Jackson Back to All Lodges
Needy Youth Application:
Lounge Hours: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays during football season
Elks Lanes Bowling: Call Alley Manager for member open bowling schedule or to sign up for leagues 307-690-4859
EARLY YEARS
Jackson Elks Lodge No. 1713 started in 1946 with 50 members, who met in the Clubhouse on the east side of the Jackson Town Square from 1946 until 1949. The Lodge, under Exalted Ruler George W. Halbrook, received its charter on July 17th, 1947. In 1949, Neil Rafferty built the ski shelter on Snow King Mountain, and the Elks met there until 1952. The Lodge traded that land plus $50 for the current Lodge location on West Broadway where we still meet today.
The Lodge was remodeled and enlarged in 1961, and Jackson’s kindergarten class was held in the basement of the Lodge until the bowling alley was installed in 1964.
PRESENT DAY
The first female member of the Lodge was Lucy Stilson in 2002. Lucy paved the way for Stephanie Ivie to become the first female officer in 2006. In 2013, Jill Callaway became the first woman to hold the office of Exalted Ruler. The last living charter member, Doug Frazier, died in Pavilion, WY in 2013. Presently there are 484 members. The highest membership, 700, was seen back in the 1960’s. Today, the Lodge is a place for all who follow the ideals of Elkdom to come together and share fellowship.
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTIONS
In the past five years, the Lodge has given over $360,000 to local organizations and people in need, including the Boy Scouts of America, C Bar V Ranch (a school for children with behavioral and emotional issues), Central Wyoming Community College, the Children’s Learning Center, the Jackson Food Cupboard, the Senior Center of Jackson Hole, the Special Olympics, and more. Money raised has also gone to veterans and active-duty troops, youth athletics, needy youth, medical fundraisers, and Elks Angel scholarships for children of fallen servicemen and -women, among other causes.
The Lodge provides a free Mother’s Day brunch every year and has taken on the free community Thanksgiving Dinner. The Lodge also hosts an annual Veteran’s Day dinner, where the whole community is invited to give thanks and where veterans eat for free. The Lodge, in partnership with local Boy Scout troops, also conducts the annual Flag Day ceremony in June, and invites the community to the ceremony to learn more about our Flag’s history.
The Lodge also supports local Boy Scout troops in the uniquely-Wyoming elk antler collection on the National Elk Refuge. While the Scouts and their parents collect shed elk antlers in the field, Lodge members prepare a lunch for hungry Scouters after a long day of hiking and hauling antlers. The antlers are auctioned off at ElkFest, where proceeds go towards the Boy Scouts and various improvements on the National Elk Refuge.
Wednesday night Bingo games at the Lodge in the winter have become a community staple, raising funds to provide $12,000 in scholarships every year for six deserving high school students.
- Jackson Elks Lodge #1713
- 270 W Broadway,
Jackson WY 83001
- P: 307-733-1713
- E: elks@jacksonholeelks.org
- Website: https://www.jacksonholeelks.org
- Mailing Address
- Jackson Lodge #1713
P.O. Box 1713,
Jackson, WY 83001 - Meeting Dates
- 2nd and 4th Mondays at 7:30 PM