History of the Elks Christmas Program

The below newspaper article was reproduced from the December 25th 1931 issue of the Lake City Reporter. Red underlining signifies Lodge members, while purple highlighting identifies reference to our Lodge itself. The article describes the origin of this beloved civic tradition as the idea of Lake City Lodge #893 Secretary John C. “Red” Davis (later an Exalted Ruler, 1934-1935). It details not only the inaugural giveaway of 180-200 Christmas baskets, but also the inaugural children’s Christmas party at the Lodge itself, which hosted over 600 children in its first year. We can be proud of ourselves as Elks as we continue to support and serve our local community with this event which has been going strong since 1931.