The Elks Lodge #1704 in Hawthorne hosted its annual Crab Crack last weekend (March 10-11, 2023) to a lively crowd who all enjoyed AYCE crab, baked potatoes, bread, and pasta amongst good company.
Before the doors opened on Saturday evening, seafood enthusiasts ordered drinks, enjoyed oysters on the half shell, bought shrimp cocktail, and purchased raffle tickets to win great prizes including the 50/50 cash. At 7 p.m., people took their seats, put on their bibs, and the local boy scout troop served the appetizers. The Elks led attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance, flag ceremony, and said a prayer before trays of number one grade Alaskan Dungeness crab were distributed.
The Elks Lodge #1704 held its annual crab crack event on March 10-11.
The Elks Lodge #1704 held its annual crab crack event on March 10-11.
Honorary members at this year’s Crab Crack included Elks Lodge members Wayne Brusseau and Peggy Cole. Wayne has been an Elks member for 50 years and served time in the military overseas in Korea and the Vietnam War. He bought a trailer in 2018 and did a cross-country road trip. In early 2020, he was on his way to Reno when he stopped at the Elks Lodge in Hawthorne and met Peggy at the bar. She owns property in Hawthorne and was having trouble with the plumbing at her duplex, and Wayne helped her fix it. They’ve now been happily married for a year.
After the three of us consumed an entire tray of crab and everyone was well fortified from their drinks, the raffle and silent auction took place. A slow cooker and oven roaster were given away, along with donations from the Mina Club, handmade goods from local lodge members, free haircuts, dental accessories, and a beautiful vase donated by Annie’s Place. In the silent auction, the bids ratcheted to claim items such as the official 49ers Gold Bar whiskey, cheesecakes, gallons of propane, a night’s stay at the Hawthorne Inn, and a beautifully framed photograph of an elk by a local renowned photographer. At the end of the event, one attendee claimed $250 in the 50/50 raffle.
Elks Lodge Member Tom Gallegos said that the first night of the Crab Crack also went well; 125 pounds of crab was consumed along with 10 dozen oysters and the shrimp cocktail sold out. Saturday is their best night, and Gallegos says that the Crab Crack gets better and better every year. It is one of the Lodge’s biggest fundraisers, generating money which then goes to support local youth in the Hoop Shoot contest, two $500 scholarships, CAHS, the Boys & Girls Club, the Boy Scouts that helped with the event, and more.
The Elks Lodge #1704 held its annual crab crack event on March 10-11.
“All of the money and donations that are raised in Hawthorne stays in Hawthorne,” Gallegos says.
Elks USA was incepted in 1868 and its regional chapters provide a community space where families, friends, and neighbors can come together and be in a safe and friendly environment. The #1704 lodge holds Tuesday dinners and breakfasts every other Sunday. The local Elks Lodge motto is to “Make it a better today so that others have a better tomorrow” and Gallegos says that this wouldn’t happen without the community’s and volunteer support.
