Back then, a self-professed old school member of the Ballard Elks complained about the eager-beaver women agitating for membership: When theyre twisting your arm, he told the Seattle Times, Im sure its going to pass.. You'd rather receive it in a Crown Royal bag, 100 times out of 100, and we should all be so lucky to live so long. In what city does Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet take place in? The ebbing of community, Putnam writes, has been silent and deceptive; membership in nearly every civic activity, from the PTA to card games, has more than halved since the peak of involvement in the 1960s. Portrait of the Elks bar while the steak Initiation dinner plays out in the room next door. Back then, many of these societies served as safe spaces for open dialogue about everything from academia to religious discourse, removed from the restrictive eye of the church and state. Thank you! Brad Hole is prototypical Ballard Elk: Years ago, he started using the beach as a kayak launch and joined the lodge after a friend invited him up to the bar. Chinese section where Henry's childhood apartment is located. Initially, should a member die, all brothers of the order contributed a dollar to a members family. The social quarters have no phone. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Together, the roadhouses and the Jackson Street night clubs embedded jazz in Seattles nightlife and [b]y 1928, jazz had taken over the popular music scene.[7] Clubs continued to pop up on and around Jackson Streetthe Blue Rose (later called the Rocking Chair) on 14th and Yesler and the Chinese Gardens Club (aka the Bucket of Blood), across from 511 7th Street Southand even when the stock market crashed and the Great Depression hit, there was no doubt that jazz would remain on Jackson Street. [5] Though Seattles jazz scene was still in its infancy, the citys lenience toward illicit clubs allowed them to grow into what would become the future home for jazz on Jackson Street. Like the Foresters, it set up protections for its members. Did an Ancient Magnetic Field Reversal Cause Chaos for Life on Earth 42,000 Years Ago? The renaissance of the Ballard Elks suggests, however quietly, that wide-scale civic engagement and the bridging social capital and empathy that accompanies it is returning. Were getting a lot of new blood, but we have to sustain it. John and his partner, Jake, chose bingo, helping run the Memorial Day events and eating monthly steak. "We've basically been growing by 20 percent a year," says the lodge's former exalted ruler, Ben Braden, who acknowledges that his lodge's waterfront location on Shilshole Bay is a pretty enviable calling card. With the Elks, its all about transparency, Rick Gathen, a representative from Elks National, told me. Menu After the 1933 raid, the Black and Tan was operating at full capacity in no time, supplying Seattleites of all sorts with jazz and other allurements. Even repeated police raids and arrests could not shutdown a club with the popularity of the Black and Tan. "The black community, we had to have our own spaces, we couldn't go to other clubs." There aren't many people left who can recount the history of the Black Elks Lodge, but Barbara Lewis can. A few years later, in 1920, Smith and Jimmy Woodland open the Entertainers Club at 12th and Jackson. Across the table, John somewhere in his forties, with a sprawling smile brings up his initiation, back in 2012. Jackson Street nightclubs like the Green Dot, the Black and Tan, and the Blue Rose (soon to be renamed the Rocking Chair) continued to operate into the 1940s and 1950s and Jackson Street remained the heart of Seattles jazz scene. Like the Cascade Elks, the Royal Esquire Club was founded by a group of African-American men who, at the time, were barred from traditional, white-run fraternal organizations. Im about as Seattle as you can get, Ariel Nilsen tells me later that week between rolls of the dice game, a lodge tradition in which members pay a dollar for three rolls of the dice. Ive only been a member for three months, and Ive met so many people. As reported in David Keller's book The Blue Note, it was Jones "who also paid for Mr. Ray Charles Robinson's Trailways bus ticket to Seattle from Tampa, Florida." Seattles Black population numbered only 406 in 1900, but the following decades saw a sharp increase in Black migration. The invitation to the Portland Elks initiation, 1908. The name is a reference to the Greek legend ofDamon and Pythias, the Pythagorean ideal of friendship. WA's government transparency committee is ready to call it quits, At Seattle Opera, A Thousand Splendid Suns burns brightly, Seattle's Third Avenue Project takes a new approach to old