The Salisbury Elks will celebrate its 115th anniversary Saturday with an open house from 5 to 11 p.m. at the 508 S. Main St. location.

Snacks and refreshments will be available and representatives of the lodge will be on hand to give tours and describe the many social and community activities they are involved in.

The lodge was instituted with great fanfare on May 11, 1901, with a number of visiting Elks in attendance. Following the initiation of new members, a banquet at the Mt. Vernon hotel was held. The lodge was the eighth lodge instituted in the state.

The Elks motto is “Elks Care – Elks Share” and out of the strong bonds of friendship forged in the lodges, concern for their fellow man became of major importance.

The Elks were first to assist returning wounded World War I vets with medical help. Two hospital facilities that the Elks began were turned over to the Veteran’s Administration. In World War II, the Elks played a major role in the war effort, helping the government enroll and train many young men and women for various critical manpower needs. There is so much more this fraternal organization has accomplished. Those efforts can be found at http://www.elks.org/history/NewsStory.cfm?StoryID=74372 . It is estimated that more than $3 billion of charity work has been given over the 148 years of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks.

Locally, the lodge has sponsored a Little League team continuously since at least the 1950s, awards scholarships to high school seniors, distributes drug awareness education material, conducts monthly bingos for the veterans at the VA, hosts the Polar Plunge and Nazareth Children’s day at the 24-acre park on High Rock Lake and loans out its facilities to other groups to help them with fundraising efforts. This past year, charitable contributions equaled dues totals of $20,000.

For further information please contact the secretary at the lodge, 704-636-1161, or go online at www.salisburyelks.org