Telluride Lodge No. 692 was inaugurated on July 20, 1901
in the bustling mining town of Telluride. Elks members from
the surrounding lodges of Durango, Ouray and Grand Junction
traveled to Telluride by train and installed the charter members
with pomp and circumstance par excellence.
According to the San Juan Examiner, “The supreme stag
snorted, tore up a little earth, and the herd rallied around
the goat and put a curl in his whiskers… The Telluride
Lodge starts out under very auspicious circumstances and is
composed of good business men and good fellows. It will undoubtedly
prove a most prosperous organization and is destined to achieve
a good substantial growth.”
The Telluride Elks first met above Frank Wilson’s old
drugstore downtown, then purchased half of the First National
Bank Building across the street after the bank closed in 1925.
In 1987, the Elks constructed the Elks
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Building across the street from the historic
San Miguel County Courthouse and remained on the third floor
until 2003, when the Elks Trustees sold the top floor and
moved into the Swede-Finn Hall at 472 W. Pacific Ave. The
Swede-Finn Hall, constructed in 1899, is a perfect fit for
the Telluride Elks with its historic status and is owned free
and clear.
Exalted Ruler Marshall Flick is especially proud of the new
“old” home for his Elks and is easily persuaded
by visiting Elks to give them a detailed tour of the old community-meeting
hall, which was refurbished in the early 1990s.
Under Flick’s command, the Elks have increased their
scholarships program substantially and hope to continue building
up the program’s finances, initiated new and enthusiastic
members, and reinstated members who have drifted from their
membership.
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