problems, Planting the seeds for Washington's forest restoration efforts, This Elks Lodge is a throwback to South Seattle before gentrification, In Seattle, a one-of-a-kind hospital for broken vacuums, The century-old butcher shop that has become a Seattle staple, Seattles oldest country bar keeps two-stepping, Pacific Science Center plans to transform its iconic pools, Human Elements: A lone ranger rides for the wolves in rural WA, Starbucks union fight shows hard road for many toward contract, Sign up for the Crosscut Weekly newsletter, WA lawmakers work to keep public records from the public again, Free school lunch for all is off the table, but WA may expand access. From left to right, Leon Hutchinson, John Slocum, Glover Compton, and Frank Waldron. 2023 Cascade Public Media. Zuniga scrolls through photos on her phone, showing pictures of the girls, who span first through sixth grades, working diligently on various badge projects. Seattle's Black population numbered only 406 in 1900, but the following decades saw a sharp increase in Black migration. There's a kitchen to the right, with cooks whipping up hot links, wings, catfishand pork-chop sandwiches. One example was local jazz pianist Palmer Johnson, whose contribution to Seattle jazz spanned fourteen years. 1416 seen adjacent to the Rainier Beach Light Rail Station at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Way South and South Henderson Street in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood, Feb. 23, 2019. And there are allurements, if you know where to find themJackson Street might well be called the Poor Mans Playground. Here all races meet on common ground and rub elbows as equals. Elks membership was fueled by a long civic generation, as Putnam calls it, born between 1910 and 1940, who were more engaged in community projects, more trusting of others, and far more likely to vote than their grandchildren are today. And we pour a stiff drink.". Canton Alley. [20] According to historian Paul de Barros, the absence of local big bands was a product of two factors. The most rude mannered and impolite of all races, he says, is the American white man. "That was the history of the nation. He owned both a Stutz Bearcat and a 1921 Packard and his ostentatious lifestyle likely offended many in such hard times, especially racist whites who cursed the success of Black entrepreneurs. I think it's a generational thing. I am facilitating a class at Puget Sound Community School that will read Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet this term. The IBPOEW was modeled after the BPOE. For example: Oct 2 All 300 of the first pressing for Panama Hotel Jazz have sold out. There are myriad reasons for the decay in social capital and civic investment: women moving full-time into the workforce, suburbanization and resultant commute time, television, globalization, changes in the family unit, and a general distrust and disillusion with politics and efficacy of civic engagement. Chartered in 1925, the lodge was established because, at the time, Black people were barred from joining the city's all-white Elks. Second, there was a lack of high-paying venues to support local Black big bands because Seattles wealthy downtown nightclubs were for whites only. The Elks officially known as the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks, the BPOE, or, if you ask an Elk who likes dad jokes, the Best People on Earth was founded in New York City in 1868. [13] This allowed Black migrants, Asian and Filipino immigrants, and whites to interact with relatively few conflicts. Camp Harmony. During the Great Depression, there was no time to reminisce about the excess of the Roaring Twentiesit was a time to look forward. Back then, Ballard overflowed with Scandinavians, Norwegians in particular; according to lore, local law required a church for every bar, which resulted in a profusion of both. Jackie Mansky Our expansive club on the first floor is open for members and their guests to gather indoors in the Club Room or outdoors on our covered patio or open-air waterfront terrace. It seems that jazz music gave Johnson the opportunity to experience a society where racial differences were much less important and formulate critiques of the prevalent mentality of white superiority in the U.S. Shes come out to the deck to remind Ben Braden that hes got 10 minutes until the house council meeting. Following in the footsteps of The Sons of Liberty, the Order of United Americans and Guards of Liberty, the Patriotic Sons of America, which later added the word Order to its name, became one of the most progressive, most popular, most influential as well as strongest patriotic organizations in the United States in the early 20th