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Portland, July 1912 After the Atlantic City Convention of 1911, the Elks laid on another great convention and another series of breathtaking spectacles for their 1912 Portland Convention: the Electrical Parade alone featured eighteen illuminated floats. The Grand Parade itself had ten thousand marching Elks and twenty eight different bands on a five mile route that was said to have been watched by 300,000 spectators. Incredible! There are no records of any bowls or plates for Portland, 1912: why this is so, is a bit of a mystery. There is however an extremely rare Portland Elks 1912 Bell - it is the only one known to date, and is shown on the right. It was reportedly found in a garage sale before entering the Carnival collectors’ realm at an auction in 1993. Why only one? If there were more, are any still out there? Had the Elks fallen out of love with Carnival? In fact, was this one only a trial, that never made it into production, or the Elks Convention? 
July 1912, Morning Oregonian
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The only known Elks, Portland 1912 Bell, in blue,
made by Fenton. Courtesy of Seeck Auctions |
There was certainly no shortage of commemorative items for the Elks to choose from: the extract above is only a small part of a full page ad placed by Meier and Franks in the July 1912, Morning Oregonian. Streamers, pennants, flags, all kinds of jewellery, buttons, hats and even elk heads and horns!.
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The Elks Lodge in Portland was on Fourth Street, which was “where the big Elks’ parade will assemble”, and was captured in this photo in the Sacramento Union paper of July 1912 (on the right). The newspaper info went on to state that “The tall gentleman in the lower picture is John P. Sullivan, exalted ruler of the Elks, while the little fellow is Fred C. Robinson, the grand secretary.” Pelted with oranges! The parade itself must have been amazing to watch, but some spectators might have received more than they bargained for, according to newspaper reports in 1912. The Los Angeles Herald reported that a (train) carload packed with oranges was sent from Redlands to Portland to “be used by local Elks in pelting the Portland crowds at the Elks reunion”. Perhaps to soften the blow of being struck by a hefty orange, “five thousand sacks of walnuts and five thousand bottles of wine will also be given away by the local booster who attend the Portland convention.” 
Los Angeles Herald
Competitions were held that would surely be considered “politically incorrect” today.
The Daily Oregonian reported that “Fat Elks, lean Elks, tall Elks, short Elks and aged Elks” would compete for “cash and glory”. Prizes of $25 each would be given to the “fattest, leanest, tallest, shortest and oldest Elks” who would all then be featured in the grand Parade. |
The Sacramento Union, July 1912
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Parkersburg, 1914
This was not a full annual July convention – it was a state-wide event in June, for West Virginia Elks, with visiting members from Ohio also invited. Although it wasn’t a national convention, Fenton produced Carnival souvenirs. Parkersburg was, of course, just ten miles or so away from the Fenton factory in nearby Williamstown. It is also entirely possible that one or more of the Fenton brothers were Elks, and belonged to the Parkersburg Lodge. The only shapes produced by Fenton for this convention were in blue - plates plate and bells (rare).
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B.P.O.E. welcomed in Ornamental Incandescents The newspapers reported that the city was bedecked in the usual white and purple, and Parkersburg added an extra touch – they constructed a massive “Welcome Arch” with “Welcome B.P.O.E.” in white and purple lights (or as they described them at the time “ornamental incandescents”). 
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Elks Club Parkersburg courtesy of Mike Jones
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Above: The Cincinnati Enquirer described the Elks convention in Parkersburg as an “athletic carnival followed by a big barbecue at Blennerhassett Island”.
The newspaper went on to describe the parade as “the most brilliant pageant ever held in West Virginia. Eighteen hundred Elks from all over West Virginia and near-by Ohio towns were in the line of march. A grand ball tonight ended the three days’ program.”
The newspaper went on to describe the parade as “the most brilliant pageant ever held in West Virginia. Eighteen hundred Elks from all over West Virginia and near-by Ohio towns were in the line of march. A grand ball tonight ended the three days’ program.”
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The earlier Elks Conventions were in Detroit, 1910 and Atlantic City, 1911