And in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, along with other Monmouth County lodges, they helped gather donations and drive four mid-sized U-Haul trucks to Kearny, Texas for relief efforts. Around the holidays, the lodge wrapped about 700 toys in an effort to throw a Christmas party for 80 special needs children in the immediate area. Last year’s Charity Ball, an effort to fundraise for a general charity account, raised around $10,000, Opie said. That six-hour effort yielded $1,700 donated to local homeless veterans. On Black Friday when Red Bank RiverCenter held its town lighting, the Elks set up a shake-a-can just outside their front door. Over the past calendar year, Opie said Lodge #233 has done its part to give back to those in need. “When we ask (the community) to do something for us, they’re there. “People know what we do here – I feel that in my heart,” said Broccoli, who served from 2005 to 2006. before building and opening in its current location on West Front Street in 1955.ĭespite the many homes, the Elks’ service to Red Bank has never wavered, said Rose Broccoli, the first female exalted ruler in Lodge #233’s history. The Great Depression and high overhead costs forced the Elks to lease the property to the USO, and eventually sell it, the document said.įor a short time, the Elks conducted business by renting space from a fellow member at 7 Broad St. 233” are inscribed, just beneath a carved clock set at 11 p.m., the time Elks dedicate each night to their past members.
If you look closely enough at the top of the building, the words “Red Bank Lodge B.P.O.E.
#ELK LODGE NJ PROFESSIONAL#
Hendrickson House, found just east of the Globe Hotel.Īccording to the Elks, high member demand and outgrowing facilities led to Lodge #233 buying a piece of land and constructing their own building at 365 Broad St., which now is a professional building across the street from the Red Bank Foodtown. In 1913, the Red Bank Elks found their “first real home” at 52 East Front St. Davidsons Building, now a Chase Bank branch location. From their inception until 1913, they conducted meetings on the third floor of 32 Broad St., formerly called the M.M. The Lodge turns 125 years old in 2018.Īccording to a lodge history compiled in 2000 by Elk member Bob Cramer, the Red Bank Elks have had five homes, some more brief than others, in the borough. Opie holds a handwritten, dusty ledger used by Lodge #233 members in the 1920s. with a prime piece of riverfront real estate to watch a setting sun over the Navesink. Lodge #233 is inconspicuously nestled in beside Riverside Gardens Park at 40 West Front St. military conflicts and watched Red Bank grow from a riverside community into one of the most diverse towns in New Jersey. presidents come through the Oval Office, seen six major U.S.
Throughout their history, the Red Bank Elks have witnessed 22 U.S. “It’s about appealing to that group, appealing to that organization, to keep this heartbeat going,” Holder continued. Opie and Holder agreed the attraction rests with a few different ideals: an atmosphere for younger adults to be part of a family, as well as a welcoming attitude from existing members who want to see the Elks continue to grow. “How this organization continues, how it survives, is helped by this crowd here.” “There’s no one that’s here that started this (lodge),” said Justin Holder, a 31-year-old Red Bank resident and two-year member of Lodge #233. After discovering three generations of Elks came before him, he decided to join as a 21-year-old. In fact, Opie, a 32-year-old full-time EMT and Middletown resident, is the youngest exalted ruler in the Red Bank lodge’s history. Just in 2017, he said the average age of three new membership classes was 35 years old. Although the average national member age is 67, he said, Lodge #233 seems to be inducting younger members each year. Opie, an active recruiter of any and all members who qualify as an Elk, said he sees a trend shifting to younger members joining the ranks. “We all come together for that common goal, and that’s community awareness.”
Opie, the lodge’s exalted ruler for 2017-2018. “No one member is greater than the lodge and no lodge is greater than the order,” said Shean R. Later this month, the 540 members who make up the Red Bank lodge will celebrate a vibrant century-and-a-quarter-long history in the heart of Red Bank, highlighted by countless charitable efforts and a steady drive to assist those in need. RED BANK – How does an institution turn 125 years old and still keep a fresh, youthful nod to its tradition? Ask the Red Bank Elks Lodge #233.
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