century,theAllentown Leaderwrotein 1911. Edythe, Floyd, and son Floyd Jr., who became a renowned alto saxophonist, next moved from Spokane to Tacoma in 1920. Click here to listen . With the nightlife heating up by 1922, in the basement of the Entertainers Club Smith and Williams christened the Alhambra, which became know as the Black and Tan by 1932 and would become a hot spot for Seattle jazz during the Great Depression. The community was bound by its common culture a Nordic Heritage Museum, a yearly parade celebrating Norwegian independence, lefse at the local grocery store, and dozens of middle- and working-class fraternal organizations: the Sons and Daughters of Norway, a robust VFW, and outposts of the Eagles, the Odd Fellows, the Moose, and the Elks, who owned an ornate building in the center of Ballard before moving to their current location, right in the elbow of Shilshole Bay. The Grand Orange Lodge, known more commonly as the Orange Order got its name from Prince William III, the Prince of Orange, and was foundedafter theBattle of the Diamondoutside a small village in modern-day Northern Ireland called Loughgall. Seattles jazz scene weathered the Depression well and managed to maintain the vibrant musical scene that had developed in the area in the decades before the economic crash. In 1938, the Seatttle chapter of the Black Elks fraternal order moved its offices into the second floor of the beautiful Rainier Power and Heat Building on South Jackson Street and opened a social club that often featured jazz. This is a new chapter in my life.. View Map (253) 300-8759 Contact Us. I tell people that Im part of the Elks and they give me funny looks, Ben Braden, who sits on the Ballard Elks executive committee, told me. The Ballard Elks has more than 560. THE SEATTLE ELKS 92 - 45 Photos - Seattle, Washington - Venues & Event Spaces - Phone Number - Yelp The Seattle Elks 92 6 reviews Unclaimed Venues & Event Spaces, Social Clubs Edit Open 3:00 PM - 11:30 PM See hours See all 45 photos Write a review Add photo Location & Hours 3014 3rd Ave N Seattle, WA 98109 Nickerson St & Etruria St Queen Anne According to local jazz pianist Palmer Johnson, in the 1920s we played [n]o Dixieland and no two-beatThats old-time stuff. In this segment, he shares a few reasons why he enjoys the African American community, O de wurl aint flat,An de wurl aint roun,Hits one long stripHangin up an downJes Souf an Norf;Jes Norf an Souf. [4] Black migrants brought with them jazz and musical traditions from around the country and, by the 1910s, Seattles culture of legalized corruptionsupported venues for music. Prohibition, which began in Washington in 1916, prompted the need for underground clubs and speakeasies and city officials were all too eager to look the other wayand even encourage viceupon receiving cash payment. Lodge Name or No. Soft sculptures at MoM, jazzy paintings in Pioneer Square and ghosts en pointe at Pacific Northwest Ballet. Its founding members opened the club on Congress Street,. [7] Ibid., 12-17. [27] Ibid., 43. Surfs, as in rides a stand-up paddleboard behind the tug when it makes its way through the bay outside the club. Many Animals, Including the Platypus, Lost Their Stomachs. . The order is just one of many clandestine organizations that exist today, though the popularity of these secret clubs peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries, writes Noah Shachtman for Wired. Tonsorial Parlor Manicuring Baths A place for members to socialize. "So we just have to keep showing them success.. While there are certainly real and distressing changes in the way that Seattleites actually live, one of the biggest changes is a state of mind: Seattle just feels different. US residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data. Ontario Black History Society. Women werent even allowed to put a toe in that place., There are pictures of a younger Lois in the back of the club, the same firecracker look in her eye as she has today. They elected their own leaders and drew up constitutions to govern their operations. When my family lived in Wallingford, we were the only Asian family in the entire neighborhood. Since then, the demographics of Seattle, like the Elks themselves, have been slow to shift. "This year has been a banner year . Seattle weather is the only thing about the city thats temperamental or contrary. Thursday: 3:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Friday: 3:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Two years later they relocated to Seattle, where Edythe's quintet performed at venues like the Copper Kettle and the Black Elks Club. The woman on left is wearing a light colored suit, and the woman on the right is wearing a floor-length, light-colored dress, with a corsage. In many ways, the lodges are ciphers: event spaces malleable to the shifting civic and psychological needs of their members, instead of dictating them. Many Black jazz musicians said that while playing in Shanghai they were treated with respect for the fist time in their lives.