The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-12-03
Members of Richmond Lodge
of EIks Gathered at the
Gennett to pay Annual Trib-
ute to Departed Brethren.
STAGE RESPLENOENT WITH
BEAUTIFUL DECORATIONS
Judge Martin Delivered Memo
rial Address Dwelling on the
Principles for Which the
Lodge Stood.

Oratory and song, evlogistic of the
"absent brothers, were striking fea-
lures of the annual memorial servi-
ces of Richmond Lodge of Elks, held
yesterday afternoon in the Gennett
theatre.
Judge U. S. Martin of Dayton, o..
was orator of the occasion; the ritu-
alistic services were conducted by
the Elks' officers and the music was
by the Elks' lodge in chorus and by
a special mixed choir.
Decorations of lavish character
had transformed the stage of the the
atre into a beautiful picture. Above
the pyramid seats which held the
members of the lodge, bunting dis
playing the stars and stripes had
been formed into a canopy. Across
| the front of the stage was bank of
palms and flowers and as central
figure directly in front of the presid-
ing officers desk was the head of
|fully-antlered elk, an incandescent ell
One of the effective electrical dis
|plays was an illuminated clock dial.
the hour hand at III. and below, upon
the face of an Illuminated glass panel,
were the names of the members of
Richmond Lodge of Elks who have
died since the organization. These
brothers were Adolph Bartel, Web
|ster Chandlee. George Ebersole. Wal
ter s. Gayle, Charles l.. Sherer and J.
Fred jay. During the ritralistic SER
vices, the names of the absent
brothers were called by the secre-
|tary and as each name of the depart
led was pronounced, the panel bearing
that name was illuminated.
Frank Braffett Presided.
Frank l. Braffett, Exalted Ruler of
Richmond Lodge, by virtue of his Of
flee was presiding officer and conduct
led the ritualistic features. The sing
ling of the Opening Ode, Great Ruler
|of the Universe" was followed by
|the invocation delivered by the Rev.
T.. G. Howard, pastor of the First En-
|glish Lutheran church. The special
choir of mixed voices sang two num-
bers. one at the opening, the other
preceding the closing memorial ses-
sion. The Souls of the Righteous
and Hear my Prayer" were the off
erings. The members of the choir
were as follows:
Sopranos-Mrs Will Kruger, Mrs.
n q IiCc
Marie Kaufman and Miss Florence
Shute.
Tenors-Mr. o. c. Krone. Mr. o. p
Nusbaum. Mr.. Raymond Wehrley and /.
Mr.. Ed. Spencer
Altos-Mrs. Ray Longnecker. Mrs. |
Chas. Neal. Mrs Fred Bartel and /
Miss Ella Lemon.
Bassos-Mr. Frank l. Braffett. Mr. /
J. F. Thompson. Mr.. Ray X Shiveley. |
Mr.. Arthur Burr and Mr. Fred Bar I
tel.
Mrs. Fred Miller Piano
Mr.. Will Earhart, director
The only other musical number
was a solo. DeKoven's "Recessional' /
which was sung by Mr. George Barn /
nrd member Of New Castle lodge /
III flkS.
Speaker Handicapped by Illness.
Judge Martin. of Dayton. in his
memorial address. was handicapped
srom illness. leaving his bed at the
Nescott hotel a short time before the
opened. He acquitted him
self we'll. however. his address being
a departure from the usual type of
memorial tributes delivered at the
Elks' annual services. His one en-
ieavor was to show that in gathering
together in a public way TO pay re-
spect to the departed. the Elks' exem-
plified the cardinal principles OF it's
which made ii the ideal
fraternity. one in which all men of
might meet on a common level In
part he said:
To-day hundreds and thousands of
the members of this organization
which we call Elks. are meeting to-
-ether and are standing with bowed
and uncovered heads. fguratively
speaking at the graves of their re-
numbered dead. And while Elks in
his manner express their sadness ov-
er the fact that brethern whom they
admired have died nevertheless they
End reason TO rejoice in the fact that
these brothers once lived and were
among them. The Elks have seen
it on this day to commemorate the
virtues of their departed Death. to
most of us, comes as an awful
thought, but nevertheless we all rec
ognize that there is much in this life