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Elks Honolulu Lodge No. 616
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To your health: an Elk tradition
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One of the attractions of being an Elk in Hawaii has always been the chance to socialize with fellow members. It didn’t take those first Elks long to plan for a location where they could do just that. Bringing their wives and later families to the Lodge for events and recreation was important. In September 1901, the Advertiser was already reporting “Corral for Local Elks: Club and Grill will be features.” Enjoyment of a good beer unites the first Elks with today’s members!
In December 1901, “Rainier Beer for the Home” was advertised to consumers. At the same time, the “Anti-Saloon League of Hawaii” was organizing under forces that touted abstinence to keep men (and women) “hale and hearty.” Eventually their campaign would lead to a total ban on alcohol in Hawaii, March 1918.[1]
Truth-in-advertising laws and the Surgeon General’s warnings have changed the way we advertise beer in Hawaii. In 1903, newspaper ads could tout beer as a woman’s “best insurance against poor health.” For women who enjoy beer, it’s nice to THINK it could keep us ‘pretty’.
In the 1904 holiday issue of Paradise of the Pacific[2], Primo encouraged visitors and residents to drink of its “healthful tonic properties.” Primo could name itself the “Ideal Family Beverage” based on the medical thinking of that era. Beer was considered an appropriate nutritional drink for children. In addition, bottled beer was a safe source of liquids when tap water was uncertain. During the 1930’s depression, the Elks put their energy into a program to provide milk, the health drink of THAT day, to school children. Funds were raised with community concerts, fairs, and dances like this one in 1933. Perhaps the Elks, like many Americans, were also celebrating the forthcoming legalization of alcohol Dec. 5, 1933.
Each summer, the Honolulu Elks Club and Snack Bar serve milk, beer, and other cooling beverages to the appropriate age group based on today’s thinking! While Elks of all ages are welcome to order a glass of bone strengthening milk, only those over 21 will be served a beer. Come and get it! You’ll be upholding a 100 year-old Hawaii Elk tradition.
Anita Manning, Lodge Historian
References:
Hawaiian Star 4 May 1903, pg 2
Honolulu Advertiser 7 Sept 1901 pg 9; 17 Dec 1901
Paradise of the Pacific Dec 1904
Star Bulletin 27 Sept 33, pg 2
Wadman, J. W. “The History of Prohibition in Hawaii,” The Friend, Mar 1920, pg 62-63
[1] Hawaii prohibition began two years before national prohibition took effect on Jan. 16, 1920. [2] Now Honolulu Magazine.
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