It is with great sadness that we inform you that the following members have passed:
There will Be a Vacant Chair
We will truly miss our friends and brothers.
An Elk Is Never Forgotten, Never Foresaken Their faults, we write upon the sand, their virtues upon the indelible pages of our hearts.
Their Trails Ended,
Their Faults Forgotten,
Their Virtures Cherished,
They Rest in Peace.
Throughout the United States of American when the 11 O'clock hour falls upon the dial of night Elks unite and recite the following Toast in honor of our absent members. This tradition is over 100 years old and is still an important part of the daily life of an Elk.
11 O'clock Hour Toast
"You have heard the tolling of eleven strokes. This is to impress upon you that with us the hour of eleven has a tender significance. Wherever Elks may roam, whatever their lot in life may be, when this hour falls upon the dial of night, the great heart of Elkdom swells and throbs. It is the golden hour of recollection, the homecoming of those who wander, the mystic roll call of those who will come no more. Living or dead, Elks are never forgotten, never forsaken. Morning and noon may pass them by, the light of day sink heedlessly in the West, but ere the shadows of midnight shall fall, the chimes of memory will be peeling forth the friendly message, "To our Absent Members."