Category: Columns

Well, mask season is finally over. We are back to full capacity and will be able to have live music and dancing again along with guests being welcome at the Lodge. With this added capacity the Lodge will be needing more help in the volunteer department. If you have any experience with or want to learn about working in the kitchen or bar to help your Lodge please leave your name and number at the bar or front desk and someone will contact you. Also, we are looking to hire an additional maintenance/custodial staff person. If you are interested or know of someone who is interested in this position, please contact the office.

With the weather heating up inland, I’m sure a lot of people will be traveling to our area again and our R.V. park will be filling up. It will be so nice to SEE people and talk to them again face to face without masks. I look forward to hearing about their travels.

I will be attending the Elks National Convention in Tampa, Florida over the weekend of July 4th to represent our Lodge and District. When I return we will be getting our Lodge ready for CHEA President, Jay Larkins’ Visitation to the Great Northwest District, which is a great honor for our Lodge. Later in July we will celebrate the A.V.P. Dennis Hunter’s Homecoming, another very special event at our Lodge.

I hope everyone has a great 4th of July and is feeling the excitement of getting back to normal. I can’t wait to hear live music again at the Lodge. Lastly, if you leave a note in my box please sign it so that I can get back to you with answers.

ER Scott Reinsmith

Americanism by Wendy Browne. This month we gives thanks to revolutionary war patriot Robert Philipson Cary who is registered with the Daughter’s of the American Revolution for his service to the Virginia Colony. He was a descendant of one of the first families of Virginia. The Cary family. His ancestors arrived at the Jamestown colony in the early 1600’s. Robert Philipson Cary was born in 1763 in Chesterfield, Virginia he served 3 years on the Virginia Continental line. After the war he and his wife, Martha North, moved to the state of Tennessee where he had a land grant from the government for his valiant service to our country. Robert Philipson Cary left this life in Dec of 1819 at his home in Claiborne County, Tennessee. We give thanks and honor to this brave man who served our country with courage and a fighting spirit. Robert Phillipson Cary was the 4th great grandfather of Lodge 652 member Floyd Squires.

Do you have an ancestor who fought for the liberation of the us colonies from Great Britain? If you would like to share with others, and learn more about their lineage, please leave a note with your contact info. with the lodge clerk. We have the memorial brick project on the front wall of the lodge you can memorialize them there as well. The war memorial bricks include the Revolutionary War period as well as the more recent wars.

Eureka Elks Lodge no. 652 held its annual flag day ceremony on Sunday
June 6th. The ceremony displayed the earliest American flags from the Pine
Tree flag to todays 50 stars and 13 strips. Elks invited members from
Eureka Emblem Club no. 298, Eureka Commandery no. 35, Knights Templar,
Boy Scout Troop no. 54 and Mad River Honor Guard to participate in this
historical event. There was a hosted lunch after the program. Pictured
Boys Scouts, Knights Templar and Emblem Club Members.
Pictured third from left is Warren Tindall with the Mad River Honor Guard.
Center back, left to right is, Dennis Hunter Past Exalted Ruler and Exalted
Ruler Scott Reinsmith.

Dennis Hunter was born on July 8, 1942 in Newport, Oregon. At four years old, his family moved
to Eureka, California where he attended local schools and graduated from Eureka High School in
1960. During his high school senior year, he began working for Eureka radio and television
stations, co-hosted a local Saturday TV dance show and played piano in a local dance band.
While working as a morning disc jockey, Dennis attended Humboldt State University where he
majored in Radio-Television Speech Communication and minored in Business.
Dennis completed his college education and obtained his Bachelors of Arts Degree at Sacramento
State University while he was working for KCRA-TV in Sacramento. After a stint as Promotion
Director at a television station in Denver, Colorado, he decided to return home to Eureka where
he opened an advertising agency which he operated for 25 years.
In 1977, Dennis joined the Rotary Club of Eureka where he served as its President in 1994-1995.
While managing his advertising agency, he served as news anchor on a Eureka television station
from 1982 through 1988. In 1989, Dennis entered the world of local politics as he was elected to
the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District. He was re-elected four times,
serving as President, Vice President and Secretary of the Board. He also served on the Redwood
Region Economic Development Commission from 1992 to 2007, where he served twice as
Chairman of the Board and served on its Executive Committee.
Dennis served on the board for Easter Seals of Northern California where he was President of
both the State and local chapters. He also served as on-air host and producer of the local Easter
Seals Telethon for 30 years. Other community involvement includes three terms on the board of
the Greater Eureka Chamber of Commerce where he served as its President in 2008, board
member of the local PBS television station, the American Cancer Society, Civil Air Patrol, the
Humboldt Convention and Visitors Bureau and is a current member of the City of Eureka’s
Financial Advisory Committee. He is a Master Mason of Humboldt Lodge #79. In 1995, Dennis
became the Vice President of Marketing for a regional credit union and held that position until he
retired in 2013.
Upon retirement, Dennis and his wife Karen joined Eureka Elks Lodge #652. Two months after
being initiated, he became Inner Guard and began to work through the chairs until he served as
Exalted Ruler in 2018-2019. During that time, Dennis also edited the lodge’s newsletter, served
as Public Relations Chair and chaired the House Committee. In 2019, DDGER Brad Smith
appointed him as his Grand Esquire of the “Great” Northwest District.
Dennis and Karen have four children, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Hobbies include learning guitar, reading, rooting for the San Francisco Giants and 49ers and
traveling with Karen and their two four-legged canine children, Buster and Posey.

