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Show HE IS FROM SI Ad WAY, ALASKA ' Ogden Elks touched antlers today whh Fred Ronkcndorf, a member of the Skagway, Alaska, lodge of B. P. O. E. The- Skapvav lodge Is the farthest farth-est north of any Elks' organization in the world, It being situated nearly a thousand miles north of Soattle. Mr. Ronkendorf's story of Skagway and its lodge is an unusual one. Tho Skagway lodge was organized in 1S99, during the great Klondyke gold boom. At that time the city boast-of boast-of a population of 9.000 people and 6hortly after the Installation of the lodge Its membership rose to over 300 With the collapse of the gold boom the population of Skagway began be-gan to dwindle until at present the town numbers leas than 000 people. During the prosperous days of the Alaskiin city, yhe Elks were exceptionally excep-tionally active and erected a band-some band-some club house which still stands as a monument to the order's energy. Tho members of the lodpe have scattered scat-tered to all parts of the world, but there are still euongh members at Skagway to keep the organization alive and the club house open. Tho numbed ef the lodge is 431. Mr Ronkcndorf arrived in Ogden this morning and will probably remain re-main in Hj - city permanently as h'l Is looking for a location to establish a restaurant. |