The B.P.O.E. or Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was founded in 1868 as a social club for minstrel performances (performs in black-face) and sidestep laws governing the opening hours of taverns in New York City. Membership has traditionally required members to be male, Caucasian, Christian, and not communist. The courts forced them to allow all races in 1973 and female members in 1995. B.P.O.E reports to have one million members as of 2021. It is my hope that the hour is late for such organizations, and the slow decay of time sunsets them into the annuals of a long forgotten past.
Nice tones in your black and white. Interesting bit of history. I don't think all lodges were quite the same though. As a former lady elk, since our lodge closed its doors several years ago, our main purpose was to raise funds and run events for handicapped children. There were many more, but that's the one I gravitated toward the most.