Jay Larkins was initiated into the Santa Clarita Lodge #2379 in August 1994, quickly
becoming Lodge Esquire then Esteemed Loyal Knight, Leading Knight and then Exalted Ruler in
October 1996 due to the passing of the Exalted Ruler. As the Junior P.E.R. he was elected to the
Board of Trustees serving the final year as Chairman and then elected Lodge Secretary. He is a
Past ‘Tall Elk’ and ‘Elk of the Year’ at the Santa Clarita Elks Lodge.
In 1999, Jay became a Certified Ritualistic Floor Judge, Word Judge and Calculator and
served as Tri-District Ritual Training Chairman. From 1999 to 2018, Jay served as coach of the
Santa Clarita Elks Ritual Team with 4 C.H.E.A. Team Ritualistic Championships. Jay served on
several district committees and served as Esquire to District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler Bob
Brennan and as Auditor to D.D.G.E.R. Bill Howell. In 2003 Jay was appointed Association Vice
President for the Metropolitan District under Association President Doug Larsen and First Lady Jo
and in 2005 appointed to serve as District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler. He served on the C.H.E.A.
Board of Trustees and on the C.H.E.M.P.I. Board of Trustees serving the final year as the
Chairman. At the CHEA Convention in Fresno in 2019, he was elected as the California-Hawaii
Elks Association First Vice President. Jay’s professional career has taken him from directing the
local news on a small television station in East Tennessee, to Atlanta, Georgia at CNN Headline
News, then The Weather Channel, and then leaving for California and tv show ‘Hard Copy’ at
Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Then on to ‘Entertainment Tonight’ where as Director he helped
earn the show its First Emmy Nomination and Win. Jay and Ginger started their own production
company in 2014 and worked with ‘The Dan Patrick Show’, ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ and Hallmark
Channels ‘Home and Family’ and 5 startup shows including ‘Laughs’ on FOX, ‘Entertainment
Tonight in Dubai’, Directv NFL Fantasy Zone, Emmy Nominated ‘Crime Watch Daily’ and Emmy
Nominated ‘DailyMailTV’ where he was Nominated for a Directing Emmy in 2018 and Winning the
Emmy with ‘DailyMailTV’ in 2019. In the entertainment industry, Jay is a member of The
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers,
Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Motion Picture
and Television Editors Guild, and the Directors Guild of America.
Jay and his wife Ginger, a 20 year Elk, Past Elk of the Year, and Past Emblem Club
President, met in Atlanta at the Weather Channel. They have 2 children and 5 grandchildren.
Daughter Mindy, a 20 year member of Santa Clarita Lodge, lives in Birmingham, Alabama with
her 2 children Taylor and Brady, and fiancé John, and son Casey in Charlotte, North Carolina with
children Piper, Sebastian and Elliott and wife Stephanie.
Jay and Ginger are children of Elks. Ginger’s father, Henry Knighten Sr., was a Past
District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler and installed Jay as Exalted Ruler. Jay’s father, Tom, was a
member of the Kingsport, Tennessee Lodge. Growing up, Jay played for the Elks sponsored little
league baseball team and participated in the Elks National Hoop Shoot program. Growing up and
attending all of his school years through college in the Volunteer State led to his love of the color
Orange and his support of the University of Tennessee Volunteers…Win or Lose!
Jay and Ginger are excited, honored and proud to be given the opportunity to serve the
members of the California-Hawaii Elks Association as President and First Lady.

Hello my Brother and Sister Elks,

Now that the lodge is opening up to more functions, organizations, events and fundraisers we need to stay even more diligent abiding by our Covid 19 rules. Please wear a mask at all times in the Lodge except when seated at a table. Keep a safe distance when in line for dinner tickets, steam table and at the bar. I know most of you have been vaccinated and are feeling more comfortable coming out but we are starting to have larger gatherings at the Lodge and the community is watching, so we need to show that we are doing our best to keep up the Covid 19 safety guidelines. So please mask up, wash your hands and social distance. If you are someone who repeatedly ignores requests to put on your mask, you will be asked to leave at once.

I have had some complaints in my Suggestion Box and I think that I’ve dealt with or fixed the problems that were brought to my attention. I know we are having problems with the phone-in dinner reservations and reserved seating. Please know that we are figuring it out and are working on a system that will eliminate the issues we are experiencing. I will be choosing an “Elk of the Month” every month this year. For May I picked Howard Ritter for all of his hard work with the Roamers and his work on the RV dog park.

Lastly, if you haven’t gotten your new green membership card yet, please come down and pay your dues and join us at the Lodge.

Exalted Ruler Scott Reinsmith.

The Americanism Corner this month is spotlighting Richard Kennon, born in 1752 in Chester County Virginia. He eventually settled in Chatham County North Carolina where he raised 8 children. Richard Kennon helped establish American Independence by representing Chatham County in the capacity of a delegate to the third North
Carolina Provincial Congress. The third Congress met in Hillsborough from August 20 to September 10, 1775. The Congress created a government structure, issued bills of credit to pay for the revolutionary movement, and organized an army for defense in preparation for the “State” of North Carolina. Richard Kennon was the 4th great grandfather of Lodge Inner Guard, Wendy Browne

Two local students were honored for their participation in a Statewide contest and won $100.00 each from the Elks Lodge State Contest on “Drug Awareness Program”, and $100 each from the local Elks Lodge No. 652 also.
Maile Russell, 8th grader, won the Essay Contest for the Northwest District for the slogan “Drug Abuse, No Excuse” and Ilya Kelly, 4th grader, won for her poster for the same slogan. Pictured from left to right, front row: Ilya’s brother, Arthur; her Mother, Julie; Ilya; Maile; Maile’s Father, Tim and her brother Huck. Back row: Ilya’s Father, Gabe; Lodge Exulted Ruler, Scott, Reinsmith; Drug awareness chairperson, Jack Harris.