Downtown
The Covington Lodge of Elks was established in 1895 with 32 charter
members. The initial meeting was conducted in Hermes Hall at the northeast
corner of 4th and Court Streets. The first permanent hall for lodge
purposes was acquired in December 1895 on the third floor of the old
First National Bank building (west side of Madison Avenue between 4th
and 5th Streets).
Mr. Maurice J. Richmond served as the first Exalted Ruler of the Covington Elks. Ben Adams was appointed the first secretary. The first elected officers were: Harvey Myers, Exalted Ruler; Ben Adams, Secretary and Henry Holtrup, Treasurer."
In 1905, the Covington Elks purchased the Homer Hudson residence on
the north side of 5th Street. The home was completely remodeled and
a large hall and kitchen were constructed as an addition to the rear
of the building. The dedication of these new large quarters took place
on March 7, 1905. J.J. Fitzgerald, a past Exalted Ruler of the Louisville
Elks, presented the main address. Elks from Cincinnati, Newport, Louisville
and surrounding cities attended the festivities.
As the membership in the Covington Elks increased, the need for a larger
lodge building became apparent. The old Hudson residence and hall addition
were demolished in 1937 to make way for a new building in 1937. The
new lodge quarters were dedicated on January 31, 1938. The building
was brick and featured Classical Revival detailing. The new structure
contained meeting rooms, a large hall and kitchen.
The 1940s were very busy years for the Elks. In 1940, the Covington
Elks hosted the Kentucky State Convention in their new building. During
the Second World War, 44 members of the Covington Lodge served in the
armed forces. Two of these members, G. Gibson and Eugene G. Finke Jr.,
made the supreme sacrifice. In the last year of the decade, the lodge
hall was severely damaged by fire. The members of the lodge quickly
financed the reconstruction of the facility.
In the post-World War II era, membership in the Covington Lodge began
to decrease as Covington residents moved to the suburbs. In the mid
1940s, membership reached a peak of 800. By 1979, membership had declined
to 171. At that time the lodge building on 5th Street was sold to Senior
Services of Northern Kentucky. The Elks continued to meet, however,
in the Coach and Four Restaurant on Scott Street in Covington.
In 1984, the remaining 144 members of the lodge decided to purchase
a building in Burlington, Boone County, for use as a new lodge home.
This ended 89 years of continual service of the Elks in the City of
Covington.
The Exalted Rulers of the Covington Elks Lodge No. 314 were:
Mr. J. Richmond 1895, Harvey Myers 1895-1897, Thomas M. Jenkins 1897-1899,
Frank M. Tracy 1899-1900, John D. Cawein 1900-1901, M. T. Shine 1901-1902,
R. C. Becker 1902-1903, R. J. Dibowski 1903-1904, James F. 0'Dowd 1904-1905,
R. G. Williams 1905-1906, Henry Hultrup 1906-1907, B. J. Linnenmann
1907-1908, L. J. Ante 1908-1909, L. L. Applegate 1909-1910, P. J. Carroll
1910-1911, F. J. Hanlon 1911-1912, Elmer Becker 1912-1913, Theo. VonHoene
1913-1914, Edward J. Tracy 1914-1915, John J. Seiler 1915-1916, George
A. Hill 1916-1917, Maurice L. Galvin 1917-1918, H. G. Meiners 1918-1919,
George E. Phillips 1919-1920, Herman A. Hehnhorst 1920-1921, R.T. VonHoene
1921 1922, John B. Odenthal 1922 1923, Robert H. Haines 1923 1924, George
M. Sheridan 1924 1925, William Madden, Jr . 1925-1926, A. J. Kreutz
1926-1927, John B. Eagan 1927 1928, Wm. M. Sellrneyer 1928 1929, Arthur
B. Walker 1929-1930, Harry H. Behman 1930 1931, Albert A. Hohnhorst
1931 1932, Edward Jung 1932 1933, James C. Rogers 1933 1934, Alfred
P. Lewis 1934-1935, Carl L. Ritter 1935-1936, Wm. E. Terwort 1936-1937,
Alfred Schild 1937-1938, B. L. Rutemiller 1938-1939, Thos. L. Ward 1939-1940,
Reynold H. Jobert 1940-1941, Harry H. Martin 1941-1942, Rueben Hodges
1942-1943, Thos. E. McGill 1943-1944, Anthony A. Hohnhorst 1944-1945,
Clarence H. Robbins 1945-1946, Fed Wells 1946-1947, Omer H. Stubbs 1947-1948,
Leo R. Schmidt 1948-1949, Clarence J. Nienaber, 1949-1950, John J. Moloney,
1950-1951, Eldon R. Frick 1951-1952, Willard E. Burk 1952-1953, Carl
Losekamp 1953-1954, Charles Moeves 1954-1955, Samuel A. Hauser 1955-1956,
Howard Holiday 1956-1957, Howard A. Pauly 1957-1958, Charles J. Stander
1958-1959, Charles H. Murray 1959-1960, William E. Terwort 1960-1961,
Terry W. Hughes 1961-1962, Robert Tosella 1962-1963, James F. Wessels
1963-1964, Kenneth D. Collins 1970 1971, George H. Albrink 1971-1972,
Thomas C. Wessels 1972-1973, Charles J. Stander 1973-1974, James H.
Cummings 1974-1975, Frank Wolnitzek 1975-1976, Leo A. Schott 1976-1977,
William J. Kloeker 1977-1978, Dr. Paul Baldwin 1978-1979, C. Ralph Stevenson
1979-1980, Frank Wolnitzek 1980-1981, James Mirick 1981-1983, Ray Bricking
1983-1984, Sonny Kyle 1984-1986, Frank Wolnitzek 1986-1987, Matthew
Kloeker 1987-1988.
Kentucky Post, February 14, 1905, p. 3, February 24, 1905, p. 3
and March 6, 1905, p. 1; Elizabeth J. Chavez, The Covington Elks. The
Papers of the Kenton County Historical Society, Vol. II, pp. 132-138;
Official Program of the Kentucky State Convention, June 2,3,4,5, 1946,
KCPL Collection; Official Program of the Kentucky State Association,
B.P.O.E., June 16,17,18,19, 1940, KCPL Collection; Pictorial and Industrial
Review of Northern Kentucky (1923), p. 44.
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