MASSACHUSETTS

MASSACHUSETTS – “Old Ironsides,"

September 27-29

 

On our drive from Vermont to Massachusetts, we made a stop at the "Elk by the Trail," a monument erected to deceased Elks.  This beautiful memorial was the project of several local lodges and sits right next to the highway.  It is a very special sight and we appreciated the chance to see it.

 

We then met up with Grand Trustee and SDGER Mike Zellen and Donna at Greenfield Elks Lodge #1296 in Greenfield, Massachusetts for a wonderful clam chowder luncheon with Exalted Ruler Sid Jensen and the officers and members of the lodge.  Greenfield will be celebrating their 100^th  Anniversary this year and we congratulated them on this achievement.   After a tour of their beautiful lodge, we joined Mike and Donna for an afternoon drive to our hotel south of Boston in Somerset, Massachusetts.

Thursday evening we went to dinner at the Fall River Lodge #118.  State President Frank Barone and Rhone and State Sponsor PGER Dr. Leonard Bristol and Ginny also joined us and we had an excellent Minestrone soup followed by a pot roast dinner.  We very much enjoyed the “comfort food” menu.  The hospitality extended to us by Exalted Ruler Gene Alves and his officers was wonderful and made our evening thoroughly enjoyable.

Friday morning we awoke to rain.  Not to be deterred, we set out to tour the Boston area.  Our first stop was the U.S.S. Constitution, more fondly known as “Old Ironsides.”  The Executive Officer of the ship came down to welcome us on behalf of the Captain who was away in Washington, D.C. on official business for the weekend.  We toured the decks of the ship from stem to stern, marveling at the beautiful condition of this, the oldest commissioned warship in the U.S. Navy.  After an overview of the Charlestown Navy Yard and a quick walk through the Constitution Museum, we boarded the van and headed for Bunker Hill.  We stopped for pictures at the Monument on our way to lunch at a terrific Italian restaurant in Boston’s North End called Benevento’s.  True to all of our experience with Italian restaurants, the food was excellent, the quantity more than any human being could possibly eat in one sitting and the service was impeccable.  While we were at lunch, someone in the group noticed that our van driver for the day, Kevin Alkins from the Malden Lodge #965 bore a striking resemblance to Tom and the “Me and Mini-me” theme began.

After lunch, we toured the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.  As has been the case for many of our stops, we wished that we could have had more time at this venue.  The detailed information about this period of our U.S. history and the comprehensive displays were amazing.  We know that we will make time to thoroughly tour this museum the next time we return to the Boston area.

Friday evening we celebrated the 100^th Anniversary of the Middleboro Elks Lodge #1274 with a dinner/dance.  When Tom presented them with their plaque, he commented on what a significant milestone this was and how proud they should be.  Their anniversary committee did a beautiful job of planning for this event, having devoted well over two years of effort to ensure all went well.  The dinner was excellent and it appeared that a good time was had by all.

Saturday, we traveled to the Weymouth Elks Lodge #2232 for a luncheon with the District Deputies, the Past State Presidents and other State Officers.  The Weymouth Lodge has been expanded several times over the years and they have a beautiful and extremely functional facility.  After lunch, the Weymouth Riders, a committee of the lodge, presented Tom with his own leather vest with their patch on the back and made him an official member of the "Elkwey Riders."  They also let Venita know that she was included and that her vest would be coming as soon as they received some additional club patches.  We knew they were serious about their group when we noted the motorcycle parking outside their lodge.

 

Saturday evening was our final celebration with the Massachusetts Elks at a reception and dinner at the Venus de Milo banquet hall.  After dinner, Tom thanked everyone for all of their hospitality throughout the entire weekend and commented on how much we had enjoyed ourselves.  He went on to talk to them about their achievements and how we can grow our membership through our community projects and involvement of the local lodges.  At the end of the evening, we were presented with several mementos of our visit.  The last gift was from Tom’s Massachusetts District Deputies and was a photo of what had already been shipped to us.  When we opened the package, we found that they were presenting us with a scale model of the U.S.S. Constitution in full sail.  Upon our return to Tom’s office Sunday evening, we found that our ship had already arrived and is magnificent!  We are clearing out a special place in our home for this beautiful model.
 
We want to thank PGER Leonard and Ginny Bristol, SDGER and Grand Trustee Mike and Donna Zellen, State President Frank Barone and Rhona and all of the Massachusetts Elks for their warm welcome and gracious hospitality while we were visiting with them.  Also, thank you for your generosity for our special cause and your donations of $600 to the Elks Disaster Relief Fund.  You are all doing great things for Elkdom and we very much enjoyed our time with you.  We can’t wait to come back and explore more of your beautiful state.