[26] Accustomed to living under racial segregation in the United States, it is not surprising that Black jazz musicians felt they received more respect and more freedom in the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai. Item Description. [30] de Barros, 45. Casey, who has the freckles and eye crinkles of someone who lives on the water, was one of the first to start stand-up paddling in Seattle. Susan A. said: Spent 4 nights here. Prolonged negotiations and mounting complaints at the Seattle-based coffee retailer show the obstacles a new labor movement faces. | READ MORE. It was also the official destination for Seattles growing immigrant and migrant populations.[3]. The two men decided to take the orders name and make their own club around it. In the United States in the late-19th century, there was enough of a national uproar against secret societies that one concerned group created an annual Anti-Secret Society Convention. In 1869, at the national convention in Chicago, the attendees went after the secular press. The organizations secretary said that the press "either approved or ignored secret societies while few religious papers have spunk enough to come out for Christ in opposition to Masonry. But by 1892, the group, which deemed the societies an "evil to society and a menace to our civil institutions," had failed to secure them anything but strong denunciation, as the Pittsburgh Dispatch commented. The steaks especially good this week, according to Lois, because Felix is using a demi-glace. If you are able please consider a donation to the lodge. The dream of Seattle had been colonized by a bunch of rich dorks in performance gear who didnt even know how to flirt. Im Spanish and Italian; I have 38 first cousins 200 will be nothing. Zuniga asks King if shes had the time to look at her rsum, which shes promised to pass along to a colleague at the University of Washington. Join Facebook to connect with Seattle Elks and others you may know. But then they see what happens, and they say, Wow, that was wonderful," Anne told me. [28] Ibid., 41. Welcome to Ballard Elks Lodge 827 a social and charitable group that strives to make a difference in our community and beyond. Black musicians founded their own union, Local 458, in 1918. This small difference was enough, and in 1918, the BPOE officially ended its opposition to the IBPOEW. [33] As swing gained in popularity, the Jackson Street clubs could no longer hold the swelling crowds and jazz spread throughout the city. Fraternal organizations have always met specific cultural needs. In the early 2000s, the Elks lodge in Austin enjoyed a membership surge after a woman tried to sneak into the pool. 1416 in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood, Feb. 23, 2019. Thanks to all who got a copy of the first b Dr. James Gore interviews me for 60 minutes on KKNW. Started after the Civil War, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) originally didn't admit African-American members. The Ballard Elks Lodge #827 sits on the shores of Shilshole Bay in Seattle overlooking beautiful Puget Sound and Olympic Mountains. 1416 in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood, Feb. 23, 2019. Franklin D. Roosevelt was an Elk; so were Truman and MacArthur and Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy. B. F. Howard and Pullman Porter Arthur J. Riggs, who had both been denied membership in the all-White BPOE, created the organization. A Rainier Avenue butcher shop offers an eye into Columbia City's roots. Follow him on Twitter @mdseely. [27] Clearly, the Jackson Street jazz clubs had only continued to multiply during Palmer Johnsons extended absence. Al Brooks is a Crown Royal man. As late as the 1970s, the lodge was where you went to dance on a Saturday night, to dress up on New Years, to play bridge and hobnob and drink under the auspices of charity. Suddenly the lights went out and a battle ensued in which the county officers were roughly handledNot satisfied with their raid Sunday morning and incensed by the beating they received, two of the constables returned to the club Tuesday night and assaulted Lem Turner, colored bystander outside the clubThe raid and actions of the constables has caused city wide condemnation and is generally regarded as an attempt to shakedown the sporting district for graft money."[16]. 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