Members of the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
Located in the western section of Lakeland, on Lakeland Road near Rhode Island Ave., the Elks Home was owned and operated by the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, an organization created in 1899 in answer to the exclusion of African Americans from the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. The group was a social and charitable fraternal organization. To raise funds, it hosted regular events that were open to those living in Lakeland and the surrounding communities. Most fondly remembered are the annual carnivals held on the grounds of the building, and the parades through the streets of Lakeland.
Violetta Sharps, Miss Lakeland 1963, greets the crowd during that year’s Elks Day Parade (upper left of left page). Among the groups marching that day was Lakeland’s own majorettes. This parade was one of many that took place over the years in the Lakeland community. The Elks’ parades promoted healthy competition between lodges throughout the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Captured in the photo below (lower right of left page), marching down Lakeland Road, is one of several marching bands invited to participate.
Pearl Lee Campbell and James Edwards III
J. Chesley Mack is seated second from the left in this 1957 photograph of the College Park Town Council. He served as a member of that legislative body from 1945 until 1957. Mack was one of the first in Lakeland to complete a course of higher education. He was an influential local leader, a successful businessman, and a chef employed by the University of Maryland.