The Elks 11 O'Clock Toast: Meaning and History

Every night, in Elks lodges across the United States, the clock strikes 11 and the room goes quiet. What follows is one of the most distinctive rituals in American fraternal life — a brief, solemn toast to absent members that has been observed for well over a century. This page covers the toast's text, its ceremonial structure, the historical circumstances that shaped it, and how individual lodges apply it today.

Definition and scope

At exactly 11 o'clock in the evening, members of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) pause to observe the Eleven O'Clock Toast — a spoken tribute to Elks members who have died. The toast is part of the Order's formal ritual structure, governed at the national level by the Grand Lodge of the BPOE, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

The text of the toast reads: "To our absent members." The presiding officer then adds: "You have heard the tolling of eleven strokes. This is to remind you that with Elks the hour of eleven has a tender significance. Wherever Elks may roam, whatever their lot in life may be, when this hour falls upon the dial of night, the thought of absent ones will come to mind, and brethren fondly absent or asleep, members of the great Herd of Elks, will be remembered."

The language is deliberately poetic, even a little antique — which is exactly the point. It belongs to a rhetorical register that was common in fraternal lodge culture of the late 19th century, when the BPOE was formalizing its ritual practices. The toast sits within a broader system of Elks rituals and ceremonies that define the Order's internal culture and identity, and it remains one of the few practices observed consistently across all chartered lodges regardless of size or regional variation.

How it works

The mechanics are straightforward, but the execution is intentional.

  1. The bell tolls eleven times. This is done by the lodge's Esquire or another designated officer, using a ceremonial bell. The eleven strokes are slow and measured — not a clock chime, but a deliberate count.
  2. Members rise. Standing is standard practice, marking the moment as distinct from ordinary lodge business.
  3. The presiding officer delivers the toast text. In most lodges, this is the Exalted Ruler or the officer chairing the evening's meeting.
  4. Members respond in silence or with a brief verbal acknowledgment, depending on local lodge custom.
  5. The lodge resumes its business or social activities.

The entire observance takes roughly 90 seconds. Its brevity is not a measure of its weight — if anything, the compression is part of what gives it power. An Elks lodge in a small town in Montana follows the same script as one in Philadelphia. The ritual does not vary by lodge size or lodge count by state.

Common scenarios

The toast is observed in three distinct contexts, and understanding them clarifies where its meaning shifts.

Formal lodge meetings. When the lodge convenes for official business — officer elections, degree work, financial votes — the 11 o'clock toast interrupts the agenda if the meeting is still in session at that hour. This is not optional. The business stops.

Social events and dinners. When a lodge hosts a banquet, holiday celebration, or community event that runs past 11 PM, many lodges incorporate the toast into the evening's program. Here it often carries more emotional weight, particularly when the room includes family members or guests who are not Elks but may have lost someone who was.

Elks Grand Lodge Convention and national gatherings. At large-scale national events, the toast takes on added ceremonial weight, sometimes accompanied by additional tribute elements. The scale of the room changes the acoustic experience of eleven tolling bells considerably.

The toast differs from the BPOE's formal memorial service — sometimes called the "Lodge of Sorrow" — which is a full ceremony held for recently deceased members. Where the Lodge of Sorrow names individuals and involves family, the 11 o'clock toast is collective and anonymous. It remembers no one person specifically. That distinction matters: one is grief, the other is something closer to ongoing devotion.

Decision boundaries

A practical question that comes up in lodge management: what governs whether the toast is observed on a given evening?

The answer is consistent — if a lodge is in session at 11 PM, the toast is performed. There is no threshold of attendance, no quorum requirement, and no seasonal exemption. A lodge with 4 members present at 11:03 PM during a committee meeting observes the toast the same as a lodge of 400 celebrating a major anniversary.

What varies is the framing lodges bring to it. Some Exalted Rulers add personal words before or after the toast — particularly when the lodge has recently lost a member. Others observe it strictly as written, without elaboration. Both approaches are within the tradition. The Elks lodge officers and roles page addresses the specific officer responsibilities that include ceremonial duties.

The toast also sits in productive contrast with other fraternal organizations' memorial practices. The Masons, for instance, use a formal memorial service called the "Masonic Funeral Rites," which is performed at the graveside and requires a lodge to constitute formally. The Elks toast is neither funerary nor occasional — it is simply nightly, which is a different kind of commitment. A full look at how the BPOE compares to other fraternal bodies is available on the Elks vs. other fraternal organizations page.

For anyone exploring the Order more broadly, theelksauthority.com covers the full scope of BPOE membership, programs, and history in one place.

References

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