Elks Lodge

Letters, calls and the roar of the crowd:Albert Mills, Member Elks Lodge #622, Annapolis: I, for one, am real glad you aren't a member of a fraternal organization, particularly Annapolis Elks #622. Your painting of the Elks membership is slanderous. To take your statements one by one:* We don't wear funny clothes or hats.* There are no secret handshakes or passwords.* I, for one, and many others, don't drink or smoke, and the many things we do for our community is shared by our wives and girlfriends, and, Mr. Simon, they are women!

ANNAPOLIS -- An Anne Arundel County judge yesterday overturned a landmark Annapolis law denying city liquor licenses to private clubs whose membership bylaws discriminate on the basis of race, gender or ethnic background.An Annapolis lawmaker who two years ago helped usher the bill into law amid controversy decried the decision as a setback for civil rights in Maryland's capital.The ruling by Circuit Judge James C. Cawood Jr. was in response to a challenge to the law from an all-male Annapolis Elks lodge, whose liquor license expires at the end of this month.

The Annapolis Elks, who lost their liquor license because their bylaws bar women, would rather leave town than change.The deadline is midnight."It's a shame," Rusty Sears, former exalted ruler of Annapolis Elks 622, said as he walked through the club's old home, now a darkened, empty building on Rowe Boulevard. "But we're going to stand our ground and stick together."The Elks tried to fight a 1990 city ordinance denying liquor licenses to any social club with discriminatory measures on its books.

Officials from the state and Anne Arundel County are weighing a plan to build a judicial complex in Annapolis at the present site of an Elks lodge dogged by controversy over its membership policies.The county, which two years ago abandoned plans to expand the current courthouse, would scrap plans to build a new Circuit Court building in downtown Annapolis in favor of a joint venture with the state to build a combined Circuit Court-District Court facility.Similar ventures have been successful in Frederick and Prince George's counties.

On May 3, 2003, WILLIAM D. KEARNEY; devoted father of William D., Jr. and Michele E. Kearney; dear brother of Patricia Delaney. Also survived by two grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. A Memorial Service will be held on Saturday, May 17, at 12 noon, at the Essex Elks Lodge #1866, 1007 East Homberg Ave.

On October 9, 2003 WILLIAM T.S. BRICKER, beloved husband of the late Jeanne Kay Eagan; devoted father of Patricia Lynn Bricker, Laura Jeanne Bricker, both of Towson and Sharon Manning of Brooklyn. Friends may call at the family owned Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home, Inc., 6500 York Road (at Overbrook) on Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 to 9 P.M. Towson Elks Lodge #469 will hold a memorial service Wednesday 8 P.M. at the Funeral Home.

On June 24, 2004, JAMES T. BARRANCO, beloved husband of Beverly R. Barranco (nee Johnson), son of Joseph and the late Mary Barranco, brother of Charles and Stuart and their wives Susan and Kim. Also survived by a niece and several nephews. A memorial service will be held Sunday, July 25, 2004, at 1:00 p.m., at the Towson Elks Lodge #469, 4 W. Pennsylvania Ave., Towson, MD. Memorial contributions may be made to Elks Camp Barrett, Box 258, Crownsville, MD

On June 16, 2006, JERRY C. BOWER, passed away at his home in Palm Coast, FL. He was a former resident of Glen Burnie, MD. He was an Air Force Pilot during the Korean War and was a member of the Elks Lodge of Glen Burnie. A retired aerospace engineer with Westinghouse Corporation. He is survived by his children Jeri Clarke, Stephin Bower and Ann Turner and his grandchildren, Roger, Jennifer, Jamie and Marlee Clarke; also Andrew Gardner. Services will be held July 28, 11 A.M. at the National Cemetery, 5501 Frederick Road, Catonsville, MD.

Boy Scout Troop 669, sponsored by the Glen Burnie Elks Lodge, presented several awards and advancements at its recent Court of Honor.* Robby Jack was presented with a Recruiter Award.* Damien Morris earned merit badges in Indian lore and wilderness survival.* Tyrone Pietzsch was awarded the Totin' Chip and the Swimming Merit Badge.* Chris Son was awarded the Totin' Chip.* Jason Scutt earned Merit Badges in basketry, rifle shooting and swimming.* Lee Scutt was awarded the Rifle Shooting Merit Badge.

Edith Hartig of Glen Burnie has received the Citizen of the Year award from Glen Burnie Elks Lodge 2266 at a banquet at the lodge on Quarterfield Road.Hartig works as a volunteer in the North Arundel Hospital Radiology Department. One of the duties she took upon herself is to act as a "librarian of the X-rays." She makes sure that films that are signed out from or brought to North Arundel Hospital will be put in their proper place.Hartig has been volunteering at the hospital for a decade and hastaken classes in the health field to learn more about her job.The Elks also will be giving a $2,500 check April 26 to the Make A WishFoundation during a dinner-dance at the lodge.