with the Chicago White Stockings and the Boston Beaneaters
Al Leiter	Summit NJ Elks Lodge No. 1246	Professional baseball player the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Florida Marlins, and New York Mets and current television sports commentator
Vince Lombardi	Green Bay Lodge No. 259	Professional football coach and executive in the National Football League, best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers
Nicholas Allan Mangold	Madison NJ Lodge No. 1465	Professional football player for the New York Jets
Eli Manning	Summit NJ Elks Lodge No. 1246	Professional football player for the New York Giants
Knute Rockne	South Bend Indiana Lodge No. 235	Football player and coach at the University of Notre Dame
Babe Ruth	New York Elks Lodge No. 1	Professional baseball player for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees	^{[citation needed]}
Spec Shea	Naugatuck CT Lodge No. 967	Professional baseball player for the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators
Monty Stickles	San Francisco Lodge No. 3	Professional football player for the San Francisco 49ers and the New Orleans Saint
Billy Southworth	Kenton OH Lodge No. 157	Professional baseball player and manager for St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Braves
Ray Tauscher	Portland Elks Club	International motorcycle speedway rider
Honus Wagner	Carnegie PA Lodge No. 831	Professional baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Dick Weber	Florissant MO Lodge No. 2316	Professional ten-pin bowler and founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Congressional Record. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1968. p. 3726. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
^ "Grand Exalted Rulers". elks.org. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ "Grand Exalted Rulers". elks.org. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Schmidt, Alvin J., and Nicholas Babchuk. “The Unbrotherly Brotherhood: Discrimination in Fraternal Orders.” Phylon (1960-) 34, no. 3 (1973): 279. via JSTOR.
^ "Cone, Frederick Preston". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
^ "Florida's Next Governor". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Vol. 8, no. 33. November 10, 1932. p. 4.
^ United States Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1914. p. 43. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
^ Hardy, Dermot H.; Roberts, Ingham S. (1910). Historical Review of South-East Texas and the Founders Leaders and Representative Men of its Commerce, Industry and Civic Affairs. Vol. II. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 607 – via Google Books.
^ "Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812–2012" (PDF). Louisiana State Legislature. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
^ O'Dowd, Niall (August 28, 2008). "Biden's Irish Roots". globallycastle.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
^ "Representative Dank, David, District 85". Oklahoma House of Representatives. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
^ "Grand Exalted Rulers". elks.org. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ Bartlett, Ichabod Sargent (1918). History of Wyoming. Vol. 2. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. pp. 55–56.
^ "Jack Fox, One Time Local Basketball Favorite, Is Dead". Transcript-Telegram. 16 April 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
^ "Grand Exalted Rulers". elks.org. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ Solomon, Burt (14 March 2000). Where They Ain't: The Fabled Life and Untimely Death of the Original Baltimore Orioles, the Team That Gave Birth to Modern Baseball. Crown Publishing Group. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-385-49882-1. Retrieved 31 May 2023.

[Centennial_Anniversary_of_Elkdom-1] Congressional Record. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1968. p. 3726. Retrieved 30 August 2022.

[2] "Grand Exalted Rulers". elks.org. Retrieved September 16, 2020.

[3] "Grand Exalted Rulers". elks.org. Retrieved September 16, 2020.

[:1-4] Schmidt, Alvin J., and Nicholas Babchuk. “The Unbrotherly Brotherhood: Discrimination in Fraternal Orders.” Phylon (1960-) 34, no. 3 (1973): 279. via JSTOR.

[GRAVE-5] "Cone, Frederick Preston". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved February 19, 2013.

[:0-6] "Florida's Next Governor". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Vol. 8, no. 33. November 10, 1932. p. 4.

[7] United States Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1914. p. 43. Retrieved 1 March 2018.

[8] Hardy, Dermot H.; Roberts, Ingham S. (1910). Historical Review of South-East Texas and the Founders Leaders and Representative Men of its Commerce, Industry and Civic Affairs. Vol. II. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company. p. 607 – via Google Books.

[9] "Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812–2012" (PDF). Louisiana State Legislature. September 15, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.

[10] O'Dowd, Niall (August 28, 2008). "Biden's Irish Roots". globallycastle.com. Retrieved 26 April 2020.

[11] "Representative Dank, David, District 85". Oklahoma House of Representatives. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2013.

[12] "Grand Exalted Rulers". elks.org. Retrieved September 16, 2020.

[13] Bartlett, Ichabod Sargent (1918). History of Wyoming. Vol. 2. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. pp. 55–56.

[14] "Jack Fox, One Time Local Basketball Favorite, Is Dead". Transcript-Telegram. 16 April 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 20 December 2024.

[15] "Grand Exalted Rulers". elks.org. Retrieved September 16, 2020.

[16] Solomon, Burt (14 March 2000). Where They Ain't: The Fabled Life and Untimely Death of the Original Baltimore Orioles, the Team That Gave Birth to Modern Baseball. Crown Publishing Group. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-385-49882-1. Retrieved 31 May 2023